USAF F-86E Record-Setter: 1/48 Italeri F-86E
This is the fourth of four F-86s that I have built for the "F-86 Sabre and FJ Fury Group". I chose the Italeri 1/48 F-86E for this build, which actually comes from the old ESCI molds from 1979. The biggest problem with this kit is that it wasn't really sure whether it was a Sabre or a Fury. The fuselage was designed to be either a Fury or a Sabre, depending on which parts were included in the kit. This resulted in a lot of filling and sanding for parts that didn't fit very well. There are still places on the nose and canopy that look like a Fury to me, but nothing I can't live with. I had a set of EuroDecals for this specific plane, but I ended up replacing several of them. The blue in the national insignia was too light, so I replaced them with some very old decals from Microscale. The lettering on the nose had the wrong spacing, size, and font, so I replaced them with some I made using clear decal paper. I wanted to have a non-weathered airplane, but it came out much shinier than I planned. I may go back and tone down the shine a little.
This particular F-86E was one of two used to set a 100 kilometer closed circuit speed record of 635.69 mph in 1951. Interestingly, the planes were numbered 2 and 4. The planes were taken off the assembly line and sent to Edwards AFB for the record attempt. The Air Force wanted to show that these were "stock" aircraft and not specially modified planes, so right after setting the record, the planes were repainted and sent to Korea. The record-setting team received the Thompson Trophy in 1951 for their record-setting flight.
Thanks to everyone that followed the build in the F-86 Sabre and FJ Fury Group.
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- 1. The 3 1/48 models for the group in their new home.
Nice unusual scheme, and a great collection of Sabres!
Thanks, Greg (@gkittinger). The F-86s have been fun, but I am ready to move on to something new.
Comes alive with the red. Great job.
Thanks, Bob (@bails). I always like paint schemes with red.
Beautiful work, George @gblair . Looks really nice. I’ve never seen a model with this paint scheme . Very nice!
Thanks, Jay (@ssgt). I found this scheme by accident, but I think it has been done a couple of other times on iModeler.
Another wonderful Sabre result, George!
And another great contribution to the successful Sabre GB!
Loved following your thread.
Congratulations!
Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). I appreciate you following along on the build.
Excellent result, George! Another winner.
Thanks, John (@j-healy). This will be the last Sabre for a while. Too shiny. I need some camo or weathered.
Nice. You really have a great looking foursome of finished Sabres completed, George @gblair. I hope your eyes aren't suffering from all that shiny NMF glare on these guys. I notice in the photo you included of this speed Sabre, there are a few dings on the fuselage.
Thanks, Eric (@eb801). Now I need something in camo and/or weathered. I hadn't noticed it before, but there appear to be some bent panels in the photo. These planes were supposed to be right off the showroom floor.
This turned out great George (@gblair). I really like the colors. A nice ending to this run of Sabres.
Thanks, Carl (@clipper). I am gathering the stuff I need to build a D-Day Spitfire, and I am also gathering the stuff to do a 1/350 ship with you. Thanks for following along on the Sabre builds.
Don't change the NMF. It looks great. Very nice work on a not so nice kit and a super result.
Thanks, Tom (@tcinla). I was looking for something fast and easy for this last Sabre, so I used Tamiya Silver Leaf from a spray can. It was also a lot more durable than the high price metals.
A wonderful collection of Sabres, George @gblair
Each of them equally beautiful with their own unique scheme.
You are definitely a Sabre expert by finishing this quartet.
Thanks, John (@johnb). I don't know about being an expert, but I did get to try some interesting techniques for NMF.
She turned out beautifully, George!
Looking good on the shelf with the other Sabres.
They form a very nice collection you can be proud of!
Thanks, Alfred (@alfred). Thanks for following along and providing moral support.
Cool looking Sabre!
Thanks for stopping by, Robert (@roofrat).
Excellent looking Sabre. I like unique schemes. Also learned something new.
Thanks, Dan (@dbdlee). It was a fun build!
Beautifully done and very interesting coloring.
Thanks, Milan (@milantesar).
Red nose looks impressive!
Thanks for stopping by, Bernard (@lis).