Korean War: 1/48 Hasegawa F-86F-30 Sabre
For the recent F-86 Sabre and FJ Fury group build, I chose markings of one of the top U.S. aces of the Korean War: Maj. James Jabara. I used Warbird Decals 48027 Korean War F-86s, Part 2 and 48027 F-86F Common. You need both sheets.
Major James “Jabby” Jabara (1927-1966) was the first American pilot as well as the first USAF pilot to become a jet ace. He flew his first jet aircraft in 1948 - a Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star. Jabara transferred to Korea in 1951 piloting the all new F-86A Sabre. By the time he finished his second tour of duty in mid-1953 flying the improved F-86F-30, Jabara had amassed 15 kills and became the second leading USAF ace of the “Forgotten War”.
The Kit:
Hasegawa's F-86F-30 in 1/48 scale has been around since first tooled in 1996. It's still a fine, accurate enough Sabre for the price. The two fuselage halves have never been modified as far as I know in any of Hasegawa's Sabre boxings and appears to be a F-86F-40. To make this an accurate F-30, one must remove the right rear fuselage air intake scoop and plug the hole with a piece of styrene, add a little filler and sand smooth.
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- 1. Remove and fill
- 2. Vallejo black primer
Construction:
Totally Hasegawa rock solid overall, but the simplified cockpit leaves a lot to be desired as there is hardly any detail. I fleshed it out with paint and added the much better Quickboost ejection seat that really improves the look of the Sabre's front office.
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- 1. Hasegawa
- 2. Quickboost
Prior to gluing the two fuselage halves together, I CA glued some fishing weights (16 grams) in front of the cockpit tub that sits on top the intake tunnel to keep the Sabre from tail sitting. I filled and sanded the top and bottom joint seams where appropriate and re-scribed a few panel lines.
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- 1. 16 grams split shot fish wts
The kit fit is quite good but I did run into some alignment issues attaching part 12, the pointy front air intake cowl. It needed a lot of careful sanding and re-shaping to get it to mate flush to the front of the fuselage.
Wheels are Eduard Brass-In.
Paint:
I used Mr. Color Super Metallic2 duraluminum for the very first time and consumed two bottle's worth over black primer. Panels were done with other Metallic2 shades and Tamiya aluminum lacquers. I still need to dial in how this Metallic2 works, but overall I can see it's a good product. I topped off the finish with a protective coat of Tamiya clear gloss lacquer and waited overnight before continuing to the next step.
Decals:
Although beautifully and accurately printed by Micro-Scale, I had serious issues with some of these Warbird Decals. All Korean War Sabre units (except 1) were identified with wrap around yellow ID bands on the wings, mid fuselage and sometimes on the tail and it was these WB bands that gave me grief. Printed way too thick for opacity's sake, the bands refused to conform to the curvature of the Sabre, cracked or peeled or just wouldn't stick no matter what I did. After draining a bottle of Micro Sol and multiple repair attempts, I gave up and pulled them off. Next I tried a Cutting Edge sheet of Sabre markings with similar irritating results.
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- 1. painted
Totally frustrated, I back tracked and dug out the Hasegawa decals which are the wrong size for the 30 series and incorrect shade of yellow, but they did conform nicely in comparison. I painted the tail band as I didn't have a spare.
After a long marathon of stencil applying, I misted this Sabre with a couple of coats Alclad II Klear Kote Matte and called it “done”.
Many thanks to George Blair @gblair for getting this iModeler Sabre-Fury party started.
https://imodeler.com/groups/f-86-sabre-and-fj-fury/
Looks very nice
Nice work Eric @eb801. The Hasegawa kit really stands the test of time.
Jabara is officially the first US "jet ace," but according to the Soviet loss records, he definitely scored 2, maybe 3. The day he shot down "#5" he got claimed as a shoot-down by a Russian, who went after him because he hung around after he couldn't drop his right tank, despite there being a standing order to abort for home if that happened (a fact that demonstrates the truth that aerial claims are frequently wrong - guy has a minute to see smoke come out of what he shot at, then he's taking defensive action to prevent smoke coming out of his airplane from the other guy now on his tail.) According to a story in Sabre Classics, the magazine of the Sabre Pilots Assn, which was written by the actual guys, Jabara was more dangerous to his own side, being the only American ace who needed corrective lenses; he was responsible for attacks on three Sabres he mistook for MiGs.
The actual real "first US jet ace" (by Soviet loss records confirming his claims) was Dick Becker, who the Air Force lists as the "second jet ace."
All the US claims from Korea are phony as $3 bills. In 1953, they were awarding a "kill" if they could count 100 hits on a MiG in gun camera film, never having figured out that the MiG was practically impervious to machine gun fire unless it hit the engine. It was like creating the whole idea of an "ace" in World War I, to distract people from the total fakakte on the ground.
The only record that mattered was that no enemy aircraft ever showed up over the battlefield in the war. That was what got accomplished in MiG Alley. It's also the only score that mattered in World War I and World War II.
Thanks for cutting through the fog and setting the record straight, Tom @tcinla.
Great Build!
I like it! Nice job, Eric...
Excellent job and really great result, Eric!
Very nice Sabre, Eric @eb801! 👍 That's a handsome jet, dude! 👏
Solid Sabre build! Nicely done.
It's a shame about the decals. I always dread having to apply any of those big area decals like that. I am really glad that I have managed to graduate to the level of being able to adequately paint these sort of things. This Sabre looks great Eric (@eb801). Glad to see you got it across the finish line.
You did a wonderful job on this one, Eric @eb801
Despite all the fighting with the decals it turned out beautifully.
Well done.