Hobby Boss 1/72 F-86F-30
The 2 Squadron SAAF was formed in 1940 and has a long history, having been involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF has taken part. During the Second World War it made a name for itself in the battles for East Africa, before distinguishing itself in North Africa as part of the Desert Air Force and later in Italy.
The Squadron was South Africa's contribution to the United Nations war effort during the Korean War from November 1950 to December 1953, having been attached to the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing USAF for the duration of the war.
74 of the 94 Mustangs and 4 out of the 22 Sabres were lost during the Korean War along with 33 pilots (14 killed in action, 11 missing in action, 8 killed in accidents).
F-86F-30-NA s/n 52-4311 was loaned to 2nd Squadron SAAF in early 1953, receiving the code ‘604/K” and was initially named “BEVKENEVE” by Capt. J. F. Nortje, before renamed “BLACK DICK” by 2Lt. H. H. Ludic.
Hobby Boss Easy Assembly kits are in general cheap, quite simple in layout and easy to put together.
The subject kit is the F-86F-30 2020 reboxing of the 2007 original edition and should you wish to read its full build review, you may do so by visiting my beloved site Modelingmadness:
https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/us/usaf/fighter/penh86.htm
Happy Modelling!
A very interesting and nicely researched aircraft. Great work showing a snap together kit needn't look toy like.
Thank you kindly, my friend @christopher!
Well done, Spiros.
Thanks a lot, my friend @gwskat!
Nice work, Spiros.
Thank you very much, my friend @chinesegeorge!
Nice build Spiros @fiveten. I admire anyone who can get a decent nmf 🙂
Thanks a lot, my friend @fxrob!
Nice work, Spiros. I thought this was 1/48 at first glance.
Thank you kindly, my friend @j-healy!
Another really nice F-86, Spiros (@fivten). The Hobby Boss kits are really nice and well detailed. they make a great model. The NMF and decals look really good. How hard was it to get the yellow/black band across the fuselage to line up?
Thanks a lot, my friend @gblair! Thanks for following along! The yellow/black bands are tge kit decals which behaved beautifully.
Nice looking Sabre, Spiros @fiveten. Was going to ask about those yellow bands but George beat me to it. They look spectacular and accurate shade of yellow/gold.
Thank you so much, my friend @eb801!
Yes, the kit supplied decals were a welcome surprise!
Lovely Sabre, and a stand-out in those markings!
Thank you kindly, my friend @gkittinger!
Agreed, those SAAF markings are super!
An excellent Sabre, Spiros @fiveten
This variant in SAAF NMF scheme looks really nice.
It was a pleasure to follow along and an equal pleasure to read this well researched article.
Thanks a lot, my friend @johnb!
Nice rendition of a silver Sabre.
Thanks very much, my friend @dbdlee!
You get to the paint stage very quickly with those Easy-Build kits, and they look great once finished.
Glad to hear about the decals, I'm always a sceptic about HB decals.
Nice looking SA sabre.
Thanks a lot, my friend @georgeswork!
That is a great looking Sabre Spiros, and a very interesting lineage from service to service.
Thank you kindly, my friend @russjurco!
Nicely done Spiros!
Thanks a lot, my friend @roofrat!
Nicely done Spiros (@fiveten), well presented.
Thank you kindly, my friend @kalamazoo!
@fiveten - Fantastic build Spiros. I never would have guessed that it was an 'easy' build kit. The details look great. I like the subtle weathering as well. Very nice.
Thanks a lot, my friend @brithebuilder!
Lovely looking Sabre from The Flying Cheetahs Squadron, Spiros! Great bit of info about where the aircraft ended up, very interesting!
Thanks a lot, my friend @neillroos!
Another great piece from your Spiros workshop. He looks great in that Aussie livery.
Thank you kindly, my friend @milantesar!
Great NMF! Very interesting story!
Thanks a lot, my friend @lis!