Revell 1/48 F-86D Sabre in Greek Colors
This was a really fun build of one of the most detailed Revell kits I have seen. As I was researching info on F-86D's in the Hellenic Air Force, I discovered that F-86D's sold to foreign air forces were equipped with Sidewinders. So I had to source the missiles and pylons. By a lucky coincidence, I discovered that many of the F-86E models with decals for foreign operators also come with the Sidewinders. So I raided a Hasegawa F-86E that I had and found that the pylons fit the wing perfectly.
I thought F-4 Phantoms had a lot of decals to add, but this kit had 150 or more decals to place. Lots of stencils.
I documented the entire build in the Work in Progress Group, so please drop in there if you want to know more about this build.
Cheers, and stay safe.
Amazing George!
Seeing you put this together through the build process was a real treat - seeing it finished is fantastic.
Well done George. found the same issue with their F-84, stickers everywhere. But I must say it does enhance the model. Nicely done.
Beautifully made, never have I seen one in Greek colours, very nice indeed
This looks great George. Love the F-86 but not a fan of the "Dog". Something about that nose bothers me more than it should
Great job George. Nice touch with adding the sidewinders.
George,
You did an amazing job with your Sabre. I also want to thank you for answering my questions about the various wings that were used on the type... The picture you posted as part of your answer was perfect. I saved it for future reference.
Well done my friend and a great big "liked" too...
Great modeling sir, especially the paint work. Topside grey is perfection! Dark greens are tough to avoid over blending. Overall, a really beautiful model!
Thanks everyone. I really like interesting paint schemes, and the blue insignia on the camouflage is just cool. I like building old Revell and Monogram, but I had missed this kit until recently. It is probably one of the best engineered kits I have built in a while.
Fantastic build, George.
Those Greek colors really match this plane.
Very nice build George, the Greek markings add to the beauty of this plane!
Quality build. Never seen one built other than in US markings but I really like this.
This is a truly excellent model, George @gblair!
I was lucky to follow this amazing build from the start.
Congratulations!
Very nice looking model! The Revell Dog Sabre is a very nice kit, I've built 2 of them. Probably the best plane RM ever did in 1/48.
It stands out in camo (I'm like most folks who built this kit and built both as NMF planes.)
I like this a lot, George. Very good work.
Very nice Sabre Dog! Love the mottling of the paint scheme. Nice realistic feel to it.
Turned out great, George. Looks different in camo.
Excellent work there, chief. Thanks for the brief facts about the Hellenic Air-Force (actually reading up on it further). The Greek flag paintwork contrasting against the camouflage scheme really stands out.
Thanks for the kind words. I'm trying to figure out what I want to build next. I have about nine kits I want to build right now, but that is impossible. I have them all sitting on a shelf next to my work area, and I'm waiting to see which one speaks to me first.
@George R Blair Jr , care to throw caution to the wind, let the chips fall as they may, and let this forum give a preference for your next of nine kits?
Well, CJ (@mcmahonconnor), I have narrowed it a little. Here are the ones I am thinking about: 1/144 Eduard P-51, 1/144 Eduard P-47, 1/48 Trumpeter F-100F in Danish colors, 1/48 Special Hobby Martin Maryland, or 1/48 Eduard Bf-109F-4 in Spanish colors. I always wait until one of them calls to me, but I might be willing to include any votes you all might have in the decision. Which one would you all pick?
The Bf-109F-4 would get my vote. Erich Hartmann got 352 confirmed kills with it on the Eastern Front... so it has that going for it, which is nice.
CJ (@mcmahonconnor), I am really interested in the 109F-4, but I am still collecting the masks and photoetch. I got a good deal on the Weekend edition from Eduard, but I still wanted the goodies to go with it. Should see the stuff in the mail in a week or so. I almost forgot the kit that may actually be at the front of the line: a Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-44 in a very cool all black paint scheme. I have been planning to do this for a while for the Empire of Japan Group. I have assembled the masks, decals, and photoetch I need, as well as a resin cockpit. Using the resin cockpit may be a challenge, as the instructions say you need to thin the plastic fuselage walls to .4-.5 mm. That may be a little thin for me, but the rest of the stuff is a "go".
If you're specifically into the Bf-109 model, George, check out Erich Hartmann's memoirs. I haven't ever made a model airplane really but am thinking about doing a Viking ship from the 800-900's era. Not to change the subject, but it sounds like, from your description, there is a lot more to building these historically accurate models than assembling a LEGO-set (not that those aren't awesome in their own respect).
Great Looking Model. I especially love the camo colors! They are perfect. I am in the process of building a German F-86K for someone. The German's used the same camo. Could you share with me the colors you used for the 3-tone camo?
Hi Paul (@jjetmec). The colors were cobbled together using Tamiya colors. For the bottom of the plane, I sprayed Tamiya Super Fine Gray Primer straight from the can. I mottled some lighter and darker grays using an airbrush to get some variation. The topside dark gray is Tamiya Dark Sea Gray, followed by some splotches, panel lines, etc of dark sea gray lightened with white, then again with some Tamiya Blue-gray added. The topside green is Tamiya Japanese Dark Green. I added some yellow to the dark green to create some contrast and hit some panels, etc. The long build article is in the Work in Progress group. You can find it by searching for F-86. Good luck on the F-86K. F-86s are right up at the top of my favorite airplane list.
Thanx George, your info was very helpful! Again, great looking model. I will post mine when complete. I have the Revell F-86D with a conversion fuselage from a company called "MustHave!" models to make it an early "K" but with the "D" wings. Look forward to the build. Thanx Paul