Hasegawa F-86F-30 Sabre - Finished!

Started by Eric Berg · 106 · 3 months ago · . 1/48, F-86F, Hasegawa, Sabre
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    Eric Berg said 7 months ago:

    Hope I'm not too late to the Sabre party, George @gblair. The decals in the box are much improved compared to previous Hasegawa sheets I've worked with, so I intend to use them as I like the box art markings depicting 21st Fighter Bomber Wing Comander, Col. RR Rowland's mount but I need to do a little more research. I have several projects on the bench at the moment but I do plan on finishing it by September. I hope.

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    George R Blair Jr said 7 months ago:

    Welcome to the party, Eric (@eb801). You can never have too many Sabres and Furies. The Hasegawa is a really nice kit and I'm looking forward to your build, especially seeing how the decals work for you. The markings look like a challenge.

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    Eric Berg said 7 months ago:

    Yes those decals do a little bit intimidating but I can always pull them up and start over. I might learn something along the way too. @gblair

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    George R Blair Jr said 7 months ago:

    I learn something on every model, Eric (@eb801). Sometimes I even re-learn something that I learned before and either ignored or forgot. That's why I keep making the same mistakes.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 7 months ago:

    Fantastic entry, my friend @eb801! This will be striking once done! Looking forward to it!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 7 months ago:

    That's a wonderful entry, Eric @eb801
    You can never be too late to a party.
    Glad to see you are also entering this group build.

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    Tom Cleaver said 7 months ago:

    I think you might want to reconsider your markings choice. The only decals on that sheet that are worth a plugged nickel are the yellow wing stripes and belly band. Applying the rest over a NMF finish wrecks the finish. (Ask me how I know)

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    Alfred van Paaschen said 7 months ago:

    Nice entry to the group build, Eric!

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    Eric Berg said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    TC-@tcinla. You're right. The kit decals are thicker than a brick and refuse to conform despite pouring lots of MicroSol on it. And I only tried the cockpit instrument panel but that was enough for me. Do I dare ask, what was your experience?

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    Eric Berg said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Ok, guys I've joined the party (finally) beginning with the cockpit. The kit ejection seat is rather pathetic so I painted up a Quickboost replacement which is a huge and necessary improvement.

    Not going to spend any more moola trying to improve the cockpit so here is my latest progress:


    But I will spend some bucks on better decals as the kit ones are too thick and don’t settle down at all. They are, however, printed very nicely.

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    George R Blair Jr said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Seat looks great, Eric (@eb801). I used the same seat in a couple of mine. I have always figured that an upgraded seat will improve the cockpit 75% by itself. I added the nice seat, and then built the rest of the cockpit out of the box.

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    Eric Berg said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    I agree. It improves the cockpit by quite a bit. I decided to take TC's advise and consider some other decals. I figured if I used the Hasegawa sheet I would have to use so much setting solution, no doubt I would screw up the NMF. What do you think, George @gblair?

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Cockpit looks super, my friend @eb801! I agree with our friend @gblair, adding a good seat improves the cockpit by 75%.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    The seat is indeed a huge improvement, Eric @eb801
    I would definitely go for a new set of decals as well.

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    Eric Berg said 6 months, 2 weeks ago:

    @johnb, @fiveten and @gblair, @alfred: need you guys to weigh in (hah!). Any suggestions how much weight is needed to keep this from being a tail sitter?