F-86A

Clear Prop!, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, was a transonic jet fighter aircraft.

Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War (1950–1953), fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces.

Its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan, and Italy. In addition, 738 carrier-modified versions were purchased by the US Navy as FJ-2s and -3s. Variants were built in Canada and Australia. The Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 aircraft and the significantly redesigned CAC Sabre (sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CAC CA-27), had a production run of 112.

F-86A

The F-86A was the first production variant of the Sabre family.

In comparison to its later and more widely used counterparts, the F-86A had a narrower fuselage, smaller wings and lacked the all-flying tail of subsequent Sabres.

The F-86A featured leading edge flaps, which were deleted from the F-86F onward

554 were built.

The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with a total production of all variants reaching 9,860 units.

*Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia

We have waited an awfully long time for a state-of-the-art F-86A. The last company to produce a new-tool kit was Lindberg in 1957, nearly 70 years ago.

Clear Prop's effort has been worth the wait.

Clear Prop's 1/48 scale F-86A Sabre Advanced Kit comprises 165 parts in light grey plastic, nine parts in clear, 38 photo-etched parts, one decal sheet with two USAF marking options and a 24 page instruction booklet.

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Thumbnail panels:

The model is packed in a stout carboard box with a lid and a heavier cardboard box underneath.

The parts are moulded in light grey plastic. The texture of the plastic is smooth and shiny. Sprue attachments are narrow.

Surface details are very fine crisp and consistent.

Small locating holes and pins are present on the fuselage and wing mating surfaces. The fuselage is broken down conventionally into port and starboard halves.

The cockpit is comprehensively fitted out with separate sidewalls, consoles, upper fuselage interior panels, rudder pedals, instrument panel and coaming, a lovely seat made up from nine plastic parts plus six photo-etched harness straps, control column and more.

An overlay of dials and stencils is included on the decal sheet.

The top and bottom wing halves are full span and feature separate leading edge slats.

Control surfaces are separate parts except for the fixed elevators. You will need to do some extra work to pose these offset.

The landing gear and speed brake bays are nicely detailed, as are the three wheels.

There is no mention of nose weight but it looks like it will need some to prevent tail-sitting.

Two high-speed drop tanks are included.

The photo-etched fret supplies harness straps and small details.

The clear sprue offers parts for the windscreen and the main sliding canopy section. Landing lights and navigation lights are included too. All clear parts are clear and free from distortion.

Instructions are clear and well laid out in a 24 page, folded A4 paper booklet.

The marking guide is in full colour and colours are called out throughout using Mr Color and MIG paint numbers. It might have been nice to have a few other paint brands cross-referenced too.

Markings

Decals are printed by Decograph. Colours and registration of the decals look good.

Three marking options are offered - all in natural metal and with striking markings on the fuselage, tail and wings.

This is another well-detailed and highly desirable kit, not to mention long overdue. Keep 'em comong Clear Prop!

Thanks to Clear Prop! for the sample

Text and Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 14 August, 2023
Last updated 27 August, 2024

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