Canadair Sabre F.4/North American F-86E(M)

[Paul A H]

Canadair Sabre F.4/North American F-86E(M)

1:72 Airfix

Having made its name with the US Air Force during the Korean War, the F-86 Sabre also served with distinction with many other air forces around the world during the early years of the Cold War. Many of these Sabres were produced under licence from North American Aviation Inc. by Canadair. Originally contracted to produce Sabres for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadair produced over 1800 Sabres for various air forces. The RAF took 428 Canadair Mk.4s, many of them equipping squadrons based in Germany. The RAF eventually returned its Sabres to the US Air Force, who in turn passed them on to Italy and Yugoslavia.

This is the second outing for Airfix’s new-tool Sabre. The first release, featuring colour options for the US Air Force and the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare), is reviewed here: North American F-86F/E(M) Sabre A quick examination of the contents of the box confirms that the plastic components provided here are identical to the previous release. The parts are divided across four sprues of light grey plastic and a single transparent sprue. As you would expect from a (almost) brand new kit, the mouldings are nice and clean, with no flash present and therefore no cleaning up required. The level of detail is good and the panel lines are the finest I have seen from amongst Airfix’s recent crop of kits.

A nice little cockpit is provided and although it is quite basic, decals are provided for the consoles and the instrument panel. Rather than fixing directly into the fuselage, the cockpit fixes onto the top of the engine intake/undercarriage bay. The undercarriage bay itself is nicely detailed. The rather chunky piece that represents the top-half of the engine intake is embossed with ‘3 grams’. Presumably this provides the required weight to prevent the model from being a tail sitter, but I would recommend using a little extra weight – better safe than sorry! Before the fuselage halves are joined, the jet pipe also has to be fixed in place.

As is the case with most kits of the Sabre, the bottom half of the wing is of single-piece construction. The level of detail in the main landing gear bays is good, and even the rather awkward-looking ejector pin mark has been cleverly located so as not to be too noticeable. As was the case with the original release, the wheels look rather soft. This is quite puzzling as the moulded detail on the rest of the kit is pin-sharp.

Airfix have provided two types of airbrake; one that can be posed open, with a detailed interior, and one designed to be closed, which is engineered to fit flush with the fuselage. Ordnance is the same as before, being comprised of two fuel tanks and two bombs. The transparent pieces are thin and clear.

Two colour options are provided:

XB772 of 112 Squadron, Royal Air Force, depicted during exercise ‘Carte Blanche’ in the summer of 1955; and

11054 of the Yugoslav Air Force, 1965, finished in overall natural metal.

The decal sheet is produced for Airfix by Cartograf and, as you would expect, appears to be perfectly printed. The colours look spot on and everything is in perfect register. Plenty of stencils are provided too. Those looking for alternative RAF markings would be well advised to seek out a copy of Modeldecal sheet number 97, which features oodles more options.

Conclusion

Airfix are churning out some great little kits these days, and this is no exception. The panel lines are beautifully restrained, and the decals should perform well too. Definitely recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

Another nice review, Paul. I got the F-86F version the other day (the Airfix Club exclusive boxing) and was very impressed with the kit, apart from the wheels. As you say, they don't match the quality of the rest of the kit, which is very odd. Still, it's a minor point, and certainly wouldn't put me off getting more.

[Tim T]

I spent the weekend nailing this together and it is a great little kit. The top seam for the fueslage was almost invisible and I only needed a tiny amount of Mr Surfacer around the rear of the wing join and on the underside of the nose. Very impressive, particularly next to the Buccaneer on my workbench which has an addiction to filler! Roll on the Valiant!

[Paul A H]

Thanks chaps!

Roll on the Valiant!

Amen to that!

[sroubos]

Am I right in understanding that this kit is identical to the earlier F-86F boxing and that as such it has the 6–3" wing without leading edge slats? I want to build a USAF 32nd TFS plane, which is an F-86F.

[PhantomBigStu]

yep its the same identical sprues with the 6-3 wing save the decal sheet , even the instructions are the same asking you to paint the cockpit and pilot like an american one

[sroubos]

Thanks for the quick confirmation. Next to go on the workbench this one