Fujimi 1/72 F-86F Sabre "Mig Killer"

FUJIMI 1:72 F-86F-30 SABRE "MIG KILLER"

Reviewer: Simon Skinner (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 21 October 2003

Kit Details:

Fujimi #F-19; 1:72nd North American F-86F-30 Sabre "MiG Killer"

Aircraft History:

The North American F-86 Sabre lays claim to a number of feats and achievements alike and was the first USAF fully swept fighter to enter production. Renowned for its versatility and MiG kills in the Korean War it was one of the great planes of the 1950's and beyond. It served with a number of air forces across the globe and is still flying at airshows, often with its nemesis the MiG-15, in the hands of "warbird" enthusiast pilots. The F version was one of the later models of the Sabre and entered service during the Korean conflict.

The Kit:

The kit is typical Fujimi at their best with well defined plastic parts molded in light grey. Panel lines are engraved and the surface detail is very good. There is hardly any blemishes on the plastic, only a few non-invasive ejector pin marks, which is good since the natural metal finish will demand a flawless surface. The transparencies are nice and clear. The instructions are again typical of Fujimi providing well defined assembly drawings and easy to interpret decal placement and colour scheme four-view diagrams.

Construction:

The top part of the intake trunk and cockpit tub are integrally molded. The kit supplies the usual standards for a cockpit being basic seat with headrest, instrument panel, side panels, control column and rear bulkhead. Seat belts and other cockpit items will need to be added in by the modeller. Both console areas have basic but nicely raised detail to simulate controls, or if you prefer you can sand these off and affix the decals supplied. The interior was painted various shades of black, coal and dark grey to add depth and character rather than a bland black cockpit.

The fit inside the fuselage is not bad but not great either as the intake trunk is split horizontally meaning hard-to-fill seam lines. And because Fujimi includes the engine front which you can see through the intake, you are best off doing your utmost to do away with those seam lines. The tailpipe is also trapped between the fuselage halves before these are closed. Red plug's or "covers" are supplied for both the tailpipe and intake as it would appear in static display which is not something you often find in a kit of this scale. As with all Sabre kits, sufficient nose weight is a must. Fit the fuselage halves together with some clamps and clean up the seam lines afterward and you are ready to move on.

The rest of the construction is pretty straight forward in addition to being pretty quick. The wings are broken into upper and lower halves with the latter having the cut out for the main wheel bays, and holes having to be drilled out first for underwing stores. The wheel wells contain only very basic detail within. Filler was applied in the usual places and blended in and pretty much everything fitted as it was supposed to.

The canopy fits okay but needs to be paid attention to as it is easy to place it off-centre whilst the simplified but fairly solid undercarriage can be installed without too many problems. The various small pitot probes and other external parts need some care in attaching, the plastic is quite brittle and the smaller parts are easy to snap.

Stores options include Sidewinder missiles and drop tanks, the latter which are more accurate for the Korean War Sabres and can be painted in Olive Drab. I am not sure if any F-86 Sabres carried any sidewinders until after the Korean War (I thought the missile was developed later?) so you might want to leave them off to depict a historically accurate Sabre Korean War option that comes from this kit.

Colour Schemes:

There are four options to choose from the kit, all Korean War MiG Killing machines and all finished in overall natural metal. These are 'Mig Mad Marine' of 25th FIS; 'Marlene' of 3335th FIS; 'The Huff' of 39th FIS; and "Marlene, Nancy and Marian" also of 39th FIS. I sprayed various shades of aluminium for different panels and then masked these off and oversprayed the rest of the model Humbrol metalcote for a polished aluminium finish.

Decals:

It's fair to say that the decals are pretty much what you can expect from these Japanese mainstream manufacturers. They are perhaps a touch thick but have very good colour register and I had no problems in applying them to the kit. There's a bit of stencilling provided along with the USAF insignia and they bed down very well. The only problem is silvering, which is common on any natural finished metal project, so a coat of Future and a bit of buffing fixed this.

Accuracy:

As most people probably realise from reading my reviews is that I am no rivet counter and am firmly a subscriber to if it looks [really] right then that is good enough for me! This kit looks the part superbly, the profile is accurate and the measurements are pretty much spot on for this scale. The only gripe is the bit about the sidewinders for a Korean War Sabre, but that is probably because this kit is also produced for later decal options.

Overall Recommendation:

This is a very good kit. It is accurate, easy to build and includes a detailed intake with engine front along with the plugs for front and rear orifices! This kit has been around for a while now but is still a very highly recommended addition to your Korean War collection.

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