Diego

Well, during the early 1970, the SVAF got many former Iranian AF F-5A that were overhauled and repainted in the SEA colors but following the Asia Minor pattern ( sand being overpainted with dark green, dark green with mid green and brown with tan) - this is why you will see SVAF F-5As painted in the standard factory applied SEA camo as well as in the "modified" SEA scheme. Later, the F-5As flew in the IIAF scheme as delivered. Indeed, it's very probable that the black nose could have been a deception measure and that it was painted shortly before the fall of South Vietnam (1974?-75: I have s

Hello Jay, Many thanks for these data - this is a very interesting story indeed, that explains several things! It seems that the SVAF got 6 RF-5A-45, 1 RF-5A-50 and 3 RF-5A-55 directly from the Northrop production line. By 1973 3 have already been w/o, and one (69-07148) was delivered to S.Korea in 1975. The others were either destroyed or captured by North Vietnam. Most of them have been photographed with camouflaged noses - However, some of them wear a BLACK recce nose, as you commented... This could also be an explanation why some of the former IIAF F-5As seen in 1975, left in their de

Hello Raymond, Your beautiful decal sheet from the F-5A release can be used without any change. To make things 100% correct a small addendum sheet, containing only the respective RF-5A serials (8 elements in total) would be enough to make modellers happy: For example: South Vietnam: 2 x "97163" in white (Standard SEA camo with checkerboard and NMF tip-tanks) Greece: 2 x "97164" in black (Standard SEA camo or earlier NMF with orange panels) Norway: 2 x "106" in black ( NMF with mid grey recce nose and forward fuselage) Canada: 2 x "116712" in black (434 Sqn in camouflage) All other ma

+ Ethiopia + Morocco Vietnam used the RF-5A configuration operationally during the border war with China (February/March 1979) I wrote "configuration", as in fact this was a former SVAF F-5A airframe in NMF with a black painted recce nose, surely taken from one of the captured SVAF RF-5As ( these were all painted in SEA camo, at least one of them having the recce nose painted in black)

Many thanks for all your replies! Hopefully Kinetic will release some day the RF-5A adding a transparent camera nose... ...or a resin nose will be produced by one of our favourite Czech resin manufacturers Speaking about recce noses - I guess there is a room for a 1/48th scale RT-33A conversion set too... Greetings Diego

Dear ARCers, Is there any RF-5A recce nose currently available for the Kinetic 1/48th scale model ? I know that there is a recce nose in the Monogram/Revell F-5E kit that could be grafted on the Kinetic F-5A ( but it's not transparent, unfortunately). The Classic Airframes RF-5A boxing had a transparent nose, but the shape was, as some say, incorrect - and of course, it is a bit complicated and expensive to find a CA RF-5A kit just for the nose... Many thanks for your help! Greetings Diego

Many thanks for this Janne! Indeed, Tigereye is also building the 1/72nd scale Fujimi F-86F40 in the same scheme - but, like it seems, your build is in a bit more advanced stage... Anyway - the story of Iranian Sabres is practically still unknown in the West - This was the reason it took so many time to make the HDL decal sheet. We used color fotos of the UN Congo mission, published recently for the first time in Iranian Aviation Review, showing many previously unknown details. Shots of Etiopian Sabres that were imported to New zealand few years ago still wearing the original Iranian cam

:woot.gif: :woot.gif: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: ...what else could be said? BTW: You are surely aware that your Sabre will be the first ever correct rendering of a camouflaged Iranian Sabre - Do you !?! :D

Photos of former IIAF Sabres in Ethiopian service (and later during restoration) show the inside of undercarriage doors in aluminium, as well as "dark" (green) airbrake weels on the rear fuselage. Therefore it would be safe to assume that the wheel weels were also painted in dark green. However, many late Sabres (like D/K, for example) had the bottom of the wheel weels painted in a dark green similar to the one used on the antiglare panel of NMF IIAF examples, instead of the 1950s "interior green". As IIAF Sabres were overhauled in Israel in the mid 1960, I guess that the "dark green" would

Simply gorgeous Janne! Can't wait to see her coated and with the markings applied Please note that the IIAF Sabres had standard "USAF" maintenance stencils ( a.o. the red circles denoting fuel valves, etc) applied. Interstingly,when transferred to the IEAF, "red" stencils were deleted (like the turbine warning stripe) or overpainted in black ( the red "fuel" circles on fuselage and wings)... Greetings Diego

Stunning, Janne, as always :wub: Greetings Diego

Iranian F-5Fs are already available from HI-DECAL: IRIAF F-5E/F Finally, you will be able to make the F-5F with the big tigerhead on the fin, as well, switching the serial numbers, the F-5F painted in the dark green Azarakhsh scheme: (MEHR) BTW: Note that the Italeri reissue is the original, i.e. non duck-nosed F-5F. To make most of the agressor birds from the box you will need to use the flat nose and bigger lerx from their f-5E kit...

Hi Vasco, Your'e welcome - it's always a pleasure if I can help Great to see you are doing this bird As the original camo was painted without primer, after some weeks in the hot and humid climate of Mindanao these birds already looked extremely weathered. In fact, this would be one of very few jets were you could use the "salt" weathering technique, commonly used by modellers building WWII Japanese aircraft. Also please note that all stencils have been overpainted. Greetings Diego

The wings are looking good I re-confirm: The slats innersurfaces are painted in camo pattern. Greetings Diego

I just had another look on the shot of 3-140 showing her after a nose gear up landing at Vahdati, and , indeed, the insides of the slats are definitively in camouflage colors...

Great work, my friend! It looks like a 1/48 bird - it will be a little gem when ready :wub:

Wow, I always told the F-86F is looking great in the IIAF Asia Minor camo Many thanks for your kind comments - I am really glad to hear you like the Sabre sheet! Your build is looking really great - Simply gorgeous! Can't wait to see it finished. :wub: Just one detail: The IIAF Sabres had their fuel tanks always finished in aluminium color (NMF). Even when later delivered to the IEAF, their flew with aluminium tanks... Also many thanks for showing the IIAF 1971 maneuvres video - it's really spectacular to see F-86Fs flying together with F-4Es. Greetings Diego

Many thanks for this info! Diego

Wonderful work - can't wait to see it finished Diego

This is indeed an useful item, specially as it seems that "slated" Sabres had the slats dropped when on the ground.

Hi Janne, Many thanks for your comments! It's always great to watch your builds - and a real pleasure to add my 5 Cents, in case I can help a bit You're right about Sidewinders - as IIAF F-86 got their camo, the intercept mission was already gone (together with the associated AIM-9 pylons...)so there weren't AIM-9 armed, camouflaged IIAF Sabres. Indeed the additional underwing pylons look very similar to the ones used for the fuel tanks, so IMHO this could be also the way to go... Re F-40 additional fuselage intakes - it seems tha all Hasegawa Sabres have the F-40 fuselage, so this corre

Hello Janne, Great to see you started the IIAF Sabre project - It will again end as a masterpiece :yahoo:/> Speaking about surgical interventions, please don't forget to remove the intake placed on the right rear fuselage near the airbrakes, as it was typical for new build F-86F-40s only. Speaking about bomb pylons: The Academy (Hobbycraft) F-86Fs in 1/48 scale all have these pylons offered as an option, so I guess it will be simple to obtain some spares from fellow ARCers, as most Sabres are being built as Korean War fighters... AIM-9 and their pylons can of course also be used on IIA

No need to wait - the original Alicat decals are available from Hi-Decal: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Rev2/1101-1200/Rev1194-HiDecal72051-48021/00.shtm Greetings Diego

They will be released directly after the T-33 sheet - first the EAF F-4Es, then the ANG F-4C/Ds :)

As Kursad annonced that he is working on a very similar sheet, our F-4E 2020 project has been put on hold - honestly, I think it would be simply a bit silly to duplicate the same stuff... and there are many other great themes waiting for realisation, like these T-33