John Adelmann Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Greetings builders - I recently got my hands on the new 1/32 Kitty Hawk F-86D kit and was confounded by lack of QC. Specifically: Parts are routinely mislabeled - for an example, parts labeled for one sprue are found on another - albeit with the correct numbers - while some parts are found elsewhere without the correct numbers. The larger decals have but a slim edge of carrier film on the top and bottom - and nothing in the middle - making the application of the wing's USAF and fuselage sides' U.S. AIR FORCE a battle of epic proportions, because as soon as you move them off the decal paper, they rack like crazy. I wound up cutting these into smaller pieces. The wings' one-piece black walkway lines have a series of sharp angles and turns with no supporting clear film - good luck trying to move them from the decal sheet to the wings without having them folding back on themselves or twisting. I should have known better and simply cut the lines into sections and then apply them one at a time. I wound up using a calipers to measure black line decals I have on a separate sheet to replace them. My main wheels had no holes for the landing gear struts! At first, I thought I had glued two of the same sides of the wheels together (who can say they've never done that before?), but revisiting the instruction sheet showed I did as I was told. This isn't the end of the world if you have a drill or sharp X-Acto knife, but it was unsettling. For the 82nd FIS markings, the tail decals are diagonal white strips with three black iron crosses on them, but when I butted the left side to the edge of the rudder, there was too much white decal for the tail! It wrapped over considerably on to the other side and had to be sliced down. The forward landing gear door is hinged, but you'll try in vain to find part D15 that gets attached to part E35. I wound up taking a fin from one of the kit's missiles, gauged its size by studying the color drawing for decal placement, and cemented it into place instead. The thickness of the fin makes for a great match, by the way. If you follow the instructions in step #9, where you're shown how to assemble the main wheel bays, you will wind up with off-kilter attachment points for the main landing gear struts that are installed way down the road in step #19. When inserting the gear struts, you'll have the tires splaying out at 10 and 2 O'clock! I had to cut and sand down the attachment points until the wheels became parallel. If you like your canopies closed, you might have a problem if you follow step #20. Once parts E58 and E50 are in place on the canopy, the side rails, parts E7 and E8, don't fit. Even without them, there is a little boss that protrudes from part E50 that slides into a slot on the top of the fuselage. The canopy then rests in the open position on the rails behind the ejection seat, and there is no other way to do it. This kit's fuselage is divided into three sections, not two. Be very careful to make sure the two top sides are secured to the stubs protruding from the cockpit assembly and rear engine assembly. Only then will you have a chance to create a nearly seamless mating of these parts. The third side makes up the underside of the fuselage, and it mates with the top two, creating recessed panel lines in the most conspicuous area of the plane - the forward fuselage. Failure to mate these parts correctly will reward you with ugly gaps on either side of the plane for all to see. And finally, someone please explain to me what color "super silver" is. All that aside, this does build up into a nice rendition of the D, but one would think that Kitty Hawk would have their employees make a few kits to check that all is well before they begin their manufacturing process. Given the political climate in China, I wouldn't be surprised if someone winds up in front of a firing squad over this. JA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tko24 Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Thanks for this post. I'm about to start mine and your observations will be very helpful. I was holding out for the F-86K, but I broke down and got the "D" anyway. I'm wondering how long it'll take for some after market decals to start showing up. I'm not that interested in the markings options included with the kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scvrobeson Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 (edited) Greetings builders - And finally, someone please explain to me what color "super silver" is. JA Super Silver is a Gunze color code, pretty much whatever silver color you want to use. Probably Alclad. Doesn't sound like any major issues with this one. The issues with the decals might just be an excuse to paint everything on, no need to worry about carrier film that way. I think they probably took this approach because carrier film can be hard to hide on an NMF build, so they went with minimal film to make life easier in the long run. Edited May 9, 2015 by scvrobeson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 The larger decals have but a slim edge of carrier film on the top and bottom - and nothing in the middle - making the application of the wing's USAF and fuselage sides' U.S. AIR FORCE a battle of epic proportions I've seen that done before, and it's almost never a good idea. That's on the decal artist. I'd bet a crisp new $100 bill that whoever designed them isn't a modeler. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Given the political climate in China, I wouldn't be surprised if someone winds up in front of a firing squad over this. ???????? What does a model airplane have to do with politics in China (or the price of tea in China, for that matter)?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thanks for the heads up on the build issues. I dont like the way any of the decals are for placing over the airbrakes. None of them is cut so you have to do this and it wont be that easy. Lots of other manufactures have done this in other scales, cant understand why they did not do this. At least one guy I know has had a short shot part around the nose wheel bay/landing light area so check your kits for this one. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
UKPonchoMan Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Super Silver is a Gunze color code, pretty much whatever silver color you want to use. Probably Alclad. I think "Super Silver" is the "Plate Silver" in their Super Metallic range. It gives a beautiful highly-polished metal finish, but is unbelievably expensive... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 1 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 i just received this kit from a good friend and had a question about the wing colors. I notice some have a grey center section while others dont, any ryhme or reason for this? Otherwise looks to be a nice kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eli Raphael Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Making a decal set for her! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tko24 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Making a decal set for her! Great news. Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 i just received this kit from a good friend and had a question about the wing colors. I notice some have a grey center section while others dont, any ryhme or reason for this? Otherwise looks to be a nice kit. You have to understand how the wing is made. The center section between the forward and aft spars is made from a different type of metal from the rest of the wing. On real Sabres that haven't been painted, the bulk of the airframe is relatively shiny aluminum (sometimes blindingly shiny!). The wing torsion box is very dull, whitish grey. It's not painted grey, it's just a different type/sheen of metal. Even up close, there is almost no metallic 'sparkle' or shine to it at all. I'd go with a mix of light grey and a matte aluminum on a model. You don't want it to look like it's just painted grey, since the real thing isn't. Many aircraft exhibit this same phenomenon, notably (off the top of my head) the B-29. The center spar area looks very dull compared to the rest of the airplane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Airfixer Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Actually, the outer wing box skins were made up from a high-strength aluminium alloy that was extensively used throughout the F-86D's airframe - alloy 7075-T6.. (7075=alloy/alloy composition, T=temper.) According to the F-86D's structural repair instructions, the wing box skin material is referred to as "7075-T6 Clad". Per se, "7075-T6" or any other aluminium alloy used on F-86D airframes (2024-T4, 6061-0) does not imply the actual product "form". It simply describes the alloy's composition and physical properties: tensile strenght, yield, etc. "Clad" is a somewhat generic specification. 7075-T4, 7075-T6, 2024-T4, 6061-0 (...) can be pretty much everything: sheet, plate or formed components. In the given case, the wings skins were milled from alloy 7075-T6 "slabs". Problem: Aluminium alloys are susceptible to corrosion. In order to shield them from corrosion, these alloys need to be passivated - either by chromating, anodising, painting or alclading. Alclading is the way to go when it comes to the airframe skin: a layer of shiny, high-purity aluminium (excellent corrosion-resistance) metallurgically bonded to an aluminium alloy core: ALCLAD 7075 or 2024 sheet or plate (trademark of ALCOA Inc.). As to the wing box skins' machining, being milled from solid 7075-T6 alloy, alclading can be ruled out. The same for chromating: North American Aviation was mainly using Alodine 1200 or Iridite 14 in the 1950s, and both agents would have resulted in a translucent yellow finish. Conclusion: There's no point in leaving such a critical structure unprotected. The skins were either anodised or painted. I lean towards the latter: easier to maintain and easier to reproduce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 1 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Thanks for the info on the wing. Im just starting to get into my build and I noticed my cockpit tub is short shot.....time to bust out the card stock. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantomdriver Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Brian, any chance of a pic of said defect? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 1 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 No, to much hassle to post pics any more in forums. Its no biggie, I have plenty of card stock, and theres no detail on the part anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantomdriver Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 then I'll give it a miss... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 1 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Yoo should get one, it looks pretty good in the box. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 1 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Working on this kit tonight, just a note Parts D40 and D41 are reversed... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 My point being the center section is made differently and thus looks different from the rest of the airplane. When you rap on it with your knuckle the center section sounds like a block of concrete, and the rest sounds like a tin can. Even in factory photos of brand spanking new airplanes the center wing has no hint of shine to it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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