Special Hobby 1/48 F-86K

[Drifterdon]

So I've been following along with Dai's fantastic Pro Modeler F-86D build, REVELL/PRO MODELER F-86D IN 1/48 - Page 6 - In-Progress Pics - ARC Discussion Forums (arcforums.com)

and it inspired me to dust off my Special Hobby F-86K kit buried in the stash.   

Holy cow!   What a crap kit!   Cockpit seems nice and afterburner section is nice but the fit of everything else is atrocious.   I've read the reviews over on the other modeling websites and they are so true.  This is apparently one of the original moldings of this kit since it doesn't come with the resin replacement parts for the main gear well.   I've probably spent and hour and a half just filing and sanding trying to get the wings to fit up into the fuselage.   I'm still not there. 

I haven't decide yet if I'm going to paint it in Bundeswehr Luftwaffe camo and decal it with JG74 markings but I keep leaning on doing it up as delivered to Germany in natural metal with US Air Force markings (FU 123).   I think a cannon armed F-86K in USAF markings is pretty unique.   Even if it was short lived and temporary.   Just long enough to get it over the pond to Germany.

http://yocumusa.com/sweetrose/duncan/images/f86k/f86kgaf.jpg

[Sabrejet]

Luftwaffe F-86Ks were all FIAT-built aircraft. The NAA-built F-86Ks went to Holland and Norway, by sea. Several NAA-built F-86Ks flew in USAF markings, retaining the rounded NAA font for buzz numbers and serial numbers etc; FIAT-built F-86Ks were ferried in markings with Amarillo USAF squared font.

[Drifterdon]

1 hour ago, Sabrejet said:

Luftwaffe F-86Ks were all FIAT-built aircraft. The NAA-built F-86Ks went to Holland and Norway, by sea. Several NAA-built F-86Ks flew in USAF markings, retaining the rounded NAA font for buzz numbers and serial numbers etc; FIAT-built F-86Ks were ferried in markings with Amarillo USAF squared font.

Good to know sir.   So FU 123 was probably a FIAT build machine.  

[mawz]

1 hour ago, Drifterdon said:

Good to know sir.   So FU 123 was probably a FIAT build machine.  

According to Joe Baugher’s serial list, it certainly was a FIAT assembled machine, 56-4123, went to the Venezuelan AF afterwards

[Sabrejet]

5 hours ago, Drifterdon said:

Good to know sir.   So FU 123 was probably a FIAT build machine.  

 

It's also worth noting that many of these Luftwaffe F-86Ks were stored by Dornier after delivery - in some cases they were never used and retained their 'USAF' scheme until scrapped or sold on. In the case of 56-4123, it was delivered from FIAT to the Luftwaffe on 10 April 1958 but not issued to a unit (3./WS 10 as JE-111) until 20 April 1960. So it spent near-enough two years in the colours seen in the link (another from my old website that Eric Yocum maintains these days).

[Drifterdon]

2 hours ago, Sabrejet said:

 

It's also worth noting that many of these Luftwaffe F-86Ks were stored by Dornier after delivery - in some cases they were never used and retained their 'USAF' scheme until scrapped or sold on. In the case of 56-4123, it was delivered from FIAT to the Luftwaffe on 10 April 1958 but not issued to a unit (3./WS 10 as JE-111) until 20 April 1960. So it spent near-enough two years in the colours seen in the link (another from my old website that Eric Yocum maintains these days).

This is where I found the pic that I posted above.   F-86K History (yocumusa.com)

[Sabrejet]

10 minutes ago, Drifterdon said:

This is where I found the pic that I posted above.   F-86K History (yocumusa.com)

 

Yes, again it's my old website that Eric has posted (with permission). I wish I had the time to maintain it but other versions are still available on Wayback Machine, for example:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20060408035108/http://f-86.tripod.com/

 

I think Eric's website contains the last iteration I made.

 

[Drifterdon]

24 minutes ago, Sabrejet said:

 

Yes, again it's my old website that Eric has posted (with permission). I wish I had the time to maintain it but other versions are still available on Wayback Machine, for example:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20060408035108/http://f-86.tripod.com/

 

I think Eric's website contains the last iteration I made.

 

These are excellent sites for Sabre info.   Very well done sir.   

[dai phan]

On 7/8/2024 at 4:43 PM, Drifterdon said:

So I've been following along with Dai's fantastic Pro Modeler F-86D build, REVELL/PRO MODELER F-86D IN 1/48 - Page 6 - In-Progress Pics - ARC Discussion Forums (arcforums.com)

and it inspired me to dust off my Special Hobby F-86K kit buried in the stash.   

Holy cow!   What a crap kit!   Cockpit seems nice and afterburner section is nice but the fit of everything else is atrocious.   I've read the reviews over on the other modeling websites and they are so true.  This is apparently one of the original moldings of this kit since it doesn't come with the resin replacement parts for the main gear well.   I've probably spent and hour and a half just filing and sanding trying to get the wings to fit up into the fuselage.   I'm still not there. 

I haven't decide yet if I'm going to paint it in Bundeswehr Luftwaffe camo and decal it with JG74 markings but I keep leaning on doing it up as delivered to Germany in natural metal with US Air Force markings (FU 123).   I think a cannon armed F-86K in USAF markings is pretty unique.   Even if it was short lived and temporary.   Just long enough to get it over the pond to Germany.

http://yocumusa.com/sweetrose/duncan/images/f86k/f86kgaf.jpg

With the excellent K kit available from MH, there is no need to suffer any further. Dai