The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Interesting fit, to say at least. I think old Airfix/Heller beats this kit in terms of easiness.

Slow progress at the moment as life keeps getting in the way.

The RF-5 is progressing, this is my version of Asia Minor scheme:


Just about ready for decals on this one.
Meanwhile the Sabre has had a coat of Pound shop primer - I'm not convinced about this one!



The canopy has been dipped in Klear so is ready to go on but I still need to weather the office area a bit and install a pilot.

more to follow.

That's an interesting looking scheme on the RF-5, OT. Wassup with the Sabre? It looks OK from here.

The F-5 is looking good, the Sabre looks a bit ominous though. I don't rate Poundshop primer, although it does only cost a pound.

I have used the Aussie equivalent of pound shop primer in a rattle can. It needed sanding in some places more than others, but was otherwise acceptable.

David

ShaunW wrote:Wassup with the Sabre? It looks OK from here.

I managed to progress with the Hobbyboss Sabre although it has nearly hit the wall a few times. Basically Shaun it's cheap and you get what you pay for. Partly I am to blame as I want to do it in flight and the kit is not designed for that. Fit wise it is ok but needs a lot of dry fitting and testing before adhesive is applied. The tail planes gave me some issues - so much so that I had to remove the locating tabs to get them attached. THE MAJOR problem is the canopy - I'm not convinced that the designer of the transparency had access to the fuselage when he designed it. Here it is attached (as best I could get it).



I removed the locating tabs because they make the canopy sit too far back and not fit the space. I then snapped the front at the base of the windscreen whilst trying to sit the canopy down so that it met the fuselage!
After re-attaching the broken piece I had to sand a good 2mm of the the base of the windscreen just to get a reasonable fit which still needed filler. Worse than that the canopy is about 2.5 mm narrower than the cockpit that it is supposed to cover. I managed to squash it down whilst the glue dried so at leat it looks ok from the left-hand side. So only pictures from the port side from now on.

Maybe I just got a duff example. HB quality control may not be up to standard.
Anyway, I sprayed some silver on from a rattle can and this is where I'm up to with this:



A couple of areas need attention but at least it is starting to look like a Sabre. Once this has dried I will paint some areas with differing metallic shades to highlight the different metal used.
Then seal it with Klear ready for decals. This is what I am hoping to achieve.



Actually this image shows the Canadair sugar scoops on the underside quite well.

In an attempt to get my mojo back after Hobbyboss ground it down I pulled this Italeri MiG-29 out of the stash.



And half an hour later :



This turns out to be very blitzable. After an hour I stopped at this stage.



This time round I plan to leave the cockpit until after all the other work is done. Just to see how it works out.
The canopy seems to be a good fit to.

Bad fitting canopies are grief I agree! Its funny how some builds fly by and others refuse point blank to get done!

Indeed, poor fitting canopies can be a proper PITA. I built that Italeri Fulcrum kit a number of years ago and I seem to remember it went together well enough. IIRC the kit came in for some criticism for the undercarriage wheels being a bit small. Can't say it bothered me then and, looking at the model on my display shelves, it doesn't bother me now either

Yep, I've built that Fulcrum too and it makes up very nicely.
Shame about the Hobby Boss kit not being enjoyable, I have always found them to be well behaved on the whole although I haven't tackled your one....

Looks like the Fulcrum really does just fall together - good, that probably the next up on my bench. Also, thanks very much for the heads up on the cockpit fit issues on the F-86. I still have one of those in the build pile and forewarned is forearmed...

That Fulcrum looks great already. The Sabre is coming along nicely despite it fighting you all the way.

Time for a short update. Not much to show on the Fulcrum as I'm trying to progress the SAAF Sabre.

I painted a few panels differing metallic shades to simulate the use of varying metals as per the reference photo.
Also the black anti-dazzle panel and top of tail were painted before a coat of Klear was applied.



Whilst waiting for that to dry I tested the decals on one of the drop tanks with some trepidation. Having had bad experiences with MAV decals in the past.
The decals were sprayed with varnish as per the instructions and left to dry for a week before testing. Then cut very close to the decals and dipped in warm water for 10 seconds. They didn't explode.

However they don't curve around the droptank like they should and I think are a little too purple for my liking, they should be a mid blue colour.



I will see what MicroSol can do about curving them around the tank nose but I will have to mix up some paint and try to match the colour.
In MAV's defence it could be that the HobbyBoss drop tanks are oversized but I don't know. It's just another way for this build to sap my Mojo!

Anyway, I pressed on and got this far:



In other good news I finished my little tank:



With that out of the way (after 20+ years ), the next bench queen will be this Starfighter:



This will hopefully end up looking like this fine example I recently admired in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.



This lot should keep me busy until my next group build kicks off. More to follow.

I like the look of the Sabre in its SA markings, OT and well done with your lengthy Panzer II build! I've never been a huge fan of the F-104 but I have to say it looks quite fetching in that NASA scheme.

The weathering (old age?) on the Panzer II looks great! Epic saga concluded!
And I, too, was admiring that NASA F-104 in July!

Cheers,

David

Thanks for the kind words chaps.

skypirate wrote:The weathering (old age?) on the Panzer II looks great! Epic saga concluded!

David

This Sabre is turning into a bit of a saga too but I feel I am finally getting somewhere with it now.
All the decals are on and I even found a paint that matches the band colour pretty well so that got touched up.



I'm just awaiting the klear coat drying before I give her a panel line wash.

Meanwhile I have primed and painted the Starfighter with Halfords white primer and two coats of Xtracrylix White.





Again I am just awaiting the Klear coat drying before masking and painting the underside. It's a lovely kit.
The decal sheet looks a little yellowed but I will have to see how they work out.



I am trying to get these two off the bench so that I can concentrate on a couple of Swedish subjects so more to follow.