August's September Sabre - FINISHED

[K5083]

For this build I pulled a Heller Sabre out the stash.



Two of them, actually, to build one model. I moved house a couple of years ago and on moving day, most of my model stash was left out in the hot summer sun for a few hours. Since then, many kits have turned out to be warped when I go to build them. I found two Heller Sabres that were bent out of shape, and decided to use the best parts of each to build one complete kit. One had unusable upper wings, the other unusable lower wings. It looks like I'll be able to get a complete model together, with some spare parts left over. The nose landing gear strut fork is broken off on both kits.

I'll be doing it as an RCAF Sabre Mk. 2 or 4 of the 1st Air Division in Europe in natural metal finish. There were 12 squadrons, and each had at least one marking revision during their silver period, so that gives me 24 paint schemes to choose from, of which I have suitable decals for none. A little later in the build, I'll figure out which unit to do.

Typical boring first-night stuff: giving the interior a base coat of schwarzgrau, building the intake trunk and drop tanks.



August

[ShaunW]

It must be quite frustrating coming across those warped kits August. Still, using the best parts of two warped Sabres to make one is better than fighting bent plastic. Black cockpits always look better done in a very dark grey as you have chosen IMHO. Straight black just looks too black.

[K5083]

Right you are, Shaun.

Weekend update. An ink wash over the gray made the cockpit pop nicely. The only added detail is the belts, which are transparent tape painted green.



Into the fuselage along with some hardware for ballast. Not much room at the extreme nose above the intake trunk. Under the cockpit floor is not ideal, but I hope I used enough.



All fuselage halves among my two kits had some warp, but I chose the two best. The fuselage had to be joined in stages to get the alignment right. This pic is during an intermission in sanding the join lines. Though this is a good kit, the fit isn't as good as some other Hellers, even discounting the warps in mine.



Fuselage cleaned up, lower wing attached. This too is warped; not badly, but the upper wings will have to be attached with care.



Early going has been slow, but it will be time to start painting pretty soon.

August

[Stuart]

Nice work getting the best from that warpage...

[Dazzled]

I love what you've done with the kit cockpit. Excellent work

[ShaunW]

That is looking excellent August and I agree, the cockpit has turned out very well. The Sabre has great lines, a truly classic early jet IMHO

[Old_Tonto]

Looking sharp August. Great work on the cockpit interior.

[K5083]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. This is my first Sabre model since I was a teenager, and you're right, I am struck as I build it by what a classic shape it is. Funny how holding a model in your hand and turning it around gives you a unique perspective on its shape, even if you have access to the real thing. I've seen four different Sabres fly this year, yet the model still teaches me a lot.

Upper wings are now on, and the warps are pretty much all taken out. Warp-based distortion did result in a wing-fuselage gap on one side, but it's filled. I'm now contemplating how I'm going to handle the metal finish.

August

[mjatx]

The cockpit looks great, and I totally agree with the shape. I just built my first Sabre last month as part of the Blitz GB. Yours is looking really good. Keep it up!

[K5083]

Major assembly done, model propped up to let the drop tanks set. I'm trying a new (to me) method of varying the metal panels on this one. The colored panels are sprayed gloss white or flat black. The idea is that the color and, much more so, the gloss/flat finish will show through the silver, if I keep a light touch with the silver spray can. I hope it works, since it took me three evenings to mask and paint the black and white areas.



August

[TobyC]

That's an interesting approach. Look forward to seeing it develop. Always good to see new ideas.

[splash]

I like this technique, lets hope it works.

Fingers crossed.

Regards Splash

[MarkyM607]

It looks quite good as it is in those colours!.

[fredk]

I agree with t'others; interesting approach to varying the panels, hope it works out.

[Stuart]

Agreed - that's a really interesting idea - looking forward to seeing how it comes out!