1:32 North-American F-100F Super Sabre

Photo-etched set 1:32 North American F-100F Super Sabre (Eduard)

A fret of photo-etched metal parts from the Czech company Eduard, intended to sharpen up a model of the F-100F Super Sabre in 1:32. These are etched parts, that is metal accessories for a kit, not masks, not decals and not the model itself. The make-up of the fret is stated by the manufacturer on the packaging.

The real subject

The North American F-100 Super Sabre belonged to the generation of American aircraft known as the Century Series and was the first of them to reach supersonic speed in level flight. Its hallmarks are the low-set swept wing, the oval nose intake and a jet engine with an afterburner. The F-100F version has a two-seat cockpit with the crew in tandem and was used for conversion training and for special combat duties.

Usage tips - why metal instead of plastic

Injection-molded plastic has a minimum wall thickness dictated by the technology. Everything that is thin on the real aircraft - sheet-metal covers, grilles, eyes, straps, loops - comes out several times thicker in plastic than the scale would call for. Photo-etched parts solve exactly that problem: the metal fret is a few tenths of a millimeter thick and the etched engraving captures detail that cannot be cut into a mold at all. The trade-off is more demanding handling. Expect to need a sharp scalpel, fine tweezers and cyanoacrylate glue, because ordinary cement for plastic does not react with metal.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the F-100F Super Sabre model in the large 1:32 scale
• Modelers who want to take a model beyond what the box offers
• More experienced builders used to working with metal parts
• Anyone interested in American Cold War jets

This is an add-on set, not a model in its own right. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.