1:48 F-86F-25/30

The real subject

The North American F-86 Sabre entered history as the opponent of the MiG-15 fighters over Korea. A swept wing, a circular air intake in the nose and six heavy machine guns made it the best known American fighter of the start of the nineteen fifties. The F version was the most numerous variant and arose in several production blocks, among them the blocks designated F-25 and F-30.

When to put the set to work

Photo-etched parts come into use early in a build. Most of them belong in places you will no longer reach once the fuselage is glued, so go through the instructions before you start gluing the main parts and lay out the order of the work. The plastic projections that a metal part replaces usually have to be cut off first and the surface sanded flat. Which parts the package contains and which kit the set is drawn for are given in the manufacturer's instructions.

Painting and handling

Metal is washed and degreased before painting and the paint holds on it only over a primer. Apply thin coats; a heavy deposit floods the fine drawing the photo-etched set is used for. Finished metal parts are fragile to bending, so hold the model by its load-bearing plastic sections during further assembly, not by the photo-etched parts. Separate tiny pieces from the fret only at the moment you are about to glue them.

• Photo-etched accessories for the F-86F Sabre, 1:48 scale
• The real subject in production blocks F-25 and F-30
• They are put to work in the early phases of a build
• The plastic projections replaced have to be cut off and sanded
• Paint holds only on degreased and primed metal

Who it is for

For modelers who build the Sabre and want detail beyond the contents of the box, and for those who like to lay a build out in advance. The kit, paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.