Academy F-86F Sabre to Canadair Sabre F Mk.4 RAF 1:48 – build review

Feature Article with Tim Haynes

Speaking to Geoff at Scale Model World (2022) in Telford the other week, I was boring him with some photos of old builds. As ever being a nice chap, Geoff was keen for me to submit some more articles to SMN, and so this will be one of several short recaps on those older builds. Due to the fact that at the time of building I had not planned on producing any written articles, I have not got photos covering all aspects of the build, sorry!

Just before we get started, here’s a quick look at how the project turned out…

Background…

I had had an Academy F-86F (“Mig Killer” 2183) Sabre in the stash for many years, with the objective of building it to represent an RAF Canadair F Mk.4. In the interim I obtained a second (F-86F-30 2162) kit in another boxing, which came with a wide variety of extras on top of those I had already sourced for the initial project.

Then the new Airfix Canadair Sabre F.4 was released and this motivated me to dig these kits out early last year (2021) and develop my build plan.

The Plan…

Initially I was going to build one of these kits and sell the other together with any unused extras. But having researched the subject of RAF Sabres deployed in Germany with the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF), I noticed there was lots of Squadron interaction and friendly rivalry. So I decided to build both kits and depict a fly by.

As a matter of interest Dean Large built one of these Academy Sabres in US Air Force markings, and you can read his build in the Finished Now section of SMN.

References:

I used the following reference with those by Charles Keil and Duncan Curtis being particularly relevant as they focus almost solely on the RAF service of the F Mk.4.

Sabre – From the Cockpit No.15 – by Charles Keil
Sabre – The Canadair Sabre in RAF Service – by Duncan Curtis
Canadair and Commonwealth Sabre – Warpaint Series No. 40 – by Steve Hazell
North American F-86 Sabre (1947 Onwards all Day Fighter Variants) – Haynes Publishing – by Mark Linney

Extras:

• eduard 48724 F-86F
• eduard F236 Cockpit set (Hasegawa)
• eduard EX099 Canopy Masks
• CMK Guns & Ammo Bays 4253
• Legend productions Cockpit Set F-86F-30 LF4029
• Quick Boost Resin Seat & Belts QB 48511
• Eagle Strike Productions RAF Sabres Pts 1 (48195), 2 (48196) & 3 (48216).

Preparation…