Academy 1/72 North American F-86E Sabre
By Michael Benolkin
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Background
The North American F-86E Sabre was actually the second production version of the Sabre following the F-86A. The F-86E incorporated many improvements over its predecessor including the more powerful J47-GE-13 engine rated at 5,200 lb of thrust, a 'flying tail' which provided greater pitch authority, and two underwing pylons for external fuel, bombs or rockets. The F-86E was produced in larger numbers than any other version of the Korean War Sabre.
The Kit
If you haven't seen the Hobbycraft Sabres before, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the level of detail in this scale. One of the first things I looked for was to see if the leading edge slats were molded in the 'up and locked' position as Academy and Hasegawa did in their respective F-86 kits. This kit provides the slats as separate parts to be positioned as you'd like.
The kit is molded in medium gray styrene that features nicely scribed details and no flash. There are no ejector pin marks in any of the 58 parts. The four clear parts that comprise the canopy, gunsight glass and landing light are crystal clear.
The cockpit tub is molded as part of the upper intake trunk and features some very good detail in this scale. Three-piece ejection seat is a good representation of the Sabre's 'bang' seat and only requires a seatbelt/harness (or a seated pilot) to complete the setting. If you're not happy with the appearance of the intake trunk and tail pipe, the kit also provides covers to help to pose the aircraft parked.
Markings
Decals are provided for two different examples:
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F-86E-10-NA, 51-2800, 'El Diablo' of the 336 FIS/4 FIW as flown by Major Charles Owens
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F-86E-10-NA, 51-2834, 'Jolley Roger' of the 335 FIS/4 FIW as flown by Captain Clifford Jolley