Clear Prop 1/72 F-86A Sabre
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
After releasing their 1/48 F-86A Sabre, Clear Prop scaled it down to 1/72. Rather than retype the detailed history I wrote for that larger scale kit, I’ll just link to that review here for those who want to know more about this early Sabre.
The Kit
In 1/72, like other scales, the F-86A has been poorly covered in model form. Prior to this release, the only other F-86A kit was a Matchbox release from the 1970s. As was the case for kits from that era, that was a very basic kit, with thick plastic and basic detailing. Now we finally have a detailed F-86A in this scale, and just to drive home how much more detailed, this kit has nearly the same number of parts in the cockpit as that Matchbox kit had in its entirety. The detail throughout the kit is some of the best seen in this scale, with excellent raised detailing in the cockpit and wheel wells, recessed panel lines throughout, additional photoetch details, and a decal sheet with three options and lots of stenciling included.
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Jumping into the build, the cockpit is very well done, with Clear Prop designing it to maximize the capabilities of injection molding. This means lots of flat surfaces that then get assembled together, so the main cockpit tub being made up of 16 pieces, including the instrument panel. Speaking of which, there are two panel options, one marked not for use, but for those who want to do a different marking option, having that is a nice touch. There are other not for use parts that add to that, covering all the various differences found in the F-86A family, including a separate intake lip and multiple options of gun muzzles. Back to the interior, the last bit is the ejection seat, which has six plastic pieces and six photoetch seatbelts, resulting in an incredible looking seat.
The cockpit is just one piece going inside the fuselage, with this kit coming with separate intake, exhaust, main wheel well, and air brake well assemblies. The intake assembly also includes the nose wheel well, which is made up from the lower intake half and three sidewall pieces. At the back end of the intake is the engine face, made up from three pieces. The exhaust section has the back of the engine consisting of a round plate and four vanes. The two-piece exhaust pipe has notches cut out for the air brake inserts, which also have two extra pieces on the front end. The main wheel well is made up from seven pieces, easily becoming the best detailed wheel well of any 1/72 Sabre kit.
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The wings are next, and these are well thought out. The wings are split top and bottom, as expected, with both pieces including fuselage crossover pieces to keep alignment and placement simple. The ailerons, flaps, and slats are all separate, unique for Sabre kits in this scale, with the slats having photoetch pieces for the arms. The lower fuselage has both a forward insert and an aft insert, with two extra parts for the rear fuselage belly scoops. The slats have a separate piece for the slat interior as well as the separate slats, making for a great rendition of the Sabre wing.
The landing gear is next, and this has no less detail. The main wheels are well done, with split right and left tire halves, a two-piece front hub, and a separate rear hub. The strut has a separate two-piece oleo scissor and a separate retraction strut. The nose gear also has a separate oleo scissor, a single piece this time, along with a photoetch arm and a couple other separate detail pieces. The nose tire is split into right and left halves and the hubs come in two styles depending on the specific subject covered. The gear doors have retraction struts and other details, resulting in what will be the most detailed 1/72 out-of-box Sabre landing gear out there.
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The last bits include the canopy, which is equally well detailed. The instrument panel gets some extra details in both photoetch and plastic parts, which is then covered over by the unique V-shaped windscreen. That windscreen piece gets an additional clear insert, adding to the detail. The main canopy has a five-piece insert for all the under-canopy details, and with all of that, this is a kit that will have an open cockpit result that will rival aftermarket results.
The decal choices are the same as what was in the 1/48 kit, with three options: the 94th Fighter Squadron, the 62nd FIS, and the 334th Fighter Squadron. The 94th FS aircraft is 48-159 in 1949, when the 94th was at March AFB in California. This plane has a blue flash on the fuselage side and red and blue stripes on the tail. The 62nd FIS aircraft is 49-1177 at Selfridge AFB in Michigan in 1950. This option has the squadron emblem on the fuselage side with a red and yellow wavy flag behind it, and tail stripes of yellow, red, and blue on the tip. The final option is 48-301 from 334th Fighter Squadron at Langley AFB in Virginia during the USAF Gunnery Meet in 1950. This plane has the unit emblem on the fuselage side, with a red rudder and red stripes on the wings and stabilizers. The decals look quite good, and the added stencils will add even more realism to the finished model.
Conclusion
Finally we have a quality 1/72 early F-86 Sabre, filling an important gap. While the kit decals provide some colorful options, there are even more F-86A Sabres out there, including early Korean War aircraft. It won’t take long before the aftermarket world start rolling out some great decal sheets for even more aircraft, and I am looking forward to building more than one of these kits. My thanks to Clear Prop for the review kit.