F-86D Sabre Dog

Published on
March 19, 2012
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$16.00
Product / Stock #
OM14414
Company: OzMods - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: OzMods - Website: Visit Site
Box Art

Let me begin this review by saying that I have all the OzMods 1/144 kits and love them all. Their subject matter is great. I only wish they would speed up their releases.

This latest release of the F-86D was a welcome addition to their small range and I was surprised to see that it came in a box instead of their usual bag and also that it was molded in a softer plastic then their usual brittle kind.

This kit had an almost complete cockpit that I was pleased to see. The seat is a two piece beauty complete with molded-in seat belts. I was disappointed with the instrument panel, so I reduced a 1/72 decal for an F-86 instrument panel to 1/144 scale and glued it to a piece of plastic card and put it in place of the kit one. The difference was remarkable. The cockpit tub was very nice with good side instrument detail.

Once the cockpit was finished, I glued it in the fuselage and added fishing sinkers in the nose before gluing the two halves together. This is a must to avoid having a tail-sitter. I would have liked to have a blocking plate in the fuselage to avoid looking thru the front out the back.

After the fuselage was glued, the soft plastic made filling and sanding the seam easy. I attached the wings, which were a one piece affair. I then attached the three-piece empennage.

The wing tanks came in two pieces and did not fit together well. The fins were way out of scale. When I build the next one (and I will), I will cut off the kit fins and add plastic card ones. I would also recommend putting the wing tanks on after everything is complete, as it is difficult to airbrush properly when they are attached.

I then primed the entire aircraft with Duplicolor automotive light grey primer. After that, I sprayed it with Duplicolor Gloss Black as a base for the Alclad Polished Aluminium finish. I let the black set for a day and airbrushed the Alclad Polished Aluminium. I let this set a day and added the decals. I must mention that the decals were not the best I have ever seen. They had heavy carrier film and went on like linoleum. I would recommend getting some aftermarket decals, if you can find them in this scale.

The canopy did not fit snugly, so I had to use Elmers glue to attach it and then touch up the paint.

Overall, I was pleased with this kit. However, when I was admiring my work, I managed to drop it and knock off the wings and tail surfaces. I glued them back on but the photos show my blunder.

I would recommend this kit to experienced builders who can handle the small parts.

I wish to thank OzMods and IPMS/USA for giving me this neat kit to review.

Comments

Add new comment

All comments are moderated to prevent spam


This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.