F-86F-30 Big ED Photo Etch sets

Published on
February 6, 2011
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$69.95
Product / Stock #
BIG3291
Base Kit
Kinetic F-86F-30 Kit
Company: Eduard - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Eduard - Website: Visit Site
Set contents

Set Contents

  • 1 X 32239 Exteriors
  • 1 X 32643 Interior S.A.
  • 1 X 32501 Remove Before Flight
  • 1 X JX093 Express Mask

History Brief

The North American F-86F-30 Sabre was America’s finest fighter during the Korean conflict. I’ve had the opportunity over the years to talk to a few F-86 pilots who also had a turn with the Mig 15. The Sabre was always their first choice. One pilot said to me comparing the F-86 to her Russian counterpart is like comparing a sports car to a pick up truck. The only problem was no one knew that back then.

The Sabre had a wingspan of 39 ft and a length of 37 ft. Her max speed was 688mph and cruise at 513 mph at sea level with a ceiling of 48,000 ft. She sported a single J47-GE-27 engine with no afterburner and packed six .50 cal M-3 machine guns, she also carried bombs and rockets. In the first few weeks after showing up in Korea the Sabre clearly demonstrated that she was the superior fighter claiming an 8:1 kill ratio over the Mig.

Altogether North American built around 6,200 Sabre’s in the US ceasing in December of 1956. Twenty-five other countries built them in large numbers and in many types. The Sabre served a long and colorful career starting 1947 with her first flight and with the last being retired from active front line duty in 1994 from the Bolivian Air Force.

Subset 32643: Interior S.A.

Starting with the logical photo etch set I commenced cutting the parts from the plastic kit and preparing them. My first impressions, the Kinetic kit is not the sports car of model kits and eduard really has their work cut out for them no pun intended. This beast is like an old vintage limited run kit; it was here that I realized what I could expect on the road ahead. Forging on I added the self-adhesive photo etch placards and instrument panel into the cockpit assembly I then turned my attention to the ejection seat trimming off the old and adding the new watching a complete transformation take place before my eyes. The canopy deck also received the treatment and greatly improved the level of realism.

Subset 32239 Exteriors

Jumping out of the gate I first set about upgrading the gear bays and landing gear struts. All these pieces were easy to upgrade and turned out nicely. I then went on to the task of folding up the speed brake items. Nice stuff, but slightly oversized. Next were the machine guns, ammo belts and drop tanks these bits are well detailed and they show it. Finishing up with fod covers and fiddly bits and like everything else they went on without a hitch. Notable notes first do not glue up the wings until you have done the photo etch upgrade work and you may find it easier to finish out the nose gear well before closing up the fuselage.

Subset 32501 Remove before flight, JX093 Mask set

These items look and work great. The red remove before flight flags are awesome and can be manipulated to a desired shape. The masks are the standard die-cut yellow tape. They worked like a charm and were easy to use.

Thanks to IPMS and Eduard. It was my pleasure. I recommend this set to anyone who has the 1/32 Kinetic F-86F-30 and likes working with photo etch.

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