A fantastic addition to the current catalog of F-86 kits on the market, the Clear Prop! 1/48 scale F-86A Sabre plastic model kit appears to be the first 1/48 scale injection-molded plastic “A” since Lindberg released one in 1953.
The kit’s light grey plastic parts show fine recessed panel lines and details. Based on the party breakdown, I suspect Clear Prop! is planning other versions of the Sabre.
The detailed, multipart ejection seat receives gorgeous photo-etched metal (PE) seatbelts. Decal gauges settle nicely into the instrument panel’s raised bezels, and PE reflector bezels for the gunsight complete the panel. A finely molded control stick and side consoles with separate throttle and other levers finish the cockpit tub.
The intake tunnel runs from the front to the compressor blades, and the jet pipe runs completely from the turbine to the exhaust. The part quality, detail, and fit are first-rate. The speed brake bays and doors are the most detailed I’ve seen on an F-86 kit; separate hydraulic lines are even provided for the actuators.
The instructions have you cement the intake, jet pipe, nose-gear bay, cockpit rear deck, and cockpit into the fuselage before joining the halves. The locating tabs are large and precise, and everything should fit just fine. Clear Prop! did a wonderful job of keeping the engineering tight on this kit, but maybe too tight. I installed everything on one side as indicated before joining the fuselage. Big mistake! It resulted in a twisted fuselage and time wasted filling and sanding large gaps.
Instead, cement the fuselage together before installing any interior parts. Then, install the cockpit rear deck and cockpit, followed by pushing the assembled jet pipe into place and then the intake. Because Clear Prop! molded the lower fuselage open mostly open to be completed with other panels and the lower wing, this is easily done.
The main gear bays in the lower wing half are detailed with separate walls and PE actuators and equipment. Molded apart from the wheels, the tires have Goodyear logos in the sidewalls. Then flaps, slats, rudder, and ailerons are all separate, and the completed wing fits rather snugly into the fuselage.
The fit of the nose gun port panels isn’t great, but filling and sanding would remove most of the detail. (I didn’t fill or sand my kit, so you can see what I mean.)
Beautifully printed, the decals are a bit fiddly, especially the small stencil decals. I had some curl on themselves during application and others tore, so take care when applying them. Hiding clear carrier film from decals on natural-metal finishes can be problematic, but not here. It just disappeared. Nice work, Clear Prop! A separate sheet shows stencil placement and the color callouts for the marking options appear accurate.
The Clear Prop! 1/48 scale F-86A Sabre plastic model aircraft kit is great and produces a terrific replica of this much-needed subject. Mine fought me, although some of that was my fault. The engineering is tight and you have to pay attention. You’ll want to have a few kits behind you before tackling this one. The F-86 is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built and Clear Prop! did a fantastic job of replicating the initial production variant.