F-86D "Sabre Dog"
Preview

Revell Monogram, 1/48 Scale

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron

Model by Olaf Krabbenhöt
Text by Andreas Beck
Images by Detlef Hoffman

We are pleased to present a preview of  a pre-production test-shot of the forthcoming (and greatly anticipated) Revell-Monogram F-86D Sabre Dog. No instruction sheets or decals are available right now but this first glance will be updated as soon as possible. 

This kit will be released by Revell-Germany in June while American modelers will have to wait. 

The test-shot exhibits superb surface detailing, comparable to the recent R-M F-84, and parts fit is good. The overall dimensions seem to be okay. The wing is of the correct short span slatted narrow chord version. 

The slats are reproduced nicely. The wings' leading edge sweep is worthy of closer examination. It looks a bit too extreme. 

The major criticism is the lower line of the fuselage which is too straight and flat. There is a obvious upward curve to the air intake missing on Revell-Monogram's replica. The contour of the air intake`s cross section needs some correction too. The sides of the intake are too broad and need thinning down. 

The cockpit is very well detailed and leaves only a little potential for the aftermarket.

The fuselage has a step from a split mould. After all, we know Revell-Monogram's Sabre will be without the parachute housing! 

The forward fuselage was intended to be flexible enough to accommodate an alternative "K" nose with guns. However, Revell-Germany abandoned work on this version because it was realised (too late) that a fuselage extension behind the cockpit was also required. If the modeller is determined to build this version, some scratchbuilding or after-market accessories will be needed. Also, note that the first "K"s had the short-span wings as supplied in the F-86D kit, but later production "K"s had the slatted long-span 6-3 wing of the F-86F-40 (Hasegawa). 

Olaf´s paint job was achieved with Schmincke Aerocolor Plus artist colors. 

An F-86K resin conversion will be developed. We will advise more details about this later in the year. 

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