F-86 Sabre

1/144 Scale

OzMods

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

Reviewed by Brett Green

OzMods is an Australian company with a small range of products in diverse scales, media and subject matter.

The company already have a 1/144 scale MiG-15UTI in their range. The choice of an F-86 Sabre as the next release was logical under those circumstances. 

OzMods 1/144 scale F-86 Sabre comprises 29 parts in limited-run injection moulded styrene, two vacformed canopies (one open, one closed) and a decal sheet with two marking options. The fuselage is less than 75mm long in this scale, but the detail is really quite good. The exterior surfaces feature fine engraved panel lines, while the six-piece interior incorporates a cockpit tub, ejection seat, instrument panel, control column and instrument coaming. 

The plastic parts are shiny, and fine flash surrounds many of the smaller parts. A few minutes with a sharp knife will fix the flash, and I would recommend washing and lightly sanding the main parts prior to assembly.

Engineering is geared toward simple construction. The wings are moulded as a single part. This moulding includes structural detail inside the wheel well - very clever. The assembled fuselage site astride the centre section of the wing, making alignment a fairly simple exercise. The horizontal tailplanes have a little bud to locate into a recess on the fuselage, but further reinforcement of this delicate joint might be advisable.

The wheels and main gear legs are supplied separately. These are added to two more parts for the main gear doors, making for a detailed undercarriage assembly. The nose wheel is attached to the gear leg, but a separate oleo elbow is supplied.

The biggest shortcoming of the kit is the see-through fuselage. This will be quite obvious even in 1/144 scale. Scrap plastic should be used to block off the fuselage interior before the halves are assembled. Also, nose weight is not mentioned in the instructions, but I reckon this model will be a big-time tail-sitter without it. The addition of nose weight might even address the problem of the see-through fuselage.

The two vacform canopies are not identical. One is intended for a closed cockpit, and the other (with a small gap between the windscreen and sliding section) is for an open canopy. The vacform plastic is relatively thick, but fairly clear.

Instructions are supplied as a single exploded view diagram on the packaging. Marking diagrams are provided on a separate cardboard sheet. Decals are provided for one USAF aircraft in natural metal and one British camouflaged Sabre. The printing is very crisp but the yellow and white seem translucent - the blue of the backing paper is showing through clearly.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

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OzMod's Sabre is a well-produced product at a low price. It will be a worthy companion to their earlier MiG-15UTI, and should be of interest to any 1/144 scale modeller.

Recommended.

Thanks to Greg Anderson from OzMods for the review sample.

OzMods products are available from Australian hobby retail outlets 
or direct from OzMods via their email address ozmods@optushome.com.au