 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
Sapmail April 2001 Kit Reviews
Red Roo Models CAC Avon Sabre Conversion
(requires Hasegawa or Academy F-86-30 to complete)
Scale: 1/48
Reviewed by Mark Powley
Anyone
interested in building a truly accurate Avon Sabre has had a hard time
of it. When Hasegawa and Acadmey released their new Sabre kits a couple
of years ago, they neglected to kit the Avon Sabre (one of the penalties
of being a small market...sigh). The Avon engine in the locally made Sabre
required a major airframe redesign and for the modeller this meant for
a somewhat messy and awkward conversion. Thankfully a couple of local
businesses have come to the rescue. Red
Roo Models and High
Planes Models have jointly released a conversion kit in both 1/72
and 1/48 scales. I only have the 1/48 kit but the 1/72 item is basically
identical so my comments apply to both.
First off, the mouldings. Two things strike you when you look at them. First is the odd shade of baby blue plastic they are moulded in. Second is the quality of the mouldings themselves. True, there is a bit of flash and fairly heavy sprue attachment points, but otherwise the parts are clean and smooth and the panel lines are really nicely engraved. The parts are far superior to many limited run kits from Eastern Europe I have seen. The decals are beautifully printed and on my sample are completely in register. They include options for four RAAF aircraft, four Malaysian aircraft and a full set of stencilling. The stand out option is the Black Panthers Aerobatic Team aircraft with its red trim and large leaping black panther on the fuselage. The only disappointment is that an aircraft from the Black Diamonds Aerobatic Team wasn't included as well. No matter.
The instruction sheet is one of the best I have ever seen. There's a basic history of the Avon Sabre, some general construction notes and then a fairly comprehnsive set of construction notes for either the Hasegawa or Academy kit. There are colour notes, explanations for each marking option (with colour profiles for them), sketches showing various vents and the cockpit conopy plus a whole bunch of other notes and pictures. All instruction sheets should be this good.
Overall I like this kit a lot. Recommended.
Aires F-86F Sabre Cockpit Set
Scale: 1/48
Kit No. 4022
Recommended for Hasegawa kit
Reviewed by Mark Powley
This is one very nice detail set. It contains a resin cockpit tub and ejector seat, control column, head rest and canopy details. Complementing them is a photo-etched fret with al the other miscellaneous parts. A nice touch is that the pe fret includes two different instrument panels specific to the F-25 and F-30 versions of the Sabre. A good quality instruction sheet rounds out a very attractive set. I'm looking forward to trying it out in the Hasegawa kit and also seeing if it fits into the Red Roo Avon Sabre as well. Recommended.
Eduard F-86F Express Mask
Scale: 1/48
Kit No. XF 025
Recommended for Hasegawa kit
Reviewed by Mark Powley
When I grabbed the Aires set I saw this set and bought it as well. This set contains pre-cut masks for the canopy and the wheel hubs as well. The canopy masks are in several parts to allow you to paint the rubber seal between the canopy and the canopy frame. I haven't tried these masks before so this is something I'm also looking forward to doing as well. This set cost me just $AUS3.00 so for that price it is also Recommended.
 |
| This site created and designed by Gumnut Logic © 2001 |