148 Hasegawa Sabre Mk6

Canadair  

by Dan McWilliams

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I built this entirely out of the box, with no after-market items (even used the kit decals).  I wanted to try Tamiya acrylic paints, because they dry very quickly.  More about that later.  The kit itself was nicely detailed, but I can see why many people use after-market ejection seats or entire cockpits.  See how the decal for the instrument panel looks a little hokey up close.  The remainder of the kit decals, though, are very nice and detailed, and went on very well. 

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

I used some permanent felt markers for some detail work, such as canopy rails in black, and the pilot's visor (green) and red cloth around the visor inside the helmet.  I find it goes on quickly, and avoids spill-over and rework.  Even the red light inside the canopy was done with permanent marker over a clear plastic part - no need for clear paint. 

For weathering, I kept it light, using a pencil here and there to enhance some panel lines.  I am not brave enough to use a wash, but will try it soon.  The nose of this model needs a lot of weight; I used fishing lead embedded in a little Play-Doh.  Lots of Future for a glossy finish - the real aircraft were quite shiny.

The Tamiya paints clean up easily, but I found that my airbrush kept clogging and needed occasional scraping to remove congealed paint from the small orifice at the nozzle.  These paints are also quite rough, and easily stained with finger grease.  Colours used:  XF-23 for bottom (too light, it turns out), and XF-66 Grey, XF13 Green.  I experimented with masking techniques for the camouflage.  Most was done with masking tape (sharp lines), but some was done with paper cut-outs and folded-over tape, which yielded soft demarcations.  For this scale, I think the hard lines are more appropriate; in future I will use sticky paper stuck directly on the surfaces.  I've tried using Maskol, and found it sometimes gives uneven leaky edges.

I picked this kit because it represents an aircraft from 439 Tiger Squadron in Europe.  My father flew CF-104s with 439 (but never the Sabre), and I have a strong feeling of affiliation with the unit.  I am currently working on a 1:32 CF-104 that he flew - watch for a more complete posting of that one, with some in-progress shots.

Dan

Photos and text © by Dan McWilliams