Think of the F-86 Sabre and most people think of the Korean War. It was the Sabre that managed to keep air superiority over the surprising MiG-15 that suddenly appeared in the skies in late 1950. Built in very large numbers for the time, the Sabre was eventually exported to over 25 different countries, some of which only retired their F-86s in the late 1980s, over fourty years since the aircraft first flew. Today, several are being used by sportsmen and as target tugs.

The F-86F-30 was brought into the conflict late and had several improvements over earlier Sabres. One thing that was needed was greater maneuverability. This was accomplished by deleting the leading edge slats and increasing the area of the leading edge of the wing. This was called the 6-3 wing modification as it was 3 inches wider at the tip and 6 inches wider at the wing root. Eventually, most F-86s, including older models, received this modification, and it was standard on later versions.

Academy's kit is in light grey plastic with superb engraved detailing. It comes with two pilot figures, one standing and one sitting, a full engine,  openable gun bays with guns, positionable speedbrakes, two styles of drop tanks, and an inner pylon with bombs. Also included are Sidewinder missiles and rails. Though these are not applicable to the Korean War versions, they would be if doing a Luftwaffe or Taiwanese Sabre. Should you decide to display the kit with the engine showing, you need to cut the fuselage. There is also a trolley for holding the rear fuselage half.

The instructions include the usual history, warnings, parts guide, painting guide, and a 15 step construction sequence. No strict FS callout is offered in the painting guide, only general paint names, i.e. dark grey, are given. The painting an decal placement guide is a separate sheet and quite comprehensive, as is the decal sheet. One gets two options; a fighter, 'Mike's Bird' of the 51FW and a fighter-bomber of the 18 FBW. There are full stencils and theater markings included. The decals that go on the speedbrakes are precut to ensure a proper fit.  One small note, the instrument panel for the fighter and fighter-bomber versions are different, the latter having an extra bomb panel. The kit supplies the fighter-bomber panel which is inaccurate for the fighter version. 

As a note, often times the fighter-bombers were referred to as -50 series aircraft, vice -30 series. This makes the 18FBW aircraft an F-86F-52 and not an F-86F-30. Externally, except for the bomb racks, they are the same. Internally, the instrument panel is the biggest difference.

There has been some speculation that the Academy kit is just a knock-off or copy of the Hasegawa kit. With that in mind, I purchased a Hasegawa F-86F-30 kit, this one in Skyblazers markings. There are a great many similarities, and also a number of differences. The panel sizes on the wings and fuselage halves are not exactly the same. Same goes for wheel well and speedbrake well detailing. The Hasegawa kit has a separate cockpit while the Academy kit molds it on the top of the upper intake trunk. The Hasegawa fuselage is for a Japanese F-86F-40 and so has some intakes and exhaust ports that are inappropriate for the F-86F-30 and not on the Academy fuselage. 

My conclusion is that Academy didn't copy the Hasegawa kit. Like two or three companies doing the same Bf-109G-6, there are bound to be close similarities, especially if all involved are trying to be as exact as possible. As for which one builds better, I cannot tell, but test fitting a few parts shows the fit to be excellent.

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet!! If any of you manufacturers or shop owners want to send products for review and building, please contact me.