C&H Aero Miniatures 1/32 F-86H Sabre Conversion First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | April 2005 | Manufacturer | C&H Aero Miniatures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | F-86H Sabre Conversion | Scale | 1/32 |
| Kit Number | 32001 | Media | Resin |
| Pros | Nice hollow casting, great detailing | Cons | To do a bare metal aircraft, you'll be doing some polishing on the slightly textured surfaces |
| Skill Level | Intermediate | MSRP (USD) | $69.99 |
First Look
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C&H Aero Miniatures has released another interesting conversion, this time a 1/32 F-86H Sabre using the Hasegawa 1/32 F-86F-40 kit. The F-86H was the up-engined, up-gunned version of the day fighter that came to late to fight in the Korean air war. The aircraft is larger and heavier than its predecessors and this resin fuselage captures the look nicely.
The conversion provides a complete replacement fuselage hollow-cast in resin. The casting quality is excellent, but there is a slight texture to the surface that will require some buffing and polishing before attempting to paint a bare metal finish. In addition to the replacement fuselage halves, the conversion includes a new multi-part ejection seat, recontoured intake duct (that still leads to the Hasegawa engine face), nose intake, nosewheel well, and canopy frame details. The rest of the model comes out of the stock Hasegawa kit.
As presented, the conversion represents a late-model F-86H. While some of the earlier F-86Hs were produced with different wings, they would all eventually be replaced with the same wing as the F-86F-40, so no wing surgery is required. Only trimming of the back side of the main wheel wells will be needed to mate the resin fuselage to the styrene wing.
A note in the instructions show the shape of the main wheel doors. These are not provided in the kit and they are different from the F-86F, so you'll need to scratch out the shapes and glue them closed.
An impressive decal sheet is also provided in the kit for three interesting examples:
- F-86H-5-NA, 52-5732, 101 TFS/MA ANG, 1963
- QF-86H-10-NA, 53-1314, NWC China Lake (US Navy)
- F-86H-10-NA, 53-1304, 104 FIS/175 FG/CT ANG, 1968
The first example above is a bare metal (lacquer silver) aircraft while the remaining two wear Vietnam era camouflage.
This is a nicely done upgrade for the Hasegawa kit! It is nice to see this conversion available in 1/32 when the only other option for an F-86H is an old vacuform in 1/72!