I love the look of the F86. Looks great so far. The NMF finish is finicky at best but I enjoy trying. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

Mustang8376,

I enjoyed building this kit.  Looking forward to seeing what you can do with yours.

Happy modeling!

-O

Mustang, the Academy kit went together so very nicely for me.  I hope it's treating you the same way.  Are you going to be using the kit decals?  Let me put it this way...I hope you're not planning on using the kit decals!  When i built my Academy F-86, the quality of the kit was phenomenal but the decals pretty much caused me to trash my build.  The kit decals were so unresponsive to the setting solutions I used that they might as well have been made out of Scotch tape.  They did not adhere to any curves.  They did not sink down into any of the panel lines.  They were pure garbage.

I tried lifting the bad decals off with masking tape.  It sort of worked but I just couldn't get rid of them.  The more I tried to strip the decals and paint off, the worse things got until I couldn't take it anymore and I tossed the whole works.  That was maybe five years ago.  I hope they're improved them since then.

Eric

Looks like I will need to be on the look out for some after market decals.  The build has been interesting.  While it came together fine, there was just enough issues to cause frustration.  Mostly dealing with cockpit and pilot fit issue with the canopy.

I'm a Model Master Metalizer guy myself (cost), but you will want to check out the guys using Alclad. Simply great stuff, properly applied. There's usually a natural metal finish group build going on, or one that's been completed which should give some info on how it'll work.

Just my .02, I was terrified of trying Alclad products; they just sounded so technical, I thought there was no way that I'd be able to get a nice finish.  Granted, I haven't used a lot of the product yet, but what I have used has turned out really nice.  You can find complete threads on the painting board about using these products.  There is a ton of great information out there.  Also take a look at some of the videos on youtube.

I'd also like to add another suggestion about painting a natural metal finish on aircraft.  I have had nothing but good luck using Floquil Silver Mist and Old Silver.  They are extremely forgiving, easy to use, tough as nails and holds up to masking.

Just a couple of examples...

Eric

Those look nice! :)

echolmberg

I'd also like to add another suggestion about painting a natural metal finish on aircraft.  I have had nothing but good luck using Floquil Silver Mist and Old Silver.  They are extremely forgiving, easy to use, tough as nails and holds up to masking.

Eric

I agree Eric, those Floquil silvers do work well.

Old Silver:

Bright Silver:

Gary

Assembly is just about complete.  Ran into an issue since I am building this wheels up, not wheels down.  So some fit issues with the gear doors.  Plus, for some reason the front of the model near the nose does not sit flush.  There is a good size gap and step between then nose cone/engine intake where it mats to the fuselage.  Looks like I am going to be doing some puttying and sanding. :)

Mustang: Very cool! I'm building the same kit and had a few problems with the forward intake though I think I installed the cockpit too far back though.

Frankly I've been using Alclad for years, it itself is almost foolproof, the big issue with it (and most NM products) is getting a perfect and I do mean perfect undercoat since any flaws in the under surface will show up like a sore thumb in the NM.

I undercoated mine with Model Master Gloss Black Acrylic- the only gloss I can get to go down without really bad orange peel. 

And then applied a couple of coats of different shades of Alclad. And yes those yellow stripes are a pain, I need to touch up a number of spots here and there. 

Eric and Gary: Those look pretty darn good too!

Very nice.  I was wondering if an acrylic undercoat would work with Alclad.  You just answered my question.  Are those the kit decals regarding the stripes??

Actually enamel might work better as an undercoat, since it dries slower it might be less likely to orange peel. But as to the Alclad melting either, it seems ok on the the acrylic finish.

I bought a set of aftermarket decals but they didn't include the stripes so yeah they're the original Academy decals there. I didn't have quite the same problem as Eric but still big decals like that are such a pain to get lined up properly- there are some small gaps and overlaps as you can see on the top. It might be easier just to paint them but I was a little afraid to try it. Going to try to use them as a guide to overspray the gaps there.  

Thanks for the info on that.  Will try to work on this build sometime this week.

Cool, looking forward to seeing how she comes out!

Deluxe Material Putty has arrived earlier this week.  Will put some work on this build in the next day or so.

Hmm looks like bad fit issues there.  I'm thinking of building the F-86 as my 1st jet.  The LHS has only the Revel in 1/48 but I'm hesitiant to buy it because I don't know if it's any good.

How does the Revel stack up to the Academy ?

Can anyone tell me what the best 1/48 F-86 kit is out there ?

From advice and internet reviews I've read the Academy and Hasegawa kits seem pretty equal in quality- both have strong and weak points. The Revell kit is older and not bad but not as detailed as the other two. I didn't encounter any real issues with the Academy kit other than the intake but I think it's more my own mistakes than problems with the kit.

While it is a much older kit, the Monogram F-86 can be made into a nice looking model.  Mine came in the double kit along with a MiG-15.

Gary

Good Luck on this build!!

Had the chance to work some on the model last night.  I was apple to try out the Deluxe materials putty and I am happy with it so far.  Very easy to use.  I am also in the process of sanding the seam lines, glue spots, and any of the panels that are not flush.  Still trying to figure out what to do witht he nose section that isn't flush on the right side.

Good luck with your Sabre.  For a great NMF, it's all abut the surface prep of the plastic and the primer coat.  I use Alclad for all my NMF builds.  Get the surface of the model as clean and as bump and lump free as you can.  As a primer for Alclad, I use Model Master enamels exclusively.  Depending on the sheen I'm going for, I use MM Light Grey for a subdued look and for higher sheens I use MM Gloss Black.  I spray the enamels at 18-20 psi and the Alclad at 12-15 psi in very light coats and build up instead of one thick coat.

When I think I'm satisfied with the finish of the plastic, I spray a light coat of flat grey as primer to check for imperfections and rework as necessary.  I'll then shoot my primer coat and let it dry thoroughly.  If the flat light grey primer, I polish it with an old cotton tee shirt to smooth the paint and hopefully remove any lint that may have been caught in the paint while drying.  If the gloss black primer, I always wet sand with 2000 grit paper to remove lint / dust in the paint.  I always handle the primed model with white cotton or vinyl gloves.  With practice and patience, the Alclad 'intimidation factor' decreases quite quickly.

Here's a few Alclad finishes for you:

Two light gloss coats of gloss black covered with mist coats of Alclad #106 (white aluminum)

Two light coats of gloss black covered and Alclad #12 (duraluminum)

Two light coats of light grey covered with mist coats of Alclad #108 (pale gold)

Two light coats of light grey covered with mist coats of  Alclad #106

Mustang: Looks good, you're making nice progress there.

Murph: Those look great! And good advice there, thanks!

Completed some more putty and sanding work  last night.  Coming along, but a ways to go.

There was a step in which the nose was wider then the completed fuselage when I as assembling this.  I am attempting to sand it down plus add a layer of putty to blend it together.

I gotta say:

  You got a good start going there .On the NMF , now , I am a bare metal fellow .Why ? Well , I don't really know , unless the first one I did , I took so much time getting it right , It was the first ever plane that copped an award . No , I didn't plan that !

   My students entered it in my name . In a National contest at that ! Was I embarressed ! You see , for me it was an example to my students to shoot for . Not to be in competition with !

   All in all . though I think it is my preference anyway .To me Alclad and the others look to painted . To me They are beautiful in their own right  . I just prefer B.M.F .

Had the chance to do some more putty work and sand some more.  Not too bad.  Of course, I rush and couldn't wait to attach the canopy.  Also, first time I can actually recall trying to blend in any type of a seam on a build.  Room for improvement, but overall I am happy with it.  I am sure I am going to regret doing so, but what can you do.

Looks pretty darn good to me Mustang.

Looking great Mustang.  It's not you, I had the same issues when I built this kit a few years ago. I look forward to your progress.  My 2 cents, Alclad all the way.  It's second to none for a NMF.

Joe