F-86F Sabre Jet

The Revell F-86 kit is molded in a dull aluminum color so if you were new to the hobby and wanted to put the kit together, paint accessory pieces, and slap on the decals you could have a nice kit. Like most Revell (or Monogram) models, they are reasonably priced, have good detail, and are good at honing your skills to become a better modeler. With the F-86, the kit fits together well, but choosing the options (like leaving the gun bay open or the airspeed breaks) will enhance your decaling skills. I selected Tamiya AS-12 spray paint and highlighted with tones slightly off that color for gear doors, speed breaks, and other various areas with the goal of breaking up the one color. Assembly went well until I got to the canopy. Be careful to dry fit (as you should with all parts) to ensure you have good alignment. I actually had to slightly bend the canopy out a bit to get the fit and alignment correct. As for the decals, they apply well and with some Micro Sol look great, but if you chose to keep the doors open, study the instructions well for placement. It might be wise if you put on the fuselage national emblem first and then work forward and aft from that point. If you want an accurate representation of the Black Angel you have to paint the nose red and realize that the decals are angled aft. I like to research my topics before I build them and found most F-86's had yellow striping not only on the fuselage, but on the wings as well. Revell does not include the yellow wing markings so I pre-painted the yellow and applied the black stripes (included on the decal sheet). Overall this is a nice kit, represents the subject well, and will help you build on your modeling skills.