'Threads'

A Discussion on the 1/48 Canadair Sabre
source:  Hyperscale  (thanks to Brett Green for permission)

(Bold Italics are added by the Webmaster to clarify the text or correct known errors.  Some comments have been edited for clarity)

Nick
1/48 Canadian Sabre
Mon May 12 15:06:28 2003
I am wanting to build a Canadian Sabre Mk.6 in 1/48 scale and want to know which kit to start with.

Randy Wise
In a nutshell...
Mon May 12 15:12:41 2003
Hasegawa's F-86F-40 (J.S.D.A.F.) Sabre jet. You need the slatted wing (without the fences) from this kit. The wing tips will need to chopped-off, the wing shortened to the outboard aileron seam, the wing tips re-attached and the aileron hinge line must be re-scribed over the wing tip. Some avionics vents on the "40" will need to be filled, others need to be added for the Mk.6. Check those references and good luck.

SSB
Either the Hasegawa or Academy...........
Mon May 12 17:55:48 2003
The early Mk. 6's had "6-3" wings without slats. This you can achieve without modification to either kit. If you want LE slats, you have to work at it a bit, but there are numerous resin sets to do this.

Jennings
So, to sum up...
Mon May 12 18:42:24 2003
Frankly, I think the Hasegawa F-40 kit is a waste, since they didn't do separate slats. I have a Mk.6 in the 'in-progress' pile. In order to portray the slats, I'm grafting slats from a (Revell-Monogram F-86D) Dog Sabre onto the Academy kit. It's dead easy to do. Just cut on the appropriate matching panel lines and it's a drop fit.

Orenda-engined Sabres had some noticeable differences in the panel detail on the mid fuselage area on both sides. 

Mk.6s had 'sugar scoop' intakes just behind each wing root trailing edge - a feature no North American-built Sabre ever had.

The Hasegawa Sabres all have an inappropriate nose wheel hub pattern for any Sabre except JASDF airplanes, so use the Academy kit and you get the correct one for the Mk.6.

The Canadair Mk.6 was undoubtedly the best all-around dogfighter of its era (a whole heap more power than any J-47 engined NAA bird), and to me is the prettiest of all Sabres with those RCAF markings from Europe in the late '50s and early '60s.