Hasegawa has done an excellent job in making an accurately detailed and dimensioned model of this famous jet fighter. This kit easily beats the old Monogram and Esci kits in accuracy and overall appearance. I have wanted to model one in Canadian markings for some time, and I'm glad I waited.

As a side note, and to lead into the purpose of this article, I find it interesting that many manufacturers are producing excellent kits, but all commonly lack adequate detailing in one area. This is of course the cockpit. Don't take me wrong as things have greatly improved since the days of a bare seat or seat molded on pilot glued on to a peg. However, if such an effort is spent to make an accurate "shell" why not spend similar efforts on the "brain" of the kit. This not only goes for aircraft, but any machine that requires a human operator.

The Sabre and Mustang are prime examples of my frustration. With a canopy that provided a 360 degree field of vision for the pilot, the same holds true if you are looking in! A simple seat, instrument panel, and bare side consoles are not adequate to match the rest of the kits quality.

So how do we improve what Hasegawa has given us? The first step will be obvious when the cockpit tub is fit into place. Notice the large gap between the panels and the side wall. At this point I'll let you know that I used the True Detail resin replacement. Guess what? They used the same tub and therefore the same gap exists. If you use the resin part, glue a strip of styrene to the side. If you use the kit part, support the strip by gluing an other strip to the underside of the consoles. You will have to sand and test fit the piece several times to achieve the right shape. I would have provided a template, but you will notice how thin the addition would have been to draw out.

Just as the sidewalls were widened, the rear bulkhead will also need adjusting. It is not only too narrow, but not high enough. The easy solution is to cut it out and replace with a part from sheet styrene. Use the following pattern to cut this part out. The bulkhead should have a ridge along the lower 1/4 inch. To help conseal the remaining gap between the bulkhead and the sidewall extend the same 1/4 inch ridge 90 degrees and long enough to touch the side wall console. The backside will have to be filled in if you are using the stock kit part. As for detailing the rest of the cockpit tub I used photographs and drawings. Basically, you will need to add a couple of instruments to the sidewall and dash. The next parts to modify are supplied in the resin package. I would recommend buying the set only if you are going to have the canopy open. Otherwise, the stock parts could be altered slightly to improve their appearance. First the seat will require seat belts and some wiring. Even the resin seat could have these wires added on to them. The second is the mechanism and rails for sliding the canopy. These are critical if the canopy is open, as they are visible. ( My grumblings from above are directed towards this inaccuracy!) Hasegawa's choice of putting a flat plate across here was a poor choice. Imagine if they did this on a P-51. I bet they would never hear the end of the complaints.!!!

This railing and hydraulic "shelf" would be difficult to scratch build, but if you want to see what it looks like let me know and I'll show my Sabre. These improvements should make the cockpit look more busy and realistic.

The rest of the model builds up reasonably well. The fuselage will require some care when the halves are joined. Join the cockpit tub to the intake tube and attach the nose cone. Glue the part in the fuselage half, but do not glue the nose cone to the fuselage. I started joining at the rear underside, up over the tail and along the spine. It will become very apparent that a gap will exist forward of the cockpit, when the fuse halves are held flush with the nose cone. I used a round tooth pick as a wedge to hold the gap open then tacked the nose cone flush. Use a gap filling crazy glue to fix the seam line. Fortunately, most Sabres have a glare screen that will conceal the filler in the gap. This would be hard to hide with a metallic finish.

The wings fit beautifully in place against the fuselage. There may be a slight gap where the lower fuse and wing connect. Several styrene tabs will help hold the parts flush. Line up the wing root mold mark on the fuse and the wing. A very small gap will require filling along the leading edge. The tails, speed brakes, landing gear doors and drop tanks all fit together well and easily fit in their respective places. The wheels and hubs provided in the kit look close for the aircraft, but I chose to use the True Detail resin set as the details are a bit more accurate and crisper. I also added some more wires in the gear wells using photos in several books. The last change that I made was to model the weld seam line on the drop tanks. The kit parts glue together side to side, but the actual tank was welded with top and bottom halves.

Well that about takes care of construction, now for painting. I modeled the 1959 variant of the Golden Hawks using Leading Edge's decals. The Sheffield Pale Gold is available at Chesney's and St. Clair for about 3 dollars. This paint must be thinned with laquer thinner, as all other thinners gum it up. It sprays very well and dries fairly quick. Since the Golden Hawks had natural metal leading edges, you may plan on spraying the silver first. Sheffield also has a bright silver that looks nice and will not react to the gold over spraying. Finally, the decals. As with all of Leading Edges decals no flaws were found in the printing, and they sat down well into the recessed lines. I hope that you will benefit from this review and consider building your own Sabre. The finished kit looks great and stands out in my collection.