I am in the process of building my first NMF model before I start an inter-office completion. (Revellogram Mig-21PF) So I am more focused on trying to get the exterior correct over the interior. I had this one in my stash since 2002 when I picked it up while deployed to Korea. I’ve gone through all of the FineScale magazines in my possession regarding how to build and paint a NMF jet, but any hints and tips that anyone has I would be appreciated.
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…
Those look nice! 
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
