PSSA 2020 Mass Build - North American F-86 Sabre

John Marchant is kindly documenting his PSSA F-86 Sabre Build for all to share his build journey.

To view the progress of John's model - CLICK HERE

North American F-86 Sabre  - Mass Build 2020

So, haven't built a model for a fair number of years but . this Sabre caught my eye. I needed something to do whilst away for work during the week on my narrow boat. This should be a bit of a challenge as space is very, very limited.

First things first. I built a building board, timber frame with ply on one side for rigidity and plaster board on the face so I can stick pins in. Cut the plan to fit the smaller build board to give myself a little wiggle room.

The wing is built on a sub frame to ensure correct dihedral and washout. These were pre cut as part of the short kit but all slots were undersize and had to be sanded out so they would fit. the who;e assembly is then like an accordian and needs to be pinned down to maintain the correct alignment over the plan.

I used scrap balsa glued to the frame and then pinned down to do this.

Bottom wing skins are then added. I have pinned the skins down between each ribs to hold the shape whilst the glue dries. I have left these a few mm oversize so I can sand down to the false leading and trailing edges when fitted. Rib and spar positions now need to be drawn onto the wing skin.

All of the wing ribs need to be sanded on the leading and trailing edges to follow the angle of the swept wing. The spar slots also need to be angled in the same way. They can now be glued down over the bottom spar. False leading and trailing edges have been left oversize to cut back and sand when dry.

Top spars and webbing now in place and holes cut for servos (small square ply plates can be seen in bottom left of picture). I will fix the servos to these plates and then screw into hardwood rails around the holes in the wing. Remembered to now cut the spars for the servo extensions. Next job is to sand the profiles on false leading and trailing edges and then sheet the top wing surface.
Thanks John. Really looking forward to seeing how your build develops.