Red Roo/Hasegawa 1/48 RAAF Avon Sabre

Australia's first jet fighter was the DeHavilland Vampire, built under license by Commonwealth Aircraft in 1948-49. The follow-on possibilities included the Grumman Panther and the Hawker P.1081, a project which never went past the prototype. The advent of the Korean War brought the acquisition of the Gloster Meteor F.8 as an interim type. RAAF pilots in Korea soon learned that the Meteor was completely outclassed by the MiG-15, and began a campaign to acquire the North American F-86 Sabre.

The Australian government signed an agreement with North American on February 22, 1951 for license production of the Sabre. For economic reasons, the RAAF had to insure that its equipment would remain effective well into the 1960s. This meant that the RAAF Sabre needed more modern armament than the World War II era six .50 caliber machine guns, and an uprated powerplant for improved performance. The 30mm Aden cannon was chosen for the new armament, and the Rolls-Royce Avon RA-7 engine became the new powerplant, with an increase from the 6,100 lbs of thrust of the G.E. J-47 to 7,500 lbs of thrust with the Avon.

The change in powerplant required a redesign of the Sabre's fuselage to cater to the increased airflow requirement of the Avon, and to the fact that the engine was 500 lbs lighter than the J-47, requiring that it be re-positioned further aft. The intake was deepened 3.5 inches, and the fuselage "break" was re-positioned. The redesign involved changing 60 percent of the original fuselage structure. The end result was the most formidable Sabre of all.

The prototype flew August 3, 1953, with the first production Sabre delivered July 13, 1954. The Sabre attained IOC with the RAF on March 1, 1956, when the Mk.30 fully equipped 3 Squadron. The Mk.30 used the slatted wing. The following Mk.31 changed to the 6-3 "hard" wing of the F-86F, with the earlier aircraft being updated. The Mk.32 introduced the Sidewinder missile for increased armament.

The Australian Sabre entered combat in operations against the terrorists in Malaya in 1958. Sabres were also sent to Thailand in 1962, remaining there until 1968 as airfield defense during the buildup of operations around the Vietnam war. Many USAF officers believed the Australian Sabre would have been the best escort fighter against the NVAF MiG-17 that formed the majority of the aerial opposition during this period.

Following the Sabre's withdrawal from first line service with the RAAF, they were supplied to the Royal Malaysian Air Force commencing in 1969.

Red Roo's conversion kit for the Sabre was originally designed to be used with the Hasegawa kit, though it can also be used with some modifications on the Academy Sabre. The kit includes fuselage halves, nose intake, enlarged intake trunk, and lower rear fuselage plate for the modifications. The lower rear plate is used only on the Academy conversion. The Hasegawa kit to use is the F-86F-30 model.

I built this kit using the Hasegawa cockpit, with a KMC ejection seat. The cockpit of the Australian Sabre differs from the US version in small ways, the most prominent being the difference in the way the instrument panel is attached. Without photos of the cockpit of the Avon Sabre, I am not sure I actually got this right, but I also know there is a small chance anyone here in North America will know enough about the Australian version to catch this when looking at the model. I decided that I would do this with the canopy closed, since the canopy (once dipped in Future) is so clear.

I test-fitted the parts to go inside the Red Roo fuselage, and found I needed to sand it thinner. Once I had, everything fit easily, and I glued the fuselage together and attached the wings. These parts, being limited-run, do not fit as closely as the Hasegawa parts, and I needed both putty and Mr. Surfacer to get rid of the seams. Once this was done, the model was looking good and was ready to paint. I did not choose to attach the pylons or use the drop tanks, since I wanted to do a "clean" airplane.