Anyone not know that the F-86 was the premier US fighter of the Korean war?  Ok, I don't see any hands so I won't go into any historical backgrounds. Let's talk kits. In 1/48, there are three fairly decent F-86 kits around. First is the Monogram kit. Old technology, though well done and generally difficult to find. It was a Canadair Sabre and, if memory serves me, a 6-3 wing with a fence.

Wings are important in Sabres as those who want it right will make durn sure that the plane they are modeling has the right wing. For Korean War Sabres, there are basically two. One is a normal slatted wing and the other is an unslatted 6-3 wing. From my understanding, either could have a small wing fence, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that account. The other two are from Academy, which is a fenced slatted wing and from Hasegawa. Hasegawa offers a number of different wings, including a F-40 wing which is longer than the rest and not accurate for a Korean bird. I've not built a Hasegawa kit so cannot comment on it. However, you can read reviews on the Academy and Hasegawa kits.

Getting to the decals, it seems as if there may have been a glitch as there was an additional short sheet with tail markings and some insignia included. Guess the originals were the wrong size or something.

First scheme is for an F-86E-1 with a slatted wing. This was 'Dolph's Devil'  of the 16th FIS/ 51 FIW in early 1953. The nose is the same grey as the fin cap.

Next is 'Mig Mad Mavis' the 39 FIS/51 FIW Squadron C.O.'s plane as is shown by the commander's stripes on the nose. This F-86F-10 has the 6-3 wing with fences.

Finally, from the 67 FBS/18 FBW, is 'Mig Poision' an F-86F-30 with slatted wings. Though the nose is red, the intake is silver.

Yet another fine sheet for your next Korean War Sabre

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