For
your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my Italeri 1/48 scale “Skyblazers”.
History
Beginning
in 1949, through 1962, the USAF flew an Air Demonstration Team called the “Skyblazers”.
The team put on air demonstration in the skies over
Europe
. During this period the “Skyblazers” flew a number of different aircraft
including: the F-80B, the F-84E, the F-86F, and the F-100. From 1953 to 1956,
the “Skyblazers” flew the famed F-86F Sabre Jet. However, during this time a
new demonstration team based in the
U.S.
called the “Thunderbirds” had been formed. By 1962 the development of
mid-air refueling had come a long way, and the “Thunderbirds” were able to
make the trip to
Europe
for demonstrations. This eliminated the need for a team based in
Europe
, and the “Skyblazers” were officially disbanded.
Construction
Building
this kit posed few issues. The cockpit module goes together well and paints up
nicely. The instrument and side console decals, along with the molded seat belts
gives the cockpit adequate detail. The assembled module fits perfectly into the
fuselage. The wings and fuselage went together without problems. But, joining
the wings to the fuselage presented the most serious issue of the kit. In short,
the fit was poor and required a good deal of filling and sanding. The rest of
the kit went together easily, including the two piece canopy.
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images below to see larger images
Painting
Skyblazer
F-86s had a bare metal finish except for the fancy red, white, and blue
striping. For the bare metal finish, I first primed the model with a coat of
Model Masters Gloss Black and let it cure for 48 hours. For the polished
aluminum finish, I airbrushed the model with two light coats of Alclad II
Polished Aluminum. For the gun panels I airbrushed Alclad II Dark Aluminum, and
for the engine exhaust, a coat of Alclad II jet Engine Exhaust.
Decals
Decaling
this model was challenging because of the large decals and the large area to be
covered, about half the model is covered with decals. However, the decals for
this model were excellent. They were not too thick and not too thin, and behaved
beautifully. There was no silvering and they conformed well to the model with a
little Micro Sol Setting Solution. Alclad says you don’t need to apply a gloss
coating of their paints before decaling. However, because the decals for this
model were so large and covered such a wide area, I hand brushed the model with
two coats of Future and let it dry for 72 hours before decaling.
Comments
Over
the years I have built many Italeri kits. Most of them were plagued with fit
problems. This kit however, was one of their best. I found it to be a nice build
and a fun project. To my eye, the finished model looks great.
Burt Gustafson
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images below to see larger images
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