





Photographs
Copyright © Collin Riley 2005-2014
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F-86F
North American Sabre, 25th FIS, 51st FIW, USAF, South Korea, 1951 |
Aviation
Archive, The Korean War. There is something almost insidiously
wrong with this mold. There are errors in the shape of the canopy
and nose, and even the aft fuselage. However, it is almost impossible
to put a finger on the problem. I'm not sure the inaccuracies can
be measured, because I've tried. Compare the picture on the box cover
with the actual model, below. The outline and
proportions of the model on the cover are actually more accurate.
(However, the cover model has detail errors that didn't make it to
the production version.)
The production model seems to have the following errors.
- The nose is too long.
- The nose cone reaches too far forward
- The canopy is too long
- The canopy has too low a profile
- The windscreen is too long
- The pilot sits too far back
- The fuselage, all the way to the tail, seems too cylindrical
and fat
Somehow, the model seems more artsy than accurate, as if the modellers
wanted to create a sleek-looking high seller for buyers of more modern,
and therefore more streamlined, models. It is hard to believe they
were trying to create a model true to the full-size airplane.
On the other hand, maybe there was a slip-up between the drawing board
and the mold that just wasn't noticed. However, that doesn't explain
why the version shown on the box cover was more accurate. Also, it
seems that the review process should have caught the obvious errors
listed above. Could it be that time constraints caused the modellers
to take shortcuts in the review process? For whatever reason, the
mold is just not right.
When compared to the most recent and more excellent Corgi offerings,
this model just doesn't fly.
Type |
Land-based fighter |
Corgi item # |
AA35801
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Distribution |
Unlimited |
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