1:72 N. A. F-86F-40 'Sabre'; Royal Moroccan Air Force, 1975

Dizzyfugu · June 08, 2022, 10:04:44 AM

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation (Aviation Royale Chérifienne). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Meknes, Rabat in tandem with the United States, Marrakech, Kenitra, Ben Guerir, Boulhault, Nouasseur, and Sidi Slimane), and later Spain (Laayoune). In the 1950s and 1960s, American aircraft were deployed in several of these bases, including nuclear bombers from the Strategic Air Command.

The first aircraft of this newly formed air force were 16 Morane-Saulnier Alcyons, five Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard transport aircraft, one Aérospatiale Alouette II, and one Bell H-13 Sioux. However, desperate for foreign support, Morocco was also open for offers from the Soviet Union and in 1961 it obtained 12 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 fighters, two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI trainers and either two or four Ilyushin Il-28 bombers from the Soviet Union. Eight Fouga Magister training aircraft were also received from France, and 15 Harvard Mk 4s were also delivered in 1962. Around 1962, 10 Douglas C-47 Skytrain and six Fairchild C-119G transport aircraft were acquired. At that time, the helicopter fleet was composed of six Aerospatiale Alouette IIs and four Bell 47s. 12 North American T-6 Texans were used for pilot training; no less than eight T-6Gs and 56 SNJ-4s had been delivered by France, but most of them were in a very poor condition and written off soon after their delivery.

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The RMAF soon went to war and participated in the Moroccan-Algerian border conflict in 1963 known as "Sand War". It resulted largely from the Moroccan government's claim to portions of Algeria's Tindouf and Béchar provinces, and the Sand War led to heightened tensions between the two countries for several decades. It was also notable for a short-lived Cuban and Egyptian military intervention on behalf of Algeria, and for ushering in the first multinational peacekeeping mission carried out by the Organisation of African Unity.
Moroccan Fairchild C-119s and Douglas C-47s were used to resupply troops, North American T-6s for reconnaissance, and Morane-Saulnier Alcyons for ground attack. MiG-17s were only used sporadically, mostly due to their short range. To make matters worse, the Soviet Union sided in the conflict with Algeria so that spares, supplies and maintenance of these jets quickly ceased. The Frescos were quickly grounded and already retired by 1966.

After the Sand War's end, on 1 February 1964, the Sherifian Royal Aviation changed its name to Royal Air Force (Force Aérienne Royale). The political rift with the Soviet Union pushed Morocco to seek a new ally in the United States, and an order for Northrop F-5 combat aircraft to modernize the air force was placed. As a stopgap solution to fill the operational gap in the RMAF's line-up after the MiG-17's quick demise, the USAF also delivered twenty North American F-86 fighters in late 1964, together with the first six brand new F-5s (4 single-seat F-5A and 2 two-seat F-5B).

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Sabres for the RMAF were F-86F-40s, actually revamped and upgraded former USAF overstock F-86Es that had originally been earmarked for transfer to Air National Guard units. They received uprated engines and larger "6–3" wings with a higher wingspan and improved leading-edge wing slats. These wings resulted in a slight decrease in top speed but offered much better agility at both high and low speeds and a reduced landing speed of 124 mph (200 km/h).

The refurbished machines arrived via ship in dismantled state and were re-built in Morocco with the help of American engineers, who also trained the Morocccan service staff on the new aircraft. The RMAF Sabres arrived already painted in the USAF's 'Minor Asia' camouflage and were allocated to the "Boraq" fighter squadron, the RMAF's only operational unit at that time, based at Meknès-Bassatine between Rabat and Fès in Northern Morocco. While they were classic dogfighters, armed with six 0.5" machine guns as primary weapons, the Sabres were frequently equipped with iron bombs and unguided 5" HVARs as attack aircraft. An upgrade with additional inboard pylons for a pair of AIM-9B Sidewinders was not carried out, since these weapons were reserved for the supersonic F-5s, which were to become the RMAF's prime interceptors. Due to the gradual deliveries of the F-5s, however, the F-86s remained the RMAF's backbone until 1971, when a full operational F-5 squadron was finally established.

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Only 3 years later, from 1974 on, the RMAF Sabres became involved in the Western Sahara War, an armed struggle between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco. This conflict would linger for years (from 1975 to 1991 and with neighboring Mauritania from 1975 to 1979), being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, by which it transferred administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, but not sovereignty.
In late 1975, the Moroccan government organized the so-called Green March of some 350,000 Moroccan citizens, escorted by around 20,000 troops, who entered Western Sahara, trying to establish a Moroccan presence. While at first met with just minor resistance by the Polisario Front, Morocco later engaged a long period of guerrilla warfare with the Sahrawi nationalists. During the late 1970s, the Polisario Front, desiring to establish an independent state in the territory, attempted to fight both Mauritania and Morocco.
In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict after signing a peace treaty with the Polisario Front. In the meantime, more F-5s had been acquired from the USA, and Iran had also supported Morocco with money and F-5s from its own stocks. It was around this period that the RMAF retired the F-86s. The war continued in low intensity throughout the 1980s, though Morocco made several attempts to take the upper hand in 1989–1991. A cease-fire agreement was finally reached between the Polisario Front and Morocco in September 1991. Some sources put the final death toll between 10,000 and 20,000 people.

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 1 in (11.30 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 1 in (11.91 m)
Height: 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m)
Wing area: 313.4 sq ft (29.12 m²)
Airfoil: root: NACA 0009-64 mod.; tip: NACA 0008.1-64 mod.
Empty weight: 11,125 lb (5,046 kg)
Gross weight: 15,198 lb (6,894 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 18,152 lb (8,234 kg)
Fuel capacity: 437 US gallons (364 imp gal; 1,650 L) internals
+ 2x 200 US gallons (170 imp gal; 760 L) drop tanks

Powerplant:
1× General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet engine with 5,910 lbf (26.3 kN) thrust

Performance:
Maximum speed: 687 mph (1,106 km/h, 597 kn) at sea level at 14,212 lb (6,446 kg) combat weight
599 mph (521 kn; 964 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m) at 15,352 lb (6,964 kg)
597 mph (519 kn; 961 km/h) at 21,148 ft (6,446 m)
599 mph (521 kn; 964 km/h) at 22,835 ft (6,960 m)
Stall speed: 124 mph (200 km/h, 108 kn)
Range: 1,525 mi (2,454 km, 1,325 nmi)
Combat range: 414 mi (666 km, 360 nmi) with two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
and 2x 200 US gallons (170 imp gal; 760 L) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 49,600 ft (15,100 m) at combat weight
Rate of climb: 9,000 ft/min (46 m/s) at sea level
Time to altitude: 30,000 ft (9,144 m) in 5 minutes 12 seconds
Lift-to-drag: 15
Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament:
6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine guns with 300 rpg
4× underwing hardpoints for a total ordnance of 5,300 lb (2,400 kg), including
two 200 US gallons (760 L) drop tanks on the inner pylons, bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)
caliber and unguided missiles (racks with up to sixteen 5" HVARs or Matra pods with eighteen
SNEB 68 mm rockets each)

The kit and its assembly:
Another relatively simple what-if project, inspired by leftover RMAF decals on several aftermarket sheets for various aircraft types. Wondering about an aircraft type which could carry such markings and a nice desert camouflage I stumbled upon a Hobby Boss F-86F-40 in The Stash™ without a plan yet, and the type would make perfect sense as a quick material support from the USA after the relations with the USSR had cooled off with the Algeria-Moroccan conflict.

As such the Sabre was built straight OOB – and the F-86 is one of the better Hobby Boss kits, because it comes with decent landing gear interior, a cockpit with a usable seat and side consoles and even a duct for the air intake. Fit is very good, too. Some modifications were made, though. I added a pair of pylons under the outer wings and a pair of Matra rocket pods (leftover from an Italeri Tornado, IIRC) as ground attack ordnance. The drop tanks were taken "as is". The canopy was cut into two pieces for optional open display, and for this stunt I also had to reduce the thickness of the side walls around the cockpit opening and trim the cockpit opening with PSR.

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

As a general warning: Lots of weight was necessary to keep the model on its three legs! The massive overall material strength makes the model literally "solid" and quite tail-heavy, and the space in the front end is very limited due to the intake duct and the cockpit tub. Lead beads were stuffed under the cockpit floor, but this was not enough, so that I also had to partly fill the intake, too!

Painting and markings:
A real-world RMAF F-86 would certainly have been delivered in NMF – an attractive option, but I wanted a camouflaged aircraft for a more exotic look. Initially I favored a simple two-tone scheme in sand and earth brown like the contemporary RMAF F-16s but found this a bit dull and too modern. Searching for alternatives I came across Spanish F-5s which carried the so-called "Minor Asia" scheme and remembered that the Iran had also operated F-86s in this camouflage. Since it would also work well over North Africa, I simply adapted the standardized IIAF livery for the RMAF model, just with different markings.

the paint scheme consists of three tones from above: FS 30400, "Special Tan" (I'd rather call it "Custard"!), a yellowish, pale sand tone, FS 30140, "Earth", a reddish brown, and 34079, classic USAF "Forest Green". The undersides were FS 36622 (USAF Camouflage Grey).

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

FS 30400 had to be mixed, and I used Humbrol 7 and 103 in a 1:1 ratio – Special Tan has a really yellow hue! For FS 30140 I simply used Humbrol 29 (RAF Dark Earth), even though the real tone might be a tad lighter (Humbrol 142 would be the correct paint but it's OOP), and Humbrol 163 as a slightly less rich alternative for the otherwise authentic 116. The undersides were painted with Humbrol 40 (Gloss Light Gull Grey) – darker than Camouflage Grey, but a better basis for later post-panel shading with a lighter grey.
The cockpit interior and the landing gear wells became Humbrol 80 (as zinc chromate primer), while the interior of the covers, the landing gear struts, and the inside of the air intake duct became aluminum. For some contrast, the drop tanks were painted with aluminum (Revell 99).

As usual, the kit received a light black ink washing to emphasize the fine panel lines, and some panel post-shading was done, rather for a dramatic effect than for true weathering.
The decals came from various sources; the roundels belong to a RMAF MiG-17, the fin flashes came from an F-5. The serial number on the fin was lent from an A-37, while the tactical codes on wings and fuselage were created with single "45°" digits. Most stencils came from the Hobby Boss OOB sheet, just the warning triangles for the ejection seat had to be procured from the scrap box (from an Italeri Tornado sheet).
Everything was then sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some soot stains added around the gun ports and on the bare metal tailpipe section.

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 North American F-86F-40 'Sabre'; aircraft '464', Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF; Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine/القوات الجوية الملكي/Adwas ujenna ageldan orocaine) 'Boraq' Squadron; Meknès-Bassatine Air Base, 1975 (What-if/Hobby Boss kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Another relatively simple project, a model built almost OOB just with fictional markings. The "Minor Asia" scheme suits the Sabre well, though, and the Moroccan national markings blend well into the overall desert look – a credible whif that fits well into its intended timeframe. And the Hobby Boss F-86 is really not a bad model at all, it's just a very simple and robust kit. But it goes together well and quickly, and the result is a quite good representation of the Sabre.

Nick · June 08, 2022, 12:53:54 PM

That's a very good and believable build there.

I have the same kit part built and nowhere in the instructions does it mention nose weight. Nor is there anyway to add weight after you've sealed the fuselage. So I'm going to hide a clear sprue underneath mine to prop it up!

Old Wombat · June 09, 2022, 03:43:27 AM

Very nice, Dizzy!

NARSES2 · June 09, 2022, 06:12:03 AM

That's nice Dizzy, I particularly like the colour scheme

su27rules · June 09, 2022, 09:07:56 AM

Wardukw · June 10, 2022, 12:30:14 AM

Very nice Thomas mate

and i agree with Chris..lovely colour scheme

comrade harps · June 10, 2022, 12:56:02 AM

Another nice job!

zenrat · June 10, 2022, 05:03:42 AM