POST ADMIRAL TOYS F-86 DISCUSSION HERE

[Razor17019]

Came home today after a rushed day of paper pushing with a computer...a regular George Jetson I am. Anyway, when I got home a large brown box was waiting inside for me--- YES! it was my F-86 Sabre Jet. For you guys that don't have one yet - GET ONE!!! For you guys that got one, Man, isn't it the GREATEST???

JohnLumley- Thanks for the link to the instructions! I looked 2 times in the box after I pulled the jet out. No instructions... I saw Jason's note on that and hey you guys are learning - No big deal. At least you have recognized the mistake and posted the instructions on your website- Well done. It took me a little time to find the screws that came with the stabilizers. I didn't really thing to look in there.

I love the detail on the plane and the crisp colors and shinny bare metal.
We use to have a playground near my house that we would go to when I was a kid. They had all kinds of things to climb and play on. The best was a shinny F-86 Sabre jet. Man- it was great to climb into the cockpit and pretend to fly that baby around. I get to relive that all over again with this little beauty!

I have to compliment Admiral on their box design! Bravo! I think you could have dropped my box off the roof and still would have been in one piece. Can't say that about a 21st Century or Motorworks box after it's been "handled" by a WM stock person...

This is Admiral's first try, so I won't rag on the pilot - cause they are gonna change that for the new plane- right Jason?? (I can loan you my 21st F-104 Pilot if you need him)

Overall I could not be more pleased about buying, assembling and marvelling at this new F-86 Sabre jet plane. Admiral Toys -Welcome to the big league and thanks for a great 1st plane! May your ME-262 be as good or better!

[tmanthegreat]

This is Admiral's first try, so I won't rag on the pilot - cause they are gonna change that for the new plane- right Jason?? (I can loan you my 21st F-104 Pilot if you need him)

Even if the new pilot isn't any better, we still have plenty of 21c 1:18 German pilots avaliable

[CW4USARMY]

Received mine to today (Thanks Raiderad6!) and I must say that it is beautiful. I few tiny paint smudges but overall it is very impressive (except for the pilot LOL!). I dont think anyone will be disappointed, especially for the price we're getting them for. Great Job Admiral!!!

[eddie372]

Ok guys, here's another story I want to share with you:

I e-mailed Admiral Toys' Customer Service the night that I received my plane and found the two missing stabilizers. That very same night, I received a personal e-mail from Jason telling me that my parts will be in the mail early the following morning. Now, is that customer service, or what??

Anyways, I hope that all of you who ordered F-86s are now in posession. The more I look at mine, the more I love it!! I say it again, this's by far, my all-time favorite 1:18 model. It's just that terrific of a plane!!

Happy playing and displaying!!

Eddie372

[tmanthegreat]

I just recieved my F-86 from BCA. All I can say is "Wow!" The aircraft is very well done, especially for a first release. Its also very cool that we didn't have to wait 3 years for it! The positive things have already been said about this plane in previous posts, so I won't repeat what's been said. The aircraft is of quite solid construction and is pretty heavy for its size. It assembled VERY nicely. I thought the box was nicely done, including a history and specifications of the plane, as well as a photograph of the actual aircraft.

My only beefs with the plane concern the fact that my plane had a good little scratch on the nose and that there was a glue drip on the tail rudder. These were small defects and I was able to satisfactorally cover the scratch with a miniscule amount of Testors aluminum paint and a sharpie for the black Perhaps a plastic "celophane" cover over the parts that are in contact with the styrofoam packaging should be in order on future releases.

The pilot was not as bad as I thought, but still doesn't quite comapre to the competition. Since none of the online pictures of this plane detail the pilot, here it is for those of you that haven't gotten your planes yet, along with the 21c F-104 and BBI F-16 pilots:



All in all, great job by Admiral Toys and I sincerely look forward to the ME-262

[Sabrefan]

My Admiral F-86E is on the way. I will have it Tuesday. I love the lines of the F-86, and Admiral really did a great job capturing the look of the plane. Also they have answered every one of my emails the same day I sent them. I think it is great that they listen to our ideas. I am looking forward to the F-86 model done in various paint schemes. This is also my first post here. I look forward to learing about future 1:18 scale models. Thanks.

[digger]

Paul, Welcome
Glad you found us. You picked a great time to jump on board - with AT raising the bar on AC and the future being VERY bright with upcoming releases from all the companies.

[Teamski]

Yeah, welcome to the board Paul!!! Now if I lucked out as an early Preorder 2 at Bad Cat Aviation, my 2 F-86's may be on the way.....

-Ski

[eddie372]

Welcome to the forum Paul. As I've always said, this group is filled with very knowledgable people who love WW-II airplanes and military figures. Personally, I've learned many things from these guys and I've always enjoyed coming here and sharing "war stories" with them. It's a great place to spend some time every day.

Oh, and don't forget to order your F-86, or two, or three, or...well, you get the picture.

Best regards from Miami
Eddie372

[Sabrefan]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. Anyone planning on doing a custom paint job on their F-86?

[eddie372]

Sorry to place two postings one after the other .

I just order two more F-86s from Admiral Toys. One of these is a gift for a very special boy who loves airplanes, and the other will become a custom job for me: FU-735, "Elenore E", flown by Major William T. Whisner of the 25th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing.

As I browsed the Admiral Toys website, I found a tab that navigated me to to a place where you can write your own product review. I'd like to encourage whomever is as impressed as I am with Admiral Toys in general, and the F-86 in particular, to write your reviews. I was the first one, and I'm sure the company would appreciate a lot more reviews besides mine.

Considering the kind of support that we have received from Jason in this forum, I think it would be appropriate for us to... put our fingertips where our mouths are.

Eddie372

[JOC]

Got mine today also. Mine had minor paint scrapes and smudges that are to be expected for a toy model, nothing to worry about as the "WoW Factor" overcomes those. My cockpit was floating around in the box and I was able to reattach it. My question is how does the seat belt attach? Mine was also floating in the box. The pilot is sure brittle. He broke in half immediately. Be careful with him. Otherwise a Great Start for Admiral Toys. Sure makes a difference in the collection.
JOC

[tmanthegreat]

The seatbelt (mine was also floating around inside the box, along with the canopy) attaches into the little hole in the back of the pilots seat. It can then stretch over the pilots head and the sides go into a little hole on either side of the pilots seat. This sort of reminds me of the seatbelts one used to find on old GI Joe planes and vehicles from the 1980s. The figure can be made to sit a little higher in the seat by placing a "cushion" (cardboard, balsa wood, etc) under the pilot.

My figure articulates fine, though it was stiff at first. I wound up using a spare 21c F-104 pilot in mine, which looks much better. I bought the extra F-104 pilot at my local Hobbytown store - it had been part of a display F-104 that got trashed when they moved the store a few months ago and I convinced the manager to sell the figure to me

[eddie372]

Got my missing stabilizers and screws today. In addition to it, Admiral Toys also sent an extra pilot for me, although I never asked for one.

Maybe Jason read my comments about braking my pilot's foot (Wormans Com case??), and kindly decided to send me a replacement. What a great company!

Thank you Admiral.
Eddie372

[CW4USARMY]

As I hung my F-86 from the ceiling of my "War Room" today, I couldn't help but admire how great it looks, but more importantly, I am ecstatic that a new company has come along that actually cares about the collector and isnt afraid (or too good) to share info and pictures with us on a consistent (emphasis on "consistent") basis. The other guys (companies) drop in now and then and throw us bone or two, and then we dont hear from them for weeks or months. Admiral has come along and shown that good old fashioned customer service and respect hasnt been forgotten. I dont know about you guys but I am getting a little frustrated at being treated as if I am supposed to sit down, shut up and wait since I am not a buyer from a big brick and mortar store. I mean, I'm not asking for production secrets, just a little info as to what the hec is going on!

I'm not trying to start a heated "which company is better" discussion but I mean, hec, Admiral is just starting and has already shown us pics from the production prototype Me-262 which was taken months ago and now looks like we may see them this summer...amazing!!! We've seen production protoype pictures from the other guys taken years ago and still nothing, and I'm not talking about only the Avenger. Admiral also kept us consistently informed as to progress of the F-86, when it was finished, when it was on the water,when it arrived.......what else could you ask for?

OK, enough ranting, but just want to say again how refreshing it is to have Admiral Toys (and their support) as a new player in the 1:18 scale buisness. Although I'll still buy from the other guys, it wont be in multiples as I will from Admiral. (now if we could only get them to make 1:18 Armour )

VR,

Andy

[Teamski]

OK, enough ranting, but just want to say again how refreshing it is to have Admiral Toys (and their support) as a new player in the 1:18 scale buisness. Although I'll still buy from the other guys, it wont be in multiples as I will from Admiral. (now if we could only get them to make 1:18 Armour )

VR,

Andy

While I agree with you 100%, don't forget that Admiral self-produced the F-86 with no direct ties to contracts (that I am aware of), and thus had no obstacles in it's production. I know that 21st and bbi get their hands cut off by large contracts with TRU and WM and which causes a huge slow-down of releases. They have to produce according to a timeline they don't set. Remember the issues with the box size of the Avenger that WM caused? And, we still don't see it on the shelves.

It is really refreshing to see a new kid on the block not inhibited by external influences. It shows just how quick a production run can hit the streets!! Boy I wish we had more of that.........

-Ski

[Birddog]

OK, enough ranting, but just want to say again how refreshing it is to have Admiral Toys (and their support) as a new player in the 1:18 scale buisness. Although I'll still buy from the other guys, it wont be in multiples as I will from Admiral. (now if we could only get them to make 1:18 Armour )

VR,

Andy

While I agree with you 100%, don't forget that Admiral self-produced the F-86 with no direct ties to contracts (that I am aware of), and thus had no obstacles in it's production. I know that 21st and bbi get their hands cut off by large contracts with TRU and WM and which causes a huge slow-down of releases. They have to produce according to a timeline they don't set. Remember the issues with the box size of the Avenger that WM caused? And, we still don't see it on the shelves.

It is really refreshing to see a new kid on the block not inhibited by external influences. It shows just how quick a production run can hit the streets!! Boy I wish we had more of that.........

-Ski

[CW4USARMY]

OK, enough ranting, but just want to say again how refreshing it is to have Admiral Toys (and their support) as a new player in the 1:18 scale buisness. Although I'll still buy from the other guys, it wont be in multiples as I will from Admiral. (now if we could only get them to make 1:18 Armour )

VR,

Andy

While I agree with you 100%, don't forget that Admiral self-produced the F-86 with no direct ties to contracts (that I am aware of), and thus had no obstacles in it's production. I know that 21st and bbi get their hands cut off by large contracts with TRU and WM and which causes a huge slow-down of releases. They have to produce according to a timeline they don't set. Remember the issues with the box size of the Avenger that WM caused? And, we still don't see it on the shelves.

It is really refreshing to see a new kid on the block not inhibited by external influences. It shows just how quick a production run can hit the streets!! Boy I wish we had more of that.........

-Ski

My F-86E box stated it was officially licensed by Boeing, so I think they had the usual licensing details that the other companies do, but my biggest point was consistent customer service and information. Seems to me that no matter how big the companies get, they should still do their best to communicate with their biggest fans. How many man-hours does it take to post info on a thread here? The only reasons not to post info would be 1) not cost effective or 2) We're a very small group of fanatic collectors who dont affect their profit that much so why bother keeping them posted. (I wonder which one it is?

Anyway, Admiral has made me a happy camper and feeling great about our collecting future!

[Teamski]

My F-86E box stated it was officially licensed by Boeing, so I think they had the usual licensing details that the other companies do, unless you know something about this that wasnt posted.

I wasn't referring the licensing, but the production contracts with the brick and mortar stores.

-Ski

[CW4USARMY]

My F-86E box stated it was officially licensed by Boeing, so I think they had the usual licensing details that the other companies do, unless you know something about this that wasnt posted.

I wasn't referring the licensing, but the production contracts with the brick and mortar stores.

-Ski

Roger That!, Hard to follw that logic though, difficult to imagine that a production contract causes year long delays in production. A production contract says you will deliver a product on schedule, so not sure how a contract to deliver X number of planes in 1 QTR 06 somehow means that I better hurry and get them there in 3 QTR 06. And of course, 21st themselves stated that they were "re-tooling" the Avenger to make a better product and I dont remember them ever stating that the three year long delay was Walmarts fault. But, at this point, who knows and who cares!

[Teamski]

Roger That!, Hard to follw that logic though, difficult to imagine that a production contract causes year long delays in production. A production contract says you will deliver a product on schedule, so not sure how a contract to deliver X number of planes in 1 QTR 06 somehow means that I better hurry and get them there in 3 QTR 06. And of course, 21st themselves stated that they were "re-tooling" the Avenger to make a better product and I dont remember them ever stating that the three year long delay was Walmarts fault. But, at this point, who knows and who cares!

Well, what do you think the "buy 4 FW-190, get a P-51 free" was all about? I'm sure WM wanted them cleared of the shelves before they would purchase or stock anything else. This has been a key problem why regular releases are being held up. Trust me, I'm sure that F-104's and Ridge Runner P-51s would be a lot more available if WM didn't constantly screw up distribution or request too many of one aircraft....

-Ski

[Sabrefan]

I sure hope Admiral makes their F-86 in the Canadian Air Force Golden Hawks aerobatic scheme. I love the look of the F-86 in that paint scheme.

[CW4USARMY]

Roger That!, Hard to follw that logic though, difficult to imagine that a production contract causes year long delays in production. A production contract says you will deliver a product on schedule, so not sure how a contract to deliver X number of planes in 1 QTR 06 somehow means that I better hurry and get them there in 3 QTR 06. And of course, 21st themselves stated that they were "re-tooling" the Avenger to make a better product and I dont remember them ever stating that the three year long delay was Walmarts fault. But, at this point, who knows and who cares!

Well, what do you think the "buy 4 FW-190, get a P-51 free" was all about? I'm sure WM wanted them cleared of the shelves before they would purchase or stock anything else. This has been a key problem why regular releases are being held up. Trust me, I'm sure that F-104's and Ridge Runner P-51s would be a lot more available if WM didn't constantly screw up distribution or request too many of one aircraft....

-Ski

My point exactly! Those poor guys ran out and bought all those FW-190s and still havent heard when they will receive anything. Another example of the lousy customer service and lack of information.

[tko211]

I don't know that I agree with CW4USARMY. Area-21 posted over 100 articles, 3 interviews, and posted over 300 pictures. I think that qualifies as keeping fans apraised of new information. Divide that over 300 some odd days and you get an average communication record of every 3 days.

Some products like the Merrills set, OMG figs, 1/32 scale zeros, macchi, Pudgy V come to mind as being very informative from introduction, follow up pics, on the water updates and store delivery.

Some one back me up here... am I wrong? Or is this just a simple case of "rooting for the underdog" so to speak? I am not trying to stir the pot here and I am not trying to steal another's thunder, I'm just saying lets have a little credit here. I know I work pretty hard to bring news to the fans. New York wasn't exactly cheap for me when we covered Toy Fair.

Sure you can make arguments about not every project running as smooth as one would always like but I think the quality and quantity of products from 21st this last year have been better than any year prior! 06 has been busy isn't looking too shabby either.

Perhaps it is all simply a matter of opinion or perspective? I know many fans here were in the camp of "I would rather not know about stuff till it is ready". And to some degree I think that is why 21st pulled back showing any prototypes at Toy Fair. But then there is the rest of us who constantly need to have info to feel that things are moving forward. The risk with that is fans start to feel projects take too long or miss ETA delivery which are always difficult to project. The most recent F-86 was scheduled to release in December when it was announced, now we are going into spring. Which is not a shock or a big deal... The fact is it is difficult for everyone in this industry to who seeks to make these kinds of products. They are expensive, time consuming, pit falls that take many months to sort out.

Just some things to consider... I leave it to you guy to debate.

[hworth18]

Roger That!, Hard to
My point exactly! Those poor guys ran out and bought all those FW-190s and still havent heard when they will receive anything. Another example of the lousy customer service and lack of information.

I wouldn't say that.. The F-104 and new tooled Mustang is an indication that 21st is keeping up with things, and Tko has done a fine job of keeping us informed of what is going on.. The delays on an Avenger can be justified because it is a EXTREMELY complicated aircraft..
If you guys remember, we never even got info that Admiral was making an F-86 till a production sample showed up at an airshow and one member just happened to be there to see it.. By then, AT was well into tooling and production.. That is how it seemed that Admiral got this plane out so quickly..