Eduard North American OV-10D Bronco detail sets. 1:32

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North American OV-10D Bronco detail sets

Eduard 1:32

It was great news when Kinetic announced and actually released their 1:32 OV-10D Bronco last year. The kit had a lot of detail included straight out of the box, with plenty of panels that could be posed open and al the interior detail within. Well, now Eduard have released three sets, (four if you include the zoom set), of etched brass. Whilst these won’t sort out the slight problems the kit has, particularly concerning the landing gear, but he will add lots of surface detail throughout the airframe.

Detail Set (32830)
The parts are contained on two sheets of relief etched brass of roughly equal size, with one being unpainted and the other not only pre-painted but self adhesive as well. The unpainted sheet contains items such as the rudder pedal plates, all the switches that protrude through the painted parts from the other sheet and therefore need to be painted beforehand. It also contains the rear cockpit foot plate with adjustable rest, the seat release handle box, a new control box for the rear cockpit and the latching mechanisms for the cockpit access panels. There is a numbering problem with some of the parts so check everything carefully before gluing anything. The pre-painted sheet contains the instrument panels complete with the instrument faces on the backplate. A little dab of aqua clear will give them the appearance of glass fronts. The sheet also contains the myriad of side console panels, ejection seat parts; The ejection seat main firing handles are not shown in the instructions so check your references before attaching. The rest of the sheet contains the switch panels mentioned above, circuit breaker panels and radio panels.

Interior Zoom Set (33146)
This zoom set contains only the above pre-painted sheet and allows the modeller to build a well detailed cockpit without the hassle of getting bogged down with detail that might otherwise be deemed superfluous. Fortunately this sheet does include the switches that are on the second sheet in the main detail set.

Seatbelts (32831)
This small single sheet set contains a complete and comprehensive set of seat belts, buckles and clasps for both the pilot and co-pilot. The belts look like they will be rather fiddly to assemble, but will look great when fitted. The seat belts are pre-painted so no need for some fiddly painting, just a slightly darker wash to tone them down a bit. To fit the lap-straps the modeller will need to cut a slot on both sides of each seat pad to all the ends of the straps to slide into them.

Exterior (32368)
This two sheet set contains some very nice additional detail for the exterior and open areas of the kit. There are quite a few parts dedicated to the interior of the main wheel bays, including new side panels and roof frames. The main wheel bay doors also receive new hinge panels. The nose wheel bay also get the benefit of new panels, stringers, a control box, and hinges for the doors. The tween bulkhead of the cockpit is fitted with new panels and pipework, whilst the anti IR missile unit is fitted with new screw frames and top. The undercarriage legs receive brake pipes, brake detail, new scissor links and strengthening straps. Note that if you’re going to alter the kits lower oleo so that it represents a working unit then the scissor links and brake pipes will need to be altered too.

Around the exterior of the model there are new access panels, new fittings for the flap bays and the flaps themselves. The stub wings are fitted with new gun bay panels which can be posed open or closed, whilst on the underside there are several new panels. The engine intakes and equipment bay intakes are fitted with new grilles. On the side of the aircraft there are new crew entry steps which can be posed open or closed. The detail upgrades aren’t confined to the aircraft, there are also parts for the weapons, including new strakes, panels, rocket motor ends, fuse clips and straps, whilst the pylons undersides are enhanced with new panels and the Sidewinder launchers are fitted with a new rail.

Conclusion
Once again it’s proven that there’s never a kit release without Eduard set of two being designed for it, they are so prolific. Whilst not as comprehensive as some of the previous releases, they will add that extra level of detail sought by some modellers. It still disappointing that they chose to release the seatbelt set separate from what is basically an interior set, but I guess it gives modeller more choice on how much they want to add. Watch out for the instructions though, as there are several discrepancies in the numbering and the absence of some parts which are actually needed Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of