Speedman

I can probebly manage a set of golf clubs...

I did a layer each day but left a couple of days before scribing to let it harden fully. It scribes beautifully, much neater than with green putty. From now on I shall be doing large gaps with green, sanding into the joint a little then topping it with Mr.Surfacer. I remember standing in a model shop, aged 15, torn between the 115 and an Airfix He111. I went for the 115 because of the floats But trying to paint the mile long greenhouse that was the canopy... If only I knew about masking tape back then. And airbrushes!

I've at last got the cockpit painted, I can't install it until I make a bulkhead for the nose (need to cut it off for clear nose to be made) but I've got all the other parts prepared so the rest of the build should be fairly easy.

Lovely result, you've done an old kit proud!

So you've gone for all yellow undersides then?

That's a great build! I think it was '76 it was first issued so for 37 years young it's a fantastic kit I must admit I'm loving my Matchbox build, I know I've gone a bit mental on the detailing but the fit and finish is great. (apart from a few sink holes but that's what filler is for) I must admit I'd forgotten how nice some of their kits were

I've managed a bit more on this one over the last two days. The M200 rocket pods are now done, the kit parts were too short and I was considering getting some aftermarket parts to replace them but then I remembered I've got an Academy OV-10 in the stash that I bought just for the props. (They're going on my Grumman Goose) Sure enough it had parts for a couple of shorter pods so I grafted the front and rear of them onto the Matchbox pods (after cutting them down a bit) and they are the perfect diameter and length. I did a test fit of the skids and even without the tail it felt like it was heavy in the rear so I knocked up some boxes and filled them with Liquid Gravity. Should be no problem now. The scribing is finished, comparing it to my second kit it looks so much better, well worth the time taken to do it. I've also made the cover/panel that Matchbox represented as recessed with huge bolts/rivets sticking out. Later AH-1Gs had vents in this cover but the early aircraft (including the one I'm doing) didn't. I've started the tail rotor swap. I cut out a section from each side of the tail and just swapped them over. I used some card to make up for the plastic lost to my razor saw so they are the correct height. I've got some filler on them at the moment and will be getting on with some sanding tonight.

March 1974, the Vietnam Conflict was still raging and while the USAF, USN & USMC had air superiority over the Vietnamese, the ground war is a different story. Between them they had an impressive line up of strike and bomber aircraft, but since the USAF retired their A-1 Skyraiders two years previously, only the USMC had fixed wing aircraft capable of COIN missions. The USAF needed to fill this gap in their inventory and fill it fast. Rather than go through the lengthy process of commissioning an aircraft from scratch they decided to look a suitable airframes from their inventory that could be adapted or converted for use in this role. The obvious choice was the OV-10 Bronco, all three services were using them to good effect and the airframe had plenty of potential. The main downfalls of the Bronco were it's lack of speed and weapon load, these were the main factors that would have to be addressed if a successful aircraft was to be produced. In 1970 the USMC had trialled the YOV-10D in Vietnam and although the design was eventually changed for the production OV-10D it was of great interest to the USAF as a way forward for their project. Addressing the speed issue, it was decided to dispense with the twin turboprops and install a small turbofan engine on the centreline in place of the cargo hold, this would enable additional wing points to be installed and used for forward firing munitions now there were no props to worry about. The intake for the engine was dorsal mounted to reduce the risk of FOD ingestion and damage from ground fire, this configuration also enabled hot turnarounds without the risk of ground crew being ingested. The YOV-10D had a FLIR turret mounted in a lengthened nose, no side sponsons and a ventral turret mounting a three barrelled 20mm rotary cannon. The USAF decided not to use the turret instead they kept the sponsons but replaced the four 7.62mm guns with two 20mm cannons. It was decided that the aircraft would be single seat only due to the fact that this was successful with the A-1, the additional space achieved through this would be utilised for fuel storage as would the space once occupied by the turboprop engines. All existing OV-10 avionics were moved to the lengthened nose and given protective armour, this would allow the entire avionics pack to be detached and replaced within minutes. The system could then be worked on independent of the airframe, this would greatly reduce the maintenance downtime of each aircraft. The FLIR system would be retained but as a revolutionary "split-system" installation on the front of the two booms., this allowed for greater coverage during maneuvering including inverted flight. The hard point count was increased to 11, while it was not able to carry the same weapon loads as the Skyraider, it was never the less a very capable aircraft. Trials started September 1974, in January 1975 three evaluation aircraft were sent to Vietnam, within weeks it was obvious that this aircraft was what they were looking for. In March 1975 full production was approved and by June operational units began to receive their aircraft. Because the designation A-10 was already in use with Thunderbolt II (in development) the obvious change from OV-10 to A-10 could not be made. Because it had undergone such radical changes it was decide to rename the aircraft completely, and so the A-11A Courser (they wanted to keep the horse reference) was born. Well that's the "little" bit of background info I've come up with The kit will be Academy's 1/72 OV-10D. I originally bought it just for the props as I need them for my Grumman Goose, I've also just robbed it of some rocket pod bits for my AH-1G so this will save it just sitting in my stash forever and should be fun to build.

I take it you had adult supervision while cutting them out

Go to your first post, click on edit and then click "Use full editor". You'll be able to edit the thread title then. Nice result by the way

I've got a few 1/144 I can do for this.

I'd be up for this one.

I'm in with a wonderful 1/144 P-51B from Sweet... Maybe two if I can resist building one of them until then

I found a very interesting image while doing some research on the fold3 website, Sammy Davis, Jr. being shown around a gunners pit in Vietnam.

Try some Humbrol Clear over it, I use Revell acrylics and have started doing this as I had similar problems. A single coating has a semi-gloss sheen to it but if you want a flat finish mx it 60/40 with Tamiya's Flat Base (turns gloss to matt) if your brushing it on or 30/30 + 40% thinners if spraying. It'll usually take a bit of abuse after that.

I've tried a stainless steel micro particulate filter (used in the oil production industry) I was given years ago for things like this before. I've used it to good effect as oil radiators in 1/72 but although it has a ridiculously fine weave but still looks oversize for smaller stuff like this. I now use kids play foam sheets, I think mine are 2mm thick and the porous surface gives the illusion of a very fine grill. It works superbly with CA and I seal it with Mr.Surfacer as it has a habit of absorbing solvent from spray primer and causing problems. The photo just doesn't show any detail because it's taken on my old tablet and I have to put it in night mode because the flash is far too bright that close. As for the panel lines, I gave up trying to reduce them because the depth and width are so inconsistent. As you can see I've filled them in completely and I'll just rescribe the lot. I ended up applying 3 layers of Mr.Surfacer and because it sands so easily I had it all cleaned up in about 30 minutes with 800 grit wet and dry with a final "buff" with 2000 grit. It's left a fantastically smooth surface to play with!

I've finished all the cockpit components, I had to cut the cyclic down a bit as it scaled up to 75cm! I've started work on the exterior of the fuselage by correcting Matchboxes hideous AC intake and I've made my M134 minigun barrel. It's slightly oversized but it was the smallest rod I have and it's a major improvement over the rather strange kit part. Something interesting that I noticed today. The two kits I've got have the same box art but were made seven years apart, one in England the other in China (On the back of the box) and in that time the moulds really suffered. A lot of flash and more sink holes with some being quite deep, the panel lines look a little crisper thoiugh and the Chinese decals are far better.

I've nearly finished the cockpit, all I've got left to make are the rudder pedals, and the pilot's HUD. Once that's done it's just the pilot's cyclic and the gunners turret control kit parts to fit and then it's ready to be painted. At least with a canopy this big a lot of the detail will still be seen.

Fujimi & Cyber Hobby do them.

I thought you were making Pacman... Really nice build so far, I love the detail that's going into this one and it's great to see the Waldron P&D set in action. OK, they're expensive but once you've got them you find more and more uses for them.

Great build you've got going there! I remember building the Matchbox Stuart many moons ago. I had that, the Esci Sherman, Esci Valentine and a Matilda (can't remember the make), I might have to have a go at some small scale armour again.

I use the tape as a sort of non-stick surface to roll the Milliput out on, I started doing this ages ago after it kept having problems with it sticking to my cutting mat. I smear a tiny drop of water on the tape so I can remove the milliput easily after cutting and shaping. It's also quick and clean to dispose of afterwards. You'd be amazed at the difference the 15 minutes makes to shaping it. I had a couple of goes right after rolling it out but it just looked like thin grooves in the surface, after letting it sit for a while I got the nice cushioned effect. But you must keep the blade wet and just press it into the surface, if it's dry or you try cutting the grooves the Milliput tends to stick to the blade and it goes very wrong. I must have tried a dozen times before I got it right. I hope this helps.

I've been doing a little spraying the last few days. I got the silver on there today and will probably go for a few more tones of metal on random panels as the week goes on.

Go for it! I rolled out a piece on damp parcel tape (shiny & disposable) then used a wet scalpel to make the grooves after letting it sit for 15 minutes. Once that was done I cut a square out and moistened the back of it with a drop of water before applying it to the panel and after 10 minutes I trimmed it to shape. It's the first time I've tried making it and it seems to work well.

I made some seat pads and the bulkhead quilting out of Milliput last night and added the side consoles. I've also widened the pilots instrument panel (not in the photo), still a bit to do in there including the gunners panel but I'm getting there.