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MV-22 Osprey (81769) Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd The Osprey can trace its roots back a long way into the 1970s, while the tilt-rotor concept goes back even further to the time of very early aviation between the wars. In the 70s Bell began constructing a prototype that bears a family resemblance to the Osprey, complete with twin engines and a very similar overall shape. After the disaster that was the US raid in Iran to free their embassy staff, a gap in their inventory was identified for a large vertical and short take-off and landing aircraft that could also fly at similar speeds to fixed-wing aircraft with a comparable range. This led to the development of the V-22 Osprey that took the basics of the Bell design and enlarged it sufficiently to carry a number of fully-loaded troops or a vehicle the size of a HUMVEE externally, in partnership with the Boeing Helicopter division. It first flew in 1989, and had a relatively troubled gestation that wasn’t yet over when it first went into service in early 2000, although it wasn’t actually used as a true service aircraft until 2007 with the Marines and 2009 for the USAF. A number of test airframes were lost with fatalities, and the Marines lost two airframes early on, which caused some delays to the programme, allowing time for the software that allows the transition between hover and forward flight and assists the pilots to catch up and become the stable, capable platform it is today. Its capabilities have been questioned over the years by some, but a single airframe type can’t be all things to all people, and its ability to land and take-off vertically then transition to forward flight at a similar speed and range to a traditional fixed wing aircraft is an excellent capability for any army. It has seen extensive use in supply and casualty evacuation roles in the recent conflicts and policing actions, and is scheduled to become a carrier communications aircraft this year (at time of writing) to replace the ageing C-2 Greyhound, which it outclasses comprehensively. It came very close to being cancelled at least twice, as the budget and unit cost spiralled higher as the project proceeded, but it has evolved into a very safe method of transport for the Marines, having an accident rate of half that of the traditional rotary aircraft they deploy. Bell Boeing are developing the V-280 Valor(sic) for the US Army, which builds upon the technology pioneered by the Osprey, but changing the tilting mechanism so that only the props move, while the engine stays fixed in the “forward” orientation. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Hobby Boss, and it depicts the Marine version of the Osprey that is in common use today. For many a year we’ve been somewhat lacking in choice of kits in this scale, having only the comparatively ancient Italeri kit, which more represents an early prototype without the lumps and bumps or fuselage hump that the in-service aircraft has. Maybe the wait was a blessing in disguise, as we now have a kit that depicts the actual resulting aircraft, rather than having to hack and bang the old kit into shape. The hissing sound you can hear is thousands of Italeri kits being pushed to the back of the stash, although some might baulk at the list price until they see inside. Hobby Boss and their parent company have a habit of pulling back the curtains to reveal kits that are ready to go, so the first most of us heard about it was when it was announced a few months back. It’s a big box, but then it’s also quite a large aircraft, and the detail has been packed into the interior in the shape of a complete internal skin that fills the fuselage from nose to tail (almost). The box is a large one as previously mentioned, and the model is large too, measuring 371mm long by 496mm wide, which I’m assuming goes from tip-to-tip of the massive props. If that width figure scares you and your cabinet space, you’ll likely be pleased to hear that there is a folded option included in the kit, allowing you to pose the wings parallel to the fuselage and all the blades pointing at each other. In the voluminous box but well-packed box you will find eight large sprues of various sizes in grey styrene, a single clear sprue and a small Photo-Etch (PE) sheet containing seatbelts and a few grilles. Detail seems to be excellent, and the airframe is covered in restrained panel lines, raised areas as befits an aircraft with substantial portions made from composites, and a nicely appointed cockpit, with load area similarly well-decked out. The instruction booklet is typical of Hobby Boss fare, and the separate A3 colour painting guide is mute on the subject matter, as usual. Construction begins with the crew seats, which are of the wrap-around type, and have separate cushions and three-part PE belts, but lack lap belts, as seems to be the way with quite a few kits of late. The cockpit is provided as a tub with the rear bulkhead moulded-in, and you place the two seats, control column, throttle and other controls added over decals for the side consoles, after which the main instrument panel with its MFDs and rudder pedals are fitted to the front of the tub, with decals for this also included. The bulkhead is a little bland, but check your references and add some interest there if you feel the urge, or wait for the aftermarket companies to catch up. There is a corridor between the two areas, where lots of avionics will be found in the real thing, with a ribbed insert and a crew door with moulded-in jump seat included along with a fire extinguisher that has a PE bracket securing it to the wall. The nose gear bay is situated below the cockpit, and is made up along with the main bays next, adding gear and wheels, plus retraction jacks along the way. The bays are well-detailed, but little will be seen of them on the deck due to the short legs and low ground clearance, so don’t stress over the building of these parts. You should also be able to leave off the gear legs until after painting, which is nice. The main bays slot into the separate side nacelles that keep the bays and other stuff such as fuel and avionics from encroaching into the load space at 1:1, then these are put to the side while the load area is made up. The load area resembles a slightly smaller fuselage, being made up of two halves, but with the detail being on the inside, consisting of ribs, stringers and the mounts for the many seats that go along the walls. Lots of little details are added first, then thirteen seats on one side, with 12 on the other, all provided as separate parts, a full-width floor that sits on the raised supports projecting from the lower side of the interior, plus another fire extinguisher for good luck. The rear load ramp needs to be made up too, as this is also trapped between the interior halves before closing the fuselage. The lower section folds down, while the upper half folds up in a similar style to the old Hercules ramp. If you plan on posing the cargo doors open, you’re going to have to make your own jacks and as surface detail to the ramp floor, as these aren’t included on the sprues, but the open door option isn’t shown as an option. Before inserting the newly minted interior, a few portholes and other windows are glued into the fuselage sides from within, then the nose bay is added along with the cockpit and corridor, after which you can close up the fuselage, remembering to add the FLIR turret under the nose (minus glue) before you do. There is an overhead console supplied for the inside of the large canopy, which is crystal clear and full of detailed framing and rivets, then the two side sponsons are slotted into the gaps… on the sides. The H-tail is next, and includes a section of the underside at the very rear of the fuselage to make for a strong join. It is made up from top and bottom halves, then joined by the two-piece verticals and a clear light on each of the tips. It is slipped over the rear of the fuselage during fitting of a profusion of aerials, of the blade and towel-rail type, plus the gear bay doors and a number of other sensors, not forgetting the refuelling probe stub in the nose. This is repeated on the top and sides of the fuselage, and includes the some of the PE vents and styrene strakes. The props need power, which is provided by the Rolls-Royce turboprop engines in the nacelles that rotate to provide vectored thrust via the massive three-bladed props. The nacelle is formed from a pair of basic halves, with two baffles trapped inside the rear, a couple of intakes grafted to the exterior, and another in the lower rear of the nacelle, capped off with a curved smiley-face intake and prop boss rear plate, which is held in position and allowed to rotate by a collar. The blades can be made up folded or deployed, and a full set of separate blade parts are included for this, although only one set of bulbous bosses are supplied, so you can’t easily swap them at will, which is a shame. From here on in the instructions focus solely on the folded version, but it’s not rocket science to figure out the unfolded method. The bosses each have three inserts added, and are then joined to the back-plates at the front of the nacelles, to be put to one side while the wings are made. The wings are full-span, and comprise top and bottom sections, the bottom having a flat centre and large hole moulded-in for the pivot. The bulkheads with large axles for the engines are inserted into the end fairings, and a set of flaps are placed into T-shaped recesses in the trailing edge of the wings, with the whole lot closed in by the upper wing, which has many vortex generators moulded along the leading edges. There is another PE grille inserted into the central “hump”, then your engine nacelles can be slid over the axles and joined by a strake on the top surface of the wing. The wing assembly clips onto flexible tabs on the top of the fuselage, so can be left to rotate freely if you wish, and if you have selected the deployed option, it’s as simple as turning the wings to the perpendicular and pointing the props to the sky if you’re going for VTOL, or forward if you’re doing a flying model, but don’t forget the ground clearance for the props. Markings As I alluded earlier, there is only one decal option in the box, and HB tell you precious little about it, other than what colours to use, and where to put the decals. The sides of the aircraft tell you a lot if you know the nomenclature however, and a quick Google reveals that it is from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204, which is based at MCAS New River, North Carolina. The serial 166483 is assigned there, so that’s nice. The decals are printed anonymously in China, but have good registration, colour density and sharpness, with most of them being lo-viz grey or white. The instrument decals have black MFD screens and white buttons and should stand up to all but the most intent of observers. A Quinta Studios set would be most welcome though. Conclusion This appears to be a nice kit of an interesting (to some of us at least) and novel aircraft. Modelling an In-service airframe has been a labour of love up to now, so it’s good to see a new tool pop out of the Hobby Boss/Trumpeter warehouses. Its weakest point is the rear ramp with simplified floor and lack of struts, but if you’re portraying it with the ramp up it’s not a problem! How long it is before we see a flying model with motorised props remains to be seen. Soon, I hope. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of