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Spanish Birddog...Airfix Cessna O-1, 1/72nd scale


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Ok...no warping here.  

 

The decals are pretty yellow so I found these interesting markings from the Big Yellow Store.  

 

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I've primed it already and I'll start in tomorrow.

 

-John

 

 

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Cool build! I properly stuffed my attempt at this kit (about 25 years ago) and have always fancied another try.

 

Watching with interest.

 

All the best

 

Ben

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This is a very interesting one, and will be following, also a kit that Scale aircraft Conversions could definitely do with making a white metal undercarriage, I think my '70's attempt only lasted about 2 years 

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A little work.  The interior looks a little sparse, clunky and typically level 1 Airfix.  I felt that this cold be made better especially since the large amounts of clear pieces allow a certain amount of viewing. As there are plenty of online references for the interior of the O-1, not to mention the very fine builds here on BM, I got to work...I kept the bulkhead...😉

 

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Taking a page or two from "Moa's Big Book of Scratchbuilding", I decided some details were needed...Evergreen card, rod, bits of sprue.  The decal for the dashboard was no good, so I made my own.  New seats, control sticks, pedals, radio, fuel mix/ throttle.  I'll spray this the same light green as the dash and then touch up with some colour and details.  Seatbelts will probably be strips of masking tape painted tan.  I have to make a fire extinguisher too...can't forget that!

 

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--John

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All the interior doo-dads painted, assembled, etc...and I didn't forget the fire extinguisher behind the pilot's seat!  It's shame that most if this won't be visible once I close it all up...😢

 

Still, it was fun doing it!

 

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--John

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How nice.... and what a coincidence.... I have just resurrected one from the shelf of doom and started a very long time ago and so decided to complete it from its primer stage .  Far too far to include in this GB but I will show it in the next couple nights in RFI.

Look forward to seeing progress on this cute one.

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Nice subject, indeed. Just a tip: After their arrival to Spain, the Bird Dogs passed a comprehensive overhaul, what they called IRAN inspection. They were repainted an given codes. They were used as army cooperation machines, thus carrying different colours than their  Ejército del Aire (Air Force) cousins, and quite similar to those used by the Ejército de Tierra (Army). One of the best matching colours is the good old Humbrol 179. They were coded L for "Enlace" (liaison), and used as army support planes, as said before. They entered service in 1958, and withdrawn in 1980...

Best regards.....

 

 

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Edited by Artie
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Just a brief service summary....

These planes enterd service by the end of 1958, early 1959. We received 13 of them wich were given the code L.12 (enlace, model 12). At first, they were deployed at 99th Liaison Sqd at Getafe air base, soon to be sent to Alcalá de Henares air base, up until 1965.

Finally, they were deployed to Tablada (Sevilla) air base, were they received the new "407" and "402" fuselaje Sqd. codes.

Since 1961, three of them were deployed here, in the Canary Islands, at Gando air base. They made liaison and recce flights over the Spanish Sáhara and Western Africa territories, during the war against Morocco. They spent a few days a week both in El Aaiun and Villa Cisneros, relieving each other every week.

Best regards....!!!

CessnaL-19ATablada.jpg

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I've got an old 1/48 kit, made by whoknows but repacked by Hasegawa, and plan to build it as one of those deployed here in the isles.  The only issue here is that I haven't been able to find out wich codes did they have......When I asked my dad, who remembers them while at El Aaiun, all he said was "they were olive green, had white numbers, and jumped like grasshoppers when landing".....not much info, by the way...

I've always thought about hiow flimsy the undercarriage legs look.....

 

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Edited by Artie
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Some late night work...closed up the fuselage and filled in the seams--very few but it needed a bit of putty.  I also added some more internal bracing that will be visible through the windows.  I have used FrequentFlyer's O-1 as a reference.  If you haven't seen his build, please check it out.  Truly an amazing example of patience and craftsmanship.

 

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somme putty...

 

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I'll work on the wings today.  I have noticed that the Spanish Birddogs are not the same as the VietNam era USA Birddogs.  For one thing, the radio antennae fixed to the stabilizers are not on the Spanish aircraft.  As Airfix has moulded these into the plastic, I will have to remove them.  I'll document that...

-John

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I cleaned off the 2 antennae mounts on the stabilizer and attached the tail feathers...very clean and tight with only a smidgen of putty where the tail meets up.

 

The same with the wing.  All the glass in in and I am happy to say that you can see some of the interior so all my work hasn't gone to waste.  Evergreen bits make up the antennae mountings on the main wing.  I also replaced the rather unconvincing exhaust pipes.

 

So...nose on, wings on...I'll mask off the glass today and add a bit of paint!  The windscreens fit right in with no gaps.  

 

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--John

Edited by John D.C. Masters
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Wow John - this is coming together quite quickly, great work. 

The Cessna Bird Dog is another classic kit that (to my knowledge) no other kit manufacturer has ever produced.

I wonder how many times we can say that about the other unique kits in Airfix's back catalogue?

 

Cheers.. Dave

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Thank you Dave.  I imagine there are many kits that were offered by Airfix that have yet to be seen from other companies.  Certainly, many of the car kits, busses, non-military, etc...  Actually...those are the builds I really want to see in this GB.  I love those old period vehicles--not enough to build them, mind you, but just to look.

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