Rockwell OV-10 Bronco - old Hasegawa kit

[CarLos]

Hi all,

 

 

Long time ago I acquired from Red Gecko a very nice decal set for Fire Tankers in 1/72 including, among others, several options for the Bronco. The only kit I have is the (very!) old Hasegawa box from the seventies and Scalemates shows that the original molds are from 1968. Normal lack of detail from a kit of this age aside, are there any known problems with the kit? I have a vague memory of reading something about accuracy problems, but I can't remember where. Can someone help me?

 

I know that are more recent kits, namely Academy, but I would prefer to stick with the Hasegawa kit if the problems are not insurmountable. 

 

Thanks!

Carlos

[Des]

A long, long time since I built that (early 80s I think) , recall that the general fit was slightly iffy but fixable and that it is a dedicated tail-sitter with little room for nose weights and that behind the rear bulkhead and the engine nacelles not really giving much space forward of the centre-of-gravity but once I did get enough of the right weight to keep the nose down the undercarriage was not really very happy about it.     Recall that a magazine review of one of its many re-releases  suggested replacing the kit seats with white metal ones to help with the balance problem.

[72modeler]

On 9/19/2019 at 4:47 PM, Des said:

A long, long time since I built that (early 80s I think) , recall that the general fit was slightly iffy but fixable and that it is a dedicated tail-sitter with little room for nose weights and that behind the rear bulkhead and the engine nacelles not really giving much space forward of the centre-of-gravity but once I did get enough of the right weight to keep the nose down the undercarriage was not really very happy about it.     Recall that a magazine review of one of its many re-releases  suggested replacing the kit seats with white metal ones to help with the balance problem.

 I can't recall seeing a kit review article for the Hasegawa kit, but there are some build articles out there, I think. CMK did some detail sets for the Bronco, and there are some etched detail sets, but I can't vouch for their current availability. The Academy kits of the OV-10 seem to be regarded as the most accurate, and IIRC they have released two different variants.

Mike

Edited September 21, 2019 by 72modeler
corrected spelling

[CT7567]

Academy's OV-10 was, like several releases in that era, a substantial improvement on the Hasegawa version (as opposed to an earlier era when Academy/Minicraft seemed to simply copy the originals - not always well - with recessed instead of raised panel lines).

 

That being said, comparing the two kits there's nothing major wrong with Hasegawa's kit - the main differences are Academy's improved level of detail, and engineering to allow for the A or D versions (Hasegawa's A tooling was never modified, their OV-10D just instructs you to slice off the plastic nose and add the D-version, included as a white metal piece).

 

Most, if not all, of the aftermarket sets for Broncos are designed for the Academy kit, but you can probably make them work for the Hasegawa version with a little "finesse."

[CarLos]

Thank you guys for your contribution. 

 

Meanwhile, I've found some scale drawings by Juanita Franzi in the January 2010 issue of Aeroplane Monthly. After re-scaling them I verified that the wing is ok, the back fuselage door is too short (and this can be confirmed by photos), the fins are too tall (to be verified) and the booms are too long. However, the total length dimension includes in the drawings the nose probe and I must verify if this is correct. I must find some drawings with dimensions quoted, probably in some manual. Comparing the kit with side photos shows the proportions (including the fins height) to be very good, with the exception of the back door.

 

I'm not planning to buy any detailing sets, instead I'll try to do it in scratch. The big challenge is to make it seat on the three wheels, so a very strong undercarriage will be needed. I'll try silver brazing for that, a first to me!

 

If someone has pictures of the main and front wells don't be shy and post them here! I wish I had taken some when I was near a Bronco in a air show some years ago.

 

 

[gingerbob]

Some manuals viewable here.

[CarLos]

1 hour ago, gingerbob said:

Some manuals viewable here.

 

Thanks very much! I already found some at Aviation Archives (with free downloads) but your link seems to have more. 

 

From one of the files I confirmed that the total length includes the nose probe, so the kit is a little longer than it should be.