Wentworth Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 (edited) I'm in with a 1/32 Kittyhawk OV-10D Bronco with markings for VMO-1 or VMO-2 from Desert Storm. I've also got a fair amount of after-market to go with it: And decals from Caracal: I'm not quite sure on the final markings yet - looking at the references it seems that most of the OV-10s left the US in standard 3-tone camouflage or grey but them were repainted into two-tone brown with grey under-surfaces. More on that to follow. I've also bought this: With all of the extras and the vague-ness of the Kittyhawk instructions it might come in useful. Edited April 25, 2021 by Wentworth Update title 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted January 9, 2021 Author Share Posted January 9, 2021 Getting references for the Bronco - particularly the OV10D and its service in Desert Storm seems to be tricky. I've got the World Airpower Journal book on Desert Storm - which is pretty good, alongside the Aircraft in Action book. However, I have found a rich seem of information on dstorm.eu. On this page ( https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/usa/ov-10.html) there is a list with links to photos for all of the aircraft which served in DS showing them in their re-painted colours during the war. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Superb choice and what better scale to build it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 This'll be a nice one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Something a little different. Definitely one to watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakub Cikhart Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Superb choice. I have the same kit and a bunch of extras too, missing some resin wheels. And decals. And that will be a problem. The decals for sand/brown/grey birds are non existant. The best could be to draw some and use it for cutting out templates on plotter, as I guess, only BuNo, MODEX, MARINES and probably side PROPELLER warnings were ever sprayed again after the respray. And I warn you, choose wisely the specific airframe, A LOT of differencies there You can check it in this table: https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/build_instructions/ov-10_en.html I will check this thread and use your knowledge during your build Good luck !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 On 1/22/2021 at 1:18 PM, Jakub Cikhart said: The decals for sand/brown/grey birds are non existant. The best could be to draw some and use it for cutting out templates on plotter, as I guess, only BuNo, MODEX, MARINES and probably side PROPELLER warnings were ever sprayed again after the respray. Thanks Jakub - I've managed to get hold of a set of masks from Maketar which should help with the markings. I'm intending to spray them - and using the minimum of stencils as you suggest. The Caracal Decals don't really help at all. They provide for an aircraft before it left the US to take part in Desert Storm but they seem to all have been re-sprayed on route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 Photos to follow shortly of the work to date. This model fights more than a Mandalorian! There are some parts which fit together brilliantly and leave no visible seam - like the forward fuselage sides. But in other areas I seem to already spent a lot of time sanding away sprue attachment points, struggling to get things to fit and using lots of filler. Still, there's an ever growing pile of sub-assemblies coming together. I've also deviated from the build order and so have assembled the upper wing as one piece - rather than trying the assembly route both the instructions and the Glen Hoover book suggests. Hope I don't come to regret this later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) Well, two weeks in to the build I seem to have made lots of components - but with none of them actually finished. I'm collecting together quite a box of aircraft sections so, wing, rear fairing, drop-tank, wheel bay, two engine cores, cockpit, ejection seats etc. I've got one boom made and one wheel bay - although none of it is actually ready yet. As I mentioned before, I've joined the upper wing together as a single unit and then will build the various sections on to this. You can see from the filler that although it didn't go together perfectly, it actually wasn't too bad. I should also confess to my first disaster with this kit. The SAC nose-wheel leg has an upper and lower section. I joined the upper section into the nosewheel bay and then notices that it needed a large hole boring out in it for the lower section to fit into. Reaching for the trusty Dremel I started to drill and was doing well until the whole assembly including wheel bay, bulkheads and a lot of etched metal started spinning round at 1500 revs. Instinct took over and I grabbed it - causing some parts to disappear off into the garage, from where they haven't been seen again. The majority of the wheel-bay is however unharmed and can be salvaged - but the upper part of the nose-gear has been replaced by the kit plastic version. What is noticeable is the size of everything. When finished this is going to be a big kit. Wingspan is well over 30cm. Edited January 31, 2021 by Wentworth 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 A collection of parts is better than it all still being in the box. Getting stuff prepared is all part of the build and well done with the wings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 There should be a prize for getting to this point with an etched fret! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) So, some things are now starting to come together. We have a pair of hairdryers: A pair of decent looking ejection seats: And the main fuselage is joined together with the cockpit and wheel-bay inside. The next stage is to try and get the wing on. I want to add some wiring and more detail to the cockpit but there is very little clearance between the wing and the rear avionics area - so its structure before details. The missing bulkhead from the front of the nosewheel bay meant that getting everything in alignment was a challenge but I glued it all together in stages. I am slightly nervous about the left side of the front fuselage where the cockpit does look too high up. Edited February 14, 2021 by Wentworth Adding information 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 That cockpit looks very good and detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Very nice work, great looking cockpit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Yes that cockpit is looking great !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 I haven't had much modelling time this week, but the good news is that the wing went on reasonably easily. It certainly is a very strange looking creature at the moment. Also feeling rather worried about that nose seam. I'm also continuing to build assemblies as things start to come together. This is one of the main wheel wells: This is plastic modelling - but that's five pieces of etch, one of white metal and 6ish pieces of plastic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbdave Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Looks great I guess at that scale you can sit in it to paint the cockpit panel!. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 I feel like I'm getting somewhere now. All of the main components are together and I've started the process of filling, priming, sanding and re-priming. What is good is that it all fits squarely and looks in alignment, With the gun sponsons on it even sits straight on a surface. Can I give a massive shout-out to Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty? It is absolutely great and so quick to use. On parts of the fuselage and tails it has been absolutlely essential - but simply apply, wipe off the excess and let it dry. I've started to think about colours and have been testing them on an F-16 drop-tank. Here's the test of the two main brown colours for the upper surface. The lighter shade is a little dark and so I'll knock it down with about 30% white and it should be closer to the stone colour shown in pictures from 1991. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Coming together very well. Keep on forgetting to mention that passed these every day when to Ras Al Gar from Al Jubail until we moved into the desert. Nice to see these and the AV-8Bs going about their business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Super build 👏 love the seat and cockpit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 It's been almost a month since I last did an update. I've got to the point of thinking 'let's just get this thing finished' and I'm running out of patience slightly. It's big and it's complex as well. Getting the canopy top and the two rear quarterlights fitted was an absolute fiddle - and there are still quite a few areas where I could spend time filling and filing to improve the fit. Anyway - I've got primer on and the canopies, along with the Master pitot head masked. The prop blades have all be masked and painted with the red and white stripes and just need to be assembled. I had a bit of a crisis with the gun bays and sponsons. I installed the cannons and ammunition feed system and weathered the inside then decided (having looked at one reference) that the guns shouldn't have been fitted - so removed them and installed the covers in the closed position. Then I found pictures showing the guns in place with gulf war markings. Humph. The various photos on dstorm.eu are great but you can see how fittings and markings changed. One photo clearly shows the sensor turret in marine green but in the next one of the same aircraft it appears to be grey. I opted in the end to close up the nose and to install the sensor turret at this stage. Rather concerningly - in spite of using the supplied nose weight I think its turning into a tail-sitter. Fortunately I can still access inside the nose through the wheel-bay so I should be able to correct this and install some more weight. If my maths is right I've got four weeks to get the paint on, weather, sort out the undercarriage, the antennas, the engine doors etc along with the resin wheels. A loooong way to go in a short period of time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Looking very good and yes things did change rather quickly out there at this time. Pity that the nose weight supplied with the kit is insufficient to stop it being a tail sitter, hope that this is resolved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 15-days to go and I think we're making progress. We have the main colours on and the walkway on the top has just been added. There is a part of me which is asking whether I should have added the walkway or not - it may have been sprayed over on board the boat to the Middle East - but it is a really distinctive feature of the Bronco and it would be a shame not to have it. Next up we're on to the detail painting and the decals. I've acquired the mask set for this kit from Maketar (See https://www.scalemates.com/kits/maketar-mm32121v-ov-10d-bronco--1103383) which should enable me to get many of the markings done very quickly. The Kittyhawk instructions and decals are all in black - but photos of this aircraft seem to show the markings done in a dark grey. I'm going to use FS36118 - Gunship Grey as it's to hand and looks about the right colour. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Great work! The Bronco is a plane that I know next to nothing about... seems to be one of the unsung heros.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wentworth Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Pretty happy about the masks from Maketar. They were a bit fiddly to put on, but the result looks great. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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