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Time for round 2: the battle of 1/72 OV-10 Broncos!

This build will feature the Academy and Hasegawa OV-10D Bronco offerings.

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The Hasegawa kit is actually their OV-10A kit, to include the original decal sheet with colorful VMO-2 and USAF markings. They include a white metal long nose conversion and an extra decal sheet with two different VMO-2 camouflage schemes and a VMO-1 camo scheme. This is an old kit with raised detail. I plan to build it as a California Department of Forestry (CDF) fire spotter OV-10A using Draw Decals.

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Here is the academy kit. This is identical to their OV-10A kit, but with an additional sprue containing the specific parts needed to make a D variant. The long nose is made up of two injection molded halves. It's a more modern release with engraved detail. I plan to add CMK's resin cockpit to this build. It'll be a USMC OV-10D wearing the green/grey/black camouflage pattern and Wolfpak decals.

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I started messing with the Academy Bronco by cleaning up the CMK resind cockpit tub, sidewalls, and nose gear bay. I had previously painted the base coat on these parts a couple of years ago. 

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The locating tabs for the kit cockpit parts had to be removed to make room for the resin parts.

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Dry fitting the cockpit tub into the fuselage halves. It all went in without too much sanding.

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On this kit, there you have to cut out the area where the chaff buckets go. There are recessed guides on the inside surface of the part.

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I did a little more tinkering with these Broncos last night. It's pretty clear the Academy based their kit on the Hasegawa kit. While there's only so many ways you can lay out the parts for a Bronco, there are a lot of similarities between the two kits. Academy just improved upon Hasegawa's effort by engraving the panel lines and adding wheel wells (Hasegawa has none) and improving the cockpit. That said, the Hasegawa parts still seem to fit a little better.

 

The tail booms of the two kits could be interchangeable.

7L5BDH2.jpg

 

Here are the cockpits: Hasegawa on the left and Academy on the right. Hasegawa is VERY basic. Academy, while also not super-detailed, is far more usable. Since I'm using the CMK cockpit on my Academy build, I'm going to use the Academy kit parts on my Hasegawa build. I just had to trim about 1/8" off the back of the Academy cockpit tub and remove the nose gear bay details from under the tub to get it all to fit.

OJ5JiMy.jpg

 

Edited by picknpluck
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On 11/23/2019 at 9:52 AM, picknpluck said:

I did a little more tinkering with these Broncos last night. It's pretty clear the Academy based their kit on the Hasegawa kit. While there's only so many ways you can lay out the parts for a Bronco, there are a lot of similarities between the two kits. Academy just improved upon Hasegawa's effort by engraving the panel lines and adding wheel wells (Hasegawa has none) and improving the cockpit. That said, the Hasegawa parts still seem to fit a little better.

 

The tail booms of the two kits could be interchangeable.

7L5BDH2.jpg

 

Here are the cockpits: Hasegawa on the left and Academy on the right. Hasegawa is VERY basic. Academy, while also not super-detailed, is far more usable. Since I'm using the CMK cockpit on my Academy build, I'm going to use the Academy kit parts on my Hasegawa build. I just had to trim about 1/8" off the back of the Academy cockpit tub and remove the nose gear bay details from under the tub to get it all to fit.

OJ5JiMy.jpg

 

 

O2 Masks on the pilots?

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On 11/25/2019 at 4:26 PM, Da SWO said:

 

O2 Masks on the pilots?

Yeah... I think I'm going to build the Hasegawa kit in-flight, so I ordered a set of pilots from PJ Productions. They're wearing ball caps and sunglasses, which seems much more appropriate for a Cal Fire bird.

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I assembled the tail booms and glued them to the wings. I think I'll paint before putting on the center fuselage and touch up the join areas after the fact. Also, I've decided to do the Cal Fire OV-10A (Hasegawa) in-flight.

 

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Here is the CMK pit and the Academy pit, which is going into the Hasegawa kit. Neither cockpit is complete yet.

 

wFpigAn.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wasn't happy with the Academy cockpit parts going into the Hasegawa kit as-is so I decided to scratch out the rear deck area using the CMK cockpit as a basis. I still plan to add some wiring to both cockpits. This was supposed to be a quick build, but things are starting to take on a life of their own.

 

8eSzhIy.jpg

 

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2 hours ago, picknpluck said:

This was supposed to be a quick build, but things are starting to take on a life of their own.

 

 

 

 

This happens tome frequently. But a little time spent now should result in a much nicer model.  Nice work so far.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bench time has been somewhat limited of late, but I managed to get the fuselage buttoned up on the Academy OV-10D with CMK pit. As you can see, I needed a bit of putty to fill decent-sized gaps along the lower sponsons and the extended nose section. There's not a ton of room for nose weight and this kit needs it. Hopefully I put in enough! CMK includes a resin nose gear well but it's about 1/8" too short so there's a gap at the forward end.

QVrXd8T.jpg

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I got some paint laid down on the OV-10D. I painted the fuselage and tail assembly separately for obvious reasons. I'll have to fill the seam where the leading edge of the wings mates to the fuselage just aft of the canopy. Once that's done, I can finish painting it.

 

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SxGpld1.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update on the Hasegawa OV-10A: I added some lead wire to the cockpit to replicate the amole wiring harness that is visible in typical Bronco cockpits and repainted everything.

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I also removed the stub wings and weapons stations since this is a civil fire spotter.

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I dry-fit the main fuselage to the tail and wing assembly, but will paint these two assemblies separately. Getting there...

 OAhKJ5q.jpg

 

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  • 1 month later...

I swear, I haven't given up on this yet...I've just been sidetracked by other projects. While I didn't take any pics, I did manage to get a coat of white primer down on the twin boom assembly. I've got some seams to go back and clean up a little bit. Must....maintain...motivation!

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3 hours ago, picknpluck said:

I swear, I haven't given up on this yet...I've just been sidetracked by other projects. While I didn't take any pics, I did manage to get a coat of white primer down on the twin boom assembly. I've got some seams to go back and clean up a little bit. Must....maintain...motivation!

yes, I hear ya... Just check in when you can, I am really side tracked as well. 

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