1/32 OV-10D Bronco by Kitty Hawk

[spyrosjzmichos]

Hello everyone!

It's been some time since I posted any work on LSP.

Since my Revell F-4 debacle I took a break from 1/32 scale and worked on some 1/48 projects instead.

I decided to get back to my favourite scale and was looking for a modern but non-jet subject.

I came across Kitty Hawk's OV-10D kit and despite some negativity surrounding the kit itself and the manufacturer in general I bit the bullet and got it.

While I don't know much about the aircraft I immediately fell in love with its distinctive shape and overall agricultural look.

The kit is an excellent candidate for super-detailing considering its large canopy and provided open engines.

 

For this build, apart from the model itself, I'll be using AMS Resin's seats and True Details' wheels.

The rest of the details will be scratchbuilt.

So... Here goes! 

 

 

[spyrosjzmichos]

Work started with the cockpit, which I decided to detail as much as I could based on reference photos.

 

But first, those injection pin marks. The kit is riddled with these stuff. I wish KH had moulded these on the sides that would not be visible in the final assembly.

Alas, either by filling with superglue or with punched out plastic discs I was able to get rid of these pesky marks.

KH provides the front fuselage in four sections. I first glued the corresponding halve parts together and reinforced the joints with plasticard before proceeding with the cockpit itself.

 

The real Bronco cockpit is full of wires, either in bundles or individual cables.

And it's an easy way to busy up the cockpit by replicating these with lead wire.

Additional details were added with plasticard around the rear instrument panel cover and cockpit wall.

The AMS Resin seats are quite well detailed and even offer different seat belt configurations.

But the casting was a bit rough and required lots of careful clean up.

 

Finally, I also assembled the front wheel well. Cleaning up the injector pin marks on these parts was impossible due to the difficulty in accessing those areas.

I eventually covered them with larger pieces of plasticard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lothar]

I'll be following this one from my front row seat. I have both the A/C and D kits and only wait for some

inspiration to start. I've always been a fan of the Bronco - I've actually once built a 1/5scale RC model

from scratch.

So this will be interesting!!!!

 

Lothar

[spyrosjzmichos]

15 minutes ago, Lothar said:

I'll be following this one from my front row seat. I have both the A/C and D kits and only wait for some

inspiration to start. I've always been a fan of the Bronco - I've actually once built a 1/5scale RC model

from scratch.

So this will be interesting!!!!

 

Lothar

 

Thank you Lothar!

I've actually progressed quite a bit with the model and almost reaching the stage of painting.

I have so far been pleasantly surprised by the fit of the kit despite its complex shape.

Some extra support will be required when assembling the wings but the final fit is pretty good.

Not Tamiya levels good but quite good nonetheless.  

 

[Lothar]

Looking excellent so far! Have you decided on paintscheme and markings yet?

[spyrosjzmichos]

46 minutes ago, Lothar said:

Looking excellent so far! Have you decided on paintscheme and markings yet?

 

Oh, yes! I'll be going for the desert scheme! 

I've already found some good reference pics of heavily weathered aircraft from Desert Storm. 

[Out2gtcha]

Looking good!  I have another A model to build, and that will be my 3rd KHM OV-10.  It really is a fun kit to build if you know what you are getting into. There are just a few niggles to the kit that could help along the way:

 

- ejector pin marks. As you have seen already, there are quite a few of these in the kit, and some are in very visible spots. I would recommend Eduards PE kits, as some of these parts can go a long way to hiding some of the worse offenders, like in the wheel bays.

- Re-enforcement spare in the wing. KHM does not give any re-enforcement to the wings at all, and can cause them to droop quite significantly or break all together. Id recommend brass tubing for this.

- Missing details. - KHM Has left some minor and some not-so-minor details out, but Id check the individual airframe out to see, and as you already have found there are many MANY areas possible for adding detail.

- Engine mounts - If you follow the instructions here, it can get a bit hairy to get the two engine cowlings closed properly. Im not an open panels guy, so I found if you are going engine cowls close, all you have to do is add the engine/turbine face to hold the prop, which I would also recommend replacing with a brass tube and rod for ease of removal of the props.

- Gear. - This is a BIGGIE. the OOB cantilever gear is not strong enough to support the model over time. I would highly recommend replacing the OOB gear with Aerocraft Models OV-10 brass replacement gear. They are direct replacements, and are IMHO an absolute necessity.  If you do use the OOB I would recommend adding 5+ degrees of positive camber to the wheels in order to compensate for the sag of the plastic gear.

 

There are other things Im sure Ive forgotten, but IMHO nothing major that anyone with average modeling skills cant handle. Ive built a couple now, and I think the kit is really fun to work on, but has its share of oddities. Like a lot of KHM kits, it has gained an undeserved poor reputation. 

 

Good luck, and Im looking forward to what you do with it! 
 

 

 

[spyrosjzmichos]

20 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

Looking good!  I have another A model to build, and that will be my 3rd KHM OV-10.  It really is a fun kit to build if you know what you are getting into. There are just a few niggles to the kit that could help along the way:

 

- ejector pin marks. As you have seen already, there are quite a few of these in the kit, and some are in very visible spots. I would recommend Eduards PE kits, as some of these parts can go a long way to hiding some of the worse offenders, like in the wheel bays.

- Re-enforcement spare in the wing. KHM does not give any re-enforcement to the wings at all, and can cause them to droop quite significantly or break all together. Id recommend brass tubing for this.

- Missing details. - KHM Has left some minor and some not-so-minor details out, but Id check the individual airframe out to see, and as you already have found there are many MANY areas possible for adding detail.

- Engine mounts - If you follow the instructions here, it can get a bit hairy to get the two engine cowlings closed properly. Im not an open panels guy, so I found if you are going engine cowls close, all you have to do is add the engine/turbine face to hold the prop, which I would also recommend replacing with a brass tube and rod for ease of removal of the props.

- Gear. - This is a BIGGIE. the OOB cantilever gear is not strong enough to support the model over time. I would highly recommend replacing the OOB gear with Aerocraft Models OV-10 brass replacement gear. They are direct replacements, and are IMHO an absolute necessity.  If you do use the OOB I would recommend adding 5+ degrees of positive camber to the wheels in order to compensate for the sag of the plastic gear.

 

There are other things Im sure Ive forgotten, but IMHO nothing major that anyone with average modeling skills cant handle. Ive built a couple now, and I think the kit is really fun to work on, but has its share of oddities. Like a lot of KHM kits, it has gained an undeserved poor reputation. 

 

Good luck, and Im looking forward to what you do with it! 
 

 

 

 

Thank you for the advice Brian!

I've actually progressed quite a bit in the build and have followed most of your advice including the Eduard PE and the re-enforcement spar on the wing.

Unfortunately, I found out how bad the engine cowling fit is the hard way. But at least I had to deal with only one engine as the I will be leaving the other one exposed.

I may get the metal landing gear later as I've already finished the one's provided by KH.

I do agree with you that the kit isn't as bad as I initially thought. It certainly needs more work than say a Tamiya or Hasegawa kit but it's still pretty good.

I saw your OV-10 builds and they are both beautiful! 

[spyrosjzmichos]

I spent a few more days detailing the cockpit further with plasticard and lead wire.

I also built and cleaned up the nose section and FLIR pod.

The FLIR pod's clear parts don't really fit well but I was able to find a photo of the pod with FOD covers so will be replicating these at a later stage.

Initial test fit revealed no nasty surprises! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Out2gtcha]

Killer!  I like the looks of the wiring so far for sure.   One thing if I may, and its minor, and you may or may not wish to change, but the observer had his chute pack on the opposite side from the pilots. 

 

Coming along swimmingly now! 

[spyrosjzmichos]

13 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

Killer!  I like the looks of the wiring so far for sure.   One thing if I may, and its minor, and you may or may not wish to change, but the observer had his chute pack on the opposite side from the pilots. 

 

Coming along swimmingly now! 

 

Oh shoot! You're right! Ironically, it's even evident in the reference pics I collected! 

Unfortunately, the next pics I'll be posting will still show the wrong placement of the chute pack but I spent a few minutes yesterday night correcting this.

Thanks for pointing this out Brian! 

[spyrosjzmichos]

With the assembly and detailing of the cockpit complete I moved on to painting.

The cockpit was initially airbrushed with MRP colours (cockpit grey overall and black for the instrument panels and sides).

All the switches were brush painted with white acrylic while some were highlighted with yellow and red.

I followed the same procedure for the seats by airbrushing the structure with grey then the cushions with olive drab and red.

Detail painting was again done with a paint brush.

The instrument panels were painted with NATO black and each instrument dial was individually painted with dark sea grey.

I plan to use Airscale's instrument dial decals and Anyz Models' labels and stencils to further dress up the cockpit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is how the cockpit looks assembled at this point.

 

 

[Uncarina]

Wonderful progress so far!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[dodgem37]

Vibrant.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[spyrosjzmichos]

9 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Wonderful progress so far!

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Many thanks Tom!

 

5 hours ago, dodgem37 said:

Vibrant.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

 

Thank you so much Mark! The colours will eventually get toned down with the subsequent weathering and matt varnish.