On a recent LHS recon I picked up a Testors 1/48 OV10 Bronco. Lets say the detail leaves something to be desired. Sinkhole fillers dream! Thanks in advance for a link where i can find some good fotos especially cockpit/seat! Also does anyone know what model seat was used? Any aftermarkets out there?
Paragon has a set OOP but still can be found from time to time especially on Ebay. Unfortunatly it goes for OOP prices… I really hope that when Paragon sets up shop again its re-released. Theres another set out there but the name right now eludes me.
Thanks Awood, no more Bronc fans out there?
Hmmm, as an aside…
I worked with the Crew Chief of the particular Bronco that Testors modeled in the original release. He was tickled pink to see the decals… SGT T TURNER, which is on the ‘Commander’s Bird’. He has some fond memories of that bird… We did talk about the kit, I brought my copy of it in for him to look at, and he said what they put in the kit was what was on the bird at the time. We have an OV-10 on display here at DM, unfortunately, you can’t see into the interior [:(]
Anyway, I have to agree, detail stinks on this kit [:(!]… I started to scratchbuild details for this model, but put it aside… I’ll dig it out and take pics of what I’ve done.
The Paragon set is the way to go if you can get one.
Here are a couple of buildups on the web
http://www.scaleworkshop.com/workshop/ov10thenandnowda_2.htm
Umm,I`m a fan too…
I have the 1/72 Academy kit,just waiting for my Eduard photo etch kit to come,
I used to like seeing these flying around on my way to Vegas in the Vicinity of George AFB
thanks
Phil/Rt4957
Chief thanks for the offer, would love to see your pics! By the way my papa was a Herk driver. Philp, great link, now I see the possibilities. Wish I could find one of them add ons.RT, ya reckon they make a 48 as well? I worked with Broncs and A4s once at 29 palms, that was a cool airplane show!
I built one years ago, painting it a non-standard desert sand with dark brown splotches, decaling it with some leftover Luftwaffe WW2 crosses. Made a diorama of it crashed into the desert, with a M3-Lee tank nearby and Gen Patton hisself standing agog.
Don’t remember if I sold it or I stuck it in a box somewheres. I know I didn’t know much about figure painting back then and Patton sorta didn’t look right.
Maybe I should make another one?
I find it hard to believe that the Testors OV-10 is exactly like the original bird. Hell, it’s only got one seat in the cockpit and I’ve NEVER seen that in an operational (DOD) OV-10.
Anyway, since it was the only 1/48th offering out there, I too picked one up. I got the cockpit and external upgrade/detail set from missing links from Rolls Models.
I love the Bronco! Try http://www.ov-10bronco.net/techspecs-ov10a.cfm
and a search on airliners.net
Salbando, Thanks for the link! Excuse my ignorance but is missing links an aftermarket add on that maybe I can find here in Europe? My papa flew ARRS C130s out of Lajes Field Azores !966-67. Whatever happend to the Fulton recovery device?
Missing links is indeed an aftermarket resin detail company. The only place I’ve sen them is at Rolls Models website. I’m pretty sure that he ships to Europe. I had to wait a while for mine, as the guy making all the Missing Links stuff was a little behind, but John Roll is great to work with and should be able to help you out.
Lajes is a GREAT stopover when we come back from the sandbox. The Fulton system officially went away in the 1990’s (if I remember correctly), mainly because if the threats were such that you could troll a Herk through the pick-up area, then you could send a Helo to do the pick up as well. Add to that the high percentage of injuries sustained and it just wasn’t tactically sound to employ the system anymore. For quite a while, the H/MC-130P’s still had the Fulton nose, and you may even still see some out there today with that characteristic feature. That’s how you can tell it’s an old tired “P” model. Of Interest is the cables coated with something like razor blades that ran from the nose to the wing tips, in case the pilot missed the pick-up cable with the Fulton yoke.
Salbando, many thanks again, I think you might have hooked me up. Thanks for the scoop on the Fulton. Now I know why my papa always laughed when he saw that scene in The Green Berets! Glad you enjoyed the Azores. I was only 4 or 5 when I was there but I remember my folks freakin when they found out the maid was giving me and my 2 year old brother wine at lunch. Her explanation? It makes the ninos sleep so good! They didn´t fire her.
The OV-10’s that were at George AFB, most flew without the rear seat installed. When on a FAC mission, carrying external ordinance, the aircraft needed all the power the engines could put out. The rear cockpit was stripped to save weight. As it was, the aircraft was so slow, the crew used to say, it would take a bird strike from the rear.
I have been told the Marine OV-10’s had a more powerful engine than the AF version at George AFB.
44mac,
Not a problem. Glad to here you were able to find what you needed.
Berney,
Waaaayyyyyyy back when (and I’m not telling what I was involved with at the time or how old I was [:D]), I actually got an incentive ride in an OV-10 at George. It definately had a back seat as did #2 in the formation. We had two seven shot HVAR pods during the flight, but that’s not the interesting part. The interesting part is that during the pre-mission brief, my pilot was going over egress/ejection procedures. He said “if we lose an engine on take-off, we’re departing the aircraft. I’ll say eject, eject, eject, and if you here it the third time you’ll be alone in the aircraft”. When I asked why we couldn’t dump everything and bring her back around, he said that the engines were so tired, and their shaft horpower had been de-rated so much that it could not perform a single engine go around.
I will say that the Bronco had the best cockpit visibility I have ever seen.
Hmmmmmm…Maybe a few more stripes (and winning the lottery) and I could snag one from uncle sugar.
The ejection seat was the North American LW-3B. It was also used in the XV-15.
Well, that explains why my buddy said it was pretty accurate… his bird was the CO’s bird at George AFB. Didn’t know they ran around minus the second seat… he said that Testors took lots of pics of his bird, and he showed me a real nice 8X10 taken by their reasearch staff, given to him in appreciation for his help…
The official word from a person that maintained the life support equipment on the OV-10’s at George AFB. The OV-10 was used as FAC and the rear cockpit was set us for an observer only. The rear cockpit had no flight controles or flight instruments. Most aircraft, but not all, had the rear cockpit stripped. A few aircraft were maintained with the seat installed for VIP or incentive rides.
On aircraft with full aft cockpit seating, the aircraft were stripped of other items, such as the guns, to save weight. The aircraft at George AFB, were the early models which had the low power engines producing low SHP. There were weight restrictions placed on the aircraft, resulting in restricted load carrying capability and reduced mission capability. By removing the rear cockpit systems, more load could be carried, in the form of guns, rocket pods, etc.
The Marines received the up dated version of the OV-10 having up graded engines and greater load carrying capability. The OV-10’s at DM also were modified aircraft with new engines installed increasing their capability.
If you are modeling an aircraft from GAFB, you will be correct to show the rear cockpit empty. If you include a seat, you will have to delete the guns.
Man! You guys are good! I now know more than I knew I didn´t Know! As a University of Parris Island Alumni I beleive my Bronc will have Marines painted on the side. Thanks again to all for your time and help.
Sorry it took so long in getting this up, but here’s what I’ve done so far to my Testors Bronco:
This is fairly accurate for the Wheel Well details. All that I need to do to this one is paint it white, add the wiring harnesses, then glue the other boom to it. I thought I was further along with this kit… how the memory goes as you get older… [:-^]
Good job. Keep us posted with your progress.