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While my MiG-15 sits on the wayside for being irritating I'm starting another build for the Marine Corps Campaign on Armorama.  The kit is from Academy, in 1/72nd scale, and represents an OV-10D Bronco as it would've appeared during Operation Desert Storm. Two squadrons of the USMC, VMO-1 & VMO-2, deployed with both the OV-10A and the OV-10D during the war. Rather than follow the camouflage scheme as shown on the boxart I intend to a wrap-around Lizard camouflage scheme consisting of grey, green and black. Should look interesting when complete.  A detailed shot of the sprues and decals; this kit is basically the OV-10A available from Academy with extra parts added to make the OV-10D. The giveaway comes from the AIM-9 Sidewinders included with the kit which are actually Vietnam ear AIM-9D's rather than the AIM-9L's used during the Gulf War.  Here we have the fuselage halves which are so short because of the interesting twin tail arrangement of the Bronco. You'll also note the multiple sink marks, I've filled the two most likely to be noticed once the fuselage is joined together.  Barring the ribbed section on the right these are all pieces of the cockpit and nosecone that had visible sink marks. I'm working on filling or removing those at the moment.
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Nice! I've one of these Broncos in the stash so I'll be watching this!  Vinny
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."-Albert Einstein
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 This is the camouflage scheme I'm looking to do, I found it on a website dedicated to Desert Storm.It's a great resource as it has the weapon loadouts and camouflage schemes for nearly all of the aircraft that served during the war except the Iraqi aircraft, I assume finding the information on those was pretty impossible. I'm a big fan of Counter Insurgency (COIN) aircraft and this is one of my favorites. I'd like to do an OV-1 Mohawk as well sometime. This build was also one of the reasons I bought a compressor and airbrush, hand painting that camouflage scheme would get very awkward. @stephen: That's a nice MiG-15, which kit is it?
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Nice one Sean - always liked that Marine wraparound scheme and look forward to seeing progress on this one. @ Stephen - Nice Mig and finish! Cheers, Dermot
On the bench:1/72 Airfix Gazelle conversion 1/72 Revell F-16A 1/72 Revell Ec-135 Completed BuildsIn the pipeline1/72 Revell F-14D Tomcat diorama
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Good choice of scheme Sean. Will it be loaded for bear?
Cheers
Sean
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Well the OV-10's deployed during the Gulf War, and during Vietnam, were usually acting as forward air controllers. Their job was to coordinate close air support missions between the troops on the ground and the aircraft performing the CAS missions.
To find a Bronco really loaded for bear you'd look to the U.S Navy during the Vietnam War. For several years they operated a squadron of OV-10A's to support SEAL teams and riverine forces throughout the Mekong Delta, these Bronco's would've been very heavily armed.
Anyway, back to the Gulf War. According to the Desert Storm website I linked to in a post above the USMC OV-10's carried the following:
# Two LAU-10 rocket pods each fitted with four 5" Zuni rockets.
# A single LAU-68 rocket pod fitted with seven flare rockets.
# A single AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile
# The OV-10A's had four M60 machine guns fitted in pods on the fuselage although they were often removed during Desert Storm as the Bronco's were flying at about 15,000 feet. The OV-10D's had their M60's upgraded to 30mm cannons.
Apparently the Bronco crews would've preferred to carry two Sidewinders but they were prioritized to the jets instead. As it turned out the greatest threat to the OV-10's during the Gulf War came from shoulder launched surface-to-air missiles. The OV-10A's in particular lacked any kind of infrared countermeasures.
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Alright guys, I’m going to need some help here. I’ve been looking through Google Images and Flickr trying to get together some good images of the cockpit for the OV-10D, although I’d settle for an OV-10A, but I’m not doing very well.
Most of the pictures I’ve found are of Broncos in fire fighter service with some extra gadgetry added to the aircraft so not very helpful. So if anyone can dig up some good images of the Bronco’s cockpit I’d be more than grateful. I’m particularly interested in the seats, harnesses and the rear of the cockpit.
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Hey Sean, Found the following - not sure if they're what you're looking for but maybe might be.. A series.. http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spidle3/ov-10a_67-14623/index.php?Page=1http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/ov-10/ov-10a.shtmlhttp://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista.com/bronco/bronco.htmShots of the D model here, but unfortunately no cockpit http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/ov-10/ov-10d.shtmlMore D series, with cockpit http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spidle2/ov-10d_155494/index.php?Page=1Hope this helps. Cheers, Dermot
On the bench:1/72 Airfix Gazelle conversion 1/72 Revell F-16A 1/72 Revell Ec-135 Completed BuildsIn the pipeline1/72 Revell F-14D Tomcat diorama
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Those were of great help, thanks Dermot. I'll have a better idea where to look for details shots in the future as well.
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AlcatrazLogan wrote: According to the Desert Storm website I linked to in a post above the USMC OV-10's carried the following:
# Two LAU-10 rocket pods each fitted with four 5" Zuni rockets.
# A single LAU-68 rocket pod fitted with seven flare rockets.
# A single AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile
# The OV-10A's had four M60 machine guns fitted in pods on the fuselage although they were often removed during Desert Storm as the Bronco's were flying at about 15,000 feet. The OV-10D's had their M60's upgraded to 30mm cannons.
That's enough to make it look interesting!
Cheers Sean
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I've been working away on the cockpit of the Bronco for the last while. What Academy provides is fairly sparse and for the OV-10A I suspect. I've tried to add some detail where I could but super detailing, or whatever you prefer to call it, isn't really my forte. I don't have the patience to carefully cut and shape aftermarket styrene. I've only got the one picture to show, it was getting the dark as it was taken which didn't help and the gloss coat has made everything look pretty dull. It looks better in person I can assure you and should look even better once weathered.  Some additional detail I've added include seatbelts made from green putty, they're a little on the thick side but once weathered and viewed through the canopy I think they'll look good. I also used green putty to add padding to both seats and I used it yet again on the front sidewalls to put down a few buttons. Academy left this area bare and I felt it needed something. There is a throttle lever there on the real aircraft but I couldn't replicate that. I added a black box to the side of the front seat as there seemed to be one on the real aircraft. I've also added another box to the top of the rear console and I'm going to paint a screen on it. Finally I noticed that the Bronco has an abundance of cables snaking through the cockpit. I desperately wanted to recreate that as I thought it would look impressive. I first tried simulating the cables using strands of picture hanging wire but it wouldn't bend the way I wanted it too and the super glue wouldn't hold it down. Odd I thought as it was holding the wire to my hands pretty well.  So I settled on thin white thread. The thread was dipped in future and left to dry before 'installation.' You see when I get around to weathering the cockpit I want the wash to pool around the thread but not stain into it, the future should keep it safe. Also the wash could've caused fibres to splay out of the thread which I also didn't want. It happened when I tried to paint un-futured thread, terrible looking. The plan of action is to build a shelf at the back of the cockpit, another thing Academy neglected to add, and run the threads into a box. Hopefully by the end it'll all come together. It's not something I'd been too keen on jumping into again.
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Very nice work Sean.....especially when I think how small that cockpit must be. It is 1/72 scale, right?
Cheers
Sean
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Yep, I was using a pair of tweezers and a cocktail stick to manipulate the thread. Of course after I closed up the cockpit today the effect of the thread wasn't great in the end. Ah well, you live and learn.
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Another update with loads of pictures too. So I've closed up the fuselage halves and thankfully the seams on the tub aren't that bad but I've realized the Bronco is going to have lots of sub assemblies so there will be seams aplenty soon enough.  You can see what I was trying to do with the thread here; I made a 'fuse box' of sorts out of green putty with the idea of feeding the threads into it. I don't think the effect was really pulled off very well. In fact once I started weathering the cockpit the thread stained, as you can see, which I didn't really want. I'm just hoping that once the canopy is on it'll all come together.  The weathering was done with a Citadel wash, Babab Black in this case, and then a matt coat followed. The shelf the fuse box is sitting on is a piece of evergreen; Academy provided nothing for this area and there would've been a hole into the fuselage visible through the canopy. I still need to block up the back of it.  So that's the cockpit, certainly not the best I've done but it'll do I think. I might add some brake lines to the landing gears later in the build so if anyone has any suggestions for a good, and easily attainable, material for brake lines then let me know.  Weight is going to be a big issue for this build, I can tell. Academy suggests about 8g for the nose but there's absolutely no room in there. So I've added to two fishing weights immediately behind the cockpit and I'm hoping this will place weight just forward, or on, the main landing gear. I might be able to squeeze some one cent coins into the tail booms just behind the props to add in more weight.  You can see a few seams here on the underside of the fuselage tub. The indented area accepts the weapons station which will create more work as its fit isn't great. The fit of the nose to the fuselage also isn't great.  And here is the weapons station; the grooves in the front accept the OV-10's guns which are M60 machine guns. I thought I read somewhere that some OV-10D's had their M60's upgraded to 30mm cannons but I'm not sure. I'll be leaving the guns off until late in the build to make sure I don't damage them.  The OV-10 has long 40 foot wing and the kit wing comes in two pieces that need to be joined together with four small holes drilled out first for the wing pylons. The middle gap at the back of the wing slots over the fuselage tub while the other two gaps accept the tail booms. As far as sub assemblies go first I'll need to add the weapon station to the fuselage tub and clean that up. Then I'll add the wing to the top of the fuselage tub and clean that up. The tail booms will be assembled, and cleaned up, then attached to the wing and, again, cleaned up. Lots of seams and gaps to look forward too.  Finally the weapons loadout for the Bronco. Moving from left to right there are two LAU-10 rocket pods, an LAU-68 rocket pod, a 150 gallon fuel tank, an AIM-9L Sidewinder and a wing pylon launch rail for the Sidewinder. I took the loadout information from the Desert Storm website I mentioned earlier in the build blog. The three rocket pods came from the old Italeri NATO weapons set, two of which I bought recently from eBay. The Sidewinder came from a Hasegawa weapon set and the fuel tank plus the wing pylon are from the kit. So the next big job is to get the sub assemblies built and start joining everything together, then the Bronco can really start taking shape. There's a lot work involved but it's worth it for a Bronco in my opinion, great looking aircraft. Now, let me ask everyone one last question. Considering the amount of gaps and seams I'll be facing what is everyone's favoured method for dealing with them?
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Sean
I've been following this thread for some time - marvellous work there!
On your question: I've used a lot of various fillers for gaps, but the best (IMHO) is Mr Surfacer, if the gaps are not too wide. I use the 500 for gaps, and then 1000 for scratches, little places where my knife has gone and shouldn't have etc.
In terms of more normal fillers, I use Squadron white, which I mix up with a little water, and smooth it out with a finger and/or old knife end before it gets dry. I have used the Squadron Green, with non-acetone nail varnish remover to smooth out (as it's not water soluble). However, I find the Green to be a bit rough in texture, and crumbly when it dries, whereas the white (also called superfine) does what it says on the tin/pack and is much smoother.
In terms of sanding seams, I use wet and dry - usually 400 or 600, cut small and rubbed with the curve (to avoid making flat bits), and then I buff it up with micro-mesh, from 1000 up to 12,000 grade.
That's my two cents worth - others may wish to contribute with their own favourites....
Keep posting - this is a great thread, and will turn out to be a fine model.
Philip
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Hopefully it'll all work out at the end, looks like a nice little thingy...
As for the filling bit, as many opinions as many people. The quickest way is to pour a bit of superglue into the seams, layer after layer using piece of needle or blade as a applicator to make sure that the glue gets where it should be and not anywhere else.
Leave it sit for an hour or so and then sand it with 400-600 wet paper, whichever works best - you will need to get paper for wet use in motorfactors.
Than a quick brushover with Mr. Surfacer, another quick wet sand with fine sandpaper and done.
For larger areas I am using Tamiya Putty, it's not drying out as much as other fillers I have used and sands easily.
And for the real challenging gaps Tamiya Polyester putty - or Milliput - is the way to go. Fill it, let it sit, sand it down and then some finer filler to make it perfect.
Filling and sanding is the longest and most boring, nevertheless, one of the most noticable and important part of any build.
Filip
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The lads have covered the best brands of fillers above but I'd like to suggest the best gap filler of them all and it's in plentiful supply with every kit... plastic sprue! Stretch it over a candle to produce strands of plastic as wide and you need them. Cut as necessary and place into the gap. Add a tiny amount of extra thin liquid cement (like Tamiya) and let the capillary action to work. You can, if you want, stuff the plastic in further when it's gooey. Let it ooze out and fill the area. It'll bond, sand and rescribe better than any filler out there. You can go over the surface area with a fine filler like Squadron White/Tamiya White. And then finish off with a coat of Mr Surfacer to fill in any scratches. I use this method all the time on fuselage seams and wingroot gaps as it's a no fuss method and doesn't require too much sanding. It's especially good for gaps at wing roots as you're bonding the plastic with it's own plastic so you don't get any cracks further along in the build due to wing flex while holding and so on. You can finish off the root with some carefully placed filler wiped down with nail polish remover with acetone. Philip suggests water, but I've never heard of that only with Milliput, or nail polish remover without Acetone... which I find odd as the Acetone is the important ingredient here that breaks the filler down. Go easy with the nail polish remover as Acetone can eat into plastic (and will remove any paint). The way I look at gaps is to avoid filler as much as possible. Use plastic as much as you can. If there are large areas or dents in the plastic then you have to use filler to smooth them out. For large areas, fill with Squadron Green as a good rough foundation, then sand, then top off with a finer filler (Squadron white, Tamiya White or similar), sand again, then finish with Mr Surfacer which is essentially a primer/microfiller. The most important thing is build up the area with thin layers of filler and give it time... or else you'll notice when you at the painting stage that the filler has shrunk. Superglue is a good filler but if left to cure for too long becomes like glass and you'll end up removing more of the softer surface (i.e. the plastic) around it when sanding. Like Filip said, keep it need and tidy. On a typical model I will use about 5 or 6 different types of filler (plasticard/stretched sprue, Squadron Green, Revell Plasto, Tamiya White, Mr Surface (500,1000 & 1200). I recently starting using Revell Plasto more than the Tamiya White and I'm very impressed with it. It doesn't shrink as much as Tamiya. As for sanding, work up in grades but there's no need to overkill. Philip suggests going up to 12,000 but that will leave the plastic VERY smooth and you want some teeth in the surface to grip the paint. 1000, or maybe 1200 at most, will be fine pre-primer and paint. Keep the high grades for buffing out your paint jobs. Check out these very good "how to" articles: Filling and Sanding, Without SandpaperUsing Stretched Sprue as a FillerFilling with PlasticNice work so far. Happy Modelling! Vinny
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Thanks for the links guys.
Now, this is a question mainly for the Dublin guys, where in the city do you suppose you can find thin lead sheet or wire? Also, where do you usually get Wet and Dry from?
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