1/48 Testors North American OV-10 A Bronco
VAL-4 "Black Ponies" was the only U.S.Navy group to fly OV-10's in Viet Nam. Although they were also flown by the U.S.A.F., and U.S.M.C., I've always felt that this was the only group that was allowed to use the OV-10 to it's full potential. The Bronco being my favorite aircraft, this became my favorite scheme. I had already done one decently, and decided to go all out on this one.
Many of you are familiar with the old Testors 1/48th kit. I believe there are more of those, unbuilt, sitting in closets, than Monogram B-36's. There's really not much to the kit which is ancient, and a direct descendant of the even older Hawk OV-10, short winged prototype. At the time I built this, there was precious little in the way of reference material, so I made my way to the nearest Air Force base to take pictures. They were very cooperative, even appreciative of my interest in their aircraft. There was no resin or PE available.
I have a list of what was done, but I won't bore you with it, only to say a couple hundred hours later, it looked like a Bronco to me, right down to the relief tube. Between the time it was built, and these pictures were taken, there had been some major damage and repair, but it now sits in my Bronco collection. I just thought I'd post it before all the 1/32 Broncos light up the internet. Please excuse the dust !
Great work on this old kit, Joe (inclusive the "weathering"). The Bronco is a favorite of mine too.
Don t fear builds from newer kits, its a great achievement, to create such a nice one from old plastic, well done !
Let me be the first to say….WOW. I do have several of those kits still sitting undone and this is how I wanted mine to look when finished. Good job Joe, now start the 32nd one.
I've had the privilege of seeing this one in the flesh, and it's every bit as nice as it looks in the photos. Beautiful model Joe!
Fantastic Joe, you did that pony proud. And even thou it says Testors on the box it is the old Hawk kit . My brother who is totally responsible for getting me into this addiction bought me this kit back in 64 or 65 .
I love it Joe. Awesome Bronco. I like the weapons load on this one! Well done!
Nice work making this one the proverbial "silk purse from a sow's ear" (or however that old adage goes). Anything that says 'Testor's' has to be a labor of love. Again...a nice job.
Sweet Bronc, Joe!
That's a cracking model Joe, Great detailing, the cockpit and the armament are very impressive!
Joe,
this is gorgeous. Your extra work is masterful. Great work. Ya dun good...
Joe, Your Bronco is a masterpiece. There's a lot of satisfaction to be had from taking an old, basic kit & putting in the hard yards. You've shown us just what can be done with patience & skill.
Thank you all for your generous comments.
"Some modeling skill required." 🙂
I think the time you've invested has paid off. Clearly, a lot of effort was needed to get to what we see here.
Excellent work! one of my old squadrons VS 41 was the trainingsquadron (way before my time) for USN OV 10s, I always found it a fascinating part of their history. From Ov10.net:
"VS-41 was the Navy training RAG for S-2s at NAS North Island, CA, and received their first OV-10 (BuNo 155460) on October 2, 1968. The squadron provided initial crew and replacement crew training for VAL-4. One aircraft (155460) was lost in a crash August 7, 1970 at North Island. The crew was killed. They had 4 OV-10s until February 3, 1972".
Crash Report - BUNO 155460 is available on the Black Ponies facebook page.
Job well done.
Interesting little gem.
Bravo! Don't you love it when a plan comes together. Now what did I do with my Bronco kit?
Great work Joe, as you said one of your fav aircraft.
A question Joe, what is a relief tube?
LOL.
Simon, You'd know what it was if you needed it !
What ? A burger!
I know what you meant Joe, the ground crews use to block the outlet if they had been P****D on.
Looks like you hit the bullseye with this one, Joe, great work on this old kit. Your love of the prototype really shows in this model.
Very nice model! I saw a German one at a Belgian Airshow last summer and your plane looks way better!
Very nice Bronc! One of my favorites also. My usual mantra is to only build one of everything (so I can actually build everything I want to), but I have 3 of these (1 built - 2 in the stash).
I remember getting one of these at an R/C show back in the 90's. Imagine my surprise when upon opening the box, there were two complete kits along with a canopy for a third! Kinda made up for the lack of cockpit detail!
I like how yours is all opened up. Could you include a shot of the engine seeing as the cowling is open? This is one kit that I didn't mind all the rivets on! I think the cool factor for the Bronco comes in its utility and simplicity, and yours looks great with all the extras!
Josh, I'm sorry for not having an engine shot, or that of the open gun bay, including the ejector chutes. I'll try to get a couple more shots next time I have it out of it's cabinet.
Totally missed that you had the top of the sponson open, even though it's right next toe the open engine cowlings! There's a lot to look at on this guy. I look forward to the added photos.
There you go, Josh...
Well done Joe! The more I go back and scan the photos the more details show up. Really great modeling.
California Steve