1/48 Testors O2-A and OV-10 |
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Gallery Article by Darius Aibara
on Aug 13 2003 |
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USAF FAC Birds
These are the 1:48
Testors kits of two of the USAF Forward Air Control Aircraft used in Vietnam in
the late 60's and early 70's. The Testors O2-A kit is nicely detailed
(better than the box top picture of a completed model would have you believe)
and goes together pretty well straight out of the box. The lower starboard
and cabin roof glazing apertures are not provided in the kit fuselage mouldings
- you get decals to represent them. Testors do, however, provide the
glazing for these windows on the clear sprue so I used the decals as guides to
drill and cut away the fuselage to create the apertures for these windows.
Everything else was as per the kit, however I made a new instrument panel from
thin plastic card behind which I used the kit decal instrument panel - similar
to the photo etched systems that you can buy but somewhat cheaper!
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Kit glazing was
installed on the completed fuselage using Crystal Clear and then masked prior to
priming with grey acrylic spay auto primer. I then brush applied the final
enamel coat using Humbrol colours and applied the kit decals to represent an
O2-A of the 19th TASS (Tactical Air Support Squadron) at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam
in 1969. The whip aerials on the upper wing are individual bristles from an old
house paint brush. Looking at pictures of O2-As I see that I have missed
the small anti-glare plates on the wing leading edge next to the wing lights - a
future Sunday afternoon job perhaps