Testors | No. 506 | 1:48 | North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

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March 1, 2024
2021/22: OOB build of the vintage '80s Testors 1/48 kit.
2
September 22, 2021
Unboxing another vintage (1988) kit that I have in the stash. I love this experimental Marines camouflage scheme - though obviously it's a tri-colour one - so more complicated to achieve. I may have a crack at hand painting this one - just for fun!
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September 22, 2021
Plastic is a bit 'bendy'. So before gluing am applying some pressure and will use hairdryer on fuselage, then leave near boiler to keep warm for a bit.
4
September 22, 2021
Same here also. Pinched then applied gentle heat to parts.
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September 22, 2021
Getting better.
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September 22, 2021
Ensuring fit of wing with some maximum clamping!
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September 22, 2021
Primer applied - with an airbrush. It's also all a bit straighter.
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September 22, 2021
Building armaments and cleaning up parts, fair bit of flash on everything and those pesky part numbers.
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September 22, 2021
There are injection holes on everything also.
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December 6, 2021
Pinching twin booms.
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December 6, 2021
Further putty and tidying up prior to priming. I did add weight to both halves of front nose fuselage, but then...
12
December 6, 2021
Discovered it needed a LOT more. See bottom right! Oh no! A tail sitter!
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December 6, 2021
Some more putty and sanding/filling going on.
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December 6, 2021
A LOT more fishing weights and some standard (smooth) DIY household filler added. Weight issue solved. The front undercarriage is pretty solid, so should be fine with the weight.
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February 16, 2022
Smoothing and sanding.
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March 11, 2022
Primed.
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March 11, 2022
Priming and adding raised details back to the parts.
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March 14, 2022
OK, so on A whim, I decided I'd park the airbrush for the USMC scheme and paint the entire camouflage pattern by hand. To be honest I couldn't be doing with all the masking!
19
March 14, 2022
Paint being used here is a water thinned Vallejo NATO green primer. It's not the exact colour, but a decent enough approximation of the box art green.
20
March 14, 2022
Several light coats and laborious curve camouflage painting later it's beginning to look the part. I made a mess of the central wing curve by spilling paint. So a dash of base grey primer again applied with airbrush and then back to hand painting the curves.
21
March 14, 2022
I lightly outlined the camouflage based on instructions first, then infilled with flat colour.
22
March 14, 2022
Nothing is glued/assembled yet. Much easier to paint main components separately. I did use the airbrush again to sort out a base primer issue in the middle of the wing, aside from that, it's all with 'sticks'!
23
March 14, 2022
Touching up some minor imperfections in my curve painting.
24
March 14, 2022
Not too bad. Not flat like an airbrush finish, but not terrible. Now I've got 'my eye in' a bit on how the paint behaves on larger surfaces I'll be able to stick paint flat colours better next time. I'm also not sure that using Vallejo Model Air is the best choice as obviously it's designed for airbrush use.
25
March 14, 2022
Final checks that my camouflage pattern matches on all panels before gluing.
26
March 15, 2022
Then gluing (top left) and then infilling, scribing and sanding where kit didn't want to perform as it should 😉
27
March 15, 2022
Propeller work - I mucked this up on one set of masking, paint seeped under when painting red lines. However went back and made good.
28
March 15, 2022
Assembled, painted and NOT tail sitting... Winner!
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March 18, 2022
30
April 8, 2022
I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out, for a predominantly stick painted scheme.
31
April 8, 2022
Adding some post paint job grime. I just apply this directly on my paint work, using a dry brush, powders, pencil, charcoals, WD40, anything I have to hand that grimes everything up a bit. I've also rubbed off paint from a few panel rivets to expose the base colour grey. To make the whole airframe look a bit 'used'.
32
April 8, 2022
Finished adding a touch post paint grime to all panels... Now the obligatory gloss coat prior to decaling...
33
April 8, 2022
Explanation instructions of paint scheme, airframe now varnished, so decals at the ready...
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April 29, 2022
35
May 6, 2022
Finally getting somewhere!... Adding wheels (still more to do), ordnance and props...
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June 14, 2022
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June 14, 2022
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June 14, 2022
Assembling canopy and priming inside and out - hand painted. Canopy doesn't line up particularly well. I note others who've built this kit have had to overcome same issues.
39
June 14, 2022
Camouflage painting canopy - I have subsequently tidied up lines and double dipped in Pledge, so now nice and shiny!
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Comments

75 22 September 2021, 13:34

Neil
Added initial build imagery 👍

1 October 2021, 19:27

Robert Podkoński
Looks demanding so far... Watching with interest 😉

6 December 2021, 14:28

Neil
Hi Robert 🙂 Thanks for your comment, great to have you onboard. Yeah you're right... I was hoping for a quick (in-between) build of another vintage kit. There isn't a lot to it as far as parts go but it is fighting me somewhat, still I'm not resigning it to the shelf of doom yet. It's beginning to shape up (a bit!)

6 December 2021, 17:01

Robert Podkoński
Carry on, Neil! 😉

6 December 2021, 18:04

Neil
👍 Cheers. Will do mate. Albeit slowly I suspect! 🤣

6 December 2021, 19:12

Ian Christie
I love twin boomers and had a wish to do a bronco, so interested in seeing where this goes. I have similar putty requirements with the o-2 skymaster i have 'paused' on.

16 February 2022, 12:57

Neil
Hi Ian 🙂 yeah this old Testors kit has required a fair bit of putty for sure. Thanks for your comment. Nice to have your interest 👍

16 February 2022, 20:45

Jose Freire
A plane i like very much, following.

16 February 2022, 21:25

Neil
Excellent! Welcome Jose 🙂👍

17 February 2022, 18:24

Jv
Nice work
Taking a seat

15 March 2022, 11:17

Robert Podkoński
Fantastic work on the camo, Neil!

15 March 2022, 11:41

Neil
Thanks very much Robert 🙂👍

16 March 2022, 21:13

Patryk S.
Going along great!

16 March 2022, 21:37

Neil
Excellent, weclome Jv and thanks for commenting also Patryk S 🙂👍

17 March 2022, 21:29

Jv
Looks like you are brush painting everything very well done

18 March 2022, 10:24

Neil
Hi Jv, thanks for your interest 🙂 yes, all the camouflage has been brush painted... Just for the hell of it! 😂 But meant no masking of course.

18 March 2022, 23:48

Jv
Yes interesting to me sens I am still limited in tools
So great to see results like this

19 March 2022, 01:53

Neil
Hi Jv, thanks for the feedback, very kind of you. Yes, I usually mix it up on a paint job, using airbrush and a stick... I can never be arsed with a load of masking on camo, especially tri-colour schemes, sloppy of me I know! 😉 😅 Thanks for the likes mates also 👍

26 March 2022, 17:05

Neil
Hi Roland 🙂 thanks for the like. Agreed, there's something 'cute' about it as a design! I know that kit too... My lesson learnt on this one - you need a lot of nose weight! Obviously looking forward to seeing your build very much mate 👍

8 April 2022, 10:57

James C
Great job on the camouflage, and especially so for being done with a hairy stick! Looking fantastic!👍

12 May 2022, 17:17

Neil
Hiya James, thanks very much! 😊

17 May 2022, 23:03

Chan Li
So this was hand painted camo… are you a marksman in army or so? What a steady hand!

23 May 2022, 13:01

Neil
Hiya Chan Li 🙂 haha... Nothing like that for me! Thanks very much for your comment - It's because I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered to mask it all up! So decided to use a 'hairy stick' instead. I'm happy with the result and nearly there with it, more images coming soon 👍

24 May 2022, 13:25

Chan Li
It looks good though, smooth and even, I used to do hand paint as well… but now I rely too much on airbrush.

24 May 2022, 15:16

Neil
Thanks for commenting mate 👍 very kind of you to say so 🙂

23 July 2022, 14:25

David Culp
Looks great! The Testors main landing gear look solid. I might steal those from my Testors kit to put into my ICM kit 🙂

17 September 2022, 23:21

Neil
Hi David, thanks for commenting 🙂 ...Agreed, that could be a useful plan! 👍

19 September 2022, 12:08

Neil
Hi all 🙂 I've finally got around to taking 'reveal' pictures for many of my previous build albums. I shall be updating each and including a few build notes in the description too - especially on the bits I messed up! Broke! Dropped! etc. This time I present my version of the venerable Testors Bronco, completed back in the depths of 2022. Thanks to all who showed interest and liked, it's very much appreciated from such a talented lot as you guys.

1 March, 12:46

CaptGPF
Gorgeous Bronco! Certainly unique camo pattern - by hand no less! The weathering is definitely up to your usual standards. most hand painted camps end up very thick - so you must have used a lot of paint retarder or really thinned out that paint repeatedly to keep the layers thin and stop the paint from drying.

I must have missed the memo on the Build a Bronco month - there seems to be a lot of those builds recently! 😀

1 March, 15:42

J35J
Great work!👍🏻

1 March, 19:27

Neil
Thanks J35J and CaptGPF! Super kind 😁 Yes, the camouflage on this one was an experimental scheme as detailed in the kit options. I decided to hand paint it on a bit of a whim tbh... I never bothered with any retarder, thinner fluid or masking. Just freehand built it up in multiple watered down layers. It's another earlier build where I've been able to add some reveal imagery. Thanks very much for everyone who liked also 👍

2 March, 17:59

J35J
Great work with the handpainting Neil👍🏻
What color brand do you use?

2 March, 18:18

Neil
Hi J35J, thanks 👍 my go to is always Vallejo, but I also have AK and Hataka in my arsenal! Predominantly Vallejo on this one. Thanks for the recent likes 👍

2 March, 22:16

Rui S
Beautiful model. Great work 👍

2 March, 22:53

Neil
Thanks very much Rui! ☺️

3 March, 10:44

Rui S
As you know I'm more AFV, maybee that's why I missed this beauty, but I always like to see your finished work. Great & great camo on this one by the way 👍

3 March, 12:28

Neil
You're very kind Rui ☺️ no probs. I'm always appreciative that you would view my efforts. I remain humbled that any of you talented bunch like or comment... Best wishes to you all on your own modelling exploits and thank you all for the likes. 👍 🙂

4 March, 14:23

Album info

The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. It can carry up to 3,200 lb (1,450 kg) of external munitions, internal loads such as paratroopers or stretchers, and loiter for three or more hours.

North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco

57 images

1:48

Completed

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