OV-10A BRONCO

John Thomas
Hey Guys I am starting a new project today, Academy's OV-10A BRONCO. I will be doing USMC HML-267 in the mid 1970's. The US Airforce and Navy also flew the Broncos The kit dates to 1999. The kit is missing a lot of detail in the cockpit so I will be adding some. At first look the kit looks very nice. More photos up soon.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Oh watching. 👀

István Szücs
Great start! I also have this kit, so I'm watching!

John Thomas
Istvan & WhiteGlint Thanks. Lots of details needed. I also have the Academy's OV-10D Desert Storm kit that I will also be doing.

John Thomas
New photos up today. The booms and wing are glued up and cockpit is almost done. More photos up sone

John Thomas
New photos up today. Cockpit completed and installed. Fuselage glued together.

John Thomas
New photos up today. Started prep work for painting.

John Thomas
Few more photos up today. Adding more details to the cockpit.

John Thomas
New photos up today. Wing glued on, filled a few gaps here and there. Getting ready for paint.

John Thomas
New Photos up today. Major problem with the build. The kit is way to tail heavy. I know that it may be and I added as much weight as I could but more was needed a lot more. So now the project is on hold. I did glue on the canopy just to see how it would look and it went on fine. I could finish it and glue it to a base, not the best idea. I do have a second kit to build and use this one as a test mull for paint and weathering. There is lots of room for weight in the cargo bay but it may be to far back in the aircraft. Need to figure out how to get more weight in the aircraft. Or just move on to other projects

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Could you maybe cut off the nose and put the weights in there?
The nose seems to be a separate part, so maybe cutting and reattaching it with some putty and sanding could be an option.

John Thomas
WhiteGlint, Thanks. I have the nose full of as much weight as it will take. there is just so little space in the nose. I did remove the canopy and the rear deck behind the cockpit and added some weight in the cargo bay and also glued on the landing gear and now the aircraft will now just seat on it gear. The balance is so tight. So now I could build the second kit. I would also rework the build order so I could work on seams better. I will post some photos of landing gear soon.

John Thomas
Last few photos of this project are up today. I will go head and build my second kit. I can use this kit as a test mull for paint and weathering. I learned a good bit on this project that I can us on a new project.