Here we take a look at the OV-10A Bronco US Attack Aircraft in 1/48th scale from ICM.

Introduction

The following introduction is as provided by ICM:

The OV-10A Bronco was designed as a light weight multipurpose attack aircraft. It’s tasks was striking ground targets, direct air support of its troops. It could also perform the function of an advanced observation and guidance aircraft. The aircraft was used in Vietnam by the US Navy Air force and Marine Corps. The main task of the OV-10A Bronco was to cover the actions of units of the Army, Marines and Special Forces of the United States, as well as patrolling areas in which detachments of the Vietnamese armed forces operated. Often these aircraft performed tasks previously assigned to helicopters. Yielding in manoeuvrability to helicopters, these attack aircraft had a greater combat load, and were less vulnerable to small arms fire.  

Review

This offering from ICM of an OV-10A Bronco arrives in a flip top cardboard tray, with an additional card lid with the artwork upon it. Inside, I am pleased to see that there are now two plastic bags containing the parts for the model, with the clear sprue packaged inside another bag inside one of the two. An examination of the contents, reveals crisp mouldings with good detail, that are easily accessible on the sprue. The instruction booklet is loose in the box, and protects the decal sheet between its pages. 

The tandem style cockpit design of this aircraft is well represented in scale model form. However, as has become typical of ICM no harness detail is replicated, and is in my opinion the biggest weakness of ICM aircraft kits generally. With that gripe out of the way, raised panel detail on the side panels is good, decals are provided for the main consoles with two optional consoles for the REO, depending on the version you are building. From what I can see looking at reference the detail in the cockpit is of a reasonable level, but much further detail could be added by those with the inclination, and I also suspect that an alternative resin cockpit, or upgrade sets will become available. The interior side walls of the fuselage halves have further detail of the cockpit present. 

The fuselage itself has a separate floor panel which I suspect may have been done for future releases of the model. The front suspension strut is added to the model very early on, with the leg between the leg and the hull being in two pieces. Which may have resulted in better replication, but it does leave it at risk of damage or breakage. The stub wings that are attached to the fuselage, and mounting the machine guns have nice lines and good detail. On the underside of the stub wings, you get mounting brackets, for adding ordnance of your choice.

The wings of the model are constructed into a single piece, with separate flight control surfaces. Checking detail against reference, everything appears good, but I will say my eyes are not what they used to be. The twin tail booms of the model have good surface detail, with the wheel bays being made prior to being added to the twin booms. The undercarriage here is again a multi part assembly, which has very good detail but is at risk of being easily broken. The vertical tail control surfaces are again separate parts, so can be articulated as you wish. The horizontal tail surface has also been provided with a separate control surface, which are details that I approve of. 

Unusually for ICM models no engine detail is provided in this offering, and I can only presume that this is due to the difficulty in displaying that detail if you wish. The propellers themselves are not rotatable, but it needs to be remembered that the propellers rotate in opposite directions and so attention needs to be paid when adding them to the model, as it is very easy to get them the wrong way round. The canopy of the model is large and so any work done on the cockpit interior will be easily seen, through this large glazed area. While most of the ordnance is carried on the stub wings, there are two wing mounting stations that require holes to be drilled, if used and I was very pleased to see ICM cover the drill size required.

ICM have provided a wide selection of weaponry for the drop stations on the aircraft. The weapons provided are:

LAU-33 rockets

LAU-69A rockets

Mk 77 Napalm bomb

LAU-68 rockets

150 gallon fuel tanks

Mk 81 Low drag bomb

Mk 81 Snake Eye bomb

Mk 82 Snake Eye bomb

Mk 82 Low Drag Bomb

LAU-10A

I like the fact that ICM has covered the weapons selection and station position for the finishing options that you choose, providing at least two choices for every option. Lastly ICM has also provided a pattern template for masking the canopy. 

The finishing options are as follows:

OV-10A, 155471, Light Attack Squadron 4 (VAL-4) “Black Ponies”, Binh Thui, 1971

OV-10A, 155456, Marine Observation Squadron 6 (VMO-6), QUANG Tri, 1969

OV-10A 67-14649, 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Da Nang, 1972

OV-10A 155416, Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2),Da Nang, 1970

The decals provided with the  model can just be felt on the carrier paper with the film around the decals themselves being very minimal. The decal sheets provided, is one for the aircraft itself and the other for the weapon systems. 

Conclusion

This is the first release of the OV-10A Bronco from ICM in 1/48th scale. I have one complaint, which is the lack of harness detail for the cockpit seats. I have one concern, which is the risk of damage to the undercarriage struts, due to them being multi part assemblies, and added to the models at a early stage. In all other regards I am very happy with what is being provided in the model. I like the fact that the flight control surfaces can be set as the modeller wishes. Finally, an excellent selection of weapons is provided, with the decals for the weapons being a particularly pleasing touch. 

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