The now-familiar, once-controversial, and always-expensive Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey is in service with the U.S. Marines and Air Force, and the Navy is looking at it as a replacement for its aging C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard-delivery aircraft.
Ospreys in this scale have been issued by Italeri, Esci, and Hobbycraft Canada. But Hasegawa’s model brings the latest airframe updates, along with an easy-to-build kit.
The parts feature Hasegawa’s typical fine, recessed panel lines and careful attention to detail. Issued as the Marine Corps’ MV-22B, the molding includes several subtly raised parts locators on the fuselage that indicate other versions for future release. The way the wing structure is produced suggests that a “folded” (for storage) version is possible as well. The flaps are provided separately and can be installed as dropped or raised.
This kit comes with a clear display stand; there’s a socket for it in the belly of the model that can be covered if you decide not to use it. I hope the inclusion of the two pilot figures is the start of a trend. The cockpit is OK, but the instrument panel decals don’t provide much advantage over dry-brushing the raised detail on the plastic parts. I noticed the pilots’ left-hand (collective) controls are missing.
I was pleased with the overall assembly and fit of the parts. It took only three hours to put the model together, and no filler was needed. I like the way the small cabin windows are added from the outside after the model is painted. Quite a few other small bits must be attached to the fuselage, including hand grips and blade antennas.
Vinyl grommets hold the rotor assemblies to the engine nacelles, and the nacelles to the wing. They allow the rotors to spin and the nacelles to pivot, with the extra benefit of allowing the assemblies to be removed for easier finishing and transport.
I painted the model in the standard three-gray tactical scheme. Then came the real time-consumer — decaling. There are dozens of small decals to apply, as well as large segments for the walkways over much of the wing, fuselage, and tail plane. Tiny stencils on the rotor-blade roots are broken down into a half dozen items per side — for each blade!
Most of the stenciling and warning signs on the fuselage are printed in blue gray that seems a bit too light. In fact, they nearly disappear on the lighter gray painted areas.
The unit designs for the outboard faces of the vertical stabilizers are provided in one piece and duplicated in segments if you choose to paint the background color instead. I used the one-piece approach and found trouble trying to get the decals to conform to the raised rivets and fin edges. Even my strongest decal solvent could not bend them to my will.
All told, I spent 31 hours on the Osprey, most of it masking, painting, and decaling. The model looks right, and I’ll likely want to do a U.S. Air Force special-operations CV-22B and a folded version if offered. Certainly, Hasegawa’s kit is the best Osprey in any scale.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the January 2014 FineScale Modeler.