It may not be a “go-fast fighter” or an “awesome attacker” but the V-22 is still one of the coolest aircraft I’ve ever seen. It’s been 32 years since Italeri released its initial 1/48 scale Osprey kit based on the. A new-tool kit of the combat veteran Osprey is long overdue! Enter HobbyBoss.
The kit’s 260 parts feature beautiful, recessed rivets and panel lines. Unfortunately, large sprue gates hit many of the mating surfaces. I used a razor saw to remove most of the parts but many of the attachment points are awkwardly positioned. The canopy and windows are very clear, and decals are provided for one stateside training aircraft. Belts and grilles are provided in photo-etched metal (PE).
I was reluctant to trust the instructions sparse interior color callouts, so I searched “MV-22 interior photos” online. The cockpit is indeed all black as HobbyBoss instructs. However, while the cargo area structure matches the gray called for, the areas in between appear to be black or very dark green. I used flat black, tire black, and dark gray on the flight deck, but when I removed it from my brightly lit paint booth it looked like a bottomless pit.
I separated the large instrument panel decal into the individual screens and control areas to make placement easier and dry-brushed the side and roof consoles. I painted the cargo area black, masked the recesses, and then applied the gray to the structure.
Hobby Boss molded the interior of the cargo area as a separate shell which is then sandwiched by the fuselage halves. This clever engineering minimizes the chance of sink marks that might spoil the exterior. However, the kit provides none of the wiring, plumbing, or ductwork that is visible on Osprey ceilings, and a large seam runs the length of the bay. Even if you could access and eliminate the seam on the inside of the tube-like structure, how would you paint it? I chose to leave it as-is.
The interior fits snugly inside the fuselage halves. Careful alignment will leave the loading ramp movable. The ramp pins must fit not only into the interior shell but also in recesses in the outer fuselage halves. This is where the previously mentioned sprue gates began to cause problems. Even though I had been cautious removing them, they produced gaps that needed to be filled and sanded, destroying the engraved detail.
Careful construction of the landing gear helps, but I had difficulty attaching the sponsons to the fuselage. Getting the right required patience and multiple test-fitting sessions.
The large sprue gates caused more fit issues on the nacelles. There are seams in the middle of the protor (prop/rotor) blades; I used three different fillers and never did fully eliminate them. Sandwiching the flaps between the upper and lower wing halves yielded another difficult to reach seam.
The nacelles attach to the wing via a post and socket arrangement which was a bit loose. Rather than glue the nacelles in place, I added a piece of tape to each post to increase the friction. This allows me to position them as I choose. I also used pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) on the protor hubs so I can exchange the folded protors for the extended ones.
I planned to paint the subassemblies separately, but I wanted to test-fit the wing to the fuselage. This was a mistake: It is not designed to come back off. I got lucky and was able to remove it using a long-shafted flat blade screwdriver without damaging anything.
The Hobby Boss instructions show a two-color paint scheme, but high-resolution photos indicate Ospreys wear a tri-color scheme reminiscent of 1943 U.S. Navy aircraft camouflage. The decals are for a single training aircraft and include a full set of stencils. I spent six hours over three sessions applying all of them. They are extremely thin and conform to the surface detail without setting solution. Be warned: If they fold over on themselves, they will not be salvageable.
I waited until final assembly to attach most of the antennas and gear wheels. I had to bend the main gear legs to squeeze the wheels between the outside of the well and the gear leg, so now only four of the six wheels touch the ground.
While the kit has its challenges, especially the large sprue gates and seams in the cargo bay and on the protors, Hobby Boss has produced a good basic kit of the MV-22 with a ton of options. I’m hoping future releases will include the side hatch and ramp armament.