Cessna L-19/O-1A Bird-dog

[Mike]

Cessna L-19/O-1A Bird-dog

1:48 Model USA

The diminutive Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, a development of the civilian Cessna 175, was an artillery spotting, liaison and reconnaissance aircraft that was ordered by the US Navy initially, but went on to serve all around the world with distinction, most notably in Korea and Vietnam, before being replaced by the more modern O2-A Skymaster in the mid to late 60s.

The kit is a reissue of an old 1988 moulding by Model USA, which is as far as I can tell the only mainstream injection moulding of this type in existence in 1:48 scale. The boxing still bears the 1988 copyright symbol, and even the packaging has that 80s feel to it, strangely reminiscent of a Testors kit from the same era.

Opening the box, you'll find two sprues of grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a sheet of decals and a narrow folded instruction booklet. The decals look rather nice, but I'll get to those later.

One thing that strikes me immediately about this kit is that for an '80s kit, there is a surprising level of detail. You get parts for the 6-cylinder continental engine, a full cockpit floor including multi-part seating, separate rudder pedals and linked joysticks. The cockpit sidewalls also have engraved sound proofing material, various instruments and storage bins. The instrument panel is represented by raised and engraved details, with the rear also having reasonable representations of the rear of the individual instruments. The same goes for the co-pilot's panel that is suspended between the two seats.

The caveat for all of this is of course that it is all tooled in the traditional way of the 80s, so detail is not quite as crisp as a modern rendition would be. There is also quite a lot of flash around most detailed parts, which is only to be expected for a kit of this vintage.

Externally, the panel lines are lightly engraved, and the myriad of raised strengtheners on the flying surfaces are reasonably rendered. All of these surfaces would need to be cut from the wings/tail to mobilise them, but if you're careful, the ribs should survive the exercise.

The majority of the clear parts are commendably thin, with the exception of the roof-lights, which are quite thick and suffer from sink marks, resulting in a bullseye effect. Replacing these with Micro Crystal Clear or clear sheet would be tricky, but worth the effort.

The decals are rather nice, being printed by MicroScale, and from this sheet you can build one of three aircraft, as follows:

• VNAF O-1E 124th OS, Bien Hoa 1975
  
• USAF O-1E 19th TASS Bien Hoa 1966
  
• JASDF L-19 1st OS Tachikawa, Japan 1980
  

The stencilling data is detailed on a separate set of diagrams, which makes their application a little easier, and the cockpit painting is also provided in a few scrap diagrams. The inclusion of the Japanese aircraft is a great idea, with crisply printed Hinomauras and day-glo orange wing tips to brighten up your cabinet. The base color of FS14064 seems a little elusive on the color charts I've viewed, but is best described as a dark grey, as can be seen here.

My favourite has to be the USAF machine however, with the huge gaping mouth and trailing tongue on the sides of the fuselage.

Conclusion

It's a welcome re-release of this classic kit, and will doubtless please modellers of the Vietnam and Korean theatres. The quality of these ageing mouldings is interesting to see, and providing the fit is at least acceptable (a quick test fit implies that it is), it will build up into a good representation of this important, but overlooked aircraft. I'm very glad that it's now available.

Review sample courtesy of

[Skii]

Nice review Mike, this aeroplane reminds me of a damn good war film

[goon]

OOohh, I've got build that! The mouth and tongue reminds me of my own hound running flat out, with a tongue you could use as a tow rope!

[Mike]

OOohh, I've got build that! The mouth and tongue reminds me of my own hound running flat out, with a tongue you could use as a tow rope!

This one's got two tongues though!

Bat Two One... come in please

[daz greenwood]

I always thought the FAC in BAT 21 flew an O-2?

[Mike]

I always thought the FAC in BAT 21 flew an O-2?

Shhhhhh!!!! you could always look at the review I did the other day of the Testors kit here.

[smuts]

Got to get one of these.

Andy.

[Mike]

I figured that it might raise some interest when I was choosing review kits - same with the O-2 really

[smuts]

I figured that it might raise some interest when I was choosing review kits - same with the O-2 really

Hi Mike, just in time for the Nam GB next year who stocks em over here or are they only available from HLJ.

Andy.

[goon]

with a tongue you could use as a tow rope!

A case in point!

I couldn't resist and just ordered from HLJ. This is two days after I got home from Cosford and declared a kit buying ban until I've cleared some space on the shed shelves......

Edited April 13, 2010 by goon

[Mike]

Hi Mike, just in time for the Nam GB next year who stocks em over here or are they only available from HLJ.

Andy.

Not a company I've heard selling in the UK anytime, but I might be wrong. I wouldn't procrastinate too long though, as I believe this is a limited re-release, although I forget where I got that idea from now. The joys of a poor memory

[Gary C]

Nice kit, although mine is the Hasegawa rebox they did in the mid 90's. It's not got the tongue option in it but it has got a multicoloured bird as well as a plain grey one. True details also make a nice resin interior if anyones interested.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hasegawa-1-48-Cessna...=item19baff9684