Scale aviation modeller international

than I would expect to on a new kit.
A nicely printed decal sheet
has markings for both a US Army
and a US Air Force option, though
many more are available, thanks
to AOA decals who have produced
two sheets covering the type’s
service in the Vietnam War.
The instructions are in a
standard format, consisting of
eight pages covering twenty-ive
assembly stages. These jump
around a bit from engine to cockpit
and back to the engine via the
undercarriage, which can get a bit
confusing. The two marking options
are illustrated using black and white
proiles, with colour callouts that
refer to the Vallejo paint range.

CONSTRUCTION

Assembly starts with the

Continental O-470-11 power plant.

Four stages cover the build and

here the lash and misalignment

is evident the most, especially

on some of the smaller parts.

The cylinder heads, Parts 1E,

have the manufacturer’s name

moulded on, but they are marred

by moulding defects, which is a

shame. Another problem is with

the carburettor intake, Parts 21 and

23E. The open end of the intake is

quite rough, appearing to be short-

moulded, so it will require some

careful work to correct. However,

with a little time and patience, a

lovely replica of the engine can be

built, and the cowlings are separate

parts so you can show it all of.

In between assembling

the engine, I worked on the

undercarriage, the tail wheel, and

main wheels. Parts 2 and 3F are

the brake lines, which are very

ine mouldings and quite fragile.

I broke both of them trying to

clean them up, so I replaced them

with suitable pieces of wire.

Next came the cockpit, which

begins with the assembly of the

pilot and observer’s seats.

The pilot’s chair is constructed

from seven parts and this includes

some ine rods, which need

some careful cleaning up. No

seat harnesses are provided, so

I used a generic set of US pre-

painted seat belts from Eduard.

An internet search for pictures

of the actual panel revealed that

there are a number of variations

in instrument layout and colour

schemes. I could not ind an exact

match of the layout in the kit one, so

I improvised. The panel has raised

detail for the instrument bezels,

but Roden have not supplied any

instrument-face detail as either

raised moulding or decals. I used

some of the excellent Airscale

“I WOULD HAPPILY BUILD ANOTHER

ONE AND WOULD LOVE TO GIVE

RODEN’S O2 SKYMASTER A GO”

The kit provides a nice little replica of the

engine

Underside of the engine. The carburettor intake

is a bit rough

Cockpit floor and pilot’s seat,

just needing a seat belt

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • DECEMBER 2018 • 13

1/