1/72 Hasegawa MV-22B Osprey

Gallery Article by Burt Gustafson on Jan 17 2014

 

 

For your viewing pleasure, here are some photos of my 1/72 scale Hasegawa MV-22B Osprey. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft. It has both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) mode and a short takeoff and landing (STOL) mode. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. It is the world's first production tiltrotor aircraft, with one three-bladed proprotor, turboprop engine, and transmission nacelle mounted on each wingtip.

The Osprey is classified as a powered lift aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. For takeoff and landing, it typically operates as a helicopter with the nacelles vertical and rotors horizontal. Once airborne, the nacelles rotate forward 90° in as little as 12 seconds for horizontal flight, converting the V-22 to a more fuel efficient, higher speed turboprop aircraft. STOL rolling-takeoff and landing capability is achieved by having the nacelles tilted forward up to 45°. Other orientations are possible, such as the "80 Jump" takeoff which uses nacelles at 80° to quickly achieve high altitude and speed.

The V-22 Osprey

  • can transport 24 combat troops, 20,000 pounds of internal or up to 15,000 pounds of external cargo using its medium lift and vertical takeoff and landing capabilities 

  • meets U.S. Navy requirements for combat search and rescue, fleet logistics support, and special warfare support 

  • matches the U.S. Special Operations Command requirement for a high-speed, long-range, vertical lift aircraft 

  • can be stored aboard an aircraft carrier or assault ship because the rotors can fold and the wings rotate 

  • has air-to-air refueling capability, the cornerstone of the ability to self-deploy. 

The United States Marine Corps is supplementing and will eventually replace their CH-46 Sea Knights with the MV-22B. The Osprey's other operator, the U.S. Air Force, fielded their version of the tiltrotor (CV-22) in 2009. Since entering service with the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, the Osprey has been deployed in both combat and rescue operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and the Philippines.

 

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Construction
Following Hasegawa's well illustrated construction guide, construction of my MV-22B was straight forward and pretty much trouble free. I did have a bit of trouble with the canopy, it did not fit well and required some help from Elmer's white glue to fill some gaps. The cockpit detail is OK with the instrument panel decals and the two pilots, but you can't see much of the cockpit once you install the canopy.

You can build this kit with the landing gears down or you can build it in a flying mode. The kit comes with a clear stand and there is a socket in the belly of the model to connect the stand to the fuselage. I built my MV-22B in the flying mode. The kit also provides vinyl grommets to connect and hold the rotor assembly to the engine nacelles and the nacelles to the wings. The vinyl grommets allow the proprotors to spin and the nacelles to pivot. Overall, I was pleased with the assembly and the fit of the parts. Very little filling or sanding was required.

Painting
All paints used for this model were Model Masters enamel paints. The kit painting instructions say to paint the aircraft Light Ghost Gray and Dark Ghost Gray. However I painted my Osprey one color, Light Ghost Gray. The reason for this is because the two grays are so close together you cannot distinguish between the two colors. The stand, proprotors (propellers), antennas, sensors, and windshield wipers were all painted Gloss Black. The smoked areas of the canopy were airbrushed with Tamiya Smoke paint.

Decals
Decaling this model is a real time-consumer. There are dozens of small decals to apply, along with large decals for walkways over much of the wing, fuselage, and tail. Tiny stencils on the proprotor roots are broken down into six tiny decals per side—for each blade.  The stenciling and warning signs on the fuselage are printed in blue gray—they are much too light, in fact they nearly disappear. The unit designators for the outboard faces of the vertical stabilizers are provided in one piece and duplicated in individual decals if you choose to paint the background color. I went with the one-piece approach. I found trouble getting the decals to conform to the rivets and fin edges. Numerous applications of Solveset would not bend them to the proper positions. The rest of the decals performed well without trouble.

Comments
This kit is a new one from Hasegawa and it is a good one. It is the best Osprey kit in any scale. The detail is excellent, the parts fit is good, and it goes together without problems.  The only negative about the kit is the color of the stencils, they blend in with the paint and become invisible.  The vinyl grommets are a neat feature that allow to you position things and make it easy for transport. I built this kit as a Christmas present and was able to take the finished model apart, put in a box and Christmas wrap it. I am very impressed with this kit and will most likely build another one with the wheels down.

Burt Gustafson

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Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson