View allAll Photos Tagged sensor
Just a quick little doodle.
Wheel-inside-basketball-hoop joint's are totally Tobyhein's idea, I just kinda lifted it.
Gallery (when moderated)
This may or may not be kinda badass. We've got a bunch of varmints here in Lower Alabama, and I'm curious about what skulks around in the night. This thing has 6MP resolution at its best and can be programmed to shoot one to nine shots every time the IR motion sensor is tripped. It also can do video. The flash is supposed to reach out to 50 feet, and from testing in the living room, it's bright as hell.
Too bad it doesn't shoot RAW....
I'm too tired and lazy to strap it to a tree today, but tomorrow we'll see what happens.
This is a tower located at the summit of Mt. Washington and it has many sensors and tech for the weather observatory.
This is an other picture of our new campaign for next summer.
I took it last week at the upper terrace which is on the top of our office in Varanasi (Benaras).
Anand who is our favourite model is holding a cushion in white linen with an embroidery made of flowers and swirls and matching with the throw in the background.
Visit and join the RED HALO page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/redhalo.in
Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography
© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
Portrait of me beside the Nimbus temperature sensor for NWS records, installed with the help of my National Weather Service supervisor. Cabled sensor sends data to readout console in the house, senses temperatures from -99.9° F to 120.9°.
A very popular camera by Agfa from the late 70s and a little marvel of industrial design. The "Optima Sensor" name had been used by Agfa for a series of simple electronic consumer cameras since the late 60s denoting the presence of a big, red, feather-touch shutter button (sensor) that adorned the top of the camera and was considered very hi-tech at the time.
This last series of the Agfa Optimas were marketed during the late 70s and production continued well into the 80's being hugely successful in the european market. At least 5 different models exist, including a rangefinder (Agfa Optima 1535) and one equipped with an electronic flash, aptly named "Agfa Optima Flash". The best online source of information regarding these cameras can be found here:
www.edition-oldenburg.de/agfa_optima.html
The Optima 1035 pictured here sits second from the top of the line-up feature-wise. It is a zone-focus camera with a fully automatic exposure system based on the Agfa Paratronic electronic shutter. Despite its introduction at a time when plastic was already being used extensively in camera manufacture, the littke Agfa is mostly made of metal with a very durable black coating. Some parts are made of plastic (like the film advance lever or the focusing ring) but the overall feel is that of a solid, durable camera.
The most prominent feature of the camera is the HUGE and extremely bright viewfinder which is a small revelation for first-time users. It is very close in size and brightness to the viewfinders found in premium rangefinders and makes using the camera a real joy. In the 1035 the VF features three distance symbols and a red needle that moves between them according to the chosen focus distance, the minimum being 0.9m. The frame line is illuminated and there are parallax correction marks for close subjects.
Another unique feature of the Optima is the lack of a rewind crank. With the help of (rather flimsy) toggle switch on the top plate, the film advance lever doubles as a rewind crank, a clever design that made the installation of such a bright finder on such a small camera possible.
Upon opening the film door, another clever feature makes its apperance: When loading the camera, the film is passed under a small shield on the winding side which protects film that has already been exposed from accidental opening of the film door.
The lens is a fast f2.8, 40mm four-element Solitar-S ("S" denoting multi-coating) which is quite sharp under good lighting conditions with good contrast and resistance to flare.
Shutter speeds go up to 1/1000s and in low light the Paratronic can stay open for at least one full second. The high top shutter speed combined with the minimum diaphragm opening of f22 ensure proper exposure of fast film even under the brightest conditions. The shutter is completely battery-dependent, it doesn't open at all if batteries are not installed. The feather-touch shutter release ensures minimum shake when taking the shot, reducing the chance of a blurry shot in relatively slow speeds.
Agfa engineers were clever enough to put the CdS cells of the metering system at the six o'clock position of the lens beauty ring, a fact that prevents shadowing of the sensors when a lens hood is used.
Not everything is good on the little Agfa though. For starters, the ASA setting stops at 400 which can be quite limiting if one wants to push fast film. Also, there is no backlight compensation provision, one has to change the ASA setting to deal with backlit subjects.
Additionally (and most annoyingly) the shutter produces an awful screeching sound when fired, probably the worst-sounding shutter I've ever come across, regardless of camera type.
Another ill-conceived feature of the camera (perhaps imposed by the necessity for small size) is the fact that the battery department is accessible only after opening the film door, so in case the batteries die mid-roll, the film must be rewound in order to change them. To make things worse, there doesn't seeem to be any means of knowing if the batteries are weak. The camera uses an uncommon arrangement of three 625 button cells, but at least its exposure system is designed for the common alkaline ones, not the obsolete mercury cells.
For some reason, Agfa deemed it necessary to equip the camera with a red LED lamp that sits above the lens barrel and lights up momentarily every time the shutter is fired, letting everyone know that you've taken their picture. It also blinks during countdown when the (mechanical) self-timer is activated.
As you can see from the picture, the Optima has no strap lugs, as Agfa chose to equip the camera with a proprietary screw-on neck strap that attaches on the left side, a solution that is a complete failure in my opinion. First of all, if you lose the strap there is no way you can replace it with a generic one. Also, the choice of a long neck strap is very poor for such a small, light camera which would benefit most from a short wrist strap, although a pair of scissors and a couple of rivets can easily remedy that. On top of that, placing the wrist strap on the left side is totally counterintuitive, as it virtually precludes secure single-handed operation of the camera with the right hand. According to the manual, the port for the screw-on strap doubles as the tripod mount, although this obviously implies that the camera can be used only in vertical orientation when on a tripod.
Overall, the small size and all-black color, combined with an accurate, fully automatic exposure system, a good semi-wide lens and an unsurpassed viewfinder, make this little Agfa very attractive as a stealthy street shooter. Still, there are a few shortcomings that make it fall short of being the perfect "little black beauty" a title I reserve for the Olympus XA2, my "golden standard" for this particular category of cameras.
La foto con sensor desnudo se parece al efecto "orange-teal", si nuestro ojo fuera igual que un sensor de cámara de fotos, veríamos el entorno así.
Agfa Optima Sensor is a very simple scale camera, but showed good enough results, which even surprised me. I took the photo with a new film of the Yashica Golden 80s. The film also made me happy!
With really warm temperatures, our workshop students' cameras were running a little hotter than normal. No, their cameras were not exploding but I did have a little fun with it in this single exposure image captured in Arches National Park.
How I Got The Shot
This is a 20 second single exposure image where I shot for about 15 seconds with the camera locked on the tripod before releasing the camera for the final 5 seconds. During this last 5 seconds, I moved the camera free-hand using the lighted LCD screens to make the smoke.
2020 Workshops Released
2020 events were just recently released so they all have spots available. Check out the exciting events at NightPhotographyWorkshop.com and be sure to use discount code "EARLYBIRD" for a 20% discount on workshop payments through the end of September. Our feedback is great so claim your spot today!
YouTube | Blog | Teaching | Instagram | Patreon | Presets | eBooks
From my recent shoot with Ellie
See camera on YT - youtu.be/KvP_R_EXjgs
Hasselblad H3D-39 + HC 100mm f2.2
Get your free eBook - bit.ly/3OLE37t
IMG_3323
NB this was shot with a decentred lens which is very soft on the right side (top here) when used on a crop sensor camera as intended. (The majority of examples of this lens - it's the original 4-5.6 version) seem to have severe decentering where one side of the sensor crop frame is very blurred.) On full frame it came much closer to usability and offered the widest view I have ever seen. With a properly aligned lens, if you were able to find one, you could expect better than this.
An old photo from my travels that I liked.
The composition is relatively simple but the warm colors around a section of Piazza del Campo, accentuated by the sun against a deep blue sky looked rather pleasing to me.
As it was rather chilly, being winter, the people were seen basking in the sun's cosy rays in their coats. The scene gave the impression of warmth but I was there and remembered the chill.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this was a most lovely spot on this chilly wintry day.
Shot with my old trusty D60 with kit lens, unfortunately in JPEG only.
Interestingly, the colors on this antiquated D60 looked way better than those from my D7000 which frankly was terrible. Many have attributed this to the CCD sensor on the D60.
No polariser was used because back then, I didn't even know what the polariser was for!
Re-do with my latest post processing workflow, JPEG of one of the earliest photos I posted on Flickr, 4 years ago.
I know I risked my camera's sensor burning out because of the direct intense sunlight, but I just couldn't pass this shot up. :O
.
Combined photos of a white reflector before and after sensor cleaning.
I found this Adorama video helpful: youtu.be/qbJaR0xE1YY
Nikon D200
AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 G
ISO 100 f/22 6sec
Images combined with Photoscape
Flower head detail at Hornimans Museum gardens London. CCD sensor Sony Alpha 380 with a Tamron 90mm macro.
Shot at 1/3200 shutter
with a 50mm lens on crop sensor camera (7d)
f/4.5 to assure focus
and yes I did have to pull the shadows, no strobes on this one.
For the person who can't have too much electronic gear.
Part of an ongoing series on Boxes ... making useful or decorative containers out of LEGO.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.
The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.
Beckett and Rice developed a basic platform meeting these requirements, then attempted to build a fiberglass prototype in a garage. The effort produced enthusiastic supporters and an informal pamphlet describing the concept. W. H. Beckett, who had retired from the Marine Corps, went to work at North American Aviation to sell the aircraft.
The aircraft's design supported effective operations from forward bases. The OV-10 had a central nacelle containing a crew of two in tandem and space for cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive feature of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connected them at the fin tips. The OV-10 could perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Further, the OV-10 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs could be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment was required to start the engines. And, if necessary, the engines would operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.
The aircraft had responsive handling and could fly for up to 5½ hours with external fuel tanks. The cockpit had extremely good visibility for both pilot and co-pilot, provided by a wrap-around "greenhouse" that was wider than the fuselage. North American Rockwell custom ejection seats were standard, with many successful ejections during service. With the second seat removed, the OV-10 could carry 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of cargo, five paratroopers, or two litter patients and an attendant. Empty weight was 6,969 pounds (3,161 kg). Normal operating fueled weight with two crew was 9,908 pounds (4,494 kg). Maximum takeoff weight was 14,446 pounds (6,553 kg).
The bottom of the fuselage bore sponsons or "stub wings" that improved flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. Normally, four 7.62 mm (.308 in) M60C machine guns were carried on the sponsons, accessed through large forward-opening hatches. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods, or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contained two additional hardpoints, one per side. Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually seven-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5" (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered/para-dropped unattended seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were also carried.
Operational experience showed some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. It was significantly underpowered, which contributed to crashes in Vietnam in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications stated that the aircraft could reach 26,000 feet (7,900 m), in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft.
The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. In U.S. military service, the Bronco was operated until the early Nineties, and obsoleted USAF OV-10s were passed on to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for anti-drug operations. A number of OV-10As furthermore ended up in the hands of the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and were used for spotting fires and directing fire bombers onto hot spots.
This was not the end of the OV-10 in American military service, though: In 2012, the type gained new attention because of its unique qualities. A $20 million budget was allocated to activate an experimental USAF unit of two airworthy OV-10Gs, acquired from NASA and the State Department. These machines were retrofitted with military equipment and were, starting in May 2015, deployed overseas to support Operation “Inherent Resolve”, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days over Iraq and Syria. Their concrete missions remained unclear, and it is speculated they provided close air support for Special Forces missions, esp. in confined urban environments where the Broncos’ loitering time and high agility at low speed and altitude made them highly effective and less vulnerable than helicopters.
Furthermore, these Broncos reputedly performed strikes with the experimental AGR-20A “Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS)”, a Hydra 70-millimeter rocket with a laser-seeking head as guidance - developed for precision strikes against small urban targets with little collateral damage. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but the machines were retired again, and the small unit was dissolved.
However, the machines had shown their worth in asymmetric warfare, and the U.S. Air Force decided to invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis, despite the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type in relatively small numbers – but development and production of a similar new type would have caused much higher costs, with an uncertain time until an operational aircraft would be ready for service. Re-activating a proven design and updating an existing airframe appeared more efficient.
The result became the MV-10H, suitably christened “Super Bronco” but also known as “Black Pony”, after the program's internal name. This aircraft was derived from the official OV-10X proposal by Boeing from 2009 for the USAF's Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance requirement. Initially, Boeing proposed to re-start OV-10 manufacture, but this was deemed uneconomical, due to the expected small production number of new serial aircraft, so the “Black Pony” program became a modernization project. In consequence, all airframes for the "new" MV-10Hs were recovered OV-10s of various types from the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
While the revamped aircraft would maintain much of its 1960s-vintage rugged external design, modernizations included a completely new, armored central fuselage with a highly modified cockpit section, ejection seats and a computerized glass cockpit. The “Black Pony” OV-10 had full dual controls, so that either crewmen could steer the aircraft while the other operated sensors and/or weapons. This feature would also improve survivability in case of incapacitation of a crew member as the result from a hit.
The cockpit armor protected the crew and many vital systems from 23mm shells and shrapnel (e. g. from MANPADS). The crew still sat in tandem under a common, generously glazed canopy with flat, bulletproof panels for reduced sun reflections, with the pilot in the front seat and an observer/WSO behind. The Bronco’s original cargo capacity and the rear door were retained, even though the extra armor and defensive measures like chaff/flare dispensers as well as an additional fuel cell in the central fuselage limited the capacity. However, it was still possible to carry and deploy personnel, e. g. small special ops teams of up to four when the aircraft flew in clean configuration.
Additional updates for the MV-10H included structural reinforcements for a higher AUW and higher g load maneuvers, similar to OV-10D+ standards. The landing gear was also reinforced, and the aircraft kept its ability to operate from short, improvised airstrips. A fixed refueling probe was added to improve range and loiter time.
Intelligence sensors and smart weapon capabilities included a FLIR sensor and a laser range finder/target designator, both mounted in a small turret on the aircraft’s nose. The MV-10H was also outfitted with a data link and the ability to carry an integrated targeting pod such as the Northrop Grumman LITENING or the Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). Also included was the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) to provide live sensor data and video recordings to personnel on the ground.
To improve overall performance and to better cope with the higher empty weight of the modified aircraft as well as with operations under hot-and-high conditions, the engines were beefed up. The new General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines improved the Bronco's performance considerably: top speed increased by 100 mph (160 km/h), the climb rate was tripled (a weak point of early OV-10s despite the type’s good STOL capability) and both take-off as well as landing run were almost halved. The new engines called for longer nacelles, and their circular diameter markedly differed from the former Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines. To better exploit the additional power and reduce the aircraft’s audio signature, reversible contraprops, each with eight fiberglass blades, were fitted. These allowed a reduced number of revolutions per minute, resulting in less noise from the blades and their tips, while the engine responsiveness was greatly improved. The CT7-9Ds’ exhausts were fitted with muzzlers/air mixers to further reduce the aircraft's noise and heat signature.
Another novel and striking feature was the addition of so-called “tip sails” to the wings: each wingtip was elongated with a small, cigar-shaped fairing, each carrying three staggered, small “feather blade” winglets. Reputedly, this installation contributed ~10% to the higher climb rate and improved lift/drag ratio by ~6%, improving range and loiter time, too.
Drawing from the Iraq experience as well as from the USMC’s NOGS test program with a converted OV-10D as a night/all-weather gunship/reconnaissance platform, the MV-10H received a heavier gun armament: the original four light machine guns that were only good for strafing unarmored targets were deleted and their space in the sponsons replaced by avionics. Instead, the aircraft was outfitted with a lightweight M197 three-barrel 20mm gatling gun in a chin turret. This could be fixed in a forward position at high speed or when carrying forward-firing ordnance under the stub wings, or it could be deployed to cover a wide field of fire under the aircraft when it was flying slower, being either slaved to the FLIR or to a helmet sighting auto targeting system.
The original seven hardpoints were retained (1x ventral, 2x under each sponson, and another pair under the outer wings), but the total ordnance load was slightly increased and an additional pair of launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinders or other light AAMs under the wing tips were added – not only as a defensive measure, but also with an anti-helicopter role in mind; four more Sidewinders could be carried on twin launchers under the outer wings against aerial targets. Other guided weapons cleared for the MV-10H were the light laser-guided AGR-20A and AGM-119 Hellfire missiles, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System upgrade to the light Hydra 70 rockets, the new Laser Guided Zuni Rocket which had been cleared for service in 2010, TV-/IR-/laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick AGMs and AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missiles, plus a wide range of gun and missile pods, iron and cluster bombs, as well as ECM and flare/chaff pods, which were not only carried defensively, but also in order to disrupt enemy ground communication.
In this configuration, a contract for the conversion of twelve mothballed American Broncos to the new MV-10H standard was signed with Boeing in 2016, and the first MV-10H was handed over to the USAF in early 2018, with further deliveries lasting into early 2020. All machines were allocated to the newly founded 919th Special Operations Support Squadron at Duke Field (Florida). This unit was part of the 919th Special Operations Wing, an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It was assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command and an associate unit of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). If mobilized the wing was gained by AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) to support Special Tactics, the U.S. Air Force's special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics personnel were typically the first to enter combat and often found themselves deep behind enemy lines in demanding, austere conditions, usually with little or no support.
The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot
Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A315
Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)
Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,
driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,
fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades
Performance:
Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)
Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)
Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel
Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel
Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)
13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine
Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level
Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)
740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)
1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW
Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)
785 ft (240 m) at MTOW
1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)
Armament:
1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity
7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)
2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?
The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...
The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.
For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!
All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.
Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.
After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.
To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.
The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.
The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).
The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.
Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.
Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.
A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.