| Scale | 1/72 |
| Manufacturer | AOA Decals |
| Decal Sheet ID | 72-004 |
| Decal Sheet Title | "You're Cleared In Hot" - USAF OV-10A Bronco FACs in the Vietnam War |
| Types Featured | OV-10A |
AOA Decals are a relatively new company but have released sheets with great and relatively poorly-covered subjects of the Vietnam War era. Sheet 72-004 covers fifteen different USAF OV-10A Broncos in Vietnam War service. The airframes featured are:-
- 67-14623 from the 23rd TASS during 1970/71. This was marked with black spinners with yellow arrowhead, and yellow-tipped propeller blades;
- 67-14629 from the 21st TASS during 1972. This was relatively plain, with white/red/white-tipped propeller blades;
- 67-14640 from the 20th TASS. The spinners were dull black with red rear sections, and the aircraft carried the white/red/white propeller blades;
- 67-14643 from the 19th TASS during 1970. This carried red/yellow/red/black striped spinners with yellow-tipped propeller blades and red inlet lips on the right hand side of the engine nacelles. It may also have had red painted accents on the landing gear, although this is unconfirmed;
- 67-14650 from the 20th/21st TASS during 1970. This had black spinners with white tips and yellow tipped propeller blades;
- 67-14655 from the 20th TASS during 1970; the propeller spinners were black with yellow rear and nose sections and the black section contained yellow diamonds. Propellers had white/red/white tips;
- 67-14657 from the 19th TASS during 1969, with black spinners and white/red/white tipped propellers;
- 67-14674 from the 20th TASS during 1970, with black spinners and white/red/white tipped propellers;
- 67-14684 from an unknown unit during 1969/70. This carried yellow spinners with a black rear section and yellow-tipped propellers;
- 68-3811 from the 19th TASS during 1970. This carried red/white/red/white striped spinners with black rear sections and the engine inlets were tipped in red, as were the main wheel hubs. The propellers had white/red/white tips and this aircraft was unusual in that the white leading edges of the wing wrapped around the lower surfaces.
- 68-3817 from an unknown unit during 1970. The forward section of the vertical stabilisers was green (on both inner and outer surfaces) and the propeller spinners were dark blue with white stars and black rear section. Propellers were tipped white/red/white;
- 68-3818 from an unknown unit during 1971. This had the top outer section of the vertical stabilisers painted dull orange/red with black tiger stripes and black spinners. The propeller tips were white/red/white;
- 68-3819 from the 20th TASS during 1970, marked similarly to 6714655;
- 68-3822 from the 19th TASS during 1970 or during later use with an unknown unit. The wing leading edge white extended down onto the underside of the wing, and the vertical stabilisers had their leading edges painted white. The inlets on the engines were tipped in red and the aircraft carried medium blue spinners with white rear sections and white/red/white tipped spinners. At a later date this aircraft carried blue spinners with white stars;
- 68-3825 from the 19th TASS during 1973. This carried “Playboy” emblems on the engine exhaust panels, black spinners and medium blue sections on the forward nose gear doors, together with white/red/white tipped propellers.
All aircraft were painted in the standard Forward Air Controller (FAC) scheme of overall FS36473 grey with white wing upper surfaces. Markings were mainly black.
For each option, left, right and scrap views are provided, together with a separate set of drawings showing stencil locations. Additional drawings are provided to show antenna configurations and details of some of the specific areas of the schemes. Color information is provided together with a set of standard Forward Air Controller (FAC) ordnance loadouts.
The decal sheet is printed by Cartograf and contains stencilling for two aircraft. It is in perfect register and crammed with detail.
This sheet from AOA Decals is obviously a labour of love for the manufacturer. Whilst the OV-10 was never particularly brightly marked, the sheet highlights the more interesting schemes and is thus highly recommended!
Review and images by Chris St Clair
