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1/350 US Navy OS2U-3 Kingfishers 
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by Martin J Quinn |
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| The Vought OS2U Kingfisher is an American catapult-launched
observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a large
central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest because
of its low-powered engine. The OS2U could also operate on fixed, wheeled,
taildragger landing gear.
The OS2U was the main shipboard observation seaplane used by the United States Navy during World War II, and 1,519 of the aircraft were built. It served on battleships and cruisers of the U.S. Navy, with the United States Marine Corps in Marine Scouting Squadron Three (VMS-3), with the United States Coast Guard at coastal air stations; at sea with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy; with the Soviet Navy; and with the Royal Australian Air Force. The Kingfisher was widely used as a shipboard, catapult-launched scout plane on U.S. Navy battleships, heavy cruisers, and light cruisers during World War II and played a major role in support of shore bombardments and air-sea rescue. Two examples showing the plane's rescue capabilities include the recovery of World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew from the Pacific in November 1942 and Lieutenant John A. Burns' unique use of the aircraft on 30 April 1944 to taxi airmen rescued from Truk Lagoon to the submarine Tang, which was serving rescue duty near the atoll. In all, Burns rescued ten survivors on two trips[6] and was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts. The above history was taken from Wikipedia. |
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Click to enlarge images |
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| THE PARTS | ||||||
| There are two OS2U-3s in the package. Each
aircraft is printed separately, in a gray resin, on it's own cross shaped
print raft, and each is complete - the floats and supports are printed
as part of the aircraft.
The canopies are solid, with raised canopy frame detail. Inside the cowl you can see representation of engine detail, it's just enough in this scale. |
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| PHOTOETCH | ||||||
| There is one small photo-etch fret included. On this fret are two cradles/dollies for the catapults - a very thoughtful and useful addition. Also included are antennas, pitot tubes and props. The cradles match photos of the real thing - holding a Kingfisher - on the Battleship North Carolina though they are missing a center bracket. At first I thought the pitot tubes looked a little oversized (in length), but again, looking at photos, they seem to be correct. | ||||||
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| DECALS | ||||||
| A small decal sheet comes as part of the set, with markings from pre-war to late war, though they don't have the short lived red-bordered markings. There are enough markings included to do two aircraft of any given era, so you'll have leftovers for the spares box. | ||||||
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| There is also a small instruction sheet, which mostly shows you have to assemble the cradles and attach the PE parts. | ||||||
| CONCLUSIONS | ||||||
| Overall, I think these are nicely done, and a
solid entry into the booming 3D print market. The print is clean,
and the attachments for the floats, especially the pair on the wings, is
very fine and looks to scale. I don't mind the closed canopies, but
there are other manufacturers out there making 3D printed Kingfishers with
open canopies - Black Cat, Yao's Studio and a company I never heard of
before, YZM Models. These are a huge improvement over the clear plastic
versions that are available, and I do plan on purchasing other 3D printed
versions for comparison.
This is Eduard Models 1/350 US Navy OS2U-3 Kingfishers, item number 653009. I bought mine off eBay, where they range in price (before shipping) from around $10.00 to $15.00, which is a lower price than other companies. However, the number of aircraft included in the various other sets differs from company to company, so you will want to shop and compare. I've already started painting a pair for a 1/350 USS Oklahoma build, and I'm happy with them so far. Recommended. |
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