Description

This is the Testor's 1/48 scale Cessna 0-2A FAC aircraft. The shape of the kit seems to be spot on, however boilerplate rivets throughout need to be reduced with careful sanding. Under wing pods from the Hasegawa Weapons kit.

I used two True Details 1/48 Cessna Bird Dog resin interior sets to cob together the cockpit however, most of the detail was lost when the fuselage halves were glued together.

Scouting around, one of my modeling friends came up with a 1/48th M-16 that is attached to the left rear cabin wall as they often carried these on FAC missions.I also added radio gear to the back of the cabin. Another addition, courtesy of the railroad section of the hobby shop are the two small tie-down rings on the aft fuselage booms. Don't know what their significance is for railroaders but the tiny rings worked well for this application.

An Experimental Aircraft Association "Warbirds" magazine showed color photos of the aircraft restoration in the State of Washington, USA and DrawDecal decals (www.drawdecal.com) issued the set in recent months, including the small "Snoopy's" on the nose and tail. Blue Museum Of Flight logos appear midway back on the tail booms. I thought the "DON'T SHOOT" message added a bit to the model. One other used "THE FAC" on the upper wing but this was better!

I cut out the observation windows in the lower right door and added "windows" individually made from clear acetate. All other windows and windshield were vacu-formed.

Mike Grant black rivet decals were used to delineate upper wing panels.

Wing landing lights were vacuformed and black anti-glare fences were added on the inside of each landing light.

With those additions, the rest was basically out of the box.

This model and build article will be featured in depth in an upcoming issue of AeroSpace Modeler Magazine. It will emphasize Vietnam-era aircraft models as well as in-depth coverage of the 1:1 scale aircraft.

The real DON'T SHOOT" is located at the Museum Of Flight in Washington State and flies regularly.