Italeri

1/48 V-22 OSPREY model kit

Product # 2622

Product Article by David Horn on Aug 16 2003

 

 

 

Just released is the latest V-22 offered by Italeri. This basic kit has been around for some time and this release offers the latest upgrades to match the future production aircraft. I am not the V-22 expert when it comes to being 100% correct but after comparing it to the earlier kits, there are some obvious updates.

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The plastic is moulded in medium gray and the clear parts are tinted heavily, similar to the S-3 Viking kits so it may be difficult to see much cockpit detail. The cockpit is representative of early aircraft as the picture below shows. This picture is of the simulator I developed while working at FlightSafety in Oklahoma. I wish I was still there so I could get more detailed pictures. The one item missing in the cockpit is the thrust control lever, common to the collective. This was a major change between the prototypes and production aircraft. This sliding control combines throttle, blade pitch and nacelle rotation (thumb wheel on lever)

The fuselage has raised panel lines however since the aircrafts fuselage is made from spun composites, there are very few actual panel lines so sanding them off and leaving them off most of the AC should work fine. Some of the added details are rows of "vortex generators" on tops of the wings, corrected gear doors and revised inlets on the nacelles.

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This kit is a big improvement over the earlier releases however there are a few items that will need improvement such as an updated cockpit. Cobra company, come to the rescue! Italeri has done a great job of updating this kit to match what should be a production aircraft but the real aircraft is still evolving.

David

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Photos and text © by David Horn