AML 1/72
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Background
The North American O-47A was one of the first purpose-built reconnaissance aircraft developing in the mif-1930s. Equipping the USAAC and highly trained units of the National Guard, the O-47A was optimized to survey the battle area and provide much needed data about what was happening on the battlefield.
However, by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the O-47A was nearing obsolescence. In fact, a few of these aircraft were deployed in the Pacific at the outbreak of war and did not fare well against enemy aircraft. Nevertheless, the Army was concerned that intelligence on enemy forces was urgently needed and there was a significant shortage of airfields in the Pacific to operate from. Experiments were conducted to adapt Edo floats to the O-47 in order for it to operate off of the water as a gap-filler. While these experiments were successful, the allied advances into the Pacific provided enough of a foothold that the float version of the O-47A was abandoned.
The Kit
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The AML O-47 kit is a nice multimedia kit! While being a typical limited production kit, the surface of the model is cast with nicely scribed details on the outer surfaces and rib/stringer details on the visible inner surfaces. The kit comes on two parts trees, the one containing the fuselage and wings, etc, is cast in light gray styrene, while the second tree containing the floats is cast in medium green. There are ejector pin stubs that will have to be removed before assembly can commence, but none of them mar the visible interior of the fuselage (cockpit area) and they are only in the corners of the wheel well areas and probably won't be visible there either.
As this is a limited run kit, the fit won't be equivalent to a typical Japanese kit straight out of the box, but with a little patient sanding/filing/dry-fitting, this kit should be an easy build. Also provided in this kit is a fret of photo-etched parts for the cockpit, including a nice instrument panel with acetate instrument faces.
The vacuformed canopies are crisply molded, making the job of trimming and masking a breeze. Two are provided, just in case something happens to the first one.
The kit comes complete with a set of conventional landing gear if you prefer land operations, as well as a set of Edo floats with beaching wheels.
Markings are provided for two examples, one a typical O-47A of the Ohio National Guard while the second represents the floatplane prototype.
Conclusions
This is a nice-looking model that will add a unique subject to your scale flightline. Whether you perfer the land-based or seaplane version, you'll enjoy this kit. I can recommend this kit to anyone with experience with multimedia kits, primarily working with photo-etched parts.
My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!
