1:72 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey (wet decals)

A machine between a helicopter and an airplane

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor: the engine nacelles at the wingtips tilt, so the machine takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter, yet in cruise it behaves like a turboprop airplane and reaches markedly higher speed and range. The first flight took place in March 1989 and the road to service entry was long and costly. The US Marine Corps ended up with a machine that carries a squad of troops far further than a conventional helicopter and needs no runway to do it.

Three Marine Corps squadrons

The list holds aircraft of VMM-365, nicknamed the Blue Knights, of MAG-26 of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing from the New River base, VMM-265 with a nickname meaning dragon, of MAG-36 of the 1st Wing from the Futenma base on Okinawa, and VMM-166, nicknamed the Sea Elks, of MAG-16 of the 3rd Wing from the Miramar base. Marine Corps squadron markings tend to be restrained, which makes the badges on the vertical tails and the code letters on the rear fuselage stand out all the more.

Building advice

A tiltrotor has an uneven fuselage with a great many panels and drain channels, where the film easily forms a bubble. Apply the decals to a perfectly smoothed gloss varnish therefore, and help yourself with a decal softener. Think the tilting nacelles through in advance: the position for forward flight and the position for hovering give the finished model a completely different expression. The sheet holds no plastic or photo-etched parts; obtain the kit of the machine separately. The gray Marine Corps camouflage has little contrast, so it is a good idea to mark the position of each motif out lightly beforehand.