EDO OSE-2 by Pro Resin (Olimp)
1/72 scale
Cost: $30.00
Decals: One version (U.S. Navy prototype)
Comments: Resin with photo-etch details, finely engraved panel lines and rivet detail; Rare U.S. Navy seaplane, never entered production
History
The EDO OSE-2 was part of a small group of prototype observation scout aircraft developed for the U.S. Navy after World War II and intended to replace the Vought OS2U Kingfisher. The OSE-2 was the floatplane version of the OSE-1, a land-based scout plane specifically designed for the Navy.
Although the OSE series were a significant improvement over the Kingfisher, the type never went into production. In the years after World War II, the Navy turned to the helicopter for many of the observation, search and rescue duties that had been the province of seaplanes.
The EDO corporation was founded in 1925 and had the U.S. military as its major contractor during World War II, developing aluminum floats for various kinds of military aircraft, most notably the Kingfisher. Kingfishers served on many of the Navy’s capital ships during the war, and were often used to recover downed aviators. It was not until after the war that EDO first produced its own aircraft, the OSE-1 and OSE-2.
Specifications
Wingspan: 11.57 meters / 37.95 feet
Length: 9.47 meters / 31.06 feet
Height: 4.54 meters / 14.89 feet
Wing area: 22.02 sq. meters
Weight, empty: 2730 kilograms / 6,018 pounds
Maximum speed: 318 kph / 197 mph
Range: 1450 km / 900 miles
Rate of climb: 6.85 meters/second / 22.47 feet/second
Service ceiling: 6900 meters / 22,637 feet
Armament: 2 – .50 caliber machine guns in the nose
The Kit
Olimp’s OSE-2 is molded in pale beige resin and consists of 36 resin parts, 1 vacuform canopy (with one spare), and 29 photo-etched parts. The cockpit sidewalls are meticulously engraved into the fuselage interior, as are the separate parts for the cockpit floor and seats.
Resin components: Top row: the radio and cowlings for the two instrument panels, spinner and cylinder heads, propeller blades, seats. Bottom row: main and tail wheels
The kit is devoid of locator pins, so extra care may be required when cementing parts such as the fuselage halves. There are individual resin propeller blades for a 2-bladed propeller, a spinner, and painstaking flush rivet detail that is particularly noticeable in the wings and fuselage.
Pictured here are various parts for the floats and the rudder.
Modelers should note that since this is the OSE-2, there is no option for building this kit as a land-based version with conventional landing gear. There are, however, wheels provided for the main pontoon to allow the kit to be displayed as a seaplane temporarily based on land. The cockpit consists of 18 parts, at least 8 of them photo-etch for the seat straps and instrument panels. There are engraved panel lines throughout.
The OSE-2 comes with two vacuform canopies and a small fret of photo-etch, mostly to add cockpit detail.
Conclusion
This is an admittedly pricey kit, but has above average detail for its size, and considering it is resin, you get your money’s worth. It is unusual to see such painstaking detail, right down to a sea of flush rivets, in a 1/72 scale kit.
Films are provided to complement both PE instrument panels.
With care, it should build into an excellent model. Great caution should be exercised when sanding, so as to preserve as much of the mold’s detail as possible. It is a pity that this high-performance aircraft was not allowed to succeed the Kingfisher. Highly recommended for those interested in rare seaplanes.
The small decal sheet provided has color that rings true and insignia that are completely in register.
This photo of an actual EDO-OSE 2 on its beaching dolly reveals the clean lines and streamlined, aerodynamic appearance of this post-war floatplane prototype.