Occidental T-6 Texan

By Randy Lutz

I just finished building a display model for Eduard Precision Parts so I am able to comment on the kit.  In terms of overall accuracy, it looks good, but I cannot be dogmatic about the dimensions. It was not an issue for what I was doing. The T-6 release is moulded in a very soft medium grey styrene with next to no flash. Overall, the surface of the model displays a slightly grainy texture.  I would suggest a light block sanding to smooth out the plastic.  Especially if you will be doing it natural metal. All scribing is recessed with the appropriate raised inspection panels and hathes etc.  The is the major plus over the Monogram kit. The clear parts are excellent, being quite thin with

superb clarity. The canopy is not designed to be built open and the only way around that using the kit canopy would be to sand down the lower edges of the all the clear parts except for the windscreen, pilot's sliding portion and fixed rear section.  The clear parts fit very well and I can honestly say that no filler was

required to blend them in. Overall, I found the fit of the kit to be quite good. If you glue the tops of the wings to the fuselage before affixing the bottom of the wing, you can get a wing root joint that will fit perfectly and not require any filler. The tail planes fit OK, with one side fitting better than the other. I cannot remember which side was best, but I know I used a very thin strip of styrene to fill a

gap on the underside of one of the stabilizer joints. Much has been said in terms of Ocidental cloning the Monogram kit. While I can neither support nor refute that claim I can say that there are some amazing similarites. The cockpit floor and sidewall structures

incorporate the exact same staggered mounting bosses as found in the Monogram T-6 and the parts are almost identical. The Ocidental parts do not display the same 'crispness' or level of detail as Monogram's. A perfect example would be Ocidental's seats. They have a sort of 'gummy bear' look to them with the sidewalls being far too thick. The shoulder harnesses are moulded in, but they are rather indistinct. Interesting, that Ocidental did not include the lap belts. The instrument panels are works of art. However, the advertised 'laser etched' dials are so fine they are a chore to paint. Three main wheels are provided in each kit.  Two tires have the circumferential tread while one lonely tire has something resembling a diamond tread pattern. A nice feature is the choice of spoked wheel hubs, or using the optional wheel disk covers.  The landing gear struts fit very nicely into the wings, but do

not incorporate the same level of detail as found on the Monogram renderings such as the brake lines.

The engine is a work of art with some of the finest cooling fin detail I have yet seen.  A nice India ink wash over Metalizer Steel cylinders and it looks great. The crankcase is nicely done with all pushrods moulded in. The exhaust collector ring has the exhaust pipe

moulded in but it will have to be hollowed out. There are two stubs that mount on the rear fuselage. The instructions do not give you any clue as to their purpose, but they are antenna mounts. A single antenna should be mounted vertically on the end of each stub.

The decals contained in my release of the T-6 featured markings for a Portugese T-6 even though the instructions showed that scheme and a

French scheme as well.  The decals are printed by Carpena and have a matte finish. I had some apprehension about the perceived quality of the

decals but I am happy to say that they went on quite nicely using Solvaset as a setting solution. Once the decals are applied, a tip

would be to run an X-acto blade over the panel lines before the decals have dried. If you wait too long, the decal will not respond to setting

solution and will not snuggle into the cracks. The 'running dog' emblem provided should be handed but is not.  Therefore, as supplied it is only correctly oriented for the right side.  But there is a catch. Based on the photo of aircraft #1723 as found in the T-6 Texan in Action by Squadron, 1723 did not have the running dog on the right side. As a footnote to the decals.  I have seen a photocopy of the deal

sheet for the recently released Ocidental Harvard, and they have corrected the running dog emblem.

Also supplied are two clear landing lights for the wing leading edges. They do not fit as well as the rest of the kit and I suggest they be

superglued in place. Use enough super glue to fill all gaps and then sand them flush with the wing.  The appearance will be measurably

improved.

A nice selection of underwing stores  are provided consisting of 7.9mm gun pods and rocket launchers. The gun barrels are little on the aneamic side and should be replaced with the proper sized tubing. The rocket launchers  will assemble better if you remove the alignment pins from each half. An interesting observation concerning these parts is that they are also included in the newer Ocidental Harvard, and even feature greater/more detail.

Separate landing flaps are provided which have a few ejector pin marks to be removed. Wing rib detail is given on the underside of the top

halves of the wing, but it is quite shallow and does not run the full span of the flap openings. It is not too serious as when the flaps are

installed you cannot see too much of what is there. 

I painted my T-6 using Testors Metalizer Non-Buffing aluminium as a base coat, followed by Buffing Aluminium. The fabric controls surfaces were sprayed with Metalizer sealer to give them a less vibrant look than the rest of the airframe. Here's another tip. If you have used any super glue to fill and seams, ensure that Non-Buffing aluminium is applied before. Buffing Aluminium as the Buffing type does not adhere well to super glue.

Overall, I liked the T-6.  In fact, I liked it so much that I will now get one for myself.