Here I go guys. Having managed to get both replacement decals and a set of masks, this has finally reached the top of the pile. (Apologies for the long wait Graham (Fenlander). I know you were interested when you had a look in the box when I bought it at the Hinckley show those many, many years ago)
Lots of the parts have either fallen off or been removed from the sprues for test fitting, but you still get a big pile of parts
I know it doesn't really compare with the R/C builds that Barry (Wonwinglo) does, but for a plastic kit, some of the parts are pretty big.
I started some of the sub assemblies last night. As you can see, you can't have too much tape or too many clamps
Apologies for the blurry pictures. Having a shaky day. Did I mention its big?
For those that want to know, the wingspan is about 33" (84cm) and length about 25" (63cm)
The instructions would have you build the cockpit and rear deck separately then join the front to the back. A couple of the reviews I read say you're better off joining the front and back halves of the fuselage first, then joining the two lateral halves together. I wasn't going to argue with better builders than me.
A little game for you guys though. Spot the seam between the front and back halves
Don't let the white lines fool you. That's just bits of sanding dust where I polished out a few glue marks. The raised panel lines indicate just how little sanding was needed.
Despite the age of the kit, and the flash and seam lines that go with older kits, the overall fit of the parts is excellent when they're cleaned up.
I am going to have to do some guessing though. Italeri have made several versions of the Hercules, and there are alternative parts provided in the kit. Unfortunately, I've not found anywhere on the instructions which tell you what to add or leave out for specific versions. I'm not in the least worried whether a couple of windows were blanked out, or different aerials were fitted. Overall it looks like a Hercules to me and that's good enough. I only mention this 'cos I know some of you guys like to be as accurate as possible, so you know you'll need good references for this kit.
Lots of the parts have either fallen off or been removed from the sprues for test fitting, but you still get a big pile of parts
I know it doesn't really compare with the R/C builds that Barry (Wonwinglo) does, but for a plastic kit, some of the parts are pretty big.
I started some of the sub assemblies last night. As you can see, you can't have too much tape or too many clamps
Apologies for the blurry pictures. Having a shaky day. Did I mention its big?
For those that want to know, the wingspan is about 33" (84cm) and length about 25" (63cm)
The instructions would have you build the cockpit and rear deck separately then join the front to the back. A couple of the reviews I read say you're better off joining the front and back halves of the fuselage first, then joining the two lateral halves together. I wasn't going to argue with better builders than me.
A little game for you guys though. Spot the seam between the front and back halves
Don't let the white lines fool you. That's just bits of sanding dust where I polished out a few glue marks. The raised panel lines indicate just how little sanding was needed.
Despite the age of the kit, and the flash and seam lines that go with older kits, the overall fit of the parts is excellent when they're cleaned up.
I am going to have to do some guessing though. Italeri have made several versions of the Hercules, and there are alternative parts provided in the kit. Unfortunately, I've not found anywhere on the instructions which tell you what to add or leave out for specific versions. I'm not in the least worried whether a couple of windows were blanked out, or different aerials were fitted. Overall it looks like a Hercules to me and that's good enough. I only mention this 'cos I know some of you guys like to be as accurate as possible, so you know you'll need good references for this kit.
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