Zvezda 1/72 C-130H Hercules

[Guest]

Thank you Tim and Paul.

[rtfoe]

Andy,the paintwork is excellent as expected from one who sprays vehicals for a living.
Do you do the masking as well in your profession as it shows in your build...very neat and precise. I think the only think you contend with is the difference of scale, paints, air pressure and distance. Love the finish on your paint job.
Lots of stuff need moving out of the way for the Herky bird to display.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

Thanks Richard.

Yes, masking is part of my job too, although not usually on such a fine & delicate scale of course.

I'm sure that masking models has helped me in the day job too, or maybe it's just the new glasses :nerd:

[Guest]

Gradually working my way through the decals.

I've decided against using the bright yellow markings for the no step lines for a couple of reasons. They are printed on a large section of clear backing to keep them straight and allow alignment with each other. That would cover over 50% of the top of the fuselage & wings, tempting fate with silvering. I did try trimming them from the clear part (using the spare black version) but they were just too flimsy and nigh on impossible to keep straight and perfectly intersecting with each other. That's probably the reason why the person building the model for the box photo's didn't bother with them either :smiling5:

No point putting myself through that is it was bound to be anything but "fun"

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Once they've dried out I'll hit them with a coat of Aquagloss to seal them in, sand it lightly to reduce the step at their edges, then it's ready for a flat coat and final assembly I think.

[adt70hk]

Gradually working my way through the decals.

I've decided against using the bright yellow markings for the no step lines for a couple of reasons. They are printed on a large section of clear backing to keep them straight and allow alignment with each other. That would cover over 50% of the top of the fuselage & wings, tempting fate with silvering. I did try trimming them from the clear part (using the spare black version) but they were just too flimsy and nigh on impossible to keep straight and perfectly intersecting with each other. That's probably the reason why the person building the model for the box photo's didn't bother with them either :smiling5:

No point putting myself through that is it was bound to be anything but "fun"

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Once they've dried out I'll hit them with a coat of Aquagloss to seal them in, sand it lightly to reduce the step at their edges, then it's ready for a flat coat and final assembly I think.

Looking great Andy.

Don't blame you with the decals for the lines. I had to do separate ones for my Spitfire and that was hard enough, so can only imagine what it would be like on something this big.

Looking very good indeed.

ATB.

Andrew

[Guest]

Good call to not bother with the warning lines. They’ll add interest to the model, but getting them on straight sounds like a very difficult job that’s all too easy to mess up.

[Tim Marlow]

Looking great Andy. Love it when the decals go on, it brings the bird to life.....

[outrunner]

Superb job Andy.

Andy.

[stillp]

Andy, I'd have thought a chap with your experience would mask and paint the walkway lines.
Pete

[Guest]

Thank you chaps. I did at least have a go, but it looked like it was going to be more trouble than it was worth. I get easily knocked off course by minor issues so thought I'd better avoid this one :smiling5:

I have thought about it Pete, but again felt like I'd be leaving myself open to failure. I still haven't ruled it out completely, hence not flat coating the model today, but the margin for error is so fine I'll need another nights sleep on it :smiling3:

[JR]

Great with those front end decals on Andy, brings it to life.

[Guest]

Thanks John. All of the fluff adds a bit extra too I think :smiling5:

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Great stuff. Very nice paint job and the decals seem to have gone on nicely. I think I would also have given up with the lines.
Jim

[Guest]

Thanks Jim. Yes, I think I can live without the bit of extra detail for the stress it might have caused lol.

After a flat coat on everything but the nose it was time for final assembly. I'm really liking the new AK flat varnish now I've had a few goes with it. An extra coat would have made it even more flat, but I settled on a very slight sheen that would reflect light back here & there.

First off were the wheels, which have very flat bottoms OOB so I wanted to make sure they were all straight, true, and touching the ground. After much head scratching I found a thin glass plate from a picture frame I'd repurposed for a diorama. It worked great as I could check their alignment whilst making sure they were all touching it.

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Then the props and extra tanks went on. I think I've got plenty of noseweight given that I had to add a big chunk in the back to balance it while fitting these.

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Rear loading ramp. Now this is either excellent engineering, or just plain great luck, but all 6 wheels and the ramp touch the glass perfectly! I was expecting to have to play around with the hydraulic stays that hold the ramp in place, to get the height right, but it all just slotted together

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And a couple of shots of it on the base. I'm going to attempt some EZ line antenna wires, which I've had mixed success with in the past, so either there'll be a completed topic with more pictures, or this will be the last you see of it :smiling5:

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[Steven000]

Mighty model Andy! Love the camo and details :thumb2:
Steven