Zvezda 1/72 C-130H Hercules

[Deleted member 7181]

I've been looking forward to this one. I had it on pre-order with John and was surprised at the size of it when I opened the box!

My little bro' spent a bit of time on Herc's during his Loadmaster training so I've been waiting for a nice kit to turn up. Being a new Zvezda it ought to be pretty decent.



There are 5 marking options included, so you get 2 sizeable decal sheets



And some sprue shots. They are A4 mats to give you an idea of it's size. Not bad for a 1/72







First job as with most aircraft was the cockpit. I struggled with the colours here as the suggested one just didn't seem right, and I was having trouble finding decent pictures of the lower cockpit & floor, so just winged it with what I thought looked ok.

Decals were a pain as they are all oversize, so much trimming was needed to get them to fit!

 

[Dave Ward]

Andy,
nice to see some aircrew! The Zvezda 2021 catalogue has a C-130J in the pipeline.....................
Are you going for the RAF version?
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Good start on the office. The crew show it in perspective as well.

 

[Jakko]

Off to a good start!

 

[Steven000]

Nice project!

 

[adt70hk]

Andy

that is looking very good already.

Keep up the good work.

ATB

Andrew

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks everyone.

Dave, probably yes. There are lots of options, including 3 different "noses", window & side pods variations to name a few, so I need to make sure I pick the right parts!

 

[mrtintheweb]

Big old kit there. Looking very well detailed already!

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Gonna be a big model when complete. Your usual neat work on the cockpit which looks good.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks chaps.

I'm going to jump ahead and assemble the wings today, to give them plenty of time to firm up. That should give me a better idea of whether I need to build a bigger bench before going any further!

I've also been wondering about nose weight. I took the precaution of adding some lead strip into the void underneath the cockpit, but have since found a little note in Russian hidden in the instructions. A quick Google translate tells me I need to add 25g to whichever nose cone I pick.

 

[Deleted member 7917]

Always a concern that one doesn't underdo the nose weight, Andy. Often pays to add a couple more grams if there is enough room. Looks a very nice kit and I'll enjoy observing your progress.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks Murfie.

I nearly got caught out with that on the P-38 Lightning I built. I used the weights Tamiya include in the kit but they are only just enough, you can still get it to sit on it's tail if you want, so will make sure there's a bit extra in this one.

 

[stillp]

Watching this! I have its granny in the stash, a C-47
Pete

 

[Mickc1440]

That's a lovely start Andy, totally agree about the crew looking the part in there, very well painted. It certainly is a monster

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Looking good mate I will tag along. I spent a few occasions as a passenger on the herky bird.

 

[papa 695]

Cracking start Andy

 

[Neil Merryweather]

That's a lovely start Andy, totally agree about the crew looking the part in there, very well painted. It certainly is a monster

I thought it was 1/48 scale by the painting of the crew, had to go back & check- top job , Andy

 

[yak face]

Great start andy , it looks a lovely kit . Cheers tony

 

[outrunner]

Great work Andy.

Andy.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks everyone, some lovely comments. You'll make me blush

I assembled the wings today and everything slotted together perfectly. For anyone that hasn't done a modern Zvezda kit yet, you really ought to give one a go. Forget the bad reputation they earned in the past.

As you can see, pretty big. I've settled on the RAF version, which is the only one with a refuelling pipe, so the marked holes were drilled out for this.



I supported the tips on two blocks so that it's own weight would keep the top two joints together while it dried. They didn't need any tape or pressure, just something to prevent the long wings drooping and pulling the joints apart. When supported in the centre it gives that distinctive, perfectly flat wing top running across the arcraft.



And for comparison, here it is with a '109 of the same scale



I got the cargo deck and loading ramps painted too. There's a bit of pre-shading under there, but it'll get a bit more weathering down the line.



I also got the interior put together. It's hard to see with the black primer but there's quite a lot going on in there, and many bits of equipment to add once the main colour is done. The cockpit area was coloured up. Most of it will be hidden (especially all those ejector pin marks!) but figured it couldn't hurt. Will hopefully get the rear painted tomorrow.



Interestingly, a number of the parts needed shortening before fitting. This was well described in the instructions, with cut lines clearly moulded on the parts, but it does add weight to what Dave mentioned above about the (stretched) C-130J version being in the pipeline.