1/72 Zvezda C-130J-30 Hercules 37th Airlift Squadron

[Stuart]

That interior is coming along nicely.

@Carlos - love that floor plate

[keyda81]

Stik, that is too funny. Doors will all be closed up on this, since it will be in flight.

Thanks Stuart!

Got some time at the bench today. Weather turned back to windy, rainy, fall day, so I stay inside, lol.

Now that both halves are done I guess it doesn't look so plain inside. Loads more detail than the Italeri 1/72 offering, that is for sure.




The sponsons are separate pieces that need to be glued on, and so far one of the few areas that are going to need some filling with putty. Can't really see it in this pic, but the underside has a decent gap that is going to need to be filled.



Tape monster fuselage, lol.


So far the fit is very good, aside from the gap in the sponsons. Only other issues I've come across is the part # call out for a few windows. Right side calls for part #C20, but in fact is C21, so they were switched. That is the second time I've come across this, but it's only been with clear parts.

[TheMongoose]

Nice looking interior. You planning anything for cargo? I saw you had the jump seats up and thought maybe there was a plan forming?

[keyda81]

Thanks! Nope, just following kit instructions. It will be all closed up. Which is a shame. If I had planned to display it open I likely would of gotten PE for the interior. There isn't a ton of detail in there, but it doesn't look bad.

[Stikpusher]

Comparing the kit interior to reality, it does look kinda basic… but a great starting point I would say….

[keyda81]

Stik, I agree. It is rather basic. But since I plan to have it closed up and in flight I suppose it doesn't matter. It's still a lot better than the Italeri offering in terms of detail inside. The designed it quite well with the injector pin marks on the inside of the fuselage being covered up by other parts, so no need to waste time filling those, which I was happy about. I did several of those on the Trumpeter C-47 kit, and Revell's old B-25, drove me nuts. I do have another Zvezda Herc in the stash, the E/H model. I might consider getting PE for it. The plan for it is to be a Niagara Falls Herc, likely displayed open, so I'd want more detail inside.

[Stikpusher]

I hear ya. An I can only imagine a comparison between this kit and the old Airfix 1/72 Herc from back in the 70’s…

[keyda81]

I've done several of the Italeri ones, and if you put the time into them they turn out to be decent. Not much detail, but still decent. This Zvezda kit is a lot nicer though. I was just putting the engines together, and those can be a bit fiddly. So far that has been the most aggravating part is the engines. They have several small parts, instead of just throwing together two halves of a nacelle, and calling it done. If I remember correctly there is 12 pieces per engine, not including the exhaust pipes, or any of the little pieces that attach to the outside of the nacelle, that is 4 more pieces.

[BlackSheep214]

From watching your build on this Herc.... I gotta get one! LOL!

[keyda81]

Lol, it's a good kit.

Now that I've removed all the tape from the fuselage I can show the spots on the underside that are going to need attention.



They aren't horrible, but they are going to need to disappear.



Got the wings together.



Test fit. Stretched Hercs just look weird to me.



Fuselage is almost as long as the wings. Got the engines put together. I'll work on the seams, then attach them to the wing section. So far they've been the most fiddly.



Likely won't get back to this until Sunday at the earliest. I have some errands to run today, and I'm going to make cookies for the hangar crew. Usually something I do around holidays, or birthdays. Since Halloween is Monday I'll be taking a bowl of candy and cookies.