NASA & NCAR C-130 Hercules

[airdave]

Three new Hercs this week (available at ecardmodels.com),
and these two came as a result of suggestions from members here.

NASA Earth Survey II C-130
I chose the vintage N929NA, which was the first NASA Hercules, in service up to 1967.



The model features a few fuselage modifications, including lower fuselage sensor pods and instrument housings
as well as the full colour NASA paint scheme.



Available now at ecardmodels
...........................

and I just couldn't ignore this pretty paintjob!
But it does tie in with the NASA bird...

National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130 Earth Observing Laboratory



This model also features a few modifications like inboard and outboard Wing Tanks/Pods and various external sensors
as well as the knockout paint scheme and Tail artwork!




both models available at ecardmodels.com
ALSO...Check out US Coast Guard C-130 release!!

[richkat]

Dave, I was knew if you saw the NCAR paint job you would like it. Now i guess I have to go to Ecardmodels and get one.....Thanks for this one.......Rich

[ringmaster]

Vomit Comet ?

[richkat]

Dave' I just downloaded the NCAR C-130 from Ecardmodels.com and am wondering if it is the same kit (just repaint) as the Fat Albert 130? I also downloaded the Blue Angels C-130, and was looking at the two, and the formers and instructions look so much better in the NCAR than Fat Albert I would like to use these formers in it. Also the landing gear bays......Rich

[airdave]

One of my first repaint projects was with Nobi's older 1/48 Hercules
(that was available at ecardmodels)...

Is this the Fat Albert kit you have? the older kit?

I did a repaint to that kit, and I cleaned up a few pages, but its still Nobi's older kit...one of Nobi's earliest designs and its definitely a dated design.
the instruction pages in that kit were definitely lacking.
Based on builds I have seen though, the Herc did build up quite nicely.

All my current model Hercs are based on Nobi's original kit (with permission)
but I actually went back to the drawing board and redesigned the entire kit.

No, the formers will not work...parts are not interchangeable.

The current Fat Albert kit available at ecardmodels, replaces that older Nobi repaint of mine
and is built on my new C-130 design.

Does that help you?
You could definitely refer to some of my instructions...it might help with some parts of the build.
But a lot of the actual construction is different.
The aft fuselage and tail section is a completely new scratch design (for example).

[richkat]

The Fat Albert I have was downloaded Dec 10 2010 and it calls it Fat Albert 09-02-09.......Rich

[airdave]

Yup, thats my old repaint of Nobi's old kit.
Wow, its almost two years old now!

Its maybe not as good as my new one? (sorry) but its still not a bad kit.
There are two or three build threads (here) of that particular model.
...which should help you sort it out.

[airdave]

UPDATES to the NCAR C-130 model.

A fellow modeller contacted me with an acceptable complaint.
His issue was not seeing the cut marks for the Tail Spar in fuselage pieces 15R and 15L.

I'm not sure why they didn't show up for him, but part of the reason is because
I chose not to make the cut box a different colour from the background part.
I did this to avoid any other colour showing in the dark blue area of the fuselage.

I have since modified the boxes with a light blue colour to make them more visible.

In the process, I came across a more important error on Page 18 of the kit.
Part 16L (or was it 16R?) is missing part of the red stripe graphic (part of the paint scheme)

I have fixed the error and uploaded a complete new kit to ecardmodels.

If you bought the kit, contact ecardmodels for a replacement.
(You can also contact me for just the two modified pages if you wish)

Sorry for the inconvenience.
Dave

[charleswlkr54]

I was wondering who NCAR was, thanks for that info even before I was able to ask about it! Never heard of it before!

[airdave]

UPDATES to the Updates!
........

I'd like to thank Richkat for pointing out the graphics issue on the NCAR C-130
and helping me with some photos and directions to make repairs.

His test build will help sort out any important issues and I really appreciate the input.

As a result of his finds, I have made a few adjustments to the kit
and have sent him an updated version.
I'll allow him to test out the new parts first before giving the update to ecardmodels.

FYI, heres the adjustments that have been made so far:

1. Page 16 - Parts 18L+R...adjustments to the red/blue graphics to line up a little better with
the lower fuselage Blister assembly.

2. Page 17 - Part 15R...Added a light blue colour to the Tail Spar cutout slot for easier recognition.

3. Page 18 - Part 15L...Added a light blue colour to the Tail Spar cutout slot for easier recognition.
3b. Page 18 - Part 16L...added the missing red stripe part of the fuselage graphics.

4. Page 19 - Parts 17R+L...minor adjustments to the red/blue striping to compensate for the adjustments made to Parts 18R+L

5. Page 20 - minor visual adjustments to the forward parts of the Fuselage Blister Assembly (eg moved the air inlets further from the part edge)

..............

so, as I said, give me a day or two to check everything with Richkat
and then I'll hand off the updated kit to ecardmodels.

thanks everyone!