1:48 Lockheed C-130 Hercules Collection Pt2

Seventy years in service

The Hercules is one of the few aircraft that have been built and flown for longer than most of their pilots have been alive. A high wing, four turboprop engines, a cargo ramp at the rear and landing gear built for unpaved surfaces made it a machine that will carry a load where a jet transport cannot get. The newer J version brought six-blade composite propellers, new avionics and a markedly different sound and propeller disc profile.

Three machines from three corners of the world

The set is deliberately varied. The first subject is an aircraft of the Royal Bahraini Air Force from the station flight at Sakhir air base in 2018, the second a machine of the Royal Netherlands Air Force of 336th Squadron from Eindhoven in October 2019 and the third an aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force from Bangabandhu air base from the end of August 2019. Modernized and older versions thus stand side by side in colors that do not resemble one another in the least.

Why this particular trio is interesting

The European machine wears a muted gray operational finish, whereas the Middle Eastern and South Asian aircraft tend to be treated more boldly, with color bands along the fuselage and with insignia in a larger size. From one sheet a modeler can therefore choose between a civilian-looking and a conspicuously military result without having to change the kit.

A practical note

The fuselage of a Hercules is long, and in 1:72 scale a great deal of small lettering gathers on it around the doors, the tanks and the ramp. It pays to work in sections and let each one dry. The registration numbers on the tail surfaces are large, so it is as well to have a really smooth base under them, otherwise the edge of the film will give itself away.