1/72 Italeri C-130 H Hercules

Gallery Article by S.B Parameswaran

This is one of my latest projects. It’s a C-130 H in 1/72 scale by Italeri. Since I am a modeler with a keen interest in Royal Malaysian Air Force subjects, naturally I decided to model this kit in Malaysian markings. The RMAF took delivery of their first Hercs in 1976 which went to 14 sqn. Later in the 80tees the RMAF purchased the MP variant of the Hercules for maritime petrol and these aircraft went to 4 sqn. When the Beach King Air aircraft came into service in the late 90tees, the MP Hercs of the RMAF were reassigned to be converted to tankers and formed into a new sqn which was 20 sqn. Today 14 and 20 sqn of the RMAF fly the Hercs or the “Charlie” as it is know here in Malaysia.  

Click on images below to see larger images

The “wings” of the RMAF  
This model of mine is modeled based on the 14 sqn aircraft. The 14 sqn Hercs were originally delivered in tactical three tone or S.E camouflage. All 14 sqn aircraft have been repainted to a local variation of the Euro One camouflage scheme. The colors are Euro Green, Olive and Euro Grey.  

The fit of this kit is pretty good in my opinion. Construction started with the cockpit and nose wheel bay. After that was completed it was the rear section floor and walls. It was airbrushed using a mixture of Tamiya medium grey and Revells mouse grey. After finishing the interior the fuselage was put together. Minor filler was used on the doors and tail section. Then the whole aircraft was airbrushed Euro Grey (FS 36081). Once dry the various Euro Green (FS 34092) and Olive (Revell No 46) patches were airbrushed on. I used Model master paints for the green and grey and Revell for the Olive. Once dried all other auxiliary parts were assembled together and the plane was completed. Markings were custom made and the normal generic ones were taken from the decal sheet.  

Very straight forward kit to construct. I had no major pitfalls or problems in constructing this kit. Instruction can be misleading at times but any modeler with some skill would have no problems. Detail level is average but enough for my satisfaction. One disappointment was the overhead cockpit console, too little detail to my liking. 

Anyways once completed it is a nice kit to be displayed. Even in 1/72 scale it is big and bound to be an eye catcher in anyone’s collection. I would recommend anyone to go out and get one if not already in ones collection for two reasons firstly because the Hercules is used by many air forces and it’s a great tactical transport plane which has an important place in aviation history. Secondly it’s a joy and snap to build and it’s BIG!!!!!!!!!!!