A new project. A bit bigger than the preceding ones...

This one is not for my own collection (if nothing else it is far too large for it ), this is for a friend of mine whose husband was a paratrooper during his military service in the early 1990s. It will be built as a "flyer" and I will also try to keep it as sturdy as possible, I have realised that non-modellers often has some difficulty when it comes to handling built models .

In order to keep the amount of work to a minimum I went searching for a finished Hercules that wouldn't require more than a repaint. Nothing turned up until friend Björn offered his partially finished TP 84 project (complete with a newspaper clip from 1988 and a few tins of Molak paint!).

The Italeri "Fat Albert" issue supposedly has decals for a SWAF TP 84 but that's just in theory, in reality those decals are just plain awful. Finally, after receiving decals from helpful friends both here and there (including New Jersey in the US of A!) I will be able to cobble together 847, mr Paratrooper's favourite!



My Hercules project as it was delivered! Since then I have sanded the paint smooth and started assembly and filling. Björn told me that this was probably his first test with an airbrush, that fact and the Molak paint probably explains the rather coarse finish .



Magnus

This should prove to be good one to follow. I have flung myself out of a Herc more times that I would like to count. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this Magnus. "Q"

Matt! As an ex glider pilot I object strongly against people flinging themselves out of perfectly well functioning aircraft, I consider it playing with the safety equipment !

Sanding and filling is well underway. The more I sand, the worse it looks, I am sorry for that Björn!




Landing gear doors are almost always made to be shown in the open position, they seldom fit well when closed. That is the case this time as well!




I remember this from doing another Hercules thirteen years ago (one used by the NSF for polar flights) for an exhibition: the flap tops stand proud of the top surface of the wings. Annoying but fixable...





Magnus

Some more sanding and filling done, I'll prime wings and fuselage later today.







I'll prime the three major subassemblies separately, when glued together they present a major handling problem in my building area. I realise that I am really a small-scale guy!



Magnus

Primed and dangling over my workspace to dry. The small Santa-Claus figure is a gift from my daughters, he's sitting there all the year around to deliver moral support and also to keep an eye on me... I better behave...



Magnus

Sometime since the late 1980's, the windscreen of the kit was lost. A new windscreen arrived in the post today, broken in two... I don't have time to wait for another replacement so I filed out the centre panel, glued the two halves in place and will fill the hole with Clearfix. Good enough. I hope...


A windy cockpit!


Filling around the edges.



Magnus

Looks good, and l am looking forward to seeing how the fix of the windshield will work out.

Harm

Harm! With a bit of luck and your moral support I am sure it will work out allright !


After some careful sanding around the edges. The protective tape I used was as usual not 100% successful so there will be some polishing to do...



Magnus

Looking good Magnus, we might just drag you into the world of the "visible with the naked eye" scale kits yet !!

Warren! This one is a lot more than that, it is big enough to be a serious logistical problem on the workbench !

She's got wings, she knows how to use them...

Sorry about that one, I made a Spotify trip back to some Texas Boogie Rock earlier tonight...


With wings on, it has seriously outgrown my photo tent.



Magnus

I've had mixed results with decals for walkway demarcations and prop warning lines. This might be a solution:


Attractively priced, quick delivery and a logo reminding me of snowboarding, what more is there to ask for ?

Speaking about that, no more updates for a while since I am off skiing with my family next week!



Magnus

An end-of-week-update!


Cockpit glazing masked and all holes filled with Maskol.


Looks like an aircraft from Swedish Mail (there were yellow Lockheed Electras flying post routes in Sweden well into the nineties) but it isn't: this is just the first step of a complicated way of getting the yellow walkway demarcation lines!


Consider the amount of yellow paint and you will realise how much I dislike decals



Magnus

Tape!


It's a bit tricky getting the lines straight and in the right place. But long, thin, decals aren't that easy to handle either!



Magnus

Finally, all the yellow lines on the top surfaces are masked and sealed in with a further coat of yellow to prevent the green paint to seep below the masking.


I'm quite happy with the tape but it could have been a bit stickier. You have to be careful to really press it down otherwise you end up with all the tape curled up in a day or two (guess how I know that )?



Magnus

Looks as if I am going for a Drone Controller or the Skåne -look...


All yellow stripes have been masked (there were a few around the doors too) and now on to the prop warning stripe, maximum-turn-when-towing stripe and some further unexplained stripes found on the engine nacelles. More tape to be used tomorrow night !



Magnus

Looks great Magnus! Looking forward to see the finished lass..!

I really look forward to seeing the result when all is painted and al masking removed...

My first association right now was it resembled the work of a not too tallented graffiti artist



Harm

Jan! In a not too distant future I hope

Harm! That's actually quite true



Magnus

Done with the tape for this time...


I don't feel like painting tonight so the first green coat will have to wait until tomorrow!



Magnus

that was a great idea I would have never thought of for the walkway lines. Way to think outside the box (literally and figuratively) Cant wait to see further progress!

Michae!l After almost 30 years of modelling I was bound to come up with something innovative at least once ! To be true, I am sure that I have seen it somewhere and there are many more than me using this method. On the other hand, there are lots of unhappy modellers handling long, thin, decals also !

I'll do a review of the tape when I am finished with the model, stay tuned!



Magnus

Going green but first some more tape...


Leaving the tape overnight resulted in this...


But some careful rubbing down and an overspray of red makes it stay put!


Green... There is a lot more area to cover on this one than on a 1/144 Draken... I'll continue tomorrow!

Green is Tamiya XF-13 J.A. green mixed with Tamiya clear to give a semi-gloss finish that is almost decal-ready. I tried XF-67 Nato green as well but that one did really look "Nato" to me, more like a Danish Draken than a Swedish Hercules!



Magnus

I have never, and would never fling myself out of any aircraft, but I have flown said aircraft for a few thousand hours. Always managed to walk away from the landings. No flinging needed..

Warren! Have you been a Hercules pilot or crewman?

On the subject of parachutes (we never get away from them in this thread, do we ?) I've sat on one of these for many hours of gliding. The main reason for it was that it was a good way of getting comfy in the cockpit, another was that it was a legal requirement Anyway, leaving a glider in flight is very uncommon (last time in Sweden was in 1987 after a breakup in a cloud) but I suppose if the need arises it is good to have the backpack with you !


Still some more green to paint but were getting close now! The walkway areas usually look a bit brighter due to the non-slip material they are covered with. I'll try to get it a bit more even during the next painting session.


Lower surfaces have gotten a first coat. Trimming and touch-up to commence tomorrow!



Magnus