catfan Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 OK s i have now the ac-130 gunship family in 1/72 scale . i have the AC-130A,AC-130H and the AC-130U. but there is a couple of questions i have about them . 1 what would the colors be on the wheel wells. 2 . what colors are used on the interiors? 3. and the rest of the inside of the aircraft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 If I remember right, a durtied up white would be the standard for the wheel wells. The interior was not the usual seafoam green of the trash haulers but a medium grey in the cargo bay. the flight deck and avionics bays were probably green but very few outsiders were allowed there so it's just a good guess. I don't wee any reason why they would paint the flight/avionics decks grey. These photos were taken at Korat. Sorry, B/W was the only film available at the time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircommando130 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 C-130's have white wheel wells so it's easier to spot leaks. Depending on the time frame the gunships were black on the inside...flight deck, cargo compartment...in the last few years at least on the MC-130 side as they go through depot they come out with a dark gray interior. It keeps the glare down during NVG operations and it's not so hot from sitting out in the sun all closed up waiting for the crew to arrive for another night mission. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 thank you to the people that have respond. i just want to make sure i get the details right. i love the gunships so much i don't want to make a mistake. i know you cant see it when the body is closed up but i will know . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
C-130CrewChief Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) Black inside, flight deck and cargo compartment. Always black... I used cases of flat black spray paint inside my bird! I spent 3 years working on AC-130H gunships in the late 90s, some of our AC-130Hs had a gloss gray wheel well with white landing gear components, however I clearly remember one with silver wheel wells and white gears. Our MC-130Ps are the gray and white. In the past 14 years, I have seen several varieties of wheel well color combinations on a large variety of Herks, and to qualify myself to answer this.... I am a landing gear, and flight control specialist. My shop is called R&R (Repair and Reclamation) but is also more commonly known by its old name, AR (Aero Repair). We do all the hard rigging and trouble shooting etc. Here are the colors I have seen in the wheel wells of Herks. White wells with white gears Gray wells with white gears Silver wells with white gears White nose well with gray main wells White well with silver inside the doors Gray wells with white inside the doors I know my unit specifically asks for the wells to be painted gloss light gray. Looks like "Aircraft gray" I guess if you don't ask for a color, you get what they have on hand! So, to sum it up.... Paint it however you want. The color may change every 5 years when it goes through it's PDM cycle. Also, see how dirty the wheel well and strut are? Don't sweat it brother... It's dark in there! Oh and the wheels are flat black! Nothing drives me nuts more than an AC-130 with white wheels! Except maybe when a modeler says it's OOB with ..... added. Curt Eddited to add more and more, because I love talking about Herks! Edited December 30, 2010 by C-130CrewChief Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 OK so would this also qualify for the ac-130a used in Vietnam and the ac-130u? gunships Quote Link to post Share on other sites
C-130CrewChief Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I would say yes to the U model. Vietnam Gunships... I don't know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chuck1945 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I can't address Vietnam era gunships per se, but white was the most common color for all USAF wheel wells during that period and the C-130E models I encountered at Forbes AFB '72-73, had white gear legs, dont remember actually crawling under one to look inside the gear well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Oh and the wheels are flat black! Nothing drives me nuts more than an AC-130 with white wheels! Except maybe when a modeler says it's OOB with ..... added. +1 Great reference to the locked rant in General Discussion. Kudos. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircommando130 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Hey Curt you were talking about white rims on a SOF airplane...the "J" guys here have Harrisburg fly a slick J to Kirtland for them to fly here and do their airdrop currency. They initially had white rims but after much ribbing from the MC-130 guys they went home and painted them black....part of the brotherhood I guess! :unsure: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
C-130CrewChief Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 That's right! No white wheels for the SOF people! Ours are gray.... That pic was taken after a little extra hard braking.... Thanks for the HOT BRAKES!! Curt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircommando130 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Not to change the subject with this thread but I'd like to build a 48th scale EC-130J Commando Solo from my J kit...but then again I've beem waiting for the first MC-130J to get here so I can build it. <_< Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Check out the Herc thread here on ARC http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....135422&st=0 Load of pics and quite a few gunships in there as well. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.