Hajo L. Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 My first entry for this GB will be the NC/AC-123K Black Spot. This bird has a very unique camoflage and can also be considered to be a "Gunship", so it perfectly fits my category. The first impression of this kit reveals a lot of nice molded parts, so I think it will be a fun to do! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Great choice Will be watching Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Although I have been busy every of the last evenings, things are progressing slow. I painted a lot of th eparts while still attached to the sprues. However, I have done the cockpit! I think it looks quite good, the instrument panel has some nice detail that will come out nicely if you paint it. Thanks to some input in the Researh Corner I will do my two pilots next. HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 18, 2016 Author Share Posted December 18, 2016 I got the crew done: I cut them together using various body parts for the sitting legs, torso and heads with caps. And painted: HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Very interesting project! The crew' torso came from the Italeri personnel,right? Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Exactly! Same for the heads, although they belonged to that ground crew-figure that sports a tool-box. HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Hajo L. said: Exactly! Same for the heads, although they belonged to that ground crew-figure that sports a tool-box. HAJO !!!!! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 I noticed some things I´m not too happy with. First the fron landing gear: It propably is something that in the real aircraft is a factor as well, but I have no idea how to correctly get the gear angle right. There is no strut or similar to arrest it in the proper "down" position. And I also glued in the first clear parts. They look good, but the fit into the fuselage openings is not that well... HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 Just for fun I put the two fuselage halves together: And I´m coming up with another problem: On the left side, one of the windows of the NC/AC is different to the default C-123. It´s round, and the kit provides this part, but the window itself is open! Any idea if this is just a mistake of the kit or did the Black Spots flew with this open window? HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 (edited) Thanks to some fellow ARC-members I got the intel that the open window is most likely the exhaust of an APU. It makes perfect sense, so I used a piece of a straw to simulate the APU-exhaust. Then I painted it grey and iron. You can also see the silver curtains I installed over the windows - I saw those on the picture that´s online on Wikipedia. And the other halve of the fuselage, where all the stuff has been glued on. At this very moment the two halves have been mated and the glue is drying. HAJO Edited December 25, 2016 by Hajo L. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Back from the holidays! A quick and final look through the cargo door: And these are the upper and lower ramp. As you can see, I used the inner side to test some different paints for the final camo scheme. Because of the flash when picturing it the colors look a bit off. The model without the ramp and vertical stabilizers: ...and with them! A nice tailsitter, but that´s why I haven´t attached the nose yet - plenty of room for ballast! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Wings are attached: On th enext picture you can see the nose with the sensor. I simply painted the backside of the clear part that comes into the "ball". Most of it is silver, the red part is transparent window color. And I started the engines. They look pretty good and have good detail, but I encountered some problems when I put them into their nacelles... I can really suggest to NOT attach the exhausts (parts no. 7F) before putting the engines into the nacelles. The risk that they don´t align with the small cup in the nacelles left open for them is quite high, and you will much likely screw up the whole propeller alignment - at least that´s my fear... We will have to see. And finally the bird "flying" over my desk - the front wheels are currently drying and I don´t want them to be weighted and lose their position. The nose has also been attached, there were some heavier gaps that needed treatmet with small strings of heated sprue. HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Looking great Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 18 hours ago, Grandboof said: Looking great Martin H Yup! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 The building part has been finished! A photo-etched sheet simulates the openings for the bomblet-drop-system: Engines, jets and auxiliary tanks have found their positions on the wing: When I attached the clear parts of the cockpit I had to apply some pressure to put it in the right position - but it wasn´t that big trouble. Also the landing lights were added: Now it´s time for painting! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Mate, your build look better and better!!!! I love it! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Great work Keep going Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 I´m sorry for the delay, but I was fighting some kind of flu and stayed in bed during the last days. So I´m not that far with the paintwork as I had previously planned. The only colour missing now is the bright black, which will complement the scheme. In the end there will be six different colours on the underside of the bird, and three on top of it. And another look at this cool looking bird! Interesting that the windows at the bow had to be painted as well... : HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 You've choosen a very interesting subject. I always associated the C-123 with the movie "Air America", but never as a Gunship. Looks good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Camo is done! :) Maybe that "green-yellow"-tone should have been a bit brighter and in more contrast to the pure green, but I love it anyway! I didn´t checked, but I think brushing it all an took over an hour of work. Thank god the model isn´t that heavy as my C-130s are. I remember getting a sore hand after having to hold a C-130 for over an hour while painting... I think this is one of the coolest camo-schemes ever done! The motors still look a bit "un-camoed" from below, maybe I´ll add some stripes and colour to them. I also have to check my references concerning the tanks and jet engines, I´m sure they´ll need some more colour as well. HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Great paintwork Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 I just finished the model! On sunday evening I attached all the decals: The decals were OK, although now a couple of them show a slight silvering. And I have the feeling that the markings, especially the mission marks, were not present during the time when the bird was "active". Yesterday I applied the final matt coat and today the props came on: More pictures with better light later! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 I owe you guys some pictures! I shot them in the garden and I have the feeling that our winter-sun did not support making good pictures outside... On the other hand, it looks like evening dawn and the bird is ready for another night-time mission! The front view with the big sensor ball is impressive! Belly shot: HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Well done Thanks for sharing Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 The camo look totally awesome! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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