Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I´m not sure how many of you guys follow the Group Builds, so I´m porting over my work-in-progress and the result of my NC/AC-123K by Roden in 1/72 I did for the Strike/Attack Aircraft GB: 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
Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 Although I have been busy every of the last evenings, things are progressing slow. I painted a lot of the parts 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. 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
Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 I noticed some things I´m not too happy with. First the front 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... 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! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 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. 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 February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 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. 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
Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 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... : 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
Hajo L. Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 The finished model! 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 February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 I shot these pictures 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
11bee Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 That is just an awesome build. Love it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Tried my luck with photographing the bird again with different light conditions... Well, it did indeed turned out differnt, but not necessary better... HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 On the new set of pictures you can distinguish between the light green and tan on the upper camo. Actually, I really like the first four pictures of the new set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dekon70 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 That is a great looking build! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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