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WC-130A Rainmaker


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My stash has expanded rapidly since joining this forum.   The shelf of doom only has two models left, and the final parts for future builds are inbound (I hope).

I was going to build a KC-135R for a friend (guy I gave the C-9 too, but he passed away unexpectedly, so that project needs to be put off for awhile).

Strike Eagle, P-61,  F-22, 3x F-16's and a Squadron of 130's to choose from.  Parts and decals coming in from all over the globe. 

 

So after thinking about it, I decided to go with a 130, and in a go big or go home moment decided to build it as a WC-130A, with a goal of entering it in the local IPMS Squadron contest next January/February.

 

I am starting with the Italeri C-130E/H in 1/72nd scale.

 

My Ozmods engines and fuel tanks are in customs, so they should arrive this month.

I have to cast a couple extra crew seats, then scratch build the ARWO, Drop stations and a Benson Tank, a couple antennaes, and an external rack; this will be my first time doing this kind of stuff.

 

Things I still need: Colors, my google-foo is weak and I can't find a color schematic for a VN era C-130.  This image on scalemates is as close as I can get:  1241521-63-instructions.jpg

Does this look accurate?

 

The Air Force had exactly 3 WC-130A's, (56-0519, 56-0522, 56-0537) they were assigned to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (my old unit).  Their primary mission was (at the time) the Top Secret Operation MOTORPOOL/POPEYE.  This was the attempt to increase rain rates over the "Ho Chi Minh Trail".  Aircraft 56-0522 will be my subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is the plane I am using as my model.  Very plain looking, this pic was taken in Guam, and the external antennas have been removed.

 

56-0522_Guam

 

This closeup shows the external antennae (upper right)

 

wc-130a-02

 

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I listened to a presentation on the early Cloud Seeding project by Col. John Church (retired) at Hanscom AFB around 79/80. He was the AFGL or Cambridge Research Laboratory Science head of the project. 432rd TRW RF-4Cs were also tasked with the mission. He said that it was a very popular mission with the RF-4C crews, for obvious reasons.  MSGT Wettreck (Spelling?) was a MET/ARE trooper with Motorpool and had a war story where he mentioned a RHAW light in the WC-130 that illuminated during a flight. Fortunately nothing ensued. Speculation here... I believe that the pimple under 519 was part of that system. The Yagi antenna above the crew door might be for locating a ground signal. In the past I recall seeing pictures of HH-54Ds, HU-16Bs and HH-43s with that antenna. The yagi antenna was a later addition. I suspect it might be a piggy back mission to justify continuing the project. Col. Church said that results in the first year or so that he ran the project was mixed at best.  We might have still had the flare launchers in store at Keesler when I was there in 77/78. We did have the ice crushers for arctic fog dispersal. The WC-130As were supplemented and replaced with WC-130Bs and later with WC-130Es. The WC-130As had the earlier AMT-1 dropsonde system. It was different from the post Hurricane Camille Seek Cloud equipment. Maybe the dropsonde tube launcher might be similar. I have a b/w polaroid snapshot of a WC-130A given to me by Col. Church. It doesn't have the yagi antenna, hence my belief that it was a later addition. I believe that the flare launchers were standard RF-4C launchers (internal on the RF-4C rear fuselage) or maybe from an earlier recon aircraft. 

That's all for now.

 

The above is from memory with some speculation.

 

How about an F-4E OS tail code rigged for air sampling? 

The YC-121F, when based at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center sometimes flew sampling missions, like the C-54 and later C-118. 

 

Grant

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13 hours ago, gmat said:

I listened to a presentation on the early Cloud Seeding project by Col. John Church (retired) at Hanscom AFB around 79/80. He was the AFGL or Cambridge Research Laboratory Science head of the project. 432rd TRW RF-4Cs were also tasked with the mission. He said that it was a very popular mission with the RF-4C crews, for obvious reasons.  MSGT Wettreck (Spelling?) was a MET/ARE trooper with Motorpool and had a war story where he mentioned a RHAW light in the WC-130 that illuminated during a flight. Fortunately nothing ensued. Speculation here... I believe that the pimple under 519 was part of that system. The Yagi antenna above the crew door might be for locating a ground signal. In the past I recall seeing pictures of HH-54Ds, HU-16Bs and HH-43s with that antenna. The yagi antenna was a later addition. I suspect it might be a piggy back mission to justify continuing the project. Col. Church said that results in the first year or so that he ran the project was mixed at best.  We might have still had the flare launchers in store at Keesler when I was there in 77/78. We did have the ice crushers for arctic fog dispersal. The WC-130As were supplemented and replaced with WC-130Bs and later with WC-130Es. The WC-130As had the earlier AMT-1 dropsonde system. It was different from the post Hurricane Camille Seek Cloud equipment. Maybe the dropsonde tube launcher might be similar. I have a b/w polaroid snapshot of a WC-130A given to me by Col. Church. It doesn't have the yagi antenna, hence my belief that it was a later addition. I believe that the flare launchers were standard RF-4C launchers (internal on the RF-4C rear fuselage) or maybe from an earlier recon aircraft. 

That's all for now.

 

The above is from memory with some speculation.

 

How about an F-4E OS tail code rigged for air sampling? 

The YC-121F, when based at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center sometimes flew sampling missions, like the C-54 and later C-118. 

 

Grant

Good info, thanks.

The antennae info makes sense.

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@MHazthanks, picked paint up today.

@gmatMissed the small pimple on the nose. I think the external antennas helped locate thunderstorms (AM radios?) as that is where most of the seeding took place.

 

Tuesday is my weekly run to the model store.  Picked pain up and started looking at the model.  One nice bit is the Italeri has 5 seats on the cockpit, so I only have to scratch one extra seat for the cargo compartment (Dropsonde Operator).

The Ozmod engines and fuel tanks arrived, still waiting on the landing gear from SAC.

Really cold weather coming this weekend, so I have to do some winterizing before then, but I'll be stuck inside for two days and that means I can build in peace.

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  • 1 year later...
On 2/9/2021 at 12:22 AM, MHaz said:

Here's the cybermodeler page for the C-130 SEA camo scheme. The image comes from USAF T.O. 1-1-4.

C-130 Southeast Asia

Working on this while paint dries on another model.  The color from the T.O is a light gray, yet all the photos seem to have a white underside?  Did the belly color change at some point?

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2 hours ago, Da SWO said:

Working on this while paint dries on another model.  The color from the T.O is a light gray, yet all the photos seem to have a white underside?  Did the belly color change at some point?

Negative - in many photos of aircraft in the SEA scheme, the FS36622 undersides often appear to be more of an off-white...

....especially ground shots - yours of the C-130 when in Guam is a prime example of the concrete reflecting the bright sunlight.

Edited by andyf117
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2 hours ago, andyf117 said:

Negative - in many photos of aircraft in the SEA scheme, the FS36622 undersides often appear to be more of an off-white...

....especially ground shots - yours of the C-130 when in Guam is a prime example of the concrete reflecting the bright sunlight.

Massive thanks.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Da SWO  Last time I saw 56-0522 was as a wingless instructional trainer down at Kelly AFB when I attended 2T2 Tech School in the mid 1990s. She was parked out by the 433rd ALW, pretty much gutted and do to low hydraulic fluid it really sucked hand-pumping the tail doors open and closed. Google Shows her in the same place until the mid 2000s. I'm guessing either moved inside or scrapped.

 

How the model going?

 

image.png.bf45ab2d5c89cab278081c1cc0a41ef7.png

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4 hours ago, Shay said:

Da SWO  Last time I saw 56-0522 was as a wingless instructional trainer down at Kelly AFB when I attended 2T2 Tech School in the mid 1990s. She was parked out by the 433rd ALW, pretty much gutted and do to low hydraulic fluid it really sucked hand-pumping the tail doors open and closed. Google Shows her in the same place until the mid 2000s. I'm guessing either moved inside or scrapped.

 

How the model going?

 

image.png.bf45ab2d5c89cab278081c1cc0a41ef7.png

Ah HA!

 

I was looking in the wrong spot.  I was told she was at IAAFA, Google Earth showed a different frame.  I need to tool around the 433rd area again.

 

Model was on hold pending aftermarket parts (which finally arrived) and the Group Build F-16.  I'll start her up again in a week once the seats arrive.

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  • 3 months later...

Started working on the 130 again.

Building the center line stanchions, seats and a stretcher (improvised crew bunk).

 

2023-01-04_02-47-46

 

The bottom step was removed after painting, needed it so I could use the PE bender as a jig.

 

Centerline seats (glad there were only a few needed).

 

2023-01-05_09-06-11

 

Inspirational pic on my computer,  😉

 

2023-01-05_09-07-48

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
4 hours ago, Da SWO said:

Had to free time so I finally finished the center-line seats an improvised crew bunk (stretcher).

My son is currently 3-D printing my Benson tank and stand.

 

Brett, It's looking really nice. Are those the Eduard seats for the Zvezda kit? (Oh nevermind, I just scrolled up and saw that they are the PlusModel set.) They look great.  Let me know how the Bensen tank turns out.  I was thinking of making a similar tank for my USMC KC-130T-30 build. K/r, Dutch  

Edited by Dutch
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17 hours ago, Dutch said:

Brett, It's looking really nice. Are those the Eduard seats for the Zvezda kit? (Oh nevermind, I just scrolled up and saw that they are the PlusModel set.) They look great.  Let me know how the Bensen tank turns out.  I was thinking of making a similar tank for my USMC KC-130T-30 build. K/r, Dutch  

Three (or was it four) test runs to get a passable stand.  Not a lot of photos available.  Some show an angled base, some show a base that is more of a rectangle.  We went with the latter as the base will be hidden by the seats and DSO station.

 

I have to do some sanding after Mass today, then start on the tank.

 

2023-02-22_02-11-11

 

My son uses TinkerCad for designing and an Ender Pro 5 printer.

Still learning, there seems to be some shrinkage as the plastic cools, so getting the right size too a few runs.

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15 hours ago, Dutch said:

Not bad!  I like it!  You gonna put the plumbing on with bent copper wire?

Haven't decided yet. I need a good picture showing the plumbing, and I need to see how much (if any) can be seen through via the ramp.

I was thinking styrene, but I like your copper wire idea better.

 

Playing with the fit.

 

2023-02-25_10-03-48

 

 

View from the ramp,

 

2023-02-25_10-04-41

 

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The Benson tanks used in the C-130 came out of old KC-97's. They bolted 

into the cargo floor. The green and blue arrows point to the fuel lines that go

up into the plumbing to the wings for fuel. They could fill the benson tank from

the single point refueling panel in the right aft wheel well. they could burn the fuel out of those tanks 

and then go to wing fuel or externals. The red hard line was part of the fuel system as well. Those 

cutouts in the cradle were so you could get up under there if you had a gear problem and had to

inspect/chain the gear. And you had to be a thin fella to get up under there. Ant the connections were 

never solid...I don't think I flew with one that didn't leak. Was so glad to get our air refuelable MC's so we 

could do away with them. 

 

Cheers...Ron

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