Zvezda 1/72 AC-130J Ghostrider

[Dave Williams]

Looks like it’s out and available on eBay.

 

Instructions here.

 

https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/5/0/9/1452509-35-instructions.pdf

 

In case anyone is interested in the kit.

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Dave Williams

[A-10 LOADER]

How are their kits ?? This could make for a interesting in flight display. I didn't see them on EBay however.

Steve

[Dave Williams]

They are decent.  A bit better than the old Italeri kits and definitely better than the old AMT/ERTL kits.  Should be able to find reviews of the previous C-130H and C-130J kits online.  Expect this one will pretty much be the same, just with variant specific parts.  It looks like they did new fuselage halves for this release with the gunship specific openings instead of having you open up the transport fuselage.

 

There is a listing here, but it’s fairly expensive.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256161220925

 

There was a previous listing out of Estonia that I ordered from that was a lot cheaper, but they are now sold out.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325745226593

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Dave Williams

[Da SWO]

Only three figures, they should have done better.

[Dave Williams]

8 hours ago, Da SWO said:

Only three figures, they should have done better.

I’m more disappointed that they didn’t seem to include the station for the sensor operators between the guns, or anything for the Bushmaster cannon beyond the rear of the gun (no ammo container or feed).  Guess it will be a rear door closed build, unless some aftermarket comes out.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Dave Williams

[A-10 LOADER]

Not really my scale but, I may pull the trigger on one of these. Thanks for the heads up Dave.

Steve

[ST0RM]

The Estonia link is back up with 2 available

[A-10 LOADER]

Order placed.

Steve

[VG 33]

On 7/30/2023 at 4:36 AM, A-10 LOADER said:

How are their kits ?? This could make for a interesting in flight display. I didn't see them on EBay however.

Steve

 

Hello

 

I have already built a C-130H (or "E" in that case) and this is easy. The only drawback is the panel lines are not deep enough from my point of view. 

 

Here

 

Patrick

[A-10 LOADER]

She arrived in 10 days, pretty impressive.

Steve

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by A-10 LOADER

[A-10 LOADER]

OK so what changed since the 27th of July when I posted my last pic in my WIP ?? I did the same exact thing today and the pic doesn't show up, instead I have what's above ??

Steve

[Dave Williams]

The link implies that it was uploaded as an attachment via the forum’s software, which doesn’t work.  The picture has to be hosted on an external site like photobucket, Imgur, etc and a direct link posted to where the image is.  Using the “Drag files here to attach, or choose files…” at the bottom of a post dialog box doesn’t work.

 

I’m still waiting for my AC-130J kit.  Bought July 29, tracking number Aug 1, nothing beyond departed Aug 3.

[A-10 LOADER]

All my stuff is hosted on Photobucket.

So there's something wrong with the forums software ??

Steve

[Dave Williams]

27 minutes ago, A-10 LOADER said:

All my stuff is hosted on Photobucket.

So there's something wrong with the forums software ??

Steve

The uploading of attachments has been disabled for many years, because long ago a hacker crashed the forum using malicious code uploaded through the forum attachment feature.  Previously, the forum supported BB (img) code links, but now the forum only supports direct links to the image on the hosting site.

[A-10 LOADER]

 

Test

Edited August 12, 2023 by A-10 LOADER

[Falcon053]

Worked...can't wait for mine to arrive!

[A-10 LOADER]

I haven't really dug into all the bags as of yet but, I did notice this right away when I opened the box. My main windshield is almost flat. I've emailed Zvezda about a replacement, we'll see what happens.

Steve

 

[Stephen]

12 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said:

I haven't really dug into all the bags as of yet but, I did notice this right away when I opened the box. My main windshield is almost flat. I've emailed Zvezda about a replacement, we'll see what happens.

Steve

 

Mine is the same. I did tape the fuselage halves together and test fit the windscreen. It's very thin so it will bend to fit but it's going to be tricky to glue in place.

[Dave Williams]

Looks like the windscreen was pulled out of the mold too early, while it was still hot.  Assuming the boxing is like the C-130H, there is enough room in the box, and the box seems strong enough, so it’s unlikely it was crushed.  Probably would have just broken anyway.

 

Maybe one day I’ll get the kit I ordered through eBay on July 29 and has disappeared on tracking since Aug 3.

[A-10 LOADER]

8 hours ago, Stephen said:

Mine is the same. I did tape the fuselage halves together and test fit the windscreen. It's very thin so it will bend to fit but it's going to be tricky to glue in place.

I did the exact same thing Stephen and, the glass fit really well. I'd feel better having the correct one to glue in however.

Steve

[Gator52]

How do kit decals look?

 

Chris

[A-10 LOADER]

10 hours ago, Gator52 said:

How do kit decals look?

 

Chris

They look to be very well done, crisp and thin, however the wing walkways are the wrong color, they're too dark. Maybe Caracal decals could fix this issue for us ??

I received a email back from their customer service and they are sending me a new windshield. They said it would take approximately 6-8 weeks.

Steve

 

 

[Tigerfan112]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:04 PM, Dave Williams said:

Looks like the windscreen was pulled out of the mold too early, while it was still hot.  Assuming the boxing is like the C-130H, there is enough room in the box, and the box seems strong enough, so it’s unlikely it was crushed.  Probably would have just broken anyway.

 

Maybe one day I’ll get the kit I ordered through eBay on July 29 and has disappeared on tracking since Aug 3.

 

Dave,

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the tracking (I'm assuming you ordered from Estonia ?). For some reason the Omniva tracking stops once the package leaves Estonia (which kinda negates the whole idea of tracking, I know). That said, the Estonian postal service is pretty reliable (I've lived here 8 years now and very seldom had a problem with mail in either direction) and the important thing is that with tracking you are able to make a no quibble claim with Omniva in the unlikely event that the package goes missing. If you ordered it from mudelautod all should be A OK !. 

[Tigerfan112]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:04 PM, Dave Williams said:

Looks like the windscreen was pulled out of the mold too early, while it was still hot.  Assuming the boxing is like the C-130H, there is enough room in the box, and the box seems strong enough, so it’s unlikely it was crushed.  Probably would have just broken anyway.

 

Maybe one day I’ll get the kit I ordered through eBay on July 29 and has disappeared on tracking since Aug 3.

 

Yep.......mine is the same. Actually, I believe the problem may stem from the type of clear plastic used.......I have several of the previous releases (C-130H, J etc) and the clear plastic is of a harder material in those earlier releases. The whole sprue in the AC-130J kit is very 'bendy' which leads me to believe it may be a different type of clear plastic material....maybe a result of sanctions...who knows ??.

[Dave Williams]

34 minutes ago, Tigerfan112 said:

 

Dave,

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the tracking (I'm assuming you ordered from Estonia ?). For some reason the Omniva tracking stops once the package leaves Estonia (which kinda negates the whole idea of tracking, I know). That said, the Estonian postal service is pretty reliable (I've lived here 8 years now and very seldom had a problem with mail in either direction) and the important thing is that with tracking you are able to make a no quibble claim with Omniva in the unlikely event that the package goes missing. If you ordered it from mudelautod all should be A OK !. 

Thanks, I see that the USPS doesn’t seem to have tracking either.  I ordered from eBay seller hobby-4-you, and I had gotten another Zvezda kit from them pretty quickly a couple of months previously.  My concern is that I think some other people who ordered the kit from the same seller at around the same time, if not a couple of days later, have already gotten their kits a while ago.  Not worried that it wasn’t sent, but that it’s lost somewhere, and with no usable tracking, who knows the last place that it was seen.