Chris D Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 (edited) Kursad, If you are considering getting into decals for C-130's I'd like to offer a couple for you to consider. KC-130F 149798 was the Hercules borrowed by VR-1 for carrier trials aboard USS Forrestal. Before the flights, the refuelling pods were removed so decals would work with any of the standard 1/48 or 1/72 scale C-130 kits. There are a lot of photos and video of the flights, including a good close up of her "Look Ma, No Hook" noseart. A former Navy EC-130Q was deconfigured and now flies as N130AR with the National Center for Atmospheric Research under a grant from the National Science Foundation as an airborne laboratory. Definitely the best looking Hercules flying today. Other than plating over the lower cockpit windows and an everchanging array of mission-specific equipment on the wings, she could also be modeled from a standard kit. Navy DC-130A 570497 was with VX-30 when she flew drone launch missions during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I know the 1/48 DC-130 kit has decals from the early 70's. There are good photos of 497 as she attended an airshow not long after her return from OIF. I know that I personally would love to be able to build these in 1/48. Let me know if there's anything I can do. Chris Edited July 11, 2016 by Chris D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Corey Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Kursad, if you consider doing the NCAR C-130 mentioned above, please contact me first through a PM. Thanks Corey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 A former Navy EC-130Q was deconfigured and now flies as N130AR with the National Center for Atmospheric Research under a grant from the National Science Foundation as an airborne laboratory. Definitely the best looking Hercules flying today. Other than plating over the lower cockpit windows and an everchanging array of mission-specific equipment on the wings, she could also be modeled from a standard kit. That is indeed one good looking Hercules. THanks for your suggestions, Chris - I have noted all of them. My ANG C-130 sheet is still some months away, but I will definitely be doing other C-130 sheets and will keep this in mind. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Corey Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 That is indeed one good looking Hercules. THanks for your suggestions, Chris - I have noted all of them. My ANG C-130 sheet is still some months away, but I will definitely be doing other C-130 sheets and will keep this in mind. Sent you an email Kursad. =) Corey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chris D Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 No problem. I figured it would be a while, if at all. If you do decide to tackle them and need any sort of assistance with references, let me know. I've also got the 1/48 kits if anything needs to be measured for size. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andyrens Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) Kursad, If you are considering getting into decals for C-130's I'd like to offer a couple for you to consider. Navy DC-130A 570497 was with VX-30 when she flew drone launch missions during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I know the 1/48 DC-130 kit has decals from the early 70's. There are good photos of 497 as she attended an airshow not long after her return from OIF. Chris Kursad, I second the USN DC-130 (I have one planned for next years "big build"), but also some other USN C-130s such as those flown by VXE-6 and, VRC, VR squadrons and others. Plus there is the "white" Fat Albert --USMC KC-130F #150690 There are also USCG birds that could be done as well. http://www.spectrumw...m/c130/navy.htm Edited July 13, 2016 by andyrens Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chris D Posted July 21, 2016 Author Share Posted July 21, 2016 I thought of another one last night. The JC-130's of the 6593d Test Squadron (Special) and 6594th Test Group. They were C-130's conducting airborne recoveries of returning satellites. The JC-130's had a top mounted radar hump to track the satellite under the parachute but Cutting Edge did resin versions of the hump years ago (it also wouldn't be too difficult to scratch build). The JC-130H's had the Fulton nose, but the JC-130B's had the standard nose. They were originally metal with orange visibility stripes, but when the squadron was deactivated and the JC-130's became group assets, they wore the standard white over gray scheme of the time, and had a falling star design on the tails. Lots of good photos of them are available now. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) FYI, Warbird decals just released decal set #72049 featuring KC-130F 149798 in VR-1 markings for the Carrier On Borad Delivery trials aboard USS Forrestal in 1963. While a complete sheet with: walkways, US insignia, titles & serials, NATC badges and limited stenciling and very nice "LOOK MA, NO HOOK!", it does have a few inaccuracies. For one: it includes rounded propeller tip white/red/white decals as for a P-3C Orion, not squared as for a C-130. [Thank you, I will use them on one of my P-3C kits.] Also, the orange and black tail marking is strange and I do not believe it is accurate. It appears as a black wedge on an orange rectangle. (see below) It bears no resemblance to any NATC marking. The photo below shows it to be the simple orange "wedge" of the NATC test force directorate. So, while I applaud their effort in releasing decals for this very historic airframe, I wish that they had done their research a little better. Which is to say, that there is room for improvement from Caracal. My $.02! Dutch Edited January 9, 2022 by Dutch fix details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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