The Little World

I may have been typecasting myself at the model club. Everyone who saw me start on the C-130 commented that I was building a big model at last.

Well, it is big, but not much more than the Italeri Fairchild Flying Boxcar of 2018. The seams between panels are raised, but discretely so. The polish on the plastic is excellent…rather a pity that it is destined for a camo scheme rather than polished aluminium. I was right about the degree of complexity – see the wheel wells of the rear set – paint ’em white, add a light grey wash, and put on the tyres…and you’re good to go.

The flight deck is bare at present, but does form the roof of the wheel well. I am mildly amused that the design has included a retractable front gear leg – but not so for the rear. In any case it will be cemented down once all the painting is done. Until then it can be folded up conveniently out of harm’s way.

The fuel tanks were also an easy sub-assembly for the morning – and a little amusing in that they are bigger than the entire fuselages of some of my recent builds. See the first sub-heading…

Fortunately there are other modellers who have built this same kit and have made meticulous photos of the interior. I shall be shameless when it comes to copying this. Fortunately, in most case they have done it by selective washes and by picking out details with paint. I’m rather hoping the Italeri design allows the rear cargo door and ramp to open and close – for flexibility in display.