Arie Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I've long been a fan of the Beech Kingair & so decided to take on two, very different kits--Mach 2's RC-12 & RVHP's MC-12. The Mach 2 kit was a pig (surprise, that!) and basically required a complete re-work. The engine nacelles represent the very-early C-12, with the round profile and had to be re-sculpted with milliput & profanity. The undercarriage was unusable, and I swapped them for part from the spare bin. Most of my effort was expended replicating the various structural reenforcements, lumps and bumps of the RC-12--I decided to model the latest RC-12X, instead of the kit-intended K-model, which required sculpting the ironing-board SLAR antennas on the aft fuselage & building-up new wingtip pods. I used the spare vacuform canopy from the RVHP kit--they pack it with two!! RVHP is the exact opposite of Mach 2, and the MC-12 Liberty is no exception--it's lovely! Warning on the vacuform canopy though, it fit the Mach 2 aircraft, but was too wide for it's intended kit!! In retrospect, I should have shimmed the resin fuselage with styrene sheet before joining! Lesson for next time. Only major mod was cutting out the crew door & adding an operator's station--I still aim to sculpt the aft SATCOM hump to make it a later version of the MC-12, though it's finished as an early version for the time being. Both kits were expensive, but the MC-12 set a record for damage to my pocketbook! I think it was worth it & my wife has come 'round Amazing what flowers will do!! And the MC-12! 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Good jobs, both look great. I hope someone brings out decent injection moulded kits of these.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arie Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Good jobs, both look great. I hope someone brings out decent injection moulded kits of these.... You & me both! I'd love to build a few more, but cost + pain of working with what's available is a real show-stopper. I'm hoping Amodel will come up with something--their just released C-12J (Beech 1900 commuter airliner) is fantastic, though my copy seems to be missing the military-specific equipment sprue. Such is life! Cheers, Arie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Nice work on both Arie. I have just started on my RVHP MC-12 and will have to look into shimming the fuselage to make the windscreen fit, thanks for that tip. Did you just consult pictures for the antenna locations? The RVHP instructions are not very good in that respect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arie Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Nice work on both Arie. I have just started on my RVHP MC-12 and will have to look into shimming the fuselage to make the windscreen fit, thanks for that tip. Did you just consult pictures for the antenna locations? The RVHP instructions are not very good in that respect. The antenna arrangement in the instructions is accurate for the aircraft depicted, as far as I can tell. If you compare photos, the MC-12W has flown in a variety of arrangements--the original aircraft were literally purchased from private owners & converted. As a result, no two aircraft were identical at the outset. Later aircraft were new-build from (then) Hawker-Beechcraft, and are much more standardized (roughly 2013 and beyond.) Mine is a poor guide, since I'm planning to add the SATCOM hump, I configured as a late-model aircraft, but haven't finished yet... Good luck on the kit! It was honestly a lot of fun, minus the aforementioned frustration. Thankfully, you won't have to repeat this ugly mess! : Cheers, A. C. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habu12 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Nice! I see these puppies everyday at work. You've got good representations of them here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reini78 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 awesome work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 That's some impressive modelling, nice to see some Kingair's built up 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Very nice, I have the Rareplane kit which looks nice. probably an easier build than the Mach pooh kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Great looking pair, nice job on the scheme and finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Really nice work on those, great job(s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Hey Arie, I have one more question regards the RVHP kit. I note there is a second set of engines that look idenical to those already moulded to the wings. Do you know why they might have been included? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh65 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Those are lovely. Very well done indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arie Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Hey Arie, I have one more question regards the RVHP kit. I note there is a second set of engines that look idenical to those already moulded to the wings. Do you know why they might have been included? I am not 100 % certain, my kit only had one set of engines, which were separate parts from the wing. The fit was poor, and it would have been nice if they were one piece! I know that the earlier C-12 variants had different engines with a more circular air inlet. Otherwise, I'm not really sure... Cheers, A. C. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid de Koning Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 would love to make one in 48th.. Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Excellent builds, very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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