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Faichild C-123B. Roden. U.S. Coastguard (Definitely) Finished.


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Well this one has been in a drawer for several years, and as I have decided Its time for another biggie, I'm taking the plunge. I had intended to wait for the Caracal C123 sheet to pop up on ebay or the like and do one of those options, but it hasn't and If I wait any longer I fear it may never get done. But hey, the options in the kit are colourful so will probably go for the Yellow one based in Hawaii.

I still may change my mind and put the "normal" nose on it and do another scheme. We will see. I think there is a Thai Air Force decal sheet still available and there is a quite fetching silver and White scheme on that sheet I like.

Some years back I was in Vegas while they were filming Con Air and got to see the set for the C-123 that crashed into the Casino. Amazing stuff! I'd always liked the Provider and that prompted me to buy the kit.

 

So here's a few pics at the starting blocks.

 

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A good pile of parts, with very fine detail. Also some of the sprues have quite a bit of flash so there will be some cleaning up to do, and a repair as the front of the left fuselage is boken around the lower window area.

I don't have any after market bits so it will be an OOB build.

 

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Nice bit of interior detail which won't really be seen. apart from around the rear end as I intend to have the doors open and the ramp down. 

Here I've made a start with a few parts that make up the cockpit area, So far the parts fit very well once cleaned up. I have heard some horror stories about the Roden He111 so here's hoping this one doesnt suffer from the same fit problems.

 

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Thats all for now.

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 13/07/2022 at 07:30, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Best wishes with this one!  With your track record, I expect good things, but no pressure!  I've seen finished Roden C-123's that look exactly on mark.

Thanks😀. Feeling the pressure though, I've done a bit more and found that the multitude of parts that go into the fuselage are refusing to keep still while I try to join the two halves together. Its like ferrets fighting in a sack at the moment!

 

On 13/07/2022 at 23:20, VT Red Sox Fan said:

Super cool—the C-123 has always been of interest to me—I really look forward to what get out of this kit—best, Erwin

Cheers Erwin, Ive been looking to see what is available to enhance the kit but in truth there not much out there, so the build will be out of the box. It's a lovely kit in its own right so I think the end result should look the part without extras.

 

 

 

A little bit more to the interior parts.

 

Just realised I missed a photo earlier on so here it is, now the comment should make more sense.

Nice bit of interior detail which won't really be seen. apart from around the rear end as I intend to have the doors open and the ramp down. 

 

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Here I have made a start on assembling the parts for the cockpit/nose U/C assembly. There is good detail on all the smaller parts, with some having a little flash apparent on them. Most of the parts have mould lines that also need to be scraped off. Once cleaned up the fit is very good, you have to be carefull though as the plastic is quite soft and is easily damaged with a scalpel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well there you go, pressed the submit button instead of the insert image button!! Proper senior moment!:daydream:

 

Here's the cockpit

 

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Very nice level of detail, just some belts to add.

 

spacer.png Painted up.

 

spacer.png  belts added using foil.

 

spacer.pngThe nose U/C assy. fitted under the cockpit.

 

spacer.png Main U/C assembies ready for installation into the fuselage.

 

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The majority of the interior parts ready for positioning inside the hold, along with the cabin doors which I have cut out and will display in the open position. I need to dig out some photos to see how they open. I'm used to the ones on a C17 that come in and up but I think these are just hinged and maybe not opened in the air.  There are also six seats either side of the rear doors to be fitted which will be seen in a later photo.

Until then back to the ferrets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nice!  You can definitely see where Lockheed took careful note of what worked well here, design-wise.  The general layout matches that of the C-130, which followed only a few years later.  I don't know about the cargo doors, unfortunately, but I seem to recall from visiting the real article that they open like on a C-130, with the aft-most opening inward, and the load-bearing ramp opening downward.  

 

Interesting choice on your part to install the landing gear at this stage of the construction, but I suppose the kit leaves you with no option otherwise.  How will you protect  them against damage? Alex

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3 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Nice!  You can definitely see where Lockheed took careful note of what worked well here, design-wise.  The general layout matches that of the C-130, which followed only a few years later.  I don't know about the cargo doors, unfortunately, but I seem to recall from visiting the real article that they open like on a C-130, with the aft-most opening inward, and the load-bearing ramp opening downward.  

 

Interesting choice on your part to install the landing gear at this stage of the construction, but I suppose the kit leaves you with no option otherwise.  How will you protect  them against damage? Alex

Thanks Alex. The kit instructions have you fit everything into the fuselage sides and then join them together. I did a test fit without the wheels fitted onto the legs but found I couldn't then fit them in the installed U/C bays from the outside without the likelyhood of snapping the axles off.. So Ill just have to be very careful while handling the assembled fuselage when adding the other major components.

 

Yes the ramp doors operate as on most cargo aircraft in that the most rearward half moves up into the roof area with the other part coming down to act as the ramp.

Its the (I shall use the description "Para Doors") that I'm not sure of. I have cut them from the fuselage sides to display open. They are moulded just like a normal door, hinges and a handle. I must see if there are any pictures showing them in the open position on the internet!.

 

 

 

 

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Two things: the para doors, if they're anything like on the Hercules, should pull inside and upward.  Also, don't forget the third aircrew position, which is on a tenuous perch outside the bulkhead separating the cargo compartment from the cockpit.  The third member of the aircrew sat on the right side in a chair suspended well above the cargo floor by an A-frame, and the A-frame could be repositioned to allow him to sit between the pilots.  You'll need to refer to photos to get a better idea.

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3 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Two things: the para doors, if they're anything like on the Hercules, should pull inside and upward.  Also, don't forget the third aircrew position, which is on a tenuous perch outside the bulkhead separating the cargo compartment from the cockpit.  The third member of the aircrew sat on the right side in a chair suspended well above the cargo floor by an A-frame, and the A-frame could be repositioned to allow him to sit between the pilots.  You'll need to refer to photos to get a better idea.

Thanks Alex. I have found out how the para doors sit in the open positions. They swing inboard and are latched back, the crew access door at the front swings outboard.  Oh my goodness you could really go to town on the interior with the wealth of photos on the internet. I've also found a photo of the third crewmans seat. It seems it was an electronics  operators position and the occupant spent his time swinging back and forth between the avionics position and the entrance to the cockpit. There are several pictures of it, this one shows it well. I think I will attempt to build one but that will be the extent of the interior detailing I will run to/ be capable of.

https://amcmuseum.org/at-the-museum/aircraft/c-123k-provider/

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  • 2 weeks later...

A little more progress, its summer, you know how it is! 

Following on from above the interior parts have been fitted and glued in place. I found the easiest way to do this was to tack each piece in place using super glue and close the two fuselage halves together to ensure a good fit. Any necessary adjustment was carried on that part, then the process was repeated until all the interior parts were in place.

 

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The rear ramp doors and the air conditioning pipework (I think) were left for fitting after the fuselage halves were together.

 

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Here it is, the halves together with one of the doors and pipework installed. The join line has been filled with milliput and is awaiting rubbing down. While waiting for the milliput to dry I assembled the wings and tailplanes, which consisted of two halves each assemby, so no dramas there.

 

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Looking through to the cockpit, the pipe work installed.

 


 

Filler sanded down.

Just the canopy to fit and the fuselage is pretty well done. 

 

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While this was going on I thought I would build a representation of the third crewmans position. This was to be a seat and work table. So I set to and with plastic and brass and fashioned these. 

 

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And painted up, seat straps to add.

 

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As I was quite pleased with them I thought I would fit them.  At this advanced stage of construction I was left with a bit of a ship in a bottle conundrum which was resolved by sticking the items to long pieces of rod, inserting them through the back end and then securing them in place with super glue passed through the open crew access door. After many wobbly attempts they they ended up in the right place.

Dont ask why I didnt fit them before joining the fuselage halves, no really, dont ask!

 

Once the canopy is in place they are not going to be visable much so here they are installed.

  

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With that done I decided that was enough scratch building for one day and moved onto the wings.  I added 'Little Lenses' to the landing light recesses in the front of the wings, added the transparrent covers and filled with perfect plastic putty. Just the job for this kind of filling as you put it on and then immediatly wipe the excess off leaving the gaps filled. No rubbing down necessary.

 

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Wings and engines on next.

Till the next time

 

 

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On 30/07/2022 at 18:43, AdrianMF said:

That’s a lovely interior. I really like the third chair and workstation too. It’s nice that you can see it through the side door.

Thanks Adrian. Alas, if the model were ever to be displayed at a show, to see the 3rd chair people would have to have their face pressed to the display base!😄 So like so much of the extra detailing that we all do , I don't think it will be seen apart from on these pages. Good fun to do though!

 

A little bit more done over the weekend. The engines were assembled and mounted on the wings.

As can be seen the engines are comprised of quite a few parts.

 

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The cylinders (Parts 8F and 11F) had very prominent mould marks which had to be removed with a sharp scalpel before they would go together. 

 

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Here's the spru with all the parts for the un assembled engine along with a completed item.

Once the parts were cleaned up they went together very well, which goes for everything in the kit assembly so far.

 

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The engines were painted in a mixture of black and silver, then highlighted with Tamiya sand and silver weathering powders. There is a definate sandy hue to them which doesnt show in the photos unfortunately.

 

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Here the cowlings and nacelles have been assembled and stuck to the wings. A slight problem here was the engines had very little to mount to in the cowlings. Picture 17 in the instructions shows part 10F fitting against the rear of the cooling vanes slot, but in fact there is only a few thou for glue to bond with and the assembly kept falling through the cowling before it could support itself. It was fiddly but they stuck in the end. I've left the cooling vanes off as I will cut them into three parts and have them in the open position.

The cowlings were then attatched to the nacelles which were already glued to the wings. Only a little filler was required as again the fit was pretty good.

 

                                         

 

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While waiting for things to dry the external tanks were assembled. Just two halves each.  The next stage will be wings on.

 

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More soon

Pete

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Martin.

There are at least four different options to choose from if you do decide to hunt one down, The lumpy bumpy black spot version looks to be an interesting build, I may have a go at that myself as I am thoroughly enjoying making this one. If only the Caracal sheet was still available, there are some great schemes on it.

Pete

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Just now, Pete in a shed said:

Thanks Martin.

There are at least four different options to choose from if you do decide to hunt one down, The lumpy bumpy black spot version looks to be an interesting build, I may have a go at that myself as I am thoroughly enjoying making this one. If only the Caracal sheet was still available, there are some great schemes on it.

Pete

Yes, that would be my choice, Pete. I looked and they are quite pricey! :(

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Great work on this, @Pete in a shed!  It's coming along fast by any standard, and that's a nice, if fiddly, save with the navigator's seat.  There's a lot of "glass" in the greenhouse, so you might be able to see it after everything's closed up, but time will tell.  The engines look really good!  I would encourage you to paint the gearboxes gray for variation, but that's up to you.  The kit certainly gives you a lot to work with!

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22 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

The engines look really good!  I would encourage you to paint the gearboxes gray for variation, but that's up to you.  The kit certainly gives you a lot to work with!

Thanks. I agree, they looked a bit monotone so the gearboxes are now grey. photo to follow.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 12/08/2022 at 10:28, Roberto said:

Ah, I like this aircraft! Really nice work so far!

 

Thanks Roberto. I've been sidetracked by other projects and life in general, but have returned to this one and stuck the big nose on it! So I'm committed to a USCG aircraft now.  It will be either a Hawaii or Naples based aircraft.

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Had a bit of a break as I was tripped up by a Pembroke and a Bell Ranger along the way but I've done a bit more and gone for the big nose, so its definately going to be a USCG machine. The wings are on too.

 

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The wings needed a shim in the lower join as there was quite a gap

 

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Nice and straight along the top edge with the shims in place.

 

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Glass house on, wing shimms trimmed and sanded smooth and big nose on and faired in with a little filler.

Almost at the painting stage I think, Just the propellors to be assembled (stick the boss on) and then all the smaller parts are done ready for fitting post painting.

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  • Pete in a shed changed the title to Faichild C-123B. Roden. U.S. Coastguard (Definitely)
  • 3 months later...

Wow, well that was a bit of a break. I suffered a bit of Mojo loss for a few months but back on track now. Recently I have done a bit of masking and painting. I started off with the yellow the paint which was from a pretty long in the tooth tin of humbrol gloss 50. After mixing the sediment back into the carrier fluid it became a very nice paint again. It was thinned and sprayed on, here's the result.

 

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The front areas and window surrounds were then masked and matt black applied with a brush.

 

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The brush strokes will disappear when a coat of varnish is applied. Next lots more masking and the aluminium colour was sprayed on.

 

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Here it is unmasked after the grey walkways had been painted over the aluminium colour. With the base colours on the aircraft, the tanks and props were given a coat of aluminium. The propellers then had the black areas brush painted on along with the yellow tips. I then had a bit of a gluing session, putting the ramp on and the engine cooling veins which I have chosen to pose in the open position.

 

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With the ramp on it sits on its wheels.

 

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Next I plan to do the black decals around the walkways with substitute Xtra decal stripes in place of the kit decals. I plan to use as few of the kit decals as possible but I will have to use the large USCG and wording as I don't have lettering the right size. But thats a bit further down the line. I have read that the Toko decals dont soften but we will see when the time comes.

 

Thats all for now.

 

                                                                                                                

 

 

 

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Hi Pete, I'm from Italy and I'am building the same aircraft. After some research, I think that the various tips wasn't yellow but day-go red. The mistake was originated from some B/W photo that show the day-glo area almost white (for an optical and photographic effect) and let someone to intend that area in yellow. But making various research I've founded only photo with red tips and natural metal or aluminium finish (however the same scheme was later adopted with white in place of aluminium). I've also asked by mail some old military mate that have seen the plane in person and they confirmed that the area wasn't yellow but day-glo. Furthermore the plane probably hasn't the band around the fuselage just before the tail. That was another effect of the light on some (probably only and famous one) photos.
Sorry for the apparent criticism, it is only for information, your work is anyway commendable and you are naturally free to do what you better believe:
Regards and best wishes from Italy,

 

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1 hour ago, bravesconi said:

Hi Pete, I'm from Italy and I'am building the same aircraft. After some research, I think that the various tips wasn't yellow but day-go red. The mistake was originated from some B/W photo that show the day-glo area almost white (for an optical and photographic effect) and let someone to intend that area in yellow. But making various research I've founded only photo with red tips and natural metal or aluminium finish (however the same scheme was later adopted with white in place of aluminium). I've also asked by mail some old military mate that have seen the plane in person and they confirmed that the area wasn't yellow but day-glo. Furthermore the plane probably hasn't the band around the fuselage just before the tail. That was another effect of the light on some (probably only and famous one) photos.
Sorry for the apparent criticism, it is only for information, your work is anyway commendable and you are naturally free to do what you better believe:
Regards and best wishes from Italy,

Hi, thanks for the info, Im sure you are correct. I will decide what to do with it now before I go any further. I have to say I dont think I can bear the thought of all that masking again.😩.  Oh well, we will see.

Best regards

Pete

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