1/72 C-130 "Fat Albert" Trashed

Hey Keyda81,

It can't be as bad as all that.  Don't pitch it.  It has to be good for something.

Strip it to practice stripping.  Scratch it up to practice weathering.   Melt it and say one of the engines caught fire.

Set it aside, ignore it for a bit, then see what happens.

Keep the faith.

Mark

Sorry for the let down guys.  I'm super stressed as of lately, and I tried to burying myself into working on Fat Albert.  So I didn't have the paitence that I should, and apparently I wasn't letting coats of paint dry long enough, and it just didn't come out looking good.  I just hit a breaking point and took it out on the model, which I guess is better that I take it out on an inanimate object than a person. 

As some of you may know my Dad passed away in August, and I've had to take care of things.  I had to go through an estate lawyer so I could be put in charge of selling his house.  His house is not in the greatest shape to say the least.  The furnace stopped working, a pipe froze, and I went to the house to find water coming down in buckets from the collapsed kitchen ceiling they day before we were going to list the house.  So we have to try and fix that.  I've had the lawyer barking up my tree about selling the house, and the utility bills and taxes keep pilling up the longer it sits there.  We can barely afford to pay our own bills, let alone the ones for his house.  So like a pimple it all kind of came to a head, and I snapped at the model.  I know I shouldn't of, everyone snaps sometimes I guess.

Keyda81;

 My dear  , If this is to personal , forgive this old Dad of three Ladies .;

 I must console you here . I know sometimes it seems life has an extra kick or two when you need it least . I made the same mistake with my first Herc in Camo . I lived at the time in Jacksonville , Ar . The base had just gone from SAC to MAC and there were Hercs everywhere ! Got halfway through and Dad passed . Same stuff different channel  .

 She now has a civilian paint job . I did it as a joke for the " Mr . Smith " who founded FED-EX . He had owned the company I worked for as a Instrument repair and Installation tech . It was on his Birthday cake .

 Ah , those were the days . You , on the other hand will be okay . Rescue this poor old bird , Strip ,  Refill and Re-sand and do him again . I am sure he'll appreciate that you didn't totally give up on him . You have the right stuff , Lady , Now believe in yourself !!

 Tanker - Builder

Keyda,

you have not let anyone down, you are showing a side of you that we can all relate to. I know, I have a big old box in the back of the closet that is practically full of projects like your Fat Albert that are either used for parts or used to test new paint techniques. All I can say is let time heal and look forward to starting a new project.  

Keyda,

Like the others said, take a step a back and then return to Fat Albert.  If you don't have the capability to strip the paint, you can always sand it smooth and start over. Here are the steps I follow when it comes to getting a good glossy finish (airplanes are easy because you can skip the buffing out starting with 1200 grit sandpaper and going all the way to 12000 grit, rubbing compound and wax).  Step one-if you're shooting white, shoot a coat of white primer first.  Tamiya's Fine White primer is my primer of choice for this. Once the primer is dry, lightly sand it with some fine grit sandpaper (600-800 grit) to get a smooth base. Take a paper towel and some rubbing alcohol and wipe down the model, make sure you get in all the nooks and crannies. For gloss white, Tamiya Gloss White in the rattle can is virtually bullet proof. The first step is to apply a light mist coat, don't worry about full coverage, you'll get there. After applying the first coat, wait about fifteen minutes then repeat. I normally do 4-5 mist coats, the paint will have a matte finish, but that's okay.  The reason for the mist coats is that it allows you to build up a base coat that has some tooth to it to help prevent runs (if this were a car, this would also keep the paint from pulling away from the door and trunk panel edges).  After the final mist coat, wait about 15-30 minutes then apply a wet coat. Wait for the paint to dry, then mask and carry on.  You should be able to start masking within a couple of hours. Others have suggested using clear gloss to seal the tape edge, once I burnished the heck out of it, I'd take the blue and follow the same process that I did for the white, the mist coats should seal the tape edge preventing bleed through. After you're done, get a new #11 blade and CAREFULLY run it along the edge of the tape (let the weight of the knife do the cutting).  This will cut through the paint, give you a sharp edge and prevent the paint from lifting when you pull the tape off (you probably knew that already).  Hope this helps and hope to see Fat Albert done soon. 

To Keyda81,

Do what you gotta do and just take the time to sit back and heal.  Your mental process is the key to all this.  I know that when you’re ready we will see you back here with another WIP project.  You take care of your self, you’ll always have the entire FSM Forum Members here for you.

Yours truly, Toshi

Keyda, having flown as a Navigator on C-130 E and H3 varients for 16 years, I would agree that the nose wheel well isn’t to much of an issue. It must be a Navy “thing” or something with this cockpit having no lower bunk at rear and two Nav seats. I’ve seen that on USAF special ops birds but not on slicks. The Herk is the longest in-production military aircraft with 1st flight in August 1954.

Keep the Faith Girl!

Mike

Toshi

Do what you gotta do and just take the time to sit back and heal. Your mental process is the key to all this

Now there's some good advice, forget Fat Albert for now and just take care of business.

Thank you everyone for being understanding.  We've been working over at my Dad's house to get everything cleaned up and repaired, and hopefully have it listed Monday.  I'm hoping it sells quick, as soon as it does it will be a lot of stress off my plate. 

My B-day is coming up, so I plan on ordering a Combat Talon kit, and a set of Caracal decals.  I can use the extra parts from the Combat Talon kit on the first Herc I built, it could use some re-working, I never even painted it!  Lol.  So there will be a "take 2" for Fat Albert in the future.

Keyda,

First, I want to say I'm sorry about your dad's passing and that taking care of a parent's belongings is never easy, especially when circumstances align to make things worse.

Now about Fat Albert, I would never have the guts to attempt a paint scheme like that, good on ya for giving it a go and even more for wanting to try it again. I know how much you love the Herc so take some time, do what you need to do and when you’re ready, give it another go. Remember this hobby is meant to be fun and relaxing not stress you out even more.

Happy early birthday by the way.

Steve

Thanks modelcrazy!  I refuse to be beat lol.  The first time I tried to build Revell's F-4U4 Corsair I failed miserably, but bought another kit and tackled it after I had learned some more.  I'll do the same with this.  I guess I'm just not quite ready to tackle multi-color gloss paint jobs.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Hello!

Keyda, I hope you can build this big baby. One trick to it might be painting the yellow first. This way you can put on thinner coats of paint (blue covers a lot better than yellow, of which you would need a thicker layer on top of blue). Hope it helps - good luck with selling that house and have a nice day

Paweł

With the house problems, I can understand the mounting frustrations better.

On the other front, start saving your pennies, got the Squadron flyer over the w/e, and they have 2 new Minicraft 1/144 Hercs listed, a "J" and the AC 130A.  About $35 each though.

I've had more than one good model make its way into the garbage because of stress.  There is no shame in that for sure.  When all other issues subside, by another C-130 and Fat Albert decal set and give it another go.  Inevitably, you've learned a thing or two during this build that will make the next one more pleasant.  But until then, take care of yourself and keep up the good fight.

This is in reference to Madras Maiden.  If you google (Decals for Madras Maiden) They’ll be several nose arts online.  You can then copy and paste the information/nose art you need and transfer it to a decal sheet for printing.  Good luck!

Your friend, Toshi

goldhammer, I picked up the AC-130A right after Christmas, lol.  I have yet to build a itty bitty Herc.  Waiting until I get some more practice in with my new airbrush that hubby got me for Christmas before I try to tackle the multi-color paint job on that one.  All the repairs are done on the house, and it's on the market, so hopefully it sells quickly.  That will be a heap of stress of my plate for sure.

Mopar Madness, I sure have learned a thing or two for the next one.  I've already gone over in my head several times a better process to paint it.  I might even build something else while its in the paint booth, that way I can leave it alone for a few days at a time! 

Toshi, I can find pictures of the plane with the nose art, but none of just the nose art itself.  I've only made custom decals twice, so I'm not all that good at it, lol. 

I understand, I’ve never attempted making my own decals before either.  lol!  Sorry about this, I tried.

Your friend, Toshi

Hang in there, things will get better. My wife passed from cancer seven years ago. I was left with a house I couldn't afford, no job, and a baby. I thought for sure we would be living in the streets! But everything somehow turned out ok.

I don't know where she got the sign below, probably at an antique shop or something. I have it hanging up in my gameroom as a reminder. 

Praying for you!

Thanks UnwaryPaladin! Sorry for your loss.  Things are looking up, the house sold in a matter of a few days, and we should be closing the middle of next month.  That will be a big chunk of stress off my back!

On a side note, hubby bought me the Caracal decals for Fat Albert, and a 1/72 Scale F/A-18 Hornet to build and display with Fat Albert.  I ordered the Combat Talon kit yesterday, so there will be another build in the future!

I've got a couple of shots of the nose art on Madras Maiden, or at least one that might be usuable to make a decal.  Also google Erickson Collection, couple of shots of it there.

Might contact them and see if they can get you a suitable shot as well, and see if they'll give permission to make the decals for her.  Pretty easy folks to talk/work with from my interactions with them over the past couple of years.  They allow pictures as long as it is for peersonal use and not commercial.

As an aside, when she was in Tillamook, before the move to Madras, she was marked as "Chucky".  Lot of people were bent out of shape with the change.

If you want the pics I have of her, PM your email and I'll dig them up and sent in batches of 4 if you want most of what I have.  She's only about 125 miles from me.

goldhammer

I've got a couple of shots of the nose art on Madras Maiden, or at least one that might be usuable to make a decal.  Also google Erickson Collection, couple of shots of it there.

Might contact them and see if they can get you a suitable shot as well, and see if they'll give permission to make the decals for her.  Pretty easy folks to talk/work with from my interactions with them over the past couple of years.  They allow pictures as long as it is for peersonal use and not commercial.

As an aside, when she was in Tillamook, before the move to Madras, she was marked as "Chucky".  Lot of people were bent out of shape with the change.

If you want the pics I have of her, PM your email and I'll dig them up and sent in batches of 4 if you want most of what I have.  She's only about 125 miles from me.

 

I have over a hundred pictures I took last summer when I got to "crawl" through the plane.  I have pictures of the nose art too, I may have to download some kind of image editing program and try to figure it out.  I'm not good at that type of stuff, lol.  But if I want to make the B-17 kit I have Madras Maiden I guess I will have to figure it out. 

That's great, if you get to a point and need any detail shots of the exterior, let me know, and I'll dig through the folder and see what I have that might help.

goldhammer

That's great, if you get to a point and need any detail shots of the exterior, let me know, and I'll dig through the folder and see what I have that might help.

 

Will do!  Thanks goldhammer!