RAF C-130J CMk4
C-130J-30

RAF C-130J Cmk4 project which was the stretch version of the C-130J which served alongside the normal sized variant with the Royal Air Force.

This time I’ll be aiming for the more accurate NATO Green colour and will be going for a C-130 having just come out of long term maintenance from the fantastic Marshall aerospace in Cambridge.

27/05/25 update: this kit has been superb so far other than some incorrect/ inconsistent instructions (due to translation from Russian). The colouring convention for the internal parts has been a bit confusing at times as well but making it work. Parts go together perfectly and very little filler going in! This might end up being a very special build come the end of this!

03/06/25 update: we are now all masked up with the crew door, horizontal stabilisers and some of the lumps and bumps installed! Need to do some filling and filing along the cockpit seams then we are ready for primer! The props are also in work having given them a base coat of white (I’ll mask again and spray the tips red before masking again and spraying black- got to love props!


06/06/25 update: little bit of filler and sanding on the fuselage and wing joints along with some more masking and we are nearing being ready for primer! Have used Vallejo filler and it is the BEST filler I’ve ever used!

14/06/25 update: we have: added the wing fuel tanks (big error, forgot to drill the holes for the fuel tank alignment pins (I’ve had to freehand line up the tank to the wings), other than that we primed and sprayed onto NATO green onto the Herc! Tamiya TS-61 used and I think it looks perfect! Meanwhile: I’ve been progressively spraying the props Red-White and then black to get those blade tips. I’ve also assembled the blades into the rotor hubs and this is surprisingly tricky if you’re looking to do the blades in the flaired position. Next up: some masking and painting the anti icing rings on the engine nacelles as well as the anti ice bladder on the tail plane then we will do a cost of clear on the whole thing before decals!

22/06/25 update: we have officially complete painting. I’m delighting with the look the props have with my four-part paint arrangement. I had a decal in the kit for the anti icing bladder on the tail but I decided to mask it and hand paint with black pint. I did a test fit of the props to the engine hub as well. Just having a delay to finding a decent clear coat to put on before the all important decalling can begin!


30/06/25: FINISHED!! But at what cost??

So I can honestly say this has been the most emotionally draining build in my entire life including when I was a kid doing Airfix for the first time. I have had some significant problems since my last update which have unfortunately had a permanent effect on the kit. So before applying the decals I put a coat of Humbrol spray varnish onto the surfaces. I then applied the decals with relatively little issues (I had to cut parts of the midfield walkways out to get around that hump and the middle top fuselage).

I then used Humbrol 49 Acrylic Varnish and the varnished had absolutely ruined the finish on the wings and on the rear tail plane. It created a “frosted” effect which I’ve tried to remedy with another coast of Humbrol gloss varnish to counter act the effect and finished with Revell Matt varnish (which did not delay) but it has completely ruined the finish on those areas. Add to that: the walkways at the rear of the fuselage and on the right tail plane are completely ruined. The decals have completely silvered. I cannot tell you how annoyed I am… I tried more decal fix, water it just looks horrendous at the rear.

I finished the model with adding the undercarriage, antennas and cargo ramp and had trouble with all. The undercarriage is very difficult to put on due to the wheels being shaped as if the herc is heavy and so they’re not round. On installing them I was shocked to find it was resting not on all six wheels but maybe 4 or so. I also installed the cargo ramp too low (the two hydraulic ramps at the back are too long and need to be cut down from the instructions as this was causing the ramp to sit lower than the undercarriage. The mechanism for attaching the ramp to the rear fuselage is also terrible and need a lot of super glue to make it work. To top it off, once I sorted these issues out I found to my horror that it was a tail dragger despite all of the weight I installed. I corrected this by removing the nose wheel door at the front and stuffed some extra weight into the wheel well and it sits nicely on its undercarriage now.

Note on antennas: this kit does not give any instructions for the front pitot tubes so I improvised them out of existing parts (there are x4 pitot tubes just behind the nose of a J model herc x2 either side).

I also realised I missed out on some of the stencils when decalling the Herc but as someone who has seen RAF C-130Js up close many times, these don’t often have too many maintenance markings compared to other international operators of the J model.

To summarise this: great kit ruined by a last minute issue after decalling. I’m going to take a break from modelling for a bit as this has really stressed me out and really played with my emotions after spending months wanting to get it right. The C-130J is not just an aircraft for me. It represents a personal time in my life and career which was possibly the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and so for this brilliant kit to be ruined by Humbrols Acrylic Matt spray doesn’t sit right with me.

My overall kit review: 8/10

I urge all modellers please please AVOID HUMBROL ACRYLIC MATT VARNISH spray.

Thank you for following my build and I hope anyone who wishes to build this superb can learn from some of my lessons I experienced in this post.