C-130H HERCULES in the BONEYARD (Hasegawa)

This is the tiny 1:200 scale Japanese air force C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, Komaki Air Base.

The model arrived in the post, and  was a gift from Murray H., a dear friend in Alberta, who knew I was having a tough time these days. This was a challenging Covid-19 build.

It is shown as a desert boneyard storage queen with taped front glass and a missing engine. The engine is literally missing. It popped off and none of us here could find it in a tiny room. How bizarre. 

Paint is all Vallejo regular and metalizer acrylic, plus Future Floor Wax and decals OOB. I love orange! Paint jobs with the day-glow flouescent orange like these were used on aircraft going to the arctic and antarctic, as well as target towing aircraft and other special purpose mission aircraft which needed to be very highly visible.

Strange Herc fact: entering service in 1956, the C-130 recently passed the Antonov AN-2 to become the world's longest continuously produced military aircraft.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, Komaki AB
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

An actual USAF C-130 from antarctic missions in endless storage at
Davis–Monthan AFB in Tucson Arizona USA.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, 
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, 
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, 
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, 
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, 
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW,
In the desert boneyard - never to fly again.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant 
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant 
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant 
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant 
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

Under contstruction in the Lockheed plant 
which just so happens to be in my spare bathroom.

AK-47 (4D Models)

This is my new 1:10 scale 4D Puzzle Model company kit of the famous AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова automatic rifle. The AK-47, officially known as the Автома́т Кала́шникова (Avtomat Kalashnikova), or just AK, is a gas-operated, 7.62×39mm automatic rifle developed in the USSR by Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919-2013) near the end of the Great Patriotic War. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or "AK") family. The number 47 refers to the year it won the design competition - 1947. It is a myth that this is a copy of the Nazi-scum rifle, but it is true that such captured weapons impressed the USSR leadership which then ordered work to begin on similar weapons. All of the real original types were manufactured at the Иже́вский машинострои́тельный Заво́дor, or the  Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant.

Over 75 000 000 of the original versions of the rifle were made, and another 25 000 000+ of derivatives. It is the world's most popular and single-most available combat type automatic weapon. 

Most of the weapons in African and Middle East and South-East Asia conflicts which appear to be AK-47 rifles are usually Chinese-made copies called the Type 56 (56式自动步枪 Type 56 Automatic Rifle) also known as the AK-56 as made by NORINCO (China North Industries Group Corporation Limited 中国北方工业集团有限公司) near Beijing.

The kit comes with several build options for modernized weapons, so a lot of parts are leftover. I chose an original classic look. The metal is painted Vallejo flat black with a hint of steel. The wooden parts are painted Vallejo goldenbrown then washed with a reddish colour then glossed with floor wax to imitate the wood varnish. The bayonet, which is too modern for the look I wanted, has a silver powder-rubbed metal blade. Dry brushing with steel brought out the edges of the rifle.

AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова "Kalashnikov"

AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова

AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова

AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова

AK-47 Автома́т Кала́шникова

Mr. Modeller on the range near Beijing with a laser training AK-56

Mrs. Modeller on the range near Beijing with a laser training AK-56

AK-47 family of weapons in Moscow's
Museum of the Russian Armed Forces

Display devoted to M. Kalashnokov and his weapons in the
Petrograd Museum of Artillery and Air Defence

Display devoted to M. Kalashnokov and his weapons in the
Petrograd Museum of Artillery and Air Defence

Display devoted to General Kalashnokov and his presentation swords
in Petrograd's Museum of Artillery and Air Defence

M*A*S*H AMBULANCE (Italeri)

I built this 1:35 scale Italeri kit (#226) in about 1984 as part of my M*A*S*H fan phase. For the time it was my best work. I had solved airbrushing, and the mystery of using solva-set to get the giant red cross decal to settle on the roof. I also used masking to paint the rear doors, and to make windscreen wiper patterns on the cab. Inside the back I built wire loops for holding the upper stretchers in place. I also added door handles to the rear cargo doors. On the front seats there is a medic bag with a red cross, and a similar helmet. This is not a diorama in that it is real water and real mud in my backyard, but with the addition of a miniature tree and some cargo boxes and petrol cans for the photographs.

Over 26 000 of the Dodge WC-54, Ambulances, 3⁄4-ton, 4 x 4, were built from 1942 to 1945 to serve as the U.S. Army's main ambulance, with many seeing continued service during the Korean War by the U.S. Army Medical Corps and of course MASH units.

I am sorry that all I can show is copy image of an old grainy printed photo found in a box today.

Click on a photo to see an enlargement.

M*A*S*H Dodge WC-54, Ambulance, 3⁄4-ton, 4 x 4 (photo c.1985)

M*A*S*H Dodge WC-54, Ambulance, 3⁄4-ton, 4 x 4 (photo c.1985)

M*A*S*H ambulance at the exterior film & TV set
in Malibu Creek State Park, 18 January 2020

Dr. & Mrs M*A*S*H fans at exterior film & TV set
in Malibu Creek State Park, 18 January 2020