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Tony Anderton
27 articles

REVELL - 1/72 C-160 TRANSALL " Eloka "

April 16, 2022 · in Aviation · · 7 · 1.3K

Well, this kit has turned out to be a total PITA. Yes it's a skill level 5, but come-on , at least make your instruction understandable!

To get this far, I've used MORE filler than on my previous 2 other kits, the inner cargo bay is almost impossible to fit without major cutting / sanding and filling. The main fuselage halves are a horrible fit, and to make matters worse, the recommended amount of weight still leaves the plane as a tail sitter.

Next problem was the landing gear and covers. To strengthen the undercarriage (main wheels) i drilled out the legs and used a steel dress-makers pin to re-enforce and so far, this seems to have worked.

After a LOT of bad language, I primed and airbrushed the beast, but only in the two colours I had ( I was so dis-heartened with this kit, that i just could not be bothered to order the third colour)

A gloss coat was applied, and the onto the decal, and there's a LOT. Some of the these are about a millimetre in size, and guess what...you CANNOT see them due to the camouflage pattern!.

I still have to fit the wheels (I'll be amazed if all 8 of the main gear actually touch deck), fit the cargo bay ramp, which I'm hoping will solve the nose-up problem, then add all the small left over bits, permanently fit the wings, tail plane and propellers.

Honestly, this model, when finished, could quite possibly end up in the "cupboard of shame"

More, better quality pictures will be posted later

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


7 responses

  1. Tony...hang in there. So far, lots of good going on with that beast.
    And remember...to paraphrase Tom Cleaver...once in the showcase, and standing a foot away, all models look just fine.

  2. Looks good to me. Camouflage serves the purpose of hiding Things !

  3. Keep up the good work, Tony! Soon you will have a great model at your showcase!

  4. It is indeed a challenging kit, most of the build reviews mention the same issues as you: misleading instructions, fit of the internal parts, and weak undercarriage. However, it seems that you managed to solve those issues, and are on track to get a nice looking model.

    About those invisible markings - did you lighten the colors a bit? In this scale with these dark colors we need to cheat a bit, and lighten up the colors. It will help to create a nice, contrasting style, and will show the smaller details, such as the small markings. Some says we can use up to 20% white to lighten the colors in this scale. I usually stay on the safer side by using 10%, but with these dark colors I would probably really try the 20% ratio, and also play with post shading and other effects. It is a real challenge to make similar, larger planes life like in any scale.

    The Revell Transall is still on my wishlist, I like the shape of the plane, and I was able to walk around (and inside) a real one during an air show in Germany.

  5. Your frustration is fully understandable, Tony @tonyanderton
    From the pictures it does however look quite nice.
    The camouflage, although two colors, does look very nice on it.
    Keep up the good to finish this beast.

  6. Well, after a LONG break from this (working on the "Dora"), I've decided this is almost finished.
    I lost count the number of times this was going to go in the bin, but i stuck with it and i don't think it looks too bad. I just need to finish the canopy painting, and pick off the rough edges around the glass framing. Unfortunately, i CAN NOT recommend this to a beginner, as the instructions/fit leave a lot to be desired..

    9 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  7. It looks like it turned well, despite all the problems.

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