Lockheed Martin C-130 Fat Albert "Blue Angels" 1/84 Scale Mahogany Model

Introducing the ready-built AC130BA Desktop Model. This 1/84 scale model was handmade with precision and accuracy to produce the finest model that will be the centerpiece of your collection for years to come. This model is the perfect gift for pilots and aviation enthusiasts alike. Not too big or too small, this model features a wingspan of 19" and a length of 14". This model features a very accurate paint scheme with realistic panel lines.

This collectible model represents the C-130T Hercules, Fat Albert, the support aircraft for the Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team. Flown by an all-Marine crew, the C-130 Fat Albert carries parts, support equipment and ground crew. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by skilled craftsmen using a wealth of detail, this 1/100-scale model C-130T Hercules Fat Albert makes a great gift for any pilot, aviation enthusiast or history buff.

What the C-47 Skytrain was in the 1940s, the C-130 Hercules is the modern equivalent – a workhouse found in air forces around the world. The C-130 is not the heaviest lifter in the inventory, nor is it the fastest or highest flying. What it is, is tough, adaptable, efficient and reliable. The C-130 Hercules has been equipped with skis to land on Antarctic ice; with an array of guns and cannon as an attack aircraft; as a medevac ship; with advanced sensors as a special operations troop carrier; as an aerial tanker, and as a reliable cargo carrier able to operate of poor surfaces. The C-130 has also dropped one of the most powerful non-nuclear bombs in the U.S. inventory, the 15,000-pound BLU-82 “daisy cutter.”

The Korean War showed the shortcomings of the existing cargo aircraft of the time – the C-47s, the C-119 Flying Boxcar, the C-46 Commando. In 1951, the Air Force issue a request for proposals for a cargo aircraft that would have a capacity for 92 passengers, 72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers, a range of 1,300 miles, the ability from short or unimproved runways, and an ability to fly with one engine shut down.

Lockheed’s proposal won, and the first flight of the C-130 Hercules was on Aug, 23, 1954, with service deliveries beginning in 1956.

The C-130 is 97 feet long with an wingspan of 132 feet, powered by four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops of 4,600 horsepower. It has a range of over 2,600 miles at a cruising speed of 336 mph, and can carry a load of up to 45,000 pounds.

Countries around the world continue to fly the C-130 in active service, and the latest model, the C-130J Super Hercules features six-bladed composite scimitar props, digital avionics including heads-up displays, and Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprops. More than 2,600 C-130s have been produced – so far.

While most of the attention at a Blue Angels performance is on the precision maneuver of the F/A-18 Hornets, Fat Albert put on a show of her own, showing short-field takeoff, and, until 2009, blasting off with the help of jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) rockets.

Semper Fi