The Warbirds range from Dragon has created an all-new 1/400th scale diecast model 56279 of the long-body C-130K serving with the RAF. As the first C-130K in the collection, the model makes use of brand new toolings. Attached to the new fuselage is an aerial refueling probe, a device that extends the original aircraft’s range to more than 4,000 nautical miles. With more than 2,300 aircraft manufactured to date, the C-130 Hercules has the longest ever continuous production run for a military aircraft. And now collectors can have their very own RAF version of this workhorse too!
For more than 50 years, the American C-130 Hercules has proved an enormous successful story for its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. First produced in 1956, the C-130 is a turboprop-powered tactical transport aircraft able to land on and take off from unprepared airstrips. This aircraft, which has been modified continuously throughout its lifetime, is in service with more than 60 countries. One variant is the C-130K, a version built for export to the United Kingdom. The original C-130K of the Royal Air Force (where it’s known as the Hercules C.1) is the equivalent of the C-130E. However, the British later altered their C.1 aircraft by adding an 80-inch plug in the fuselage to increase its cargo volume by 37%. This stretched C-130K version was known as the C.3. In British service, the C-130K performs countless missions such as troop and cargo transport, medical evacuation