C-53D (2014 new tool Airfix Dakota Mk. III)

Shes a real lovely build there,you have done a great job. And nice seeing it with the glider.

Thanks, Mike.

stikpusher

Great finishing on this one! All you need is an airfield base and tow rope to pair it up with the CG-4A

 

A beautiful job on that aircraft! I love the comparison shots with the CG-4A and the C-46 as well.

Just wonderfully done!

Great finishing on this one! All you need is an airfield base and tow rope to pair it up with the CG-4A

Thank you, Toshi and Mike.

I can't disagree with Toshi. This  is superb!

What a superb job!!!  I'm extremely impressed with your build.  Well, all your builds are impressive!  Thank you for sharing this with all of FSM Forum members.

Toshi

Thanks, Britt.  It's all done now.  Someday I may even pull the masks off the landing lights which I quite forgot before taking the pictures.

All in all,the Airfix kit really looks like a Gooney to me and I like it.  The markings are for a C-53D from the 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron, and may be for the airplane that on D-Day towed the CG-4A I posted earlier.  I am still waiting to hear from the Air Force History office on that issue.  This airplane is at the Aerospace Museum of California at the former McClellan AFB.  After the war it went to American Airlines, several other owners, and eventually became a war prize for the DEA.  McClellan got it from the DEA.

The serial and the stars and bars are from the ALPS and laser printer, the rest is painted from stencils made with the Silhouette Cameo.  I really like that vinyl cutter.  The invasion stripes on the wings were done with stencils that had fine fishing leader under the edges.  On the fuselage I used the stencils to help lay out the stripes, but masking was done with yellow Tamiya tape spaced up by the new white flexible Tamiya tape which was set back some from the proper edge.  I messed with the yellow Tamiya tape edges to get an irregular edge to simulate brush painting. 

With the Waco CG-4A

With the Curtiss C-46

John, I just got caught up on this thread. Very cool stuff here! =] I've longed to do a C-47 at 1:48 for a while now. I've yet to do a plane with DDay stripes as I've been building all PTO aircraft (trying basically to get one of each...somehow I get a little moonstruck and repeat a few I like =]). Really like how you did them. I'm itching to try my hand at it.

Fantastic job so far.

Here are two photos of 42-68835 which is what I will be marking this model as, one probably taken around the time of Market Garden, and one as it is today at the Aerospace Museum of California at McClellan.

Thanks for the link, Buddy.  I have only found a couple of pictures of the C-53 doors, and what makes it even harder is that the C-53D door ws a little bigger than the airline door the other C-53's had.  And of course, what remains has either been converted to an airliner at some point or has the two cargo doors of the C-47.

Interesting build subject.  This is the first build thread I've seen with the new Airfix kit.  And now for something completely different, I follow the Texas Flying Legends Museum on Facebook.  On my feed today was a post about their C-47, which turned out to be the prototype XC-53A.  Apparently, the wings were modified as well, but weren't much better than the standard wing so they were replaced and it was converted back into a C-47.  The data plates call it a XC-53A though.  So the prototype for your bird is still flying. 

http://texasflyinglegends.org/index.php/2017/01/26/the-prototype-xc-53a/

Nice progress, paint looks great.  Nice to see Airfix continuing to make subjects, like the Dakota Mk. III, that have been rarely touched my other model manufacturers.

Thanks, Bish and Toshi.

Stik, there won't be anything but the CU on the nose and the W on the tail, that's all.  And the serial on the fin.

Thats does look really nice. And i like your method for the invasion strips. They look not to neat but just right for the scale. Going to be trying that one.

You are doing a superb job on this build, most imppressive!  I really like how clean the invasion stripes look!

Toshi

Before you go adding any decals, if you plan on making her look as on the night of June5/6 then I highly suggest that you leave off any mission tally scoreboards. Those missions would not yet have been flown, and any prior flights of training drops or cargo hauling around England would not be "worthy" of a scoreboard. 

Progress is taking place.  I had gotten dust in the cockpit transparencies when I was working on the door, well I got dust on all the transparencies, but the cargo area was no issue, I just got out the Mark V blow gun and shoved it in the door and let fly.  That cleared the cabin windows but you can guess where the dust went.  So I drilled a hole in the side of the cockpit and administered the Mark V.  Not perfect but pretty good results and no windows blew out.  This is the hole repair in progress.

Much paint has been applied.  Once again, as on the CG-4A there is the attempt to replicate haphazard work applying invasion stripes in 1/72 scale, and I think I am getting there.  The best result has been to lay some of the new Tamiya flexible tape back a bit from the desired line and then go over that with regular Tamiya tape with the edge of that at the proper edge of the stripe.  Then the edge of the second tape was distressed some so it wasn't too straight.  I like how the fuselage striping looks.  The wing striping must have been done by a better crew, it's not quite as irregular.  I had used string under the edge of the tape and had not thought of distressing the edge of the tape at that point. 

Mike, if I won the lottery one of the things I would do is get a DC-3 type rating.  Never had the circumstances to fly one when I was working.

Jay Jay, don't let those issues bother you, it's a very nice kit.  I put it down to Airfix just going a little to fast in design.  The fit is the Meteor F.8 is very good.  Buy Airfix, support Airfix.  They are doing good stuff.

Looks like the Doctor is in and you're performing the surgery very well indeed. Beautiful job so far.

BTW,I thought the new tool Airfix kits that everyone is raving about where supposed to be very good fitting kits. Hmmm

Following along on this interesting WIP. Your builds are always fun to watch and I do learn a thing or two from most of the talented modelers on this forum certainly including you.

The DC-3 was the first plane I ever flew in. My dad picked up my brother and me from summer camp near Keene, NH back in 1950 or '51 and flew us to LaGuardia Airport. (I lived in the city - Manhattan - back then). Pop must have asked the pilots if we could visit the cockpit and sure enough, we were up front with the pilot and co-pilot looking around at all the gauges which, if my memory serves me correctly (and that's very "iffy"), seemed like hundreds of complicated things to read. Can't imagine kids in the cockpit of commercial aircraft these days .

J, I did indeed see your glider build and remembered discussing the McClellan C-53 with you a bit there. This will be a great companion piece. 

Toshi, it does have exactly the same nose, Douglas recycled that part on the DC-4/C-54.

Stik, you probably saw the CG-4A I did for the Gilder GB, if not it's here on my website:

http://www.yolo.net/%7Ejeaton/mymodels/cg4a/1cg4a/1cg4a.html

I'm gonna follow this one. Anything to do with the Airborne is near and dear to my heart, especially the Normandy drop. Looking real good so far!

This almost looks like the C-54 I built not too long ago.  As usual, you're doing a fantastic job on this build!

Toshi

Pawel, it's also on my website.  Can you access that?

http://www.yolo.net/%7Ejeaton/mymodels/c47/2c47/2c47.html

I haven't seen one either, John.  Perhaps it's a first!  But then, externally it's just a door.

Hello John!

Darn it, it's probably my browser, but I cant's see the pictures! Too bad!

Good luck with your build

Paweł

It was easy enough to modify the Airfix parts and that way the other kit is still intact.  In any event, the C-53D door is supposed to be a little larger than the DC-3 door, though it is a guess on my part how much.

Here is the door with a little more work, the door is just stuck on with double sided tape here.   And a picture of the reset astrodome.   It could even stick up a little higher, looking at photos.  Very scabbed on looking.