1/72 ESCI/ERTL C-47: Classic Oldschool

Looking good Dave, that kit is still a favorite of mine. Other than some minor fit issues, which can be overcome, it makes a great representation military or civil...here are a couple of my projects:

Real nice so far...

I can relate wholeheartedly to your 'old-school' comments...

Nice work so far David! I have a couple questions for my own edification......"Day-Glo quad panels".....what are quad panels on this ship? (I really don't know and don't mind asking).

And: What's in the cup?!

"Nice work so far David! I have a couple questions for my own edification......"Day-Glo quad panels".....what are quad panels on this ship? (I really don't know and don't mind asking)."

Many Euro nations painted their aircraft with flourescent orange at what would be the corners of the quadrants. This meant a panel on top and bottom of each wingtip, a spot on the nose and one on each side of the tail. "One at each corner," so to speak, thus the name Quad Panels.

One reason Im planning this for a painted scheme is to help minimize those panel lines. ESCI was a pioneer with engraved lines and they tried to replicate each rivet line of the Dakota with AN ENGRAVED LINE. It was kinda new then and in the end, it looks overdone. 

Im baaaaack. Got in some work tonight on the Dakota, the wings are on at last. With a wide span model like this C-47, I try to do as much as I can before the wings go on. Once they're attached, they are always in the way after that!

I also installed the canopy - - and then took it right back off! Seems the dust from sanding had gotten inside the cockpit and clung to the winshield interior like, well... dust. So, it's back off, polished and Futured (which I had forgotten, after all).
Here's how she looks now:

See how shiny she is? I have a method I use: I file, sand and refine all the seams first. Then, I go over all the seams and worked areas starting with 150 grit foam sanding pads. I work down through 320-400 to 600 grit and then polish the dickens out of the exterior with a polyester or woolen cloth. I don't now what the polyester or wool fabric does, but things shine up right away. I think the fibers in the fabric are the trick.

Anyway, this final polishing process really makes things "pop" and is great for spotting flaws and prepping a smooth surface for paint.

Thanks for looking and comments welcome...

Primo build techniques!

THERE'S NOTHING 'GOONEY' ABOUT THOSE BIRDS!

Thanks for the detailed instructions. They're paying off nicely on my own build currently.

Truly, thank you.

Hey trexx, get this. The polyester cloth I mentioned? It was a knit watch cap, the kind you wear to cover your ears when it's cold out!

I have a special piece of wool/poly blended fabric I normally use, but I couldnt find it and the cap was near at hand. This works great on clear canopies, too, prior to Future-coating. Just polish the snot out of them and then dip them in the "clear juice."

Im really just glad that these old things I've always known can still be of help. This is especially so, what with all the wallet-draining specialty items we have nowadays.

Excellent work, Dave!

A bit of kitology, though. The Italeri C-47 predates their takeover of ESCI, and is a different mould. Generally, the Italeri is more accurate, though by no measn perfect, and the ESCI has, in particular, better shape around the nose. To illustrate the differences in approach, here's an Italeri C-47 I built in late 2006:

The panel lines, which are far too deep, have been filled in with Tippex. I then sanded them smooth, and  re-did the rivets along these lines, using a pounce wheel. This was what it looked like when I had done this:

If you look closely at the panel line inboard of the port nacelle, you can (just) see the pounce wheel rivets.

The C-47 that has been available in an Airfix box since 2001 is also the Italeri mould, as is the 1/72 Revell Germany kit.

Cheers,

Chris.

Kitology! I love it and a man after my own heart.

Ill be honest... the whole Italeri, ESCI thing is very twisted and it's easy to make errors. As far as I could learn, this ESCI/ERTL kit is not the Italeri, is not the Airfix. They are each their own mold. But it is nice to get some affirmation. And it's allways nice to know there are other choices when yet another DC-3 fit overtakes me!

As for filling the panel lines - well, in a word: no way! (alright that's two words.) I will have all I can manage just getting this one to completion. I'm slow as a builder in general, and I still have an airbrush to get going - I've been out of the hobby for several years and my airbrush set up needs, well - setting up!

But in the future it sounds like I need a few different sized ounce wheels. I tip my hat to your perseverance. Got more pics?

 Hi Dave,

first, the original Airfix DC-3/ C-47/ Dakota dates from the early 1960s, and has nothing to do with the ESCI or Italeri kits. It was horribly inaccurate, festooned with rivets, and had a number of interesting features, not least of which was the retracting undercarriage, which had to be unclipped into two sections in order to retract. Often, the rear retraction arm would get stuck inside the nacelle, and it was the devil's own job to get it out again when it did. I remember, as a kid, tieing short lengths of cotton to them to get round this problem... However, the moulds wore out in  the early 1990s, and it's not in production any more. It's not worth searching out.

The wheels are pounce wheels, not ounce wheels. Their main use is in leatherwork, where you need to mark holes at regular intervals, but they're also useful for marking off rivets on plastic models. They come in various sizes; these guys appear to be selling them at very reaonable prices:

http://www.pearlpaint.com/shop~ocID~2500~parentID~2447~categoryID~2484.htm

You can use Dymo tape as a guide.

As to my Dak, I  built it as an ex-C-47 operated by Air North, using decals by Leading Edge

part of a GB I ran on the Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum in late 2006. You can read about the build, and see some more piccies, here:

http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1979&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Cheers,

Chris.

Actually, I think my wife may have a pounce wheel in her sewing kit. I doubt it is fine enough bit I'll look. (I wrote 'ounce' - but I typo'd).

I wonder if they come in sizes, one for 1/72, one for 1/48 and so on.

Your old Airfix doesn't look half bad. I thought that was the Airfix site, yet in it you said it was an Italeri build? : "The base kit will be Italeri's 1/47 C-47 Skytrain..." If that is so, by the looks of it, I dont want those, either! That cockpit is crude compared to the ESCI. Please tell me it's the Airfix...

No, it's the Italeri kit. The UAMF arose from the ashes of the old forum on the Airfix.com website, when the then management of Humbrol pulled the plug on it in in April 2006. While most of the members have an affection for all things Airfix, their attitude to the company can be critical when it needs to be, and the products of firms other than Airfix are widely discussed, and featured in GBs.

Pounce wheels do come in sizes. I use the 12 tooth per inch wheel size for 1/72 and 9 tooth per inch for 1/48.

Cheers,

Chris.

namrednef wrote:

Gerald: How do you feel about David's concern with the panel lines? Are they overscale for a 1/72 a/c. They look very deep to me, but I am admittedly no judge.

I've really never paid them any mind, once the painting and weathering is done the panel lines soften up. If a kit has really overscale panel lines, sand the raised, primer/fill the recessed...but do it in moderation otherwise you'll lose them completely.

Even on the 1:48 R/M offering I am working on right now the raised panel lines can become grossly exagerated if you over do the pre/post shading.

Thanks Chris. I'll get those pounce wheels, next tool buy.

And thanks too for your input, Gerald. That was where I was going with the painted finish, in this case a Danish C-47 in O/AOD. My initial comments about the lines were directed at the bare plastic, before finishing.

Do tell, Gerry, that NMF you show is being achieved, how?

dahut wrote:

Do tell, Gerry, that NMF you show is being achieved, how?

In this particular case the finish is Talon, polished (dremel with cotton buffing wheel) alternatively with a 50/50 mixture of Steel and Aluminum Polishing Powder, followed by a couple of light (polishing cloth only) passes with just Aluminum. Then set aside to cure for two or three days. Then I resprayed the control surfaces with Talon aluminum to give them that doped fabric look. After it cured, I wiped the whole thing down with a damp paper towel to remove the powder residue, then installed the deicer boots. Next I will start applying the decals. Once they are set and cured, I will overspray with a clear gloss...YTD. 

HawkeyeHobbies wrote:

namrednef wrote: Gerald: How do you feel about David's concern with the panel lines? Are they overscale for a 1/72 a/c. They look very deep to me, but I am admittedly no judge. I've really never paid them any mind, once the painting and weathering is done the panel lines soften up. If a kit has really overscale panel lines, sand the raised, primer/fill the recessed...but do it in moderation otherwise you'll lose them completely. Even on the 1:48 R/M offering I am working on right now the raised panel lines can become grossly exagerated if you over do the pre/post shading.

WOW!

I wholeheartedly AGREE!

The surface detail is exaggerated. It is. It has to be. On a 1/72 airplane model most of any rivit would scale to the size of a width of one or two fingers. It wouldn't be noticible if it was actually scale. Seam gaps between panel lines would be wide enough to drop a Zippo lighter thru... In reality they're teeny gaps.

1/48 scale is similar.

I used to fuss about the paint being too thick and 'hiding' detail. Now days the paint is higher quality, thinner with more and better pigments and the detail does not suffer from being buried under paint because it needs to be lessened anyway (imo).

 Painting sort of corrects the overscale property, again (imo)

 I've been using dark grey primer and wet sanding the final model to let raised panel lines show the grey. Dark airplanes such as my P-61 that is matte black, was primered white and got the same treatment. I really like the look of how the wet sanding of the final paint job makes the surface detail really POP!