USAF C-47 Skytrain
This is a 1/72 MPC C-47... although the box describes it as a DC-3. This is originally an Airfix release kit and had a “Made in England” slip of paper in the bag with the parts .
The fit of the parts was generally good, and there was only some minor flash to contend with. The decals seemed to be in good condition , but I thought it might be safer to use newer decals , especially since I was wanting a more colorful Skytrain from the 1950s. I had some left over decals from past models I made use of.
I looked online and found many photographs as well as the Air Force Tech Order specifying how the aircraft was to be painted and marked.
Of all the photos I saw of 50s & 60s C-47s, none of them looked like the diagram on the Tech Order page, they all seemed to be slightly different from each other. I painted mine very similar to what the T.O. called for though. My military training still dictates following the T.O.
This kit was a part of a large collection of kits donated to the Tulsa model club by the family of the late Mr. Claude Good after he past away in March of 2022. Mr Good was a life long aircraft enthusiast and had collected nearly 2000 kits during his 86 years. I was fortunate to be invited to give a new home to some kits of my choice.
I added some stringers inside the fuselage where it could be seen inside the open cargo doors and also added two standing crew figures near the door. They were intended to man the guns of this had it been built as an AC-47. They cross trained in to a different Air Force Speciality Code ( AFSC), one is a Crew Chief, and the other a Load Master.
The kit also included two pilot figures which can barely be seen sitting in the Cockpit going over their maps for the up coming flight, and talking about visiting the officers club when they arrived that evening.
It's a nice kit, and has lots of raised rivet details, which for a DC-3/C-47 is accurate.
The instructions could be a little clearer especially in regards to assembly of the landing gear.
Jay, you really turned this rough gem into a sparkling diamond. Your NMF is top notch. The white and day glo colors stand out nicely against the NMF. The base and background photo adds some very nice visual interest to the model as well as the scratchbuilt details you added. You did an outstanding job on this old kit. Well done my friend!
Thank you for the kind words, Morne @mornem Also thank you for all the tips and suggestions on this project . I will remember them for my future builds.
great work on this Jay @ssgt Color scheme is very eye catching. A project to be very proud of indeed!
A wonderful model, Jay, out of this classic oldie!
Congratulations!
Great build, Jay! It's always good to see these older kits finished into little gems like this one. One of my favorite airplanes as well - I was a crew chief on these sometime late last century...
Tech specs have a tendency to go out the window when the airplane makes it into the real world!
Nice work!
That's a real eye catcher, Jay. Well done!
Thank you for the kind words , @gwskat , @roofrat , @jetmex , @fiveten , @dbutlr .
I am more interested in these old kits rather then the newer generation of high parts count super kits. With a little care and some newer decals they can have as much “shelf appeal” as the newer kits.
Great work, Jay. I loved those MPC Airfix repops.
An American re-box of a British kit of a US aircraft, doesn’t get more trans Atlantic than that. Love the colour scheme and transfers, beautiful finish.
Good looking Gooney Bird Jay, well done.
Thanks for the positive feed back guys, @tom-bebout, @chinesegeorge, & @j-healy ! I appreciate your comments.
Impressive color scheme result. Beautiful all the way around on this old but seldom seem classic kit, Jay.
Thank you Eric @eb801 …. I was wanting something more colorful then the typical D-Day or Vietnam era AC-47 camo schemes. Orange & Silver go together so nicely.
My favorite paint scheme for a C-47, Jay (@ssgt). Well done on this old kit. What paint did you use for the bare metal? Here is one that I want to do. I took the photo at the boneyard at Davis-Monthan in 1977. The photo had deteriorated before I got around to digitizing it.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Hello George @gblair , thanks for the compliment on my Skytrain. I used Testors Chrome spray paint. It is the first time I’ve used it, and I think it looks pretty good.
The Black and Red C-47 would make a unique addition to your collection.
You definitely got an excellent result out of this oldie, Jay @ssgt
She looks great and with the chosen scheme she gets even more attention.
Well done.
Thank you , John @johnb ! I like the silver with orange .
I’d like to build some vintage American Airlines
aircraft from the 1960s and earlier since they were silver with orange markings.
Great work Jay. I'd think Mr. Good would give you two thumbs up if he could see your build.
Nice work with the silver, orange and white - not the easiest combination of colours, well done!
Thank you, George @georgeswork . It took plenty of time and tape to paint this. I appreciate your kind words. Mr Good had quite a collection, he had the same taste in models as I do.
Nice looking C-47 Jay @ssgt. I love the scheme and the metal finish came out great.
I built this same MPC kit back in 1974 and I remember the decal sheet was one solid very thick sheet. And each part had to be cut and trimmed before applying. All of the decals that I applied silvered pretty bad for me back then. The decals you chose came out really nice!
Well done on this MPC kit.
Thanks , Bob @v1pro !
You mentioned to me once you used Testors chrome paint for aluminum finish, so I wanted to give it a try. The silver & orange look good together .
The parts fit was very good on this old kit... better then on some newer Eastern European kits I’ve dealt with.
Excellent job! Man i loved those "Profile Series" kits when I was a kid, so many options in one box! Well done!
Thanks Rob @robertandy !
I build quite a number of MPC kits back in the 70s.
This C-47 fit together pretty well for being such an old kit.
Nice work on what I recall as a rough build. Love the colors.
You are right, Steve @jimmiesteve
It isn’t quite Tamiya or Hasegawa quality. Probably in the 1960s it was cutting edge . The colors make it more appealing .
Very nice C-47! So iconic plane! I love your painting sheme!
Thanks , Lis @lis , I appreciate your kind words. After being in a box for 40-50 years, I thought it deserved a colorful paint scheme.
A real beauty Jay! Since our club meeting next Tuesday night is a group build of Claude's kits, I'm hoping you can bring her in and show her off!
I would like to be able to attend and see what has been built out of that cache of kits , Greg @gkittinger. I’m working second shift (2:30pm till 11pm) which cuts in to my free time .
I’m about to start work on another of his kits... a 1/48 Revell F-105F. I had to buy some surplus Monogram kit decals for it. The ones in the box were moisture damaged by improper storage.
Thanks for the compliment on the C-47. It’s not a blue ribbon build, but I enjoyed the project.