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John Healy
153 articles

1/144 DC-6B.

June 19, 2023 · in Aviation · · 26 · 421

Here's another one I never shared from the pre social media days. It's the from 1997 or 98. I built this one in ‘98 and it was pretty new at the time. I discarded the Pan Am kit decals in favor of these United markings for the Mainliner Denver. I don't remember who manufactured them. They were old when I got them, LOL. I think the Testors enamel white is holding up well because I did the old “drop of blue” in the white paint trick on this one.

Haven't had any bench time recently but it's still fun to play sharing some oldies!

Reader reactions:
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7 additional images. Click to enlarge.


26 responses

  1. Nice old build! Thanks for pulling it out of the archives...

  2. Nice model @j-healy. Brings back a good memory.

    When I was 9, my Cub Scout den got to go out to Stapleton Field and tour the United Air Lines operation because one of the boys' father was a UAL pilot. When we got there, they were just pulling a DC-6 out from having done an engine change and it needed to be checked. So they invited us along! On what was officially a test flight. They made a real trip out of it - down to Colorado Springs where they circled Pike's Peak, then up to Mount Evans, then back to Denver. And they let us be in the cockpit. Another of my aviation adventures no one could duplicate today.

    • That’s a great memory, Tom! When I was a young Cub Scout, they took us to ORD and we got the tour of an Eastern DC-8 and 727. No flights though, 🙁.

  3. Profile Photo
    said on June 19, 2023

    What a pretty bird! You did an excellent job on this model, such a classic.

  4. very nice work!

  5. Excellent work, John @j-healy
    The off white looks perfect.
    1/144 seems to be the best scale for this aircraft.

    • Thanks, John. I do like 1/144 for airliners. If you have an interest in any of the Minicraft airliner kits, buy them when you come across them. Minicraft closed shop last November.

  6. A real beauty, when you could tell one airliner from the next.

  7. Excellent build John.

  8. An excellent build, John! Your chosen scheme is beautiful, Which you rendered perfectly!

  9. Nice job, John. Love the classic airliners.

  10. Growing up, we lived on the approach routes to both La Guardia and what was renamed Kennedy. So while playing outside ( do kids still play outside?) I would hear all of the traffic going over. You could tell what airliner was passing over without looking up from its sound, those were the days of DC-4s, 6s and 7s, Connies, Boeing Stratocruisers, Martins, and Convairs.

    Now I live on the approach to Orlando Int., and one jet sounds like the last.

    Thanks for reviving the memories!

    Bruce

    • Same experience here, Bruce! I grew up under a flight path close to O’Hare and we sat on the front porch IDing planes by sight and sound. All the early jets, DC-3/6/7, Convairs, Martins, etc…. What really impressed me were the Illinois ANG KC-97s. The early 747s had a unique low growl you could hear on takeoff. Those got my attention too!

  11. Very nicely turned out, John.

  12. Very cool John! Thanks for sharing

  13. Great build and it looks great!

    Another class trip story, when I was 9 or 10 our class had a class trip to Newark Airport, NJ. The maintenance personnel brought our group to a DC-6 out in West Park. We did the walk around, let us into the aircraft and take turns in the cockpit. They explained quite a bit about the ground operations and pointed out things in the cockpit too. I remember trying to turn the control wheel and had a hell of a time trying to do so. The aircraft was not powered so that was that. 14 years later I ended up working at the same airport, at West Park, but on a 727 and 737 aircraft.

  14. Nicely done John, what did you use for the antennae wire ?

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