AC-47, Monogram C-47 Conversion in 1/48th
This was my second attempt at the AC-47. The Spooky was so incredible I built one back in the 1980's. This one 20 plus years later had the help of a resin kit for the guns and gun sight. I re-scribed all the panel lines and made the flaps from scratch. I detailed the cockpit which is almost impossible to see, so I removed the hatch as I had seen in pictures. It must have just been too damn hot to leave it closed in South Vietnam. The kit was typical Monogram with decent fit but some issues, nice detail and overall good lines. This is still one of my favorites. It is just too big to display at home so I keep it wrapped up.
That's a beautifully built and very imposing C-47, Walt! Packed with so many details!
Well done!
Excellent job on Spooky Walt, lots of nice detail. I've build the old Monogram kit as a tribute to my dad whom jumped into Normandy with the 101st. As mentioned it has decent shape and detail but boy is she big.
It is big, similar to size as the B-17 only two engines. It has to be big, they used to hall Jeeps in those things. Amazing for just two radial engines to get all that in the air. The Curtis C-46 was even bigger! I want that as a kit in 1/48th! I end up keeping all my big builds in separate custom boxes. A shame but until I can get a display case it is what it is. Just bring them out for the shows.
Very nicely done!
That looks really good ! A C-47 In 1/48 scale is big !
I contemplated building a collection in this scale. No space to display in this size unfortunately
My father flew them in the Congo during the late 50 ies and early sixties. ( DC-3)
Flying was tricky at times he said as the weather systems at the equator build up huge and getting around them to where you needed to be going required skill and guts at the same time.
Beautiful build ! Congrats.
Very nice build! I also like the Spooky - built one as a kid and have another in my stash waiting on me. Mine are 1/72 though.
Nicely done. looks great!
A fantastic build, Walt.
What a massive amount of fire power.
Man, these gunships are so cool to me. This modification was the grandfather of planes like the C-130, and that's awesome to me. They were feared since the beginning, and probably will be for years to come. Such an ingenious idea. And well executed in your model! I didnt know monogram made one. Thanks for sharing.
Great looking build, Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman). AC-47s were still flying when I started flying in the early 70s, and you could occasionally see them on the flightline. Really brings back memories. The extra work you did on this model makes it a winner.
My dad was over there for most of the four years from 1968 to 1972 when we were stationed at Loring AFB in northern Maine. Even though he was in tankers he saw these birds too. I find the time lapse pictures of them firing to be absolutely stunning.
Beautiful result. The old Monogram kit has "good bones" as your build shows. Bet your hand was cramping up by the time you finished with the scribing tool!
It was actually not too bad, the B-17 I am working on was much worse. I have a small collection of scribers each working best in certain situations. As can be expected after I built it Trumpeter released a C-47 in 1/48th. Personally I would stick with the Monogram kit. I am only a talented amateur with scribing I have seen some guys do remarkable work! I actually enjoy it...it is kind of fun.
Nicely done Walt. Excellent details and paint.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
A pure pleasure to watch, I am so glad too see a Monogram model put to these standards Walt.
The details added and modified are a show stopper.
The paint job in this piece is very well done. Thank you for sharing these pictures.
Thanks for the very kind words, I grew up building and loving those Monogram kits. Still enjoy building them to this day! Thanks again.