Juno Dakota: 1/48th Monogram C-47 Skytrain
This old 1/48th Monogram C-47 Skytrain kit was originally released in 1978. The moulds are now in Revell's possession and still available on occasion. By the standards of the day, Monogram's 1/48th C-47 kit was well detailed and included a bonus of several nicely appointed paratroopers as well as other aircraft crew figures.
This aircraft build wasn't my initial inspiration but that of Alex Fitzgerald-Black, the Executive Director of the Burlington-based Juno Beach Centre Association. After seeing my website Alex had scheduled a visit to The Hangar to check out my Canadian aircraft collection in person. That initial meeting was delayed due to COVID, however Alex & Louisa (Interpretation and Outreach Manager) eventually made the sight-seeing trip. During that meeting we got to discussing an upcoming project of the Juno Beach Centre in France to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2024. The Juno Beach Centre were in possession of wreckage from a couple of aircraft flown by RCAF veterans and wondered if I would be interested in building the model aircraft to represent how the aircraft looked back in the day. I was honoured to be tasked with this display project to enhance a piece of Canadian history and set about how to accomplish this goal. We were able to decide on the scale and most details, however a couple of historical bits eluded my research efforts as I wasn't able to determine which aircraft letter that KG356 was assigned nor any artwork it may or may not have carried. Regardless I carried on with the project building this C-47 as well as a Mustang Mk.IA from 430 Squadron (Also sent from my collection was my RCAF 404 Squadron Beaufighter to represent Coastal Command's contribution). The C-47 was one of two troop carriers lost around Juno Beach on D-day (June 6th 1944).
Despite this kits age. the 1/48th Monogram C-47 Skytrain can still be used today to produce a respectable model for the display shelf and is still recommended in my books (especially considering the relatively reasonable price of this kit).
See my Weblog for more detail on this build: https://www.flypastrush.com/post/juno-dakota-1-48th-monogram-c-47-skytrain
Thanks for looking & good luck on your next build
Great build & finish. Looks great in the hangar with jumpers ready to fly.
Thanks Bob, Monogram included some really nice figures with their kits
That is a really nice job with that Gooney Bird. That finish came out great, and I like your hangar set too. Great work!
Thanks Ramon, That old Monogram kit still stands up pretty nicely. The Hangar developed over time as a best solution to photographing a kit so it looks like it is at home 🙂
Excellent C-47. Love your hangar and its stablemates too.
Thanks John, Appreciate your comments - Have a good weekend
Excellent C-47!
Your website is really great!
Welcome aboard!
Thanks a lot Spiros - Glad to be here - Looks like a great place to hang out... not sure why it took me so long to find it 🙂
The models are very nice, great results. The hangar is cool, too.
Welcome to iModeler, the best modeling club on the planet.
Appreciate the comments Tom. Not sure how I didn't find this "best modeling club on the planet" place before now - Cheers
You presented yourself with a beautiful Skytrain @flypastrush
A very nice way to display this aircraft.
Welcome aboard.
Thanks John, glad you appreciated the aircraft and setting. Seems like a great group here - Cheers
Great hangar pictures!
Thanks Maurits, The Hangar has served me well so far as a backdrop for the kits
Nice clean build! Welcome aboard.
Thanks Greg, Seems a great group of model builders here. Looking forward to looking at the builds here and sharing some more of my work (my wife is pretty bored of it all 🙂
Great body of work. Looks great in RAF scheme.
Thanks Robert, Those RAF schemes certainly do change the look of a subject - Cheers
Excellent Gooney Bird! Yes, that Monogram kit is still pretty great. Love your hangar photos.
Thanks Chas, A good number of those old Monogram 1/48th kits still make up into nice models - Have a great weekend
Very nicely done, still the best 1/48 C-47 available
Thanks Rob