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Douglas C-47 Dakota, Royal Hellenic Air Force Korean Detachment (ΕΚ.Σ.Ε.), Airfix, 1/72

Started by Spiros Pendedekas · 161 ≡ · ↻ 4 years ago · 1/72, Airfix, C-47, Hellenic Air Force, Korea The Forgotten War

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Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 5 months ago:

Most important part over with I see - the PFP QC inspection - and no icecream in sight! - must have made an impression? That aside, great updates - keep them comin' @fiveten
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 5 months ago:

Thanks, @airbum!
Passed the inspection bribe-free!
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:
Hello my friends!
1. Some touchup will be needed

2. First coat
Engines, seats, propellers and wheels under preparation.

Also did the initial sanding of the cargo door: looks are not terrible, but some filler will be needed...
All the best!
Louis Gardner said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Spiros, @fiveten
I am happy to see the PFP QC inspection was completed and it's great to hear that no bribes were needed !

You have definitely been working at near light speed with the C-47... and it's looking good too.

The subliminal message with the Hasegawa 1/32 scale upside down F6F Hellcat box was indeed noticed.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Thanks Louis @lgardner!

This 1/32 Hellcat has been finished about 15 years ago as Minsi iii.

I've kept the box, as it is nice and sturdy to use it for my projects...

... I mean, you cannot throw away such a sturdy, big, quality box, with a Master's Koike Shigeo painting on top!

At the moment, the 1/48 Vautour parts are there - waiting for a restart:

Welcome to Mystical Experiences (Workbench build progress of 1/48 Fonderie Miniature Vautour IIB)
The Minsi iii was done OOB. Will do a revisit to see if she is presentable and maybe post some pics. If I recall well, the gloss blue was left too glossy...ahhhhh well! I love working on this Dakota, always wanting to finish one as a Hellenic-Korean... The decals were there, the model was there, and then came your motivation through this great idea GB! Thanks again, my friend, for hosting me (us) here!
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

And a small update:

Engines and main wheels ready (engines look not bad at all...)
Robert Royes said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Looks great ,Spiros!
Louis Gardner said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Spiros, @fiveten
I agree with Robert, as your C-47 engines and wheels do indeed look great ! Like you, I keep the box art for most of my models. I have even been tempted to frame some of them...

I built a smaller 1/48 scale "Minsi III" about 20 years ago. Mine was the Hasegawa version, as I don't think that Eduard had offered their version of it yet. Fast forward until two years ago and I built up 4 more of these Hasegawa F6F's. I like how they fit and they look very presentable once completed, even though some have scoffed at the cowling shape.

I have been around a full sized F6F-3 as it was being restored to airworthy condition on multiple occasions, and have seen the cowling numerous times and Hasegawa's 1/48 scale version is not too bad in my opinion. Some will not agree with me...

Here's what lurks behind the cowl of the Hellcat. The massive and reliable R-2800 twin row radial engine...

I took tons of photos of this plane during it's restoration. I have some very good pictures of the illusive "Grumman Gray" that was computer matched to the original colors that were found during the disassembly stage. I took these photos about 3 years ago.

This plane is a meticulous restoration, and just before it was set to hit the air show circuit upon completion, they located and installed a set of the original early style "spoked" wheels and these later Post War solid hub types were removed.

The Hellcat is in my top 5 all time favorites...

Sorry for rambling on. Enjoy the Hellcat photos. Maybe someday you can resume building on your "So Dead" Hellcat model. If and when you decide to do this please contact me... I might want to join you in building a few more that I have in the stash. Lately I have been wanting to build some FAA types... The Hellcat and the Corsair can both be great examples of this.

Since McCampbell was the Unit Commander,

I'm sure that his plane would have been kept in top notch condition, both mechanically and in physical appearance. I would not loose any sleep worrying about your model being "too glossy". It had to be new at some point...
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Thanks Louis @lgardner!

It was really great to see those restoration pics and read the info. Indeed the R-2800 looks amazing and, I have to confess, that my previous position in the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (as Air Force representative), allowed me to see the R-2800 very often at various assembly/disassembly and tesing stages, as it is used (at 2000hp version and with different harness) at our venerable CP-215s!

Loved the second pic of the restoration as well.

I'm sure McCampbell's plane would have ben kept in shiny condition, so I will dust off my Hasgawa one and post some pics ( I had airbrushed some smoke at the exhausts area, not being sure if it looks realistic...anyway...).

Have another Hasegawa 1/48 unbuilt:

Looks spectacular in the box (with Master's Koike Shigeo boxart of course). It is screaming: built me!

Thanks for stopping again at my progress and "kept me company", my friend.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Thanks my friend @roofrat!
Appreciate you like mt Dakota!
Louis Gardner said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Spiros, @fiveten
I have a few of those exact same 1/48 scale kits in the stash and several other ones like the 10,000th Hellcat built, an Eduard sample and a “Late War” overall GSB FAA version. Should you decide to dust off your F6F here are a few pictures that I took of the restoration during its test flight stage. This plane looks fantastic in every picture and even better than that in person ! My friends have really outdone themselves with this project.

Notice the exhaust flow patterns and especially the colors. It was very common to see what looks like a light grayish tan color present that was a result of using lead as a lubricant in the high octane aviation fuel.

The underside has a similar look to it but here the tan shade looks more like a brown. This is probably due to the background being a white color.

The favorite part I like about hearing a large radial (or any of them for this matter) is that initial first few seconds as they start up and fire to life. Having been around this yourself you know exactly what I am talking about. Your C-47 would have been very similar to this.

The pops and hissing, belching smoke and a very distinctive sound as it was trying to idle after being dormant for who knows how long. Just make sure that the prop was “pulled through” the recommended number of times !

Should you ever decide to have a go with your 1/48 F6F please let me know. I’d really like to join you if its possible. Who knows what will happen in the future ? We could have a mini Hellcat group build !
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Hi Louis @lgardner!

Loved the pics! This Hellcat is astonishigly retored and operated!

Will definitely try to replicate that greyish/brownish exhaust stains!

For the startup sequence, I know exactly what you mean...that noise, that smoke, that engine running-or-not?

And then, either the glorious succesful start, or the silent stall, ready to restart!

I will be more than happy to start the Hellcat with you.

Lots of projects run simultaneously, so let's see which one of the two of us will invite the other!

All the best, my friend!

As always, thanks for support and encouraging!
Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 4 months ago:

@fiveten, @lgardner, if you should have too many hours to spare, I have two PW 1830 radials in the barn (1:1 scale) that you are welcome to restore and start up 🙂
Louis Gardner said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Wow Erik ! @airbum

You are a lucky man to own not one but TWO of them ? If I lived closer I might take you up on the task... I would have to build up a new engine run stand though... The one I designed and built will hold big V-8 automobile engines, but not anything as big as a Pratt and Whitney...

Did you notice my German Shepherd hiding in the background ? She can be very sneaky at times...
Louis Gardner said 4 years, 4 months ago:

Spiros, @fiveten
As soon as I finish a few projects I will gladly start building up a few F6F Hellcat's with you. First I must make some room on the bench as I am currently almost out of working space. You know exactly the start up sequence of a radial... if at first you don't succeed, try, try again ...

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Korea : The Forgotten War………..

Douglas C-47 Dakota, Royal Hellenic Air Force Korean Detachment (ΕΚ.Σ.Ε.), Airfix, 1/72