Douglas DC-3 Minicraft 1/144
Discussion
Second DC-3 in a year, but this time in 1/144 scale rather than 1/72. I want to add a DC-3/C-47 to my airliner collection and have a few Minicraft 1/144 kits in the stash. This was one I bought not that long ago and comes with a set of markings for an FAA machine. However, as I like doing classic airliners of the 1930s to the 1970s period, I will be finishing it as an Aer Lingus Dakota as operated by them just before they were sold off in 1962.
I am using a set of decals from Maxdecals which allows a number of different DC-3 options from the Aer Lingus fleet. I'm tempted by EI-ACE as it was probably the last ever DC-3 ever built.
Looking into its history, it was left unassembled when the production line closed in 1945. It had been earmarked for completion as a C-117/Super DC-3 for the US Navy but instead it was finished to DC-3 standard for Aer Lingus. It is unusual in that it is closer to a pre-war DC-3 rather than a C-47 as it features a passenger only door rather than the enlarged cargo door associated with the C-47 versions.
The kit came out in the early 1990s, so to my mind, is quite modern. Some say its shape is a bit suspect but it doesn't look too bad to me. It comes with engine cowlings to depict either a Pratt & Whitney or a Wright powered aeroplane, which is a nice feature.
I am using a set of decals from Maxdecals which allows a number of different DC-3 options from the Aer Lingus fleet. I'm tempted by EI-ACE as it was probably the last ever DC-3 ever built.
Looking into its history, it was left unassembled when the production line closed in 1945. It had been earmarked for completion as a C-117/Super DC-3 for the US Navy but instead it was finished to DC-3 standard for Aer Lingus. It is unusual in that it is closer to a pre-war DC-3 rather than a C-47 as it features a passenger only door rather than the enlarged cargo door associated with the C-47 versions.
The kit came out in the early 1990s, so to my mind, is quite modern. Some say its shape is a bit suspect but it doesn't look too bad to me. It comes with engine cowlings to depict either a Pratt & Whitney or a Wright powered aeroplane, which is a nice feature.
A little bit of progress has been made on the DC-3. I've added the white cheatline decal on fairly early on the proceedings as the passenger cabin window aircraft name decals need to be applied on top of them. The longer they have to settle down and adhere to the fuselage, the less likely they are to move about when laying on the additional decals.
robemcdonald said:
I think it could be the angle of the picture. If Eric posted a plan view it would look right.
The angle doesn’t change the single straight perspective line the text should be on, which you can try on the image by putting a straight edge under the text (not incuding dihedral).The straight lines on the base don’t seem too distorted, so I assume the decals are quite a bit out of alignment (same with the passenger windows if we’re being honest).Edited by dr_gn on Monday 30th July 21:20
Eric Mc said:
It's for the bin then.
Depends on what you’re willing to accept. Like Yertis, it would annoy me to distraction. I’ve binned an almost finished model before purely because I screwed the decals up, salvaged what I could of it and rebuilt into a new one.As robemcdonald said, look at it in plan (to get rid of the dihedral effect) and see what it looks like. If the decals are on the piss, sand them off, repaint and put new ones on. Correcting the windows would be far more difficult though.
You can get decals in alignment by sighting past a rule held away from the model (assuming there are no panel line or structural references). Also, looking down the side of the fuselage at a shallow angle will exaggerate any issues with windows, cheat lines etc. Works with masking too.
The problem was that the decals (Max Decals) turned out to be extremely "grabby" and it was difficult to manouever them once they were on the model. The windscreen was a nightmare. So, rather than have them split or crack, in the end I decided to get them as best as I could into position.
The kit is pretty small and from the normal viewing distance it looks OK. Computer screens make it quite a bigger than it is in reality.
It looks nice next to my Aer Lingus 707 and Constellation so I won't REALLY be binning it and I'll certainly be bringing it to my model club and various model show. I've seem many much worse kits.
Next time I use Max Decals airliner decals (the only option for "classic" Aer Lingus schemes in many cases) at least I'll be aware of how they behave and take suitable precautions.
I'll be finishing off a vac form Handley Page Herald next so that should be interesting.
The kit is pretty small and from the normal viewing distance it looks OK. Computer screens make it quite a bigger than it is in reality.
It looks nice next to my Aer Lingus 707 and Constellation so I won't REALLY be binning it and I'll certainly be bringing it to my model club and various model show. I've seem many much worse kits.
Next time I use Max Decals airliner decals (the only option for "classic" Aer Lingus schemes in many cases) at least I'll be aware of how they behave and take suitable precautions.
I'll be finishing off a vac form Handley Page Herald next so that should be interesting.
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