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1/72 Airfix DC-3


Mike Esposito

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Sadly I very much doubt it, Mike, unless anybody else knows differently.Despite the almost limitless liveries civil subjects do not seem commercially viable(No pun intended)The Airfix release filled a gap but I for one still await the definitive Dakota kit.

Many of the Esci versions of the  DC 3 kits had seats included and a cargo door plug that contained the single airstair door.If one is modelling a 70'ds or later operators airplane then the seats from the Airfix Skyvan are ideal.

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Here's what I did:

 

IMG_3518_zpsn9pzxfjv.jpg

 

The seats came out of the spares box - I think they started life as railway accessories, but it's been so long since I got them that I can't be sure. I got a bag of them when a hobby shop in Sydney (Keith Hudson's Modellers World, of beloved memory) was closing down, on the basis that they might be useful some time. They came in pairs, and the singles have been made by cutting a pair and adding the side pieces. They're slightly small - about 1:76, which would be consistent with them being model railway stuff originally - but they do the job. In reality, once the fuselage is together you can't see much inside anyway, even before the window transparencies go in.

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As for aftermarket accessories for the Dakota I personally would like to see in 1/72 and 48th not only seats but Transair style landing gear doors and Engine cowlings with the gills open.Whilst in wishlist mode how about decals to build examples of Ruskin Air Services,Harvest Air,Northwest(G-AMPY circa '86)and Rig air aircraft?

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9 hours ago, jyguy said:

Very nice AP.Cambrian upgraded the cabins on their Dakotas during the late 1960's and reduced the seating from 34 or 36 to 24.The single seats IIRC were on the port side.

 

Interesting - all the interior photos I could find had the doubles on the port side, which is why I put mine there.

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Thanks for that! Looks like you could have them either way - originally it may have depended on whether the passenger door was on the left or the right.

 

And check the open luggage racks - no worries about baggage flying around the cabin in turbulence then! 

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Wow. I thought the DC-3 had two by two. :hmmm:

 

Thanks for the pics. I was looking closely at the Airfix kit and gotta say the Cockpit detail is sparse, and those panel lines... :nah:

 

I think I'm gonna use the Esci/Ertl kit. Got one cheap on EBAY. It also includes seats.

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17 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

Thanks for that! Looks like you could have them either way - originally it may have depended on whether the passenger door was on the left or the right.

 

And check the open luggage racks - no worries about baggage flying around the cabin in turbulence then! 

Thinking the same! Seem to remember there being netting up there. 

 

It's funny...these ships flew through the weather, not over it. Turbulence could be incredible.

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6 hours ago, Mike Esposito said:

Wow. I thought the DC-3 had two by two. :hmmm:

 

Thanks for the pics. I was looking closely at the Airfix kit and gotta say the Cockpit detail is sparse, and those panel lines... :nah:

 

I think I'm gonna use the Esci/Ertl kit. Got one cheap on EBAY. It also includes seats.

 

By all means use the seats out of the Esci/Ertl kit, but stick with the Airfix. It's streets ahead of the other two. The engine cowls are closest to accurate, even if the engine cylinders don't have cooling fins (which really doesn't stand out when it's all together) and the panel lines tone down with a coat of primer and paint. Once the fuselage is together you can't see into the cockpit anyway, just like the others. It's only got two problems - it needs a trim tab on the starboard aileron, and Mr Airfix left off the escape hatch above the cockpit (easily fixed with an 8mm square piece of 5 thou, or just scribe it).

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51 minutes ago, Admiral Puff said:

 

By all means use the seats out of the Esci/Ertl kit, but stick with the Airfix. It's streets ahead of the other two. The engine cowls are closest to accurate, even if the engine cylinders don't have cooling fins (which really doesn't stand out when it's all together) and the panel lines tone down with a coat of primer and paint. Once the fuselage is together you can't see into the cockpit anyway, just like the others. It's only got two problems - it needs a trim tab on the starboard aileron, and Mr Airfix left off the escape hatch above the cockpit (easily fixed with an 8mm square piece of 5 thou, or just scribe it).

i would also sand down those prominent raised rectangles in line with the props. They are supposed to represent ice guards (an additional dural panel which protected the fuselage from chunks of ice thrown off the propellers) but are entirely too prominent.

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On 2017-02-26 at 1:55 PM, Admiral Puff said:

Thanks for that! Looks like you could have them either way - originally it may have depended on whether the passenger door was on the left or the right.

 

And check the open luggage racks - no worries about baggage flying around the cabin in turbulence then! 

Well, to be fair, in 1935 the only things which went up there were hats, coats and the odd handbag. Not much of a hazard. In the late 1960s, when handbags became weaponised and carry-on luggage started to become common, airlines invented the closable overhead bin to prevent the kinds of injuries which were beginning to worry the lawyers.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Orso said:

I don't think that Esci got their interior right. Both left and right side has two seat rows.

In later years, as seats got narrower, it was possible to put in 2 + 2 seating, so the ESCI kit was correct for those aircraft. Interior layouts are highly variable, so it's best to pick an aircraft you know, and model it.

5187710-3x2-940x627.jpg

8.jpg

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  • 2 years later...
On 2/26/2017 at 11:51 AM, jyguy said:

33135628985_8b42b542dc_o_d.jpg33008363821_6b3d278e69_o_d.jpg

I found this one online that shows an -I believe- unusual three lines of one seat, and an untreated interior. It was on my references file, so not sure from where I got it, though:

33987735288_636e93a473_m.jpg

I got the kit on its way to me and also plan a civil version.

This is not my usual cuppa, so I am getting up to speed on the type.

Looking forward to your build.

 

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