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Can anyone please tell me whether there is, apart from the transfer sheet, any difference between the A08014 C-47 Dakota/Skytrain and the A08015 Douglas Dakota Mk.IV kits? Ie is the plastic the same in both kits? Thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm calling this done. It's the new tool Airfix kit with Rocketeer decals (I didn't get on well with these). Thanks to Paul J for the blister window, though I have come to realise it should be tear drop shaped, please don't chastise me! Finished with Tamiya acrylics. Untitled by bryn robinson, on Flickr Untitled by bryn robinson, on Flickr Untitled by bryn robinson, on Flickr Untitled by bryn robinson, on Flickr Untitled by bryn robinson, on Flickr

Pics from Graham James

Combat Models is to release in 2015 a 1/32nd Douglas C-47/DC-3 Skytrain/Dakota vacuform kit Source: http://combatmodels.us/ V.P.

With the 2015 show just around the corner I thought I better pull my finger out and post some of my 2014 shots! More of the wings can be found here: http://www.hanger51.org/airshows/2014/dunsfold-wings-and-wheels/ And all of the wheels here: http://www.hanger51.org/the-garage/dunsfold-wings-wheels-2014/ Hunter XL577 by tony_inkster, on Flickr Canberra PR.9 XH134 by tony_inkster, on Flickr P-51 Mustang by tony_inkster, on Flickr Spit & Stang by tony_inkster, on Flickr D-Day flypast by tony_inkster, on Flickr Great War Display Team by tony_inkster, on Flickr Royal Netherlands Air Force Historical Flight Foundation B-25 by tony_inkster, on Flickr Vera by tony_inkster, on Flickr Lancaster summer by tony_inkster, on Flickr Gnat G-RORI (XR538) by tony_inkster, on Flickr Dogfighting Vulcan style by tony_inkster, on Flickr Breitling Wing Walkers by tony_inkster, on Flickr

C-47 as used by Pionair Air Charters, pics by Graeme H. This aircraft is now retired to The Ashburton Aviation Museum in New Zealand.

Douglas AC-47D Gunship 1:48 Revell The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also nicknamed "Puff, the Magic Dragon") was the first in a series of gunships developed by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was designed to provide more firepower than light and medium ground-attack aircraft in certain situations when ground forces called for close air support. The AC-47 was a United States Air Force C-47, (the military version of the DC-3) that had been modified by mounting three 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns to fire through two rear window openings and the side cargo door, all on the left (pilot's) side of the aircraft, and the modified craft's primary function was close air support for ground troops. Other armament configurations could also be found on similar C-47-based aircraft around the world. The guns were actuated by a control on the pilot's yoke whereby he could control the guns either individually or together, although gunners were also among the crew to assist with gun failures and similar issues. It could orbit the target for hours, providing suppressing fire over an elliptical area approximately 52 yd (47.5 m) in diameter, placing a round every 2.4 yd (2.2 m) during a three-second burst. The aircraft also carried flares it could drop to illuminate the battleground. The AC-47 had no previous design to gauge how successful it would be because it was the first of its kind. The USAF found itself in a precarious situation when requests for additional gunships began to come in because it simply lacked miniguns to fit additional aircraft after the first two conversions. The next four aircraft were equipped with 10 .30 calibre AN/M2 machine guns. However, these weapons, using World War II and Korean War ammunition stocks, were quickly discovered to jam easily, produce large amounts of gases from firing, and, even in 10-gun groups, only provide the density of fire of a single minigun. All four of these aircraft were retrofitted to the standard armament configuration when additional miniguns arrived. The AC-47 initially used SUU-11/A gun pods that were installed on locally fabricated mounts for the gunship application. Emerson Electric eventually developed the MXU-470/A to replace the gun pods, which were also used on subsequent gunships. The Model The original Monogram kit of the AC-47 was released in the late 70’s and although it has been released a few times since the moulds appear to be standing up well. The kit comes in a large top opening box, with an artists impression of an aircraft strafing somewhere in Vietnam. On opening there is a large poly bag with all four grey styrene sprues inside, which hasn’t protected the parts much as there were quite a few that had become detached. At least the clear sprue was contained in a separate poly bag. The parts are well moulded, with only a little flash in places and a few moulding pips, but the details have stood up well. There are several flow lines, particularly around the windows, but these shouldn’t cause any problems with a bit of primer. The kit does have raised details as that was the way when it was first released, but in this case, according to several period photos I’ve been looking at they are pretty accurate, particularly the rivets lines. Construction starts with the pretty comprehensive interior, with everything being fitted to the long floor section beginning with the cockpit which is fitted out with the pilot and co-pilots seats, bulkhead, instrument panel, dual control yokes and separate throttle box. Just behind the cockpit bulkhead the navigator and radio operators positions are assembled with tables, seats, half bulkheads and a stack of radios. Moving aft there is another bulkhead and two sets of four seats, which come with the seatbelts pre-moulded into them. Right aft there is a third bulkhead is fitted and behind that the Elsan style toilet and sink unit are fitted. In-between the second and third bulkheads is where all the weaponry is situated, the three miniguns, each made up of three parts, four spare ammunition boxes, also made up of three parts, and two crates of what I can only assume are flares, one single and one double, with the single crate fitted in front of the rear bulkhead, near to the cargo door. This assembly is briefly set aside whilst work continues with the fuselage interiors. The side windows come in lengths of six for which the two in the aft positions need to be cut away, you will also need to cut away the flashed over window in the fuselage, nearest the cargo door. The cockpit mounted gunsight is then fitted to the port side and a hole needs to be opened up in front of the astrodome. On the starboard fuselage there is radio rack fitted, and tail wheel mounting, along with the full set of windows, cockpit side console and overhead console. The cargo door part needs to be cut with the forward section being discarded and the aft section glued into position. The cockpit/interior assembly is now glued to the port side, after which the minigun assemblies can be fitted either with all three guns firing out of the windows or two out of the windows and one out of the door, just check you references on the aircraft you intend to build. Three ammunition boxes are then placed behind each minigun; the fourth is fitted next to the double flare case which is placed on the starboard side, opposite the miniguns. The fuselage can now be closed up. Attention then moves to the wing assemblies. The lower centre section is fitted with a long spar which is moulded complete with the undercarriage bay rear bulkheads the outer lower sections and larger upper sections are then attached and the whole assembly fitted to the fuselage. The horizontal tailplanes, each comprising of upper and lower halves are glued together and also attached to the fuselage, along with the tailwheel, the leg of which is in two halves with the single piece wheel sandwiched between them. The engines are assembled next, with each single piece engine fitted with a propeller spindle, before being attached to the rear bulkheads and covered with the cowlings. These are then fitted to the fairings on the wings, whilst the landing light cover is also fitted to the leading edge of the port wing. Each main landing gear assembly is made up of the main oleo frame, retraction actuator/yoke, a pair of scissor links and the two piece wheels. These are then fitted into position in the main wheel wells. There is a choice of engine exhaust styles and once again you should check your references to work out which style fits the particular aircraft you are modelling. The astrodome, windscreen, DF aerial, HF aerial, VHF aerials and pitot venturii are fitted, along with the oil cooler intakes, cargo door ladder and the propellers, (ensuring you use the correct paddle blades, as both type are included in the kit), thus completing the build. If you wish to make a diorama using this kit then there are two crew members and a groundcrew figure included. Decals The decal sheet is nicely printed by Cartograph which is in register, with good opacity and with a thin carrier film, although on the matt side they look like they should settle down pretty easily onto a gloss coat without silvering. The sheet includes an alternative instrument panel decal should you not wish to paint the styrene part, a full set of stencils and markings for two aircraft. Douglas AC-47D, 3rd Air Commando Squadron, Nha Trang airforce base, South Vietnam 1968 Douglas AC-47D, 4412 Combat Crew Training Squadron, Hurburt Field, Florida 1971. Conclusion It’s great to see this kit re-released again as I remember having fun building it not long after the very first release. There’s nothing complicated about the build so would be a good model for anyone to try, although the more experienced may wish to add extra details it’ll still look great straight out of the box. Very highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Etch Douglas C-47 Updates (for Airfix) 1:72 Eduard Having built the Airfix C-47 last year as a diorama, I was impressed with the kit. It went together very well and the detail was certainly good from the box. That said, us modellers know that we can always take it one step further when we build a favourite aircraft. Eduard provide the solutions to do this in their familiar etch 'flat pack's and Brassin resin. Both the interior and exterior are catered for. Brassin Resin C-47 Wheels (672 046) The kit wheels are well defined, but these resin replacements are superb with more accurate looking hubs. They are single piece direct replacements and include paint masks to make life easier. Like the kit parts, they are modelled in a weighted configuration too for a more realistic look. C-47 Interior (73513) The interior of the kit is well detailed, although naturally, the limitations of injection moulding present some opportunities for etch enhancement. This set give some nice touches to the cockpit area including self adhesive pre-painted main panel, control wheels, seatbelts and side panels. The cockpit floor gets a replacement surface too. A nice touch for the cabin are some inserts to fill the ejector pin marks left from the moulding process. A complete front door is included with hinges for the open position and the rear door gets etch handles too which if in the open position are prominent features. C-47 Interior (Zoom SS513) This set provides the self adhesive pre-painted fret included in the above set for a budget alternative just focussing on the cockpit area. C-47 Exterior (72587) A single sheet here provides a mix of noticeable and subtle improvements for the exterior of the kit. The gear legs get several enhancements including the 'X' struts and brake lines that feed up the drag link. A 3 dimensional boarding ladder for the rear access is included too. The engines are treated to the plug leads, oil cooler mesh's (front & rear) and exhaust support brackets offering a great improvement. The gear bays benefit from a number of surface panels and straps for the oil tanks.Finally, windscreen wipers, landing light apertures and aerials are included too. C-47 Surface Panels (72590) Given the small size of these sheets, it would of been good to see this one included in the exterior set rather than being an additional set to purchase. This set provides pretty much what it says on the pack. Included are window frames for the cabin windows & astrodome. You also get the wing joint reinforcement struts that are prominent on both the upper and lower surfaces with pleasant subtle riveting detail, but you will of course need to sand the raised areas from the kit parts to use these. Further 'toothed' surfaces are included for the reinforcement strips immediately outboard of the engines on the lower wings. Finally, several small panels for the fuselage and wings make up the rest of the set. C-47 Landing flaps (72588) One of the great things about the new Airfix kits is the regular inclusion of separate flaps so you can have them in the lowered position and the C-47 is one of these kits. The kit parts are OK, but this set will provide a much more scale accurate rendition of the lattice work on the inner surfaces as you would expect. However, they can be a fiddly affair in my experience with lots of folding of intricate parts, so have the swear box emptied before you start! C-47 Cargo Seatbelts (73514) The cabin seats are pretty basic with no seatbelts included, so this simple set is a great enhancement. I used masking tape on mine, but these would of provided a much improved look. If you have the rear doors open, they will be noticeable. A great benefit is the fact that they are pre-painted, so they can be added after painting your interior. C-47 Die Cut Window Masks (CX401) I'm a big fan of these, whilst the windows on the C-47 are simple shapes, this set will take the sting out of masking prior to painting. Conclusion There are a lot of sets provided for the C-47, and it would add up to a significant amount of money if you used them all. However, I've no doubt that using a few of the sets would much improve the look of your finished build. At some point I would like to build a civilian 'Dak' when released so will be intending to use several of these sets on it. Review sample courtesy of

I reviewed this kit quite recently and as with most of Airfix's recent releases, they're just crying out 'BUILD ME' !! So the initial plan is to pretty much just build it out of the box and have some fun, but there's some temptation to add some ground stuff in too and make a diorama. Depending how things go, it might evolve as it progresses. After spending half an hour or so, most of the interior is pretty much assembled, so I'll leave it all to set before getting some primer and paint on. I'll get some pictures over the weekend of the progress. So far, very impressed with the kit, a quick dry fit of the fuelage halves reveals no issues....fingers crossed!

Gday All What a great GB for all us modellers of all things RAAF. I just had to join in and what better day to start than ANZAC day here in Australia where we remember all our dead from all conflicts past and ongoing that Australia has been involved in . Lest We Forget Onto my chosen kit. The Trumpeter 1/48 C-47A Dakota. Australia used C47B's not sure what the differences are yet, hopefully research will turn them up, anyway onto the required box and sprue shots and this last one shows the multi media parts included in the kit, those being rubber tyres, metal landing gear and some PE, also shown are the quick boost corrected rudder,some resin corrected cowlings and Voyager aerials I am awaiting some further Eduard sets from Hannants Regards Bruce

This Dakota is actually KP208, a C-47B built in 1946, this was one of the last two to serve with the RAF in 1970. It had been on display at the Airborne Forces Museum at Browning Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire until the museum closed in December 2007. It is now at Merville Barracks in Colchester. KP208 represents KG374, a D-Day veteran that was shot down during Operation Market Garden at Arnhem on September 19, 1944. The pilot, Flt Lt David Lord, won a posthumous Victoria Cross - KG374 was hit twice by anti-aircraft fire with one engine on fire. Lord managed to drop most of his supplies on the drop run, but two containers remained. Despite the damage to his aircraft, Lord made a second run before ordering his crew to bale out. A few seconds later the Dakota crashed before Lord could escape. The Dakota fund is currently trying to fully restore this aircraft, if anyone feels they can help pls contact me for details. many thanks to Ruari for these pictures. Exterior Shots;

Gday All Completed this one for the recent Korean War GB that finished up last month, somewhat embarrassingly, my first completion for the year after a few false starts The kit used was the Trumpeter 1/48 C-47A, which, as far as I can tell, makes up onto a C-47B from the box, due to having the longer carb intakes I found it a very enjoyable build with good fit and excellent detail It is let down in the accuracy dept. by wrongly shaped cowls,metal rudder and a sit that sees it sitting too low to the ground, the cowls and rudder are fixed with Quickboost replacements, whilst I added spacers to the landing gear struts to give the model the correct nose up attitude as seen in photos of RAAF Daks The finish is airbrushed Xtraclour Aluminium as the RAAF's Daks were painted silver. All markings were painted on using masks prepared by Miracle Masks. If you have not used masks before I can highly recommend them. This was the first time I had used them, and had no problems, thanks in no small part To Mal Mayfield's thorough step by step instructions. The model represents A65-121 which saw service with 77 SQN supporting their Mustangs by flying ordnance and personnel from Japan during the war. A big thanks to Ryan and Peter from the Aussie Modeller forum who helped with photos of the actual machine Thanks for looking Bruce

Hi folks,here,s my second entry for this GB and back on home turf with a 1/72 Italeri Dakota/Skytrain.Nice kit for it,s time and the first time since I was kid that I have built one,my dad had a spell as an air dispatcher on them at the end of the second world war. I am going for a 1 week build on this one no work on the interior other than the basics as I am off on holliday next Friday.

Hi Some photos from Biggin Hill on Friday afternoon are below. It was great seeing the 2 Lancasters.

ANARE C-47 Dakota Conversion (for Italeri kit) 1:72 Red Roo Models The ANARE, or Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition, was borne out of the success of the British, Australian, New Zealand Antarctic Research Expeditions (BANZARE) which took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These expeditions were led by renowned explorer Sir Peter Mawson, who had been part of Shackletons Nimrod expedition in 1907 and had been a member of the party that was first to reach the magnetic south pole. Although plans to expand these expeditions were put on hold by the Second World War, Mawsons enthusiasm was undiminished. As a result of his lobbying, the Australian Government committed to establish a permanent station on Antarctica in early 1947. By the 1950s, several permanent bases had been established and were being resupplied by a specially formed Antarctic Flight equipped with Auster and Beaver aircraft. In 1959, the flight re-equipped with a specially modified Dakota. Modified by De Havilland Australia, the new aircraft was fitted with improved avionics and navigational equipment, as well as the all-important skis and JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) bottles. Sadly, Ann Cheries (as the aircraft was christened) career lasted less than a year. During a particularly severe storm on the night of 8 December 1960, she was blown a full eight miles from Rumdoodle Base, where she was stationed, into a crevasse in the ice shelf. As it was considered impractical to retrieve her, she was abandoned to the elements. This multimedia conversion kit has been produced by Red Roo Models in partnership with Hawkeye Models, also of Australia. It is comprised of a number of resin parts, as well as various lengths of brass rod, some silver coloured thread and a piece of mesh. A large decal sheet and colourful instructions round off the package. Everything is packed into a clear plastic bag, and despite the fact that some of the more delicate items are reinforced with wire, a couple of small parts were broken when I unpacked them. I think a sturdy cardboard box would be a better choice for a package such as this. The main landing gear skis are comprised of the skis themselves, aerodynamic tailplanes and bracing wires to hold them in place. A resin jig is included so you shouldnt run into any difficulty lining everything up. The other resin parts include the rear tail ski, the fairing for the radio compass, the radome for the Marconi Doppler scanner, the oblique camera ports, the drift sight, the vertical camera port, the nose antenna fairing, the JATO bottles (reinforced with wire), the repositioned oil coolers and the plug for the gap where the oil coolers would be on an unmodified Dakota. The brass wire parts are used for various antennas and the sheet of mesh is used for the cargo net. The instructions are very comprehensive and there are plenty of drawings too. The decal sheet is superbly printed and includes a decent selection of stencils as well as all of the national markings. The Ann Cherie moniker is faithfully reproduced, as is the ANARE skiing penguin character. Conclusion If this kind of subject floats your boat then youll be very happy with this conversion set. Alternatively, if you happen to have a spare Italeri Dakota lying around and dont know what to do with it, then this set should provide some inspiration. The resin parts are nicely cast (by CMR) and the decals look like they should perform very well. Overall I think this set can be highly recommended. If you want to see what the completed model will look like, follow the buy it now link to Red Roos website or check out the picture below, showing a completed model build by Peter Mahoney of Hawkeye Models. Model by Peter Mahoney Review sample courtesy of