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My latest airliners. Firstly the Minicraft DC-6 Fairly simple kit and decals were fine as well. Finished as G-APSA of British Eagle. e20240326_145441 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr e20240326_145434 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr e20240326_145428 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr e20240326_145421 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr Secondly is Revell's BAe146-200. Nice little kit but the decals were probably 30 years old and weren't too great. The decals represent N366PS, a BAe146-200 of PSA. e20240326_145402 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr e20240326_145345 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr e20240326_145337 by Derek N.Ferguson, on Flickr

I present my latest creation, a hybrid Minicraft/Roden DC-6B in Caledonian Airways livery. The real G-ASRZ was actually Sabena’s OO-CTN which only carried the Caledonian livery and UK registration between April and November 1964, so the scheme is something of a rarity. The Minicraft DC-6B is a decent kit but it suffers from a lack of detail which is particularly noticeable on the wings. The Roden DC-6 on the other hand has good scribing on the wings but, of course, it represents the early short-fuselage version. When I was building my SAS DC-6 I had thoughts about maybe stretching a -6 to make a -6B and I had gone as far as buying a second kit for that purpose. One day I was in the loft looking for something else when I found an abandoned Minicraft kit, ironically a long-forgotten victim of an unsuccessful attempt to do something about the lack of scribing. A quick check showed that the Minicraft fuselage and Roden wings could be persuaded to fit together with only minimal packing and filling. The hybrid -6B was born. The wings, engines and main undercarriage are Roden and everything else is Minicraft. I had bought a set of HaHen resin engines for the original Minicraft project but unfortunately these were a poor fit on the Roden nacelles so I had to use Roden’s own rather crude parts. White paint is Halfords, natural metal is AK Interactive with some Rub n Buff for contrast. The finish of the wings is “typical” since I couldn’t find any photos giving a clear view. Decals are by TwoSix and I must give a quick mention to Ray’s excellent customer service. When I came to use the decals I noticed that the left cheatline had been printed without the prominent “Super DC-6B” title. I e-mailed Ray who acknowledged the error immediately and sent me a corrected sheet a couple of days later. What a contrast to the saga I’d had with a certain French decal maker a few months earlier and which was never properly resolved! I think the hybrid has produced quite a reasonable result and I will probably do another one at some point. Second-hand Minicraft DC-6Bs are readily available, usually for around £10 which is comparable to a resin or vacform conversion fuselage. If you shop carefully you can often pick up a Roden DC-6 for significantly less than the normal UK price. Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome. Dave G With the original DC-6. The differences are very obvious

Now that the East of Scotland Model Show is over and my Donaldson International Britannia is well under way I’ve decided to start another build. Sticking with the propliner theme my second entry will be another Roden kit, the original "short" DC-6 in SAS livery using F-DCAL’s gorgeous sheet FD144-037S I’m using the “Independence” version of the kit rather than the standard Delta issue because it includes the Curtiss Electric propellors which are necessary for the SAS aircraft. They are noticeably different from the much more common Hamilton Standards. The box contents are entirely conventional... … the Curtiss props on the left As I’ve already said, the decals are gorgeous... The DC-6 is one of Roden’s earlier kits and isn’t to the same standard as the Britannia or VC-10. The plastic is hard and brittle and likely to be difficult to work. Generally the engraved detail looks good and it’s actually finer than the Brit although reinstating anything lost in sanding is likely to be a challenge. I’m not confident I’ll finish it before November (the Britannia will always take priority) but since I was going to build it anyway I thought I might as well add it to the Group Build. I’ve got some more work to do on the Brit and once that’s finished I’ll get the DC-6 underway.

One ends up with something resembling this... Ugh, my own silly fault. There is actually a gloss white top coat underneath the grey primer that was applied without a primer to avoid filling in the fine panel lines. The primer sprayed over the white in an attempt to fix some minor paint pulls, but it got me worried so I tested the adhesion with some sellotape. Not very good. Shelf of doom for now, but I think it might be for the bin, never had much look stripping paint without damaging plastic. Regards, Darren

Hi, Thought I'd post some pictures of my completed DC-6 in TEAL markings. TEAL used three DC-6s between 1954 and 1962 I believe and this is the Minicraft kit of the VC-118 with Old Models Decals used. I added the astrodome and what I think is a navigation equipment 'canoe' on the lower port fuselage. The kit went together well, although some of the smaller parts are a little rough/oversize, especially when compared to a kit like the new GWH 1/144 Avro Vulcan! I had a problem with the decals, which I also experienced with two other sets of laser decals from Old Models - they sometimes tended to fold/peal upwards and not stick. I think I have narrowed the problem down to the Micro Sol, which I think might dissolve the decal glue? Anyway, Micro Set works fine. As usual, the photos reveal a multitude of sins! Oh well, nice to have this surprisingly big airliner alongside my more modern ones. It's also such a beautiful, classic design I think! Cheers for now, Ian

Ever since reading the late Stephen Piercey's 'Skytruck' books I've had a liking for the big ol' piston engine airliners earning their keep in unusual and exotic places. Once jetliners started to enter service, perfectly good large piston engine airliners were not wanted by the big airlines and many hundreds of Lockheed Constellation, Douglas DC-4's, 6's, and 7's were employed on cargo hauling duties. Browsing Draw Decals website I came across a set for one of the aircraft in Stephens book, the Cayman Airways Cargo DC-6. I just had to have it, and here is the result. The aircraft was actually kept quite clean looking, so I have kept the weathering to a minimum. The kit is the 1:144 Minicraft DC-6 minus the spinners as they don't seem to have been fitted.The decals behaved beautifully and went on a treat. I am particularly impressed that the carrier film seems to have completely vanished. A WIP thread can be found here. Enough of the chat, cue the Caribbean background music; Lovely artwork and printing on the tail badge; Now I'd like some more of these, we just need to pesuade Draw to do a 'Fri Reyes' DC-4 or 6 (or even B-17!), 'Lanica' C-46, or a 'Conifair' budworm spraying Constellation amongst many others. Thanks for looking John

I have always liked the big propliners that found work as cargo haulers when the new jets started taking all the prestige work with the major airlines in the 1960's and 70's. There are a few kits for the big Douglas airliners and Lockheed Constellation, mainly from Minicraft, and even fewer aftermarket decal sheets to put on them. Having found Draw Decals sheet to Cayman Airways Cargo DC-6, I just had to have one. Both the kit and decal sheet were obtained at this years Telford and work started as soon as I got home. Decal sheet reviewed Here Minicrafts kits can be a bit hit and miss in terms of accuracy but as a general rule those of Douglas aircraft are very good, whilst the Boeing subjects are less so.The Dc-4, DC-6, MD80's and particularly the DC-8 are excellent. The Boeing 737's are also good, but I feel that the 707, 727, 757, and 777 require a fair bit of work to improve them. Lucky for me then that I'm starting a DC-6! The build is fairly straightforward. I started by scraping and sanding the insides of the wing trailing edges to refine them a bit, not strictly necessary but worth the effort. I also put in a strip of plasticard to act as a lip inside the fuselage where the wing trailing edge will meet. The fuselage fits together nicely and even features a rudimentary flight deck. Most work is on the engine cowlings which come in two halves each with a separate engine. Rather than fit all three together at once as suggested in the instructions, I just fixed the cowl halves together and let them dry. It is then easy to sand the inside lips of the cowls with a bit of wet and dry paper wrapped around a paintbrush handle, and fix the engines in from behind by lightly sanding around the rim and push them in with a cocktail stick through the crankcase. I fixed the cowlings on to the nacelles before fitting the wing, as they need a bit of filler all around and it is far easier to sand them without having the fuselage in the way. I will attempt to keep the cockpit windows clear as I like the look better than using black decal, so the clear part was fitted and a white Milliput applied to fair it in. It is then sanded down to smooth the filler and join, and Micromesh cloths used to polish the windows back to full clarity. At this point the wing can go on, and all is set aside to dry before more Milliput is used to blend the wing/fuselage join. Thanks for looking, John

Cayman Airways Cargo DC-6 1:144 Draw Decal Some of my favourite airliners are the piston engined propliners of the 1950's that really began to open up air travel. The 'big Dougs' and the supreme Lockheed Constellation were the ultimate developments of what could be done with reciprocating engines before the first generation of jets started started to enter service right at the end of the 50's and 1960's. As the jets took over a lot of perfectly serviceable and fairly new propliners were relegated to lesser roles as the travelling public all wanted to travel on jets. Many of them ended up as cargo haulers, and even today some are still in service. The 1970's and 80's were the heyday for these machines performing this sort of service, often in what were developing countries. Worked hard they performed valuable service and a couple of great pictorial books were produced by the late Stephen Piercy under the title of 'Skytruck'. Among my favourites in these books is the Cayman Airways Cargo DC-6, with its smart scheme featuring a cartoon character turtle, so when I found it on Draw Decals website I knew that I had to get one. At this years Telford show I first managed to track down a Minicraft DC-6 from a second hand kit dealer and then headed straight for Draw decals stand. One of the pleasures of Telford is getting to meet the folks behind some of the specialist companies who produce all the stuff we like so much. I met Greg Drawbaugh himself, who had made the journey all the way from Minnesota in the US with a good stock of his range of decals, and had an enjoyable chat. Their range is quite extensive and covers a great many subjects not available from anyone else, including not just airliners but some military subjects as well. The Reno racer P-51 Mustangs and Sea Furies are particularly appealing. Draw Decals are produced by their own process of 'Digital Silk' printing on a continuous carrier film. This means that you need to cut around each decal to remove it from the sheet. Application is as simple as any other type of decal, but setting solutions will only affect the carrier film and not the artwork of the decal itself. This is no problem but a useful tip explained on the instructions is to use a piece of towel or kitchen paper dipped in hot water and pressed onto the decal, useful if the decal has to go on to a compound curve. The Decals themselves are beautifully printed, being very sharp and clearly defined and the colours match perfectly with various photos on the net. Separate cockpit windows are provided, as are door outlines for the underfloor hold, and the little anti dazzle panel in front of the cockpit. The badges for the tail are lovely little works of art, and all parts should fit easily on to the model as there are no awkward curves to deal with. Having used Draw Decals before, I know that are durable when applying them, and that they will settle down easily, and when dry will stick like limpets to finished model. A coat of Future/kleer will seal them in and protect them to give a stunning little model. This sheet is also available in 1/72 for anyone with Hellers kit, in fact most of Draw decals range are available in 1:200, 1;144, 1;72, and some even in 1:48 and 1:32. Having ordered from the UK via Draws website several times myself, I have always found their service to be excellent. Dispatch is quick and you even get a tracking number and emails from them to let you know. Conclusion. Another lovely set from Draw, so much so that when I returned from Telford the DC-6 by-passed the stash and went straight onto the workbench pushing the ongoing projects out of the way. Work in Progress thread Here Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of Draw Decal

New from Oldmodels Decals New: TEAL DC6 – early schemes 1/72 and 1/144 Major update: RNZAF F27-120MPA now with full detail markings 1/72, 96 and 144 New: RNZAF NH90 in 1/144 (also still available in 1/72) These are available through my website www.oldmodelsdecals.com

I have just released DC-6 decals in 1/72 and 1/144 for TEAL and RNZAF. As always available through my website www.oldmodelsdecals.com John

Airbase Coventry, G-APSA