Search the Community

Here is the model completed in its National Parks Airways livery, not at all a casual choice. National Parks are not real estate for sale. The model was modified as you can see in the building post here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235026972-modified-boeing-247-williams-bros-172nd/& by the addition of a restroom, cargo area and door, more bulkheads, nose cargo area and hatch, pilots hatch, some cabin detail, and other details, plus of course commissioning a special set of marks from Arctic Decals. I am really fond of the 30´s appearance that the forward-raked windshield provides, so I went for that variant. Many hours were spent searching the Net, reading references, sorting out details and looking at photographs. Modelers should be a bit more skeptic and proactive if they want a more accurate model. The venerable Williams Bros issue is still a workable platform -if of course showing its age-, and again I thank good friend, fellow modeler and ebil genius Sönke Schulz from Volkania* for gifting the kit. *His address: Ze Lair Volcanic Region German Transsylvania Since Sönke gifted the kit, he insisted in having an official "model completed" ceremony with the attendance of the Volkania Sturm und Drang band:

Hi, One of my favourite airplane ever - Boeing 247. I do not know why? - simply I like her. I had a very long "decission process" - which markings should I do? Airpalne designed for civil use, but some of them were impossed into US Army as C-73, two were used in China, few were used in RCAF and single of RCAF came to RAF where served as a test bed for new constructions of airborne radars. This was DZ203 . There is a very nice book by Bob Shaw which describes whole story of DZ203 with all details. I read it a year ago. However I disagree with one interpretation of Author - I do not belive that from bottom she was yellow. There was year ago a discussion on this topic on BM WWII forum. There are opinions from past (1960.?) in which was said, that from bottom there was sky. For me also photos support concept of not-yellow bottom. A lack of serial on bottom sides of wings votes form me for sky underside. During her serving in UK airplane was at least once repainted during serious repair, when original engines were replaced by whole sets from Harvard - with cowling and two blades propellers in 1944. Anyway - I made her in initial markings (1942) for which a lot of photos are available. Comments and criticism welcome Regards Jerzy-Wojtek Edit - the link for colour discussion: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234935600-boeing-247d-colour-question/page-2#entry1972972

Here is the ongoing project, a Williams Bros. in National Parks Airways livery. The well-known, old, venerable kit is the base for some upgrades, further detailing the interior adding the nose hatch and mail compartment, opening the hatch for the aft cargo compartment, creating the much needed restroom for the relief of those poor 1/72 passengers -with toilet and paper roll, made of actual paper-, adding the luggage nets and so on. The kit is actually, for its age, quite workable, with refinements missing many times from much modern kits

Inspired and challenged by Moa's recent superb National Parks Airways mod of the venerable Williams Brothers 1/72 Boeing 247...I decided to break out my own kit for a slightly different modification. The Williams Bros. kit depicts the later-model -D version of the 247 with full-enclosure NACA cowlings and variable-pitch props. I elected to backdate my project to the original 247 configuration with smaller-diameter engine nacelles and wing fairings, and speed rings instead of full cowlings for the P&W R-1340 Wasp engines. I had in mind to depict a particular aircraft of that early production series, so I've also worked up my own set of markings to home-print a set of the decals I'll need. Although the fuselage will eventually be 'buttoned up' with almost nothing visible, I still had fun with some interior detailing. The kit supplies a basic cockpit with seats, control yokes, console and instrument panel decal; I added a few throttle levers from bits of pie-plate aluminum with white glue knobs. Likewise, the kit supplies very nice passenger seats and a detailed floor-pan for the passenger cabin---correctly depicting the exposed wing carry-through trusses, with adjacent floor cabin heaters that act as 'steps' over the trusses. I used N-scale 'siding' sheet to make tread-plates for those steps---mainly to cover some difficult-to-fill mold-release sinkholes on the top surfaces---and added prominent structural frames (visible in photographs) to the bare cabin walls. Further detail came in the form of luggage nets, curtains and fittings to the cabin walls, and seat belts to the passenger seats. I also found correct-to-period magazines and newspapers online to 'shrink down' and scatter throughout the cabin...simply because I could. My tiny passengers can enjoy the 'latest' issues of the Saturday Evening Post...Hearst's International Cosmopolitan Magazine...read 'The Truth About Katharine Hepburn's Marriage' in Modern Screen...or sample the premiere issue of Esquire, 'The Quarterly for Men' with new fiction from the likes of John Dos Passos, Erskine Caldwell and Dashiell Hammett. (Silly, I know...but it's fun.) Here's the completed interior...and a shot from 'outside' of the curtains, which will pretty much be all that can be seen: That's the first few days of work. Any comments, questions of inspired ravings welcome. Next up: wing mods.