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1:144 Draw Decals 'Cayman Airways Cargo' DC-6.


Viking

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Cayman Airways Cargo DC-6


1:144 Draw Decal


Cayman2.jpg



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.


Cayman1.jpg


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
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