Italeri 1/72 Dakota OOB

[jackroadkill]

Despite my protestations that I wasn't going to start another model until the Emil is finished, I started another model.  I have a long-term plan to make a 512 Squadron Dak but I think I need some more practise before I undergo it as it has some family significance and I want to do a really good job.  With that in mind, I raided the stash (stash?  I've only been back in model building for six week weeks!  How the hell have I got a stash already?!) for the Italeri no.127 C-47 kit that I knew to be in there.  According to Scalemates lots of companies have used this boxing, including Airfix.  I thought I'd do a sort of dummy run before buying another kit, as I wanted to work out things like how much of the interior can be seen, how much light gets in through the tiny windows and what effect colour has on this etc.  The build will be OOB unless I have to do anything dramatic to it to make it work.

 

First impressions of the kit were that it was of stiffer material than the Emil, which is made from Plasticine, as far as I can tell, and that it was thinner.  Detailing seems okay on the main parts but basic on the rest.  I think that for the next build I'll order some resin parts and go the whole hog.  I decided not to bother with the pilots or cockpit detailing because it was immediately apparent that you can't see any of it, and likewise didn't get carried away scratching the interior as the doors will be shut.

 

Sprue shots; as you can see there's nothing complicated about it and the tooling looks like it's pretty old.  Parts such as air intakes etc are decidedly basic and not brilliantly formed, the props are shoddy etc. :

 

 

 

The first order of business was to undercoat the main parts. I'm trying to learn quickly about how to achieve good results, and after some kind suggestions and tips from other members I decided that a primer would be ideal. I just used grey primer out of a rattle-can for this and just flash-coated it initially:

 

 

I thought it looked nicer already.

 

Following that I put the windows in (pre-coated with gloss varnish for all the difference it made - they're still a bit ropey as they're very badly formed.  I can see a good few gloss coats before they come good, so I got two on both sides before fitting them.  I had to tape them in as well as sticking them, as the fit and form was so poor.  The windows were then masked off and I test-fitted the fuselage...

 

...Which turned out to not fit very well at all.  Eventually I got it somewhere near, glued it together and after waiting a while started to sand.  And then I sanded, sanded and sanded.  And sanded a bit more, just to be sure.  This picture shows a small fraction of what it needed:

 

 

That was with 600 grit, but I finished it off with 1200 and it looks fine now.  I think I did a reasonable job of getting the seam lines sorted (thanks to those who offered advice in my Defiant RFI about how to go about this - the tips came in very handy here and made the job a lot easier).  The panel lines suffered but I re-cut most of them without too much difficulty using the point of a scalpel.

 

Following all of that she's undergone more priming on the fuselage and the next job will be to sort the seam lines on the wings, which are all over the place.

 

So far, so good on what is the first step of the way to a special (well, to me) Dakota build.  This one will be a dress-rehearsal for the "real" one.  On that note, does anyone have any recommendations for a mk1/3 Dakota kit, please?  I'm not massively keen on the Italeri version so far.

 

Thanks,

JRK

Edited May 26, 2020 by jackroadkill
Spelling and punctuation corrections

[TheyJammedKenny!]

49 minutes ago, jackroadkill said:

any recommendations for a mk1/3 Dakota kit, please

You can't go wrong with the new(ish) Airfix release!  It's quite good.

[jackroadkill]

38 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

You can't go wrong with the new(ish) Airfix release!  It's quite good.

Thanks, that's good to know.

[SAT69]

Having built that kit, I know what you're dealing with and you're doing much better with it than I did. Glad to hear you noted and addressed the poor fit of the passenger windows. 

[jackroadkill]

2 minutes ago, SAT69 said:

Having built that kit, I know what you're dealing with and you're doing much better with it than I did. Glad to hear you noted and addressed the poor fit of the passenger windows. 

Yes, I don't really know how the designers managed to make that mistake.  The measurements between each window space on the fuselage and the measurement between each window on the assembly is subtly different.  Nothing a few moments work couldn't sort out but odd nonetheless.

[The Spadgent]

Nice start. I shall build A Dakota one day. I like the stripes. 🦓 A little advice to save you some coin in the long run. Primer

is ( in my opinion ) usually the last part of sanding and smoothing off. It shows up the last few bits and bobs you might have missed. Prime at the start of you wish, Tis your model and you can do as you please. But....The Tamiya stuff I use isn’t cheap and it’ll end up costing a fair bit priming at the start every time.  Hey listen to me, 🤣☺️ Looks great. Are you masking the windows to paint? Be careful if you’re brush painting, I could never get masks to work. They always leaked for me. I switched to an airbrush.  
 

looking forward to more. Thanks for sharing.

 

Jont. 😇

[Ruskin Air Services]

Well a bit of advice on which dak kit to build I would go for the newish airfix kit. Also hobbyboss do a nice one then you left with the italeri then if you can get it the esci kit they all have their faults the choice is yours and this is the guy who has 40+ daks in his stash, oopsy!! 

 

[jackroadkill]

33 minutes ago, Ruskin Air Services said:

Well a bit of advice on which dak kit to build I would go for the newish airfix kit. Also hobbyboss do a nice one then you left with the italeri then if you can get it the esci kit they all have their faults the choice is yours and this is the guy who has 40+ daks in his stash, oopsy!! 

 

Forty Daks?!! That's incredible!  How many have you built?

 

I'll look at the Airfix kit, then, seeing as it's had two recommendations.

[rob Lyttle]

There's no doubt that the new Airfix DC3 is a great kit. I've seen a few excellent builds and talked to the builders, who all sing it's praises. 

Not to be confused with the old Airfix kit which dates from 1960's and is..... how can I put it nicely..... A Labour of Love ‼️

And it's been reissued many times since. 

The Esci kit is quite a good looking box of plastic, but I haven't put one together yet. That's if you can find one. Nice fine surface detailing compared to the Italieri. You can see their panel lines are pretty deep and heavy. 

Yes, new Airfix is surely the way to go for the "Special" 👍

[Ruskin Air Services]

9 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

Forty Daks?!! That's incredible!  How many have you built?

 

I'll look at the Airfix kit, then, seeing as it's had two recommendations.

Yes I'm a dakota fan and yes check the Airfix one out I've just started one they are quite modular in build and the tollarences on the parts are quite small remember to keep paint off the mating surfaces, if not you'll have a whole heap of trouble. Out of the 40+build 6 built, the trick is to get them cheap off evilbay put every different term for a Dakota in the search engine ie: dc3 or c47 as sometimes people haven't a clue to what it is as they've probably brought it with a load of other stuff! Happy hunting

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Just so you have an idea about the shape of the Airfix kit, here's mine, done up for the Berlin Airlift and finished in a mix of Vallejo acrylics to simulate the silver paint the RAF used postwar.  I promise better pictures in the future.  

[Ruskin Air Services]

Here's a few I built earlier

 

 

 

[72modeler]

Love the Buffalo Dak! But they are all very nice!

Mike

[DennisTheBear]

Italeri release 2 different C-47 kits, one of which is the Esci and the other Italeri's own moulding. Which one is which I can't rightly remember.

 

DennisTheBear

[Ruskin Air Services]

1 hour ago, DennisTheBear said:

Italeri release 2 different C-47 kits, one of which is the Esci and the other Italeri's own moulding. Which one is which I can't rightly remember.

 

DennisTheBear

They released the Esci kit as 150001338 Dakota mk3 and in the markings of the BBMF Dakota 

[Eric Mc]

This is the Esci kit (from an Italeri boxing) - 

 

 

It is the best 1/72 DC-3/C-47 kit apart from the much newer Airfix kit.

[busnproplinerfan]

I want to combine the two kits. I like most of the Esci and a few parts from the Italeri. I rally like the tail wheel on the Esci kit since it's in parts and not one piece with the tail wheel. I forget what else I like from each.

[Ruskin Air Services]

2 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

I want to combine the two kits. I like most of the Esci and a few parts from the Italeri. I rally like the tail wheel on the Esci kit since it's in parts and not one piece with the tail wheel. I forget what else I like from each.

The interior and the main wheels and if you get one of the passenger dc3's a full set of seats! 

[modelldoc]

The Italeri kit was the best for a long time.

 

I had build three of them.

 

Rebox from Revell:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/6817729927/in/photolist-Ys4FdL-qQvQmX-bosDzH

 

Rebox from Airfix:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/37050925176/in/photolist-Ys4FdL-qQvQmX-bosDzH

 

and the other opportunity in the same box:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/16301575175/in/photolist-Ys4FdL-qQvQmX-bosDzH

 

modelldoc

 

[jackroadkill]

Thanks folks - lots to think about there.  This one is the BBMF boxing, I think it's the the same as the one @Eric Mc has shown above (and done a lovely job of, may I say).  Thanks also to @Ruskin Air Services, @modelldocand @TheyJammedKenny! for showing theirs - you four have set the bar very high.

[Lord Riot]

On 27/05/2020 at 08:41, Ruskin Air Services said:

Out of the 40+build 6 built, the trick is to get them cheap off evilbay put every different term for a Dakota in the search engine ie: dc3 or c47 as sometimes people haven't a clue to what it is as they've probably brought it with a load of other stuff! Happy hunting

 

I wish that worked for Valiants! I saw one for £150 yesterday. Incredible. For a plastic model kit. 🙄

[Ruskin Air Services]

1 hour ago, Lord Riot said:

 

I wish that worked for Valiants! I saw one for £150 yesterday. Incredible. For a plastic model kit. 🙄

What!£150! Bloody pirate! 

[Lord Riot]

1 hour ago, Ruskin Air Services said:

What!£150! Bloody pirate! 

 

Actually, I do them a disservice, £130, plus £10 postage. So that's ok then. 😂😡

 

And another for £100. Who's paying these prices! I bet they cost more by weight than drugs! 😂 

 

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

7 hours ago, Eric Mc said:

t is the best 1/72 DC-3/C-47 kit apart from the much newer Airfix kit.

Agree completely with this assessment!  It even includes a chemical toilet in the back for the likes of MOA

[jackroadkill]

46 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Agree completely with this assessment!  It even includes a chemical toilet in the back for the likes of MOA

That'll come in handy if I get caught short whilst building it and need 1/72 of a wee, I suppose!