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-- On Hold Indefinitely -- Daks' All Folks! - Airfix Dakota Mk.III 1/72


Lewis95

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Hey there BM.

 

Feeling inspired by the WIPs being posted by some of you guys but one or two really stick out for me. Those are the ones where the builder turns out 3/4 solid builds a year and the WIPs are beyond enthralling. I've had plenty of builds stall on me recently so I've decided to actually try and tackle a full WIP on BM. My last WIP has gone silent. The kit is back in the box and sitting on the shelf o doom. 

 

So what have we here then?.... 

 

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Yup. That's right. The Douglas you always see in The Works. 

Obligatory sprue shots.... 

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So as you can see. There's a fair bit of plastic for me to lose to the carpet monster, children, cats etc etc. The plastic looks well moulded and only a slight sprinkling of flash. 

So what are the options in this kit? Airfix have included a lovely A3 insert. Which will almost definitely end up stuck on the wall after the buld is done! 

 

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I'm more drawn to the latter of the liveries here. Whilst I do like the Middle East communications squadron livery, I've never built anything from the Italian Theatre. There's even a picture of the exact airframe in operation here

 

The following data is available for this airframe from AVDB. 
 

Reg                    Owner\Operator or (Last)     Transaction Date
42-93058           US Army Air Force                     1944-04-03
KG523                Royal Air Force                          1944-04-07
KG523                Indian Government                    1947-01-30
B/U                    Broken Up; No Further History

 

So where's the plastic? Well, I haven't quite started yet. I'm actually planning this build out for once. Tonight is reserved for going through the instructions to identify sub-assemblies, A or B parts etc. The aim of this build is to remember that I don't need to complete this by next weekend and burn myself out for another 3 months. Hopefully this taking my time method sticks! 

 

Cheers all!                 

 

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Nice! :popcorn:

It's my favorite aircraft. I don't know why, it just is. Maybe something to do with it's still in active commercial service, "The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3", or its first flight was on the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Flyer's first flight? :shrug:

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I'll be following this build!  It's a good model, and has tight tolerances, so take special note of the wing/body fillet.  Pay very close attention to the instruction sequence for the engines, because the engineering forces you to make some difficult choices.  You'll understand what I mean once you've had an opportunity to study the plans.  I found it an enjoyable kit, and began it at the same time as my Revell C-54.  Needless to say, the C-47 crossed the finish line well in advance!

Edited by TheyJammedKenny!
minor word adjustments
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Hey there @Lewis95. Hard to beat a good old C.47. This looks like a terrific kit.

 

Good choice of paint scheme. But I'm confused by the Humbrol 155 Matt Olive Drab reference on the coulour-scheme sheet. The colour illustrated does not seem to be olive drab at all, but some kinda pinkish shade of sand. Most odd.

 

Carpet monsters: A friend of mine lays his cutting mat on a towel of contrasting colour to the parts he's working with. He swears that this traps almost all the pings, projectiles and fumbled manipulations, makes them easy to find and defeats the most insatiable carpet monster. He does swear a lot, though.

Cats: There's a permanent fix for cats %~)) Unfortunately, I work with native birds, so I barely tolerate felines, even though I cohabit with one. We've made a deal.

Kids: Isn't that what partners are for, keeping 'em out of your hair... er plastic? Oh dear, there goes my cred. In fact, I recently built a press-fit pink Hurricane in 1/48 with my niece. It was my present for her 6th birthday. We really enjoyed building it together. Now the model hangs from the ceiling of her room. This experience got good ol' Uncle Jonno (me) back into making model aeroplanes. She visits regularly to check on my progress but is careful not to touch things on the workbench, especially if she gets to beat me up afterwards.

 

I've found it very helpful to post a construction log here on WWBM. It's great fun documenting progress and driving momentum with the project. And members are so helpful, full of info and ideas.

 

May your build be enjoyable and look I forward to the unveiling of a finished Dakota.

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20 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Nice! :popcorn:

It's my favorite aircraft. I don't know why, it just is. Maybe something to do with it's still in active commercial service, "The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3", or its first flight was on the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Flyer's first flight? :shrug:

The DC3 is definitely one of those aircraft that you can't ignore if they're about.

18 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

I'll be following this build!  It's a good model, and has tight tolerances, so take special note of the wing/body fillet.  Pay very close attention to the instruction sequence for the engines, because the engineering forces you to make some difficult choices.  You'll understand what I mean once you've had an opportunity to study the plans.  I found it an enjoyable kit, and began it at the same time as my Revell C-54.  Needless to say, the C-47 crossed the finish line well in advance!

Thank you for the warning about the tight tolerances. Could you explain more about the engines though? Aside from having to cut one of the spokes off each leg, I didn't see anything too obvious.

10 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Lovely choice,  love this aicraft, used to love watching them go in and out of Lydd Airport in the 70s and early 80s   such a wonderful sound.

Good luck with your build.

Chris

Unfortunately I haven't seen one in a long time. Maybe an airshow about 14/15 years ago.

7 hours ago, clive_t said:

Yep I'm in - I have the civvy 'Dan Air' boxing waiting in the pile, so will be following with interest :thumbsup2:

Gotta love Dan Air. Big presence for them down here in Cardiff.

6 hours ago, Gondor44 said:

Think I will follow this as I have one in the stash though I am thinking Rhodesian for mine.

 

Gondor

Hopefully I don't disappoint. Snacks available at the bar!

5 hours ago, Michou said:

I have a soft spot for the Dakota ever since I was a passenger on one of Christmas Airways' last flights.  Christmas Airways? - No. 1325 Flight RAF.  Wikipedia will explain.

Mike

Sounds like an interesting read! I shall Googlejitsu it later.

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5 hours ago, Maginot said:

Good choice of paint scheme. But I'm confused by the Humbrol 155 Matt Olive Drab reference on the coulour-scheme sheet. The colour illustrated does not seem to be olive drab at all, but some kinda pinkish shade of sand. Most odd.

It is indeed most odd. In fact, I double checked the colour call out against the colour in my paint app and it is indeed wrong. I may, given the green on green camo, just paint in overall olive drab. I sense the colour callout should not be 155 but unless I figure it out, I'll paint her up as Olive Drab.

 

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

Carpet monsters: A friend of mine lays his cutting mat on a towel of contrasting colour to the parts he's working with. He swears that this traps almost all the pings, projectiles and fumbled manipulations, makes them easy to find and defeats the most insatiable carpet monster. He does swear a lot, though.

Sounds like a good idea. Though I do have blue carpet tiles down which are slightly more friendly. Definitely lost a few pieces over time though.

 

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

Cats: There's a permanent fix for cats %~)) Unfortunately, I work with native birds, so I barely tolerate felines, even though I cohabit with one. We've made a deal.

I've had more trips/calls to the vets to care for critters my cat brings in. The eldest will eat an occasional mouse but my youngest is a pain for catching birds and mice. I actually got bitten by a mouse whilst rescuing it the other day. 

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

Kids: Isn't that what partners are for, keeping 'em out of your hair... er plastic? Oh dear, there goes my cred. In fact, I recently built a press-fit pink Hurricane in 1/48 with my niece. It was my present for her 6th birthday. We really enjoyed building it together. Now the model hangs from the ceiling of her room. This experience got good ol' Uncle Jonno (me) back into making model aeroplanes. She visits regularly to check on my progress but is careful not to touch things on the workbench, especially if she gets to beat me up afterwards.

My partner isn't the most observant but my regiment of "Daddy's Specials" usually means hands off and they understand. This encompasses my models, energy drinks, eliquids etc. Quite the motley bunch but alot easier to say This is one of Daddy's Specials than you can't touch this that etc. I recently built the £5 Aldi Spitfire for my eldest who has since forgotten we built it as I haven't sprayed it yet! 

 

5 hours ago, Maginot said:

I've found it very helpful to post a construction log here on WWBM. It's great fun documenting progress and driving momentum with the project. And members are so helpful, full of info and ideas.

 

May your build be enjoyable and look I forward to the unveiling of a finished Dakota.

Well that's the plan. Motivation through publication! And troubleshooting...

 

If you stick around during the build then snacks are at the bar.

 

Just don't tread on the cats or kids.... 🤣

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

My first civilian flight as well as first military flight were in DC-3/C-47 aircraft.  WWII OD could fade to an almost light brown. 

 

I’ll follow along too

After a bit of Googlejitsu last night, I've come to the conclusion that my scheme chart is incorrect. Other iterations of the same printout show a green as opposed to the brown.

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Hmm carpet monsters I’ve found that a browney grey speckled rig is just perfect for hiding even the most obvious dropped part and as a result scratch build replacements a lot. I have even lost a wing from a 1/48 Sopwith pup to the carpet monster, aided by the cat ( see below) 

 

Cats, my previous cat ( my avatar btw) used to some at night in the study where my bench and display shelf were, that  was fine for years until he realised what fun it was to play with my models, I spent the latter years of his life in an endless effort to keep my models out of catty reach. These days the cat isn’t let into the study at all. 
 

Will enjoy seeing the Dakota coming together.

 

 

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9 hours ago, Marklo said:

Hmm carpet monsters I’ve found that a browney grey speckled rig is just perfect for hiding even the most obvious dropped part and as a result scratch build replacements a lot. I have even lost a wing from a 1/48 Sopwith pup to the carpet monster, aided by the cat ( see below) 

 

Cats, my previous cat ( my avatar btw) used to some at night in the study where my bench and display shelf were, that  was fine for years until he realised what fun it was to play with my models, I spent the latter years of his life in an endless effort to keep my models out of catty reach. These days the cat isn’t let into the study at all. 
 

Will enjoy seeing the Dakota coming together.

 

 

We recently put up floating shelves in the office. The top shelf is full of my diecast aircraft but the shelf underneath has various model related goodies on it. Mostly part built kits. And guess where the "relaxed, chilled & old" cat decides to jump the first few days we had the shelves.... 

7 hours ago, Ruskin Air Services said:

Excellent choice Lewis, will be following this. Only earlier I was thinking shall I  do a quick Dak build! 

Nothing about my original post mentions "quick" lol. My aim is to have her sealed up by December at the latest (I go back to college in January, albeit distanced, for the first time in 9 years). Final painting in the New Year. At least if I give myself long deadlines, I'll impress myself :rofl:

7 hours ago, Flight Line Media said:

Nice choice! I look forward to seeing the completion of this project.

Me too bud. Hopefully it won't become another shelf queen. 

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Okay folks, time for a quick update. No pictures mind as my camera died. 

 

The floor has had the rear bulkhead and rudder pedals & control yokes installed and has been primed. My god the control wheels are fragile though. And damn fiddly to get into place. I've also lopped the seats out and cleaned them up as well as assembling the IP. There's a few nastily placed ejection pin markers inside the fuselage halves but these should be fairly hard to see once closed up so I'm not going to tamper with them. 

WAIT. YOU'RE LEAVING THE EJECTION MARKERS IN?!?!

Well...yes. They are situated right in the middle of the ribs so will be a lot more faff than is worth it for a model that will sit in my office for the rest of her assembled life. 

 

Hopefully the next update will have pictures.... and some paint! 

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Depending on the aircraft you want to model, don't forget to drill out the little window for the radio compartment on the fuselage left side, just aft of the venturi.  You can see it on the paint diagram for the 267 Squadron example.

 

Regarding the engine assemblies, there are some complexities I think you'll want to consider.  The first is how to finish the cowlings.  The cowlings come in two halves, and join behind the assembled and installed engines.  Presumably you want to paint the interior of the cowlings, which is all fine and good, but the question is whether the interior seam line will bother you.  If not, then just follow the instructions.  Keep in mind that the engine is "keyed," and you'll need to paint and install it to the firewall before assembling the cowling halves around it.  That means protecting the finished engine against paint and sanding slurry from cleaning up the seam lines on the cowling.  I made the mistake of leaving the engines off until final assembly, and then had a difficult time trying to make everything fit.  Ultimately, I removed the keying from the engines and let them free-float inside the cowlings until I could cement them to the firewalls, which took several tries.

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10 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Depending on the aircraft you want to model, don't forget to drill out the little window for the radio compartment on the fuselage left side, just aft of the venturi.  You can see it on the paint diagram for the 267 Squadron example.

 

Regarding the engine assemblies, there are some complexities I think you'll want to consider.  The first is how to finish the cowlings.  The cowlings come in two halves, and join behind the assembled and installed engines.  Presumably you want to paint the interior of the cowlings, which is all fine and good, but the question is whether the interior seam line will bother you.  If not, then just follow the instructions.  Keep in mind that the engine is "keyed," and you'll need to paint and install it to the firewall before assembling the cowling halves around it.  That means protecting the finished engine against paint and sanding slurry from cleaning up the seam lines on the cowling.  I made the mistake of leaving the engines off until final assembly, and then had a difficult time trying to make everything fit.  Ultimately, I removed the keying from the engines and let them free-float inside the cowlings until I could cement them to the firewalls, which took several tries.

Good shout on the window. I'll look into that tonight.

 

In regards to the engines, the internal seam line doesn't bother me at all. Hell, I'm ignoring the pin markers in the pax cabin! Though I am tossing and turning with the idea of scratching some crates....

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Great to see you up and running! Pitty about the otter, I was looking forward to the yellow. 💛. Never mind, such is life.  The Dakota looks fun. As mentioned I wouldn’t worry so much about the colours on the call out sheet. (Actual colours) a they’re often not accurate. Hopefully you’ll fix that camera. You want to be getting one of those new fangled telephones with a camera built in, all the rage I hear. 😆 looking forward to the next few steps. I’ll pull up a sand bag if I may.

 

 Johnny.

 

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1 hour ago, The Spadgent said:

Great to see you up and running! Pitty about the otter, I was looking forward to the yellow. 💛. Never mind, such is life.  The Dakota looks fun. As mentioned I wouldn’t worry so much about the colours on the call out sheet. (Actual colours) a they’re often not accurate. Hopefully you’ll fix that camera. You want to be getting one of those new fangled telephones with a camera built in, all the rage I hear. 😆 looking forward to the next few steps. I’ll pull up a sand bag if I may.

 

 Johnny.

 

I hate to disappoint you further Johnny but that otter was never destined for yellow! She was destined to be a FlyBe/Loganair example. The build is not completely dead but she's definitely a shelf queen for now.

 

Not too worried about the colour callouts. At the end of the day, this is a type of art. I'll try to get as close as possible to reference images of Daks though. Some paint went down over the last few days but needs a smidgen of weathering (your tutorial on the tamiya Wx powders came in useful but I may use Flory on a Matt surface to dirty it up and stain it). But that's for the next big photo update! 

 

Btw, barstools are available at the bar. 

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1 hour ago, Lewis95 said:

hate to disappoint you further Johnny but that otter was never destined for yellow! She was destined to be a FlyBe/Loganair example. The build is not completely dead but she's definitely a shelf queen for now.

Oh yes I forgot you did mention that. I am a Dunder head sometimes. Regardless ‘Tis a shame.

 

1 hour ago, Lewis95 said:

but I may use Flory on a Matt surface to dirty it up and stain it). But that's for the next big photo update! 

Wowa nelly. Always Flory on a gloss top coat. That way you can knock back to your hearts content. If you do it on Matt it’s pretty much a done deal. You can Matt coat after the fact.

 

hope that helps.

 

Johnny

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1 hour ago, The Spadgent said:

Regardless ‘Tis a shame

I'll pick it up again one day bud. Especially as my skills are growing.

 

1 hour ago, The Spadgent said:

Wowa nelly. Always Flory on a gloss top coat. That way you can knock back to your hearts content. If you do it on Matt it’s pretty much a done deal. You can Matt coat after the fact.

See, this is the thing. I normally do gloss before Flory (or UMP in my case) BUT.... The floor of a DC3 is wood panelling with a black coating. The look I was going to go for was that stained look that you get when wood gets damp (think bathroom refits) and the capillary action pulls it about. I was going to experiment with letting the clay wash stain the walkways as this aircraft would of seen a fair bit of use by the end of 1944. 

 

Alternatively, I could hold on til payday and pick up some oils to use....

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2 hours ago, Lewis95 said:

Any suggestions for glazing

I've used Microscale's Krystal Klear with good results: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Kristal-Klear-Microscale-Industries/dp/B0006O029E/ref=asc_df_B0006O029E?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80127002039159&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583726548418851&psc=1

 

It's best to wait until after you've applied a flat coat over the entire model, then take a tooth pick and carefully insert a drop of it, using surface tension around the edges to hold it in place.  After it dries clear, I apply Future or other clear acrylic with a small paint brush to increase its translucence.  

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As above. (Or at the end of page one ) Krystal klear is great stuff and will work a treat. 🙌

Moving back to the wash. Do what you feel is right. There is no right and wrong in this hobby that’s why I like it so much.  (Apart from when I was corrected about my Bomb being a fuel tank) 🙄😬🤫

To be fair I’d gloss before oils too but follow your instincts. 🤗

 

Johnny.

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