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Buffalo Joe’s Skymaster - 1:72 fire bomber


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I’ve been a WIP virgin until now so please go easy on me this time.

 

First a bit of background. I’m an unashamed aircraft fan who doesn’t really care for grey Bunsen burners grey and green warplanes - it fact, its fair to say, civil is my strong preference. Within that I like the entire gamut, but if push comes to shove its piston- and turboprop-engined airliners that really light my fires. The classics of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s are the absolute peak to me, although within the genre its the operators and operations of the elderly pistons in their final years that fascinates me - and myself and my cameras have spent many days and pounds chasing them around the world.
 

In the past I’ve done kits the Heller 1:72 DC-6 (Securite Civil, France), Heller 1:72 Super Connie, 1:72 Ju-52 (Hot Air, Switzerland), even a couple of Heller 1:72 707s, etc., etc. But chancing on a Revell 1:72 Douglas C-54 Skymaster on a Veteranus auction got me thinking - and reaching for the wallet.

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With the kit snapped up at a very good price, I started to think about what to do with it. I had no interest in doing it as a USAF C-54 (or any other military C-54 for that matter), so my attention turned to after Market decals that could turn it into an airline-operated C-54. There were a few options around but nothing struck a chord until I noticed Red Roo Models did a fire bomber tank for the C-54/DC-4. That was more like it, right up my street.

 

While I paused before pulling the trigger, I had a quick ferret through the box and hit a bit of a snag… Sealed bags, but one of the prop blades was missing (top right). I pings off a message to a Revell - they couldn’t help, kit out of production, no spare parts left.

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I thought about trying to make one from scratch from sprue and discarded the idea as I felt it unlikely I’d get a perfect match with the other two blades on the hub. I also considered building the kit in an al fresco maintenance diorama with one engine exposed, cowls off, props off the hub and ladders near by. This seemed to have significant potential. But I also posted on here, asking which other types might have the most suitable Hamilton Standard props that I could buy aftermarket - B-17 and B-25 seemed to be the consensus.

 

Coincidentally, @Ed Russell from Red Roo answered my BM query about blades, saying they did DC-4 conversions and he might have an odd spare hanging around. What a perfect alignment of the stars that proved to be, and so I placed an order for the fire bomber conversion.

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A week after I placed the order, the kit arrived from down under (remarkable service from Red Roo) with the promised blades also included (a set of three actually). Lovely, and thank you again to Ed. The Red Roo conversion includes not just a very nice tank and its fittings in resin, but also decals for a Buffalo Airways (Canada) C-54 fire bomber and a Conair (Canada) DC-6 fire bomber. Again, lovely stuff.

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So, if you’re still with me you’ll recall I have travelled the world in search of weary piston engined airliners, and one of the places I’ve visited is Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The remote town is hallowed ground for enthusiasts such as me, as it is home to the infamous Buffalo Airways and its irascible owner Joe McBryan, which came to much wider public attention six seasons of the TV reality show Ice Pilots NWT. I’ve seen and photographed the carrier’s C-46s and C-54s and had the privilege of a flight to Hay River in a C-47/DC-3 on the “Sched” - I’d even photographed some of their C-54s in their former lives as fire bombers with Aero Union in the USA.

 

And so the stage is set. Revell’s 1:72 USAF C-54 Skymaster will become Buffalo AIrways C-FBAP / Tanker 15 in its striking red, white and black colour scheme. In the next instalment, work will have started. I might still do the diorama with one engine exposed and the cowls off - we’ll see - but thanks to Red Roo it’ll feature a fire bomber I’ve seen with a full set of blades.

 

Thanks for your interest if you’ve stuck with me so far.

 

Edited by Skymonster
Correction
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This sounds good. There is/was a C-54 in the Aircraft museum in Riyadh*. Sometime between it arriving on the Airfield and getting to the museum

the rudder went adrift. But it looked good the last time I saw it, probably 12 years ago.

I used to watch the Ice Pilots series, so I'm with you on that one. 

Good luck with the build. Pete

 

*Should be seeable on Google Earth. It's just by the ringroad.

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I'm looking forward very much to seeing this come together in your capable hands!  I built the kit as a C-54G, and I can advise that it's a great one.  Tolerances are pretty tight, so be forewarned, though.  The instructions for the flap assembly are confusing, and if you want to depict them in the retracted position, you'll need to ensure that you assemble the correct subassembly.  As yours is a civilian bird, you won't have to deal with all of the antennas on the underside, which snap off at the slightest provocation, but be wary of the water drains under the engines, which can easily go missing.  I would recommend purchasing the Scale Aircraft Conversions landing gear, because this is a heavy kit when assembled, and that nose gear is quite vulnerable.  Yes, you can insert the nose gear after assembling and painting the model, but ditch the retraction jack and its components, because they will prevent the assembly from seating properly.  The great thing is you'll end up with extra parts after you finish this that you can use elsewhere!

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Following with interest.  Just picked up a 2nd hand Hasegawa 1:72 P-3 Orion - and rather than the obligatory RAAF grey scheme - have spotted the Buffalo firebomber scheme.  Would love one of these C-54's as well - looking forward to the build!

 

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2 hours ago, ianwau said:

Following with interest.  Just picked up a 2nd hand Hasegawa 1:72 P-3 Orion - and rather than the obligatory RAAF grey scheme - have spotted the Buffalo firebomber scheme.  Would love one of these C-54's as well - looking forward to the build!

 

Oh have fun with the Orion - I built one many years ago as a US Navy bird but I’d love to do another as a fire bomber in Aero Union colours. The retardant tank is, I believe, fairly straight forward as the P-3s had a standard Aero Union tank (I believe they took them off the DC-4s as the older type was retired) but the decals for Aero Union would be an issue.

 

Anyway, work is underway on the C-54 - first update in the next couple of days.

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Worth following. I tried the Revell kit once but abandoned it Found the interior 'skin' effectively doubled the wall thickness if one wanted to expose the main cabin. I also found it to be very over complicated and engineered. Don't get me wrong, it is a great kit but one that beat me and never finished it. However , even worse, I did manage to beat in to submission the horrid Mach kit reasonably successfully. And had custom made decals for me as one of the Buffalo freighters. I'll hunt down my images and post when I find them.  

 

Looking forward to seeing this progress. 

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Great idea! Have you seen Plane Savers on YouTube? His son Mikey does that, and they did a WWII era DC-3 for the 75th Ann.

Rebuilt it from a 'field ghost' to a flying tribute. Not strictly military markings, more civilian.

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4 hours ago, Skymonster said:

Oh have fun with the Orion - I built one many years ago as a US Navy bird but I’d love to do another as a fire bomber in Aero Union colours. The retardant tank is, I believe, fairly straight forward as the P-3s had a standard Aero Union tank (I believe they took them off the DC-4s as the older type was retired) but the decals for Aero Union would be an issue.

 

Anyway, work is underway on the C-54 - first update in the next couple of days.

This may work...

https://www.drawdecal.com/product/1115-aero-union-p-3-orion-tankers  

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5 hours ago, Paul J said:

Worth following. I tried the Revell kit once but abandoned it Found the interior 'skin' effectively doubled the wall thickness if one wanted to expose the main cabin. I also found it to be very over complicated and engineered. Don't get me wrong, it is a great kit but one that beat me and never finished it. However , even worse, I did manage to beat in to submission the horrid Mach kit reasonably successfully. And had custom made decals for me as one of the Buffalo freighters. I'll hunt down my images and post when I find them.  

 

Looking forward to seeing this progress. 

Ah, sorry, I read this again… Custom decals… Fair enough, thanks 

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16 minutes ago, ianwau said:

Mentioned up above and perhaps overlooked - but check out Draw Decals for a whole range of Fire Bomber decals (including Orion Aero Union in 1/72  https://www.drawdecal.com/product-category/airline-livery/fire-bombers1642150356/

 

Damnit - now I find myself wanting to do an S-2 fire bomber! 😲

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