1/48 Revell-Monogram Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Kit #5603                                            Collector’s Market Value $45.00
Images and text Copyright © 2004 by Matt Swan

Developmental Background
       December 17th, 1935, from the hangers at Clover Field Santa Monica, California the Douglas Aircraft Company’s large silver twin engined aircraft rolled out and took flight for the first time. I doubt that the engineers involved with this project knew exactly what kind of aerial legend they had given birth to for this shining bird was the DC-3. The DC-3/C-47/R4D/Dakota and its many other variants, has touched the lives of people throughout the Aviation World for nearly 70 years.
       This aircraft set a new standard for air travel and made it possible for airlines to make a profit in passenger service without government subsidies but when the Second World War flared up the US military saw this aircraft as the answer to it’s troop and supply movement needs in all theaters. With some modifications to remove the niceties of civilian commuter flying and the installation of large cargo doors this incredibly strong and dependable aircraft became the C-47. Few aircraft are as well known as the C-47 or "Gooney Bird" as it was affectionately nicknamed. They carried personnel and cargo, and in a combat role, towed troop-carrying gliders and dropped paratroops into enemy territory. In the Pacific Theater they moved troops and supplies to forward airbases and ferried wounded troops back for medical care. First ordered in 1940, the end of the war had seen 9,348 produced for military service.
       This may seem like more than enough to create a legend but this sturdy Douglas aircraft was just getting started. Many of these wartime workhorses continued in service performing in the Berlin Airlift and many other less notable arenas. During the Korean War, C-47s hauled supplies, dropped paratroops, evacuated wounded and dropped flares for night bombing attacks. In Vietnam, the C-47 served again as a transport, but it was also used in a variety of other ways, which included flying ground attack (gunship), reconnaissance, and psychological warfare missions. Others moved back into civilian service moving passengers and cargo while others went on to the movies and many private ventures.
       DC-3 / C-47 production closed down in 1946. The last one off the line -- rebuilt from a plane that was started as a C-47 -- was a DC-3 delivered to Sabena Airlines of Belgium. Today more than 1,000 DC-3s and C-47s remain in service, including some 300 in military use. The South African Air Force operates 40 C-47s, many now equipped with turboprop engines, in coastal patrols and other services. The very first DC-3/C-47 that was put into military service, restored to its original configuration, still flies carrying tourists on sightseeing flights over San Francisco Bay for Otis Spunkmeyer Airlines.

The Kit
       Some days you just get lucky and that was just the kind of day I was having. I had gone out to see a few estate sales and came across this kit in a water-damaged box with no decals and no instructions for a measly $6.00. All the plastic pieces were still there, most still attached to the sprues. It took great self-control to not dance all the way to the lady with the cash box and pay for my find. Once I was home with my treasure the first thing I did was post a request for assistance on Hyperscale.com for decals and instructions then retired to the kitchen to gently wash the pieces and inspect the kit.
       This is a classic Monogram model and in classic Monogram fashion the kit has been reissued many times already and is sure to be hitting the hobby shops again in the future. The model features raised panel lines and rivets and as this aircraft was developed in 1935 this raised detail type of molding is actually fairly accurate. The parts are cast in an olive drab plastic that is just slightly brittle and will tear if you’re not careful removing parts or cleaning up sprue connections. Some of the pieces show some very slight flash but nothing real bad. All the smaller parts have mild mold separation lines. There are no injector pin markings in any places that will cause a problem and I could find no sink marks anywhere on the kit – a good sign. Interior bulkheads feature nice raised detail and the radio operator’s compartment is well detailed which is kind of a bummer because once built you won’t be able to see any of that stuff. The cockpit looks pretty good with a fair dashboard, basic seats and an overhead consol with minimal detailing. The main cabin has interior rib structure cast into the walls and we get some canvas bench seats to place in here also. The kit includes a large wing spar that contains some landing bay details and landing light details. The wing is a six-piece assembly and all the parts fit together very well.
       This kit includes a bunch of paratroopers with some gear. The troops are basically three different poses repeated several times. Also included are a pilot and two ground crew figures. These guys are the same basic crew figures that show up in so many different Monogram kits that they must rank as the most cast plastic figures in the history of model aircraft. Overall the kit contains 81 Olive Drab injection molded pieces and six clear parts. Of those 81 Olive Drab pieces 21 of them are devoted to paratroopers and crew so in actuality, of the 87 pieces in the box only 66 of them are for the model itself. And you know what else? When I got done washing these parts and checked my email there was a set of scanned directions and TWO different folks offering to provide me with decal sheets for the kit – it’s a wonderful world.

You may click on the above images to view larger pictures

Decals and Instructions
        I’m not quite sure how the original direction package was formatted, as a booklet or a fold out but one thing is for certain – there is a lot of it. What I have in my hands is a copy of the 1999 kit directions scanned and reprinted. In this format I get 12 full sized pages that begin with basic model building safety rules and a paint code chart. Paints are listed by color name only with no FS numbers or paint manufacture numbers. Thirty exploded view construction steps follow this. Basic color requirements are listed within each step but finer detailing paint is left up to your imagination or to outside research. The instructions finish off with two painting and decal placement diagrams covering the two aircraft represented on the decal sheet.
        I started out with a kit that had no decals but ended up with decals for two different releases of the model. The images appearing to either side here are linked to larger pictures if you care to click on them. On the left we have the 1989 issue decals covering two American Aircraft and to the right are the 1999 issue decals covering one American and one British aircraft. Both sets of decals are typical Monogram offerings with adequate detail resolution for the average modeler. They include plenty of service stencils and warning markings, are thin enough to not cause any problems during application and show good color density and print registry. The newer set of decals seems to offer a few more service stencils and warning markings than the older set, which may be in response to modelers growing demands for more precision in their toys. On the 1999 issue scan I adjusted the color balance to make the white markings more visible.

Conclusions
        I don’t think there is another aircraft that has touched so many lives or performed in service for so long as the DC-3/C-47. Much to the chagrin of the Douglas Corporation at the end of the World War Two they had new aircraft designs ready to go but the DC-3/C-47 was continuing to fulfill the passenger and cargo needs of the aircraft market. The model is well designed, the parts fit well with only minimal putty needed for construction. The instructions are very good and the decals are adequate for the job. As this has been on the market for some time now there are quite a few things out there to help dress it up. Leading Edge, Eagle Strike Decals, Tally Ho and Superscale all offer various decal packages for the model. Cutting Edge offers mask sets and a gunship conversion for the kit, Engines and Things has replacement engine faces, Moskit has exhaust manifolds and True Details has replacement wheels. Whether you’re going to build this right out of the box or go-for-broke and get everything you can find on the aftermarket you’ll end up with a nice model of a great aircraft. I give this kit a good recommendation.

Construction
        Yup, she's already on the bench with some aftermarket stuff and some scratch work so stay tuned - there is some real neat stuff coming to this space in the very near future.