,lem Yup ;
The Williams Brothers kit . I have a big problem . The Decals are unusable .They are complete BUT , it appears that water was spritzed on them by accident many years ago .
No one around New Braunfels , Texas ( in Hobby and office stores ) , seem to know what " Decal " paper is ! Can you believe that they thought decals on models were vinyl ?
I need the original sheet of useable decals , Because , This plane doesn’t look right without them ! Help ! ! ! T.B.
Hello TB!
The easiest thing would probably be to look for some aftermarket replacement.
BUT if you want to have your models in those markings, here’s what you can do:
First thing to do would be to scan your decals. Then you can use that scan to redraw them using some graphics program, like CORELDraw. After that is done, you send your drawing to a company that custom-prints decals - DRAWdecals would probably be the best for you, and they print those decals for you, all is left is to apply them.
Funny thing, DRAWdecals already has a few sheets of C-46 decals:
If you need help with the redrawing, please PM me. Good luck with your build and have a nice day
Paweł
I find that WB has good customer service.
If you decide to try making your own decals, the decal paper from Micro Mark works very well. They are my go-to for inkjet decal paper.
I have been working on a set of Buffalo airline decals for the C-46. That is the group up in the arctic that was the subject of that TV reality show- Ice Pilots or something like that.
If you are doing a standard “line” USAAF/USAF C-46, the markings were pretty generic and can easily be cobbled together from various aftermarket sources.
I had a chance to request the Owner to get together a decal of the big MATS symbol, but they didn’t. Yes I used a bunch of C-47 decals from somewhere on my Commando as the original kit did not have yellow codes.
Love that kit, no matter what others may think.
I’m pretty sure I have a good set of the decals, with the Flying Tiger markings if that is what you are looking for.
Here’s some different markings to think about:
As you can see, the markings are pretty simple, you just have ot piece the I.D. together from scrap decals or make them with your computer.
It came in to our base with one engine dead and we had to post a guard on it with orders to shoot anyone trying to enter it hwo wasn’t with a crew member.
“Now this ain’t no sh*t”, ha ha.
I read a great story once in the USAF magazine. An Air America Commando was dropping bags of rice to anti-communist tribals in Laos, probably Montagnards or something like that, back in the early 60’s.
They ran up into a box canyon in the fog, and couldn’t get a climb going.
They hit the trees at the top of the ridge pretty hard, and lost all their airspeed. Like, all of it.
The aircraft tumbled over the top and slid down the far side but picked up enough airspeed to climb back off of the down facing cliff and get up level into the next valley.
WWII Operation Varsity
Korean War
WWII CBI The Hump
Thank you for this, Carlos. A total of 2,700 Airborne killed in one day, but the bridge head at Remagen was secured and the west bank of the Rhine was reinforced.
This is the Holy Grail of C-46 photos for me.
Norm Spitzer of Berkeley who passed away in 2007, at 84. His obit first caught my attention, then the kit and so on. I asked Williams to look into making the ATC decal, but no luck there.
Stik, that Korean War photo shows a USN/USMC Ford GTB Burma Jeep bomb service truck. I didn’t realize that they were used beyond WW2.
Actually Varsity took place in the vicinity of a town called Hamminkeln, near Wesel, not ner Remagen. That area is well south along the Rhine. The 2700 Airborne casualties count includes wounded and missing, as well as fatalities. That operation was the first time that the C-46 was used in the parachute assault role.
Life Magazine photographer Robert Capa, who landed with the Big Red One on Omaha beach and took some of the most iconic photos of that place and day, jumped with the 17th Airborne in Varsity and took many more incredible photos.
including this one from pre jump
Capa himself rigged up in front of a C-46 before the drop
and on the ground in Germany moments after landing
Awesome pics. I didn’t realize the C-46 was used in ETO. I’ve been emailing Mike at Vintage Flyer hoping he’ll do this scheme, my favorite. It’s on the list. I’d like to do it in 1/144 with the Platz kit I have plus in 1/72.
