First time plane builder, a question (or two...)

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I have purchased the old Italeri C-119 Flying Boxcar in 1/72 scale. Looks to be a big beast. I plan on making look like something that wouldn’t be out of place in the next Mad Max film, or perhaps a zombie apocalypse flick. I know how to weather tanks, but unsure what, or how, to do a plane. Some tips would be great here please.

Also, I’d like to add some weapons to it (sort of like the C-130, festoons with guns coming out the windows) and maybe some kind of anti-tank cannon on the snout. Are there any model manufacturers out there that make additional weapons for airplanes? I’d rather not have to buy more model kits just to scavenge the guns from.

Any tips, suggestions, wesbites to usefulness, would be greatly appreciated!

2

You mean like the AC-119? Italeri already make a kit of this.

3

Whoops, well, too late on that, but in looking at that kit, it doesn’t have enough guns. I was thinking about making something where guns were sticking out of every window, something really jury rigged

4

Just my 2 cents. In 1/72, you could make a lot of guns from different size brass tubes and some scrap plastic. If you just had the barrels poking out, you would not have to add a lot of detail to the breech. Take a look at the B-25G or H with the 75mm cannon mounted and see how little actually protruded from the aircraft. A piece of tubing would be sufficient for the large callibe gun mounted firing forward. In addition, if you could find one of Hasagawa’s weapons kits, you might be able to get a 1/72 scale 20mm gun pod to hang on the plane as well. Some tubes could make a rocket launcher, similar to the one used on the P-47 during WWII. This sounds like a great project and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Good luck.

John

5

Sacrilege! Nothing is more Mad Max than the AC-119!

6

You don’t have to stray too far off the page with this aircraft. The CIA operated them into Dien Bien Phu in 1954 in support of the French. The Italeri kit has really nice decals of the USAF as painted over in the red/ silver scheme, with phony French insignia.

There was a real character named James McGovern Jr., aka “Earthquake McGoon”, who flew in a Luau shirt, cigar and leather flying helmet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._McGovern,_Jr.

SOP for this operation was to take off the rear clam shell doors. His Boxcar was the hot one, with the R 4360 engine.