More in my ever-expanding collection of diminutive DC-3’s, all from some version or another of the Minicraft kit, with homemade inkjet-printed decals.
First up, the C-47A “Vera Lynn” from the much-loved early-eighties British TV series “Airline.” The series starred Roy Marsden as RAF veteran Jack Ruskin, who purchased a surplus Dakota to start his own shoestring air cargo operation in bleak postwar Britain. I’ve only been able to see a few of the episodes online, but the series was wonderful, and the battered “Vera Lynn” was fully as central a character as any of the two-legged variety.
Next, an ex-RAAF Dakota gone civil, operated by Papua New Guinea’s national airline Air Niugini during the mid-70s. This particular aircraft was photographed, newly-painted in her AN livery, at Lae Airport in August 1976.
Third up, a 1945-vintage C-47 (USN R4D-4) photographed at the Davis-Monthan “Boneyard” in the mid-60s, and the subject of an earlier post here. The markings of the “United States Naval Attache Canberra” were interesting enough, but I was captivated by the tiny kangaroo stenciled above the US flag on the tail. Probably courtesy of their Aussie hosts who decided the big Yank plane should have a proper “Roo” on it, in the true spirit of inter-allied cooperation.
Finally, something a bit…off the radar. A scheme of my own devisement, inspired by an old Firesign Theatre routine and a half-remembered late-night B-movie from decades past. Not exactly PC, but I’m guessing quite a few old Gooney-birds saw service in a similar role back in the day.
Thanks for tuning in. Hope you folks enjoy the photos.
Just under 8 inches. About 5 1/2 inches nose to tail.
I can fit four into the plastic storage box under my desk I use for “working on” projects—hence the four at once build. (Plus, I’m trying to put a dent in my decal store for 1/144 DC-3’s. This puts me at about eight left to go for my current batch.)
I am currently working on a Mincraft DC3; they are a lot of fun and the endless variety liveries is amazing- not forgetting the more artistically creative ones .
Are you sure? Those look like a lot of the old gooneys that populated the airstrip at Niagara Falls Airport in the fifties . Did you sneak in and get those pictures? Oh ! they’re models ! Darned bit nicer then aren’t they ? Leastwise, I thought they were real. Nice Job ! T.B.
Inspiring stuff. Well done. I like the Air Niugini one a lot, in particular. A friend used to fly with them and has told me some great stories.
So far I have built one 1/144 Minicraft DC-3 (just the Pan American Airlines one out of the box) but I have bought a second 1/144 Minicraft kit and I’m looking online for some interesting other decals to buy. I’ve noticed various sellers of eBay advertise decal sets for Minicraft DC3s. I’m really regretting not buying the ‘Bush Pilots’ decals when I saw them ages ago.
Ozmac, Hawkeye Models (in what I presume to be your corner of the globe, based on your screen name) has quite a few interesting civil DC-3/C-47 schemes available in 1/144 scale, including Qantas, Queensland, several TAA variants and some even more exotic ones.
In my own stash, the commercially-available sets include Leading Edge’s RCAF Dakota sheet, a Pan-Am set from Liveries Unlimited, Israeli AF markings from Sky Decals and a lovely sheet of Piedmont markings from Flying Colors. I have home-made ones for British United, and want to do kit-sheet versions for the classic Eastern Airlines and a WW2 C-47 version.
But I’m adding new ones to the “wants” list all the time…
