PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON - 1:48 SCALE AC-47D GUNSHIP FROM REVELL

 

THIS KIT FEATURES A HEAVILY armed version of the stalwart Douglas C-47, used as an aerial gunship in the Vietnam War.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIR FRANCE, 78 YEARS OLD TODAY

SMN report:

Air France is one of the world’s grand old airlines, with a history going back to 1933, when it was formed from the merger of five smaller French airlines. It has added two more French airlines since then, and is now merged with the Dutch airline KLM. The huge company currently flies a mixture of more than 250 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE DOUGLAS DC-3

SMN report
The Douglas DC-3 flew for the first time on December 17, 1935, 32 years after the Wright brothers made their epic first heavier-than-air flight in the biplane Flyer over Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina.

Design evolution
The all-metal DC-3 was a design step on from earlier Douglas Commercial designs, the DC-1 and DC-2, though it looked very similar. Two Pratt & Whitney radial engines allowed the DC-3 to carry 21 passengers up to 2382 km (1,480 miles) at some 313 km/h (195 mph). The range and speed allowed an eastbound flight across the US to be made in some 15 hours - by far the fastest time for a commercial flight.

Thousands of DC-3s built
The DC-3 was a runaway success and had a decades-long manufacturing life, with more than 10,000 being built as C-47 military transports during World War II. There are plenty of DC-3s still flying today, though we can't find a reliable source for an exact number.

Kits by the dozen
For the Douglas-Commercial fan, there’s choice aplenty out there, in all sorts of scales. Whether it’s diecast or plastic kit, there’s something to please. For something exotic and different, the Guillow’s see-through balsa model to 1:32 scale makes an interesting choice. It’s a biggie though, with a wingspan nearly a metre wide. At the other end of the scale, the tiny 1:500 scale Herpa DC-3 is something small enough for any desktop. The Berlin Airlift Scenix edition offers a trio of 1949 DC-3s, complete with a mini-diorama of Templehof Airport. The transparent box includes sound effects in German, but sorry, we don’t know what the script is!

The Dakota Association of South Africa has a terrific (if somewhat slow-loading) page, in which many kits are listed. It’s fascinating stuff, and you can visit the listing here.

See DC-3 kits and stuff here.

Inspect Guillow’s balsa DC-3 here.

Visit the Herpa Berlin Airlift here.

The pictures show:
1  Airfix 1:72 scale original box.
2  Esci R4D with skis 1:72 scale.
3  Guillows balsa kit 1:32 scale.
4  Herpa models 1:500 scale.
5  Monogram with paratroopers 1:90 scale.
6  Flight deck of the real thing.

USEFUL SIZE-O-METER FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Dutch Telesale is an online supplier that has a surprisingly useful set of pages (top picture) on its site. These chart the length and wingspan of a range of aircraft, at various scales, in both Imperial and Metric measurements.

For example, a 1:24 Boeing 777-300 would be a whopping 121 inches (3073 mm) long, but at 1:500 it’s just a palm-of-the-hand 5 inches (148 mm).

There are some nice things for sale on DT’s site too, including a Herpa Wings 1:400 Airbus and DC-3 pair (middle picture), commemorating old and new airliners in Cathay Pacific's fleet. From Spark there is a tiny, yet beautifully detailed PininFarina Modulo concept car to 1:87 scale.

The Modulo dates back to 1970, yet still looks utterly futuristic, like a rocketship on wheels. It’s one of my all-time fave designs, not least for the slide-forward cockpit canopy (bottom picture). Wow - imagine something like this as a 21st century hydrogen-electric ecomobile, on sale in your downtown auto showroom. Gimme! Now!

You can visit Dutch Telesales here.