Trumpeter

1/48 C-47A Skytrain

Kit Number: 02828

Reviewed by  Dennie Adams, IPMS# 34396

MSRP: $149.95 Imported by Stevens International: www2.stevenshobby.com Sometimes in history a machine or design comes along that's almost perfect. Things like the small block chevy engine, the AK-47, Mr. Colt's Peacemaker, and the Douglas DC-3 or C-47. It has been called the Skytrain, Dakota, Gooney Bird or Puff. This classic airframe served us and our allies for three wars and some are still flying today. That's over 70 year's folks! Makes me wonder why there are so few kits of this classic out there. Well, thanks to the folks at Trumpeter we finally have a new one in 1/48 scale, and it's a beauty. What you get for your money is a kit that has everything in it. There is a complete cockpit and cabin section, two detailed engines, two detailed main-gear wheel bays, optional metal landing gear legs, rubber tires, photo-etched details and a kit that fits together really well to give you fantastic example of a D-Day troop transport. You would think that all that would be enough, but, nooo. I had to do something different. I still had in my possession a Cutting Edge (Meteor) AC-47 conversion set that I had been dying to use. I had originally intended to use a Monogram C-47 that I had picked up at a swap meet, but due to circumstances I sold the kit to a friend of my wife's for her grandson to build (always looking to help a junior modeler). This is an opportunity not to be missed, a brand new detailed Gooney to be built and reviewed and a shot at incorporating the conversion to boot. Let me state right up front, the conversion has no bearing on the Trumpeter kit. It's merely an enhancement and, with few exceptions, doesn't change the way you build the plane. All sub-assemblies were appropriately painted during the construction. Let's build! As usual you start off with the insides of the plane first. Here you find a detailed cockpit and crew cabin area for navigator/radioman that leads you into the main cabin with all the seats for the paratroopers complete with photo-etch seatbelts for every seat. Trumpeter chose the aluminum bucket seat design over the canvas style. As I was putting in 3 mini-guns and mounts the seats were omitted, but everything else is in there. Unfortunately, that whole section between the cockpit and the main cabin will never be seen once you close the fuselage halves. I applaud Trumpeter for the effort they put into this detailing, but, like so many other companies, why? The windows go in at this stage and they fit easily. All the windows and the cockpit windscreens are individual pieces. Don't forget to install the tail-wheel when closing the fuselage halves. Next in line are the outer wings and the horizontal stabilizers and elevators. The builder has a few options to consider here and there are surprises. Here's a bit of weirdness, Trumpeter gives us poseable ailerons, either level or down on both sides! This causes me to wonder about the folks at Trumpeter regarding this aerodynamic faux pas. I basically flipped one set of the mounting pieces and attached the aileron in the opposing direction, thus creating ailerons, not full span flaps. Once this is resolved the wings are an easy assembly. The movable rudder and elevators are simple affairs, gone are the photo-etch hinges and little metal rods we've seen so many times before. Now these are just simple appendages molded onto the horizontal stabs and the fuselage. A much easier method, that with a little effort gives the modeler movable tail surfaces. The flaps can be added now or after the plane is finished. This step includes the landing lights but I chose to wait on this until after the painting process. Next in line are the engines and the center section of the wings which includes landing gear bays with lots of detail. The engines are multi-piece affairs that stack together well and include the exhaust, all of which must be aligned so as to allow the exhaust pipe to nestle into a notch in the firewall. The firewall also includes the engine mounting brackets. These are tricky and take patience to align. The props mount on pins that go through the crankcase covers. I built these as separate assemblies to be added after the painting While your waiting for these the glue to dry on the mounting brackets, you can build the landing gear bays and the rest of the center wing section. Again, the center section flaps were left off for later attachment. Once the center section is completed, the entire unit is attached to the assembled fuselage. A little care here and no filler will be needed. Now that you're at this point you'll begin to realize, this is a big airplane and there are no real wings on it yet. So, once the center section has set-up add the outer wing panels. Again, a little patience and the filler is not needed. My wings slid together and aligned perfectly. Damn! I need a bigger work bench. At this point you have a fairly complete C-47. Masking and painting are the next steps and to assist with this chore, Eduard has an easy mask set available for the Trumpeter kit and I highly recommend it. The SEA camouflage scheme is freehanded onto the model using some of my stash of Floquil military colors. The gloss black bottom is Alclad II's black primer. The de-icer boots on the wings are Model Master flat black. Once the paint dries, the gloss coat is applied and we're ready for Zotz decals. Standard procedures here, decal, flat coat and add the flaps, antennas and the landing gear. Unmask the clear parts, add the landing lights and were done. In conclusion, Trumpeter has given the modeler a really nice C-47 kit. I found it to have few troubles with fit and construction and it lent itself well to the conversion. The question of whether it's worth the cost is really up to the modeler. Personally, I've built the Monogram kit and found it to be lacking in a lot of areas that Trumpeter has corrected. I highly recommend the Trumpeter version. My thanks to Trumpeter and Stevens International for the review sample.

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