DC 3 Dakota

Phil Clark · Postby **Phil Clark** » January 8th, 2014, 9:03 pm

C-47 = a DC-3 in military spec, so it's the same base airframe. They were definitely built using domed head riveted.

Lookin good Dave

Ken Bones · Postby **Ken Bones** » January 8th, 2014, 10:18 pm

That's good then. All the hours I have spent on the insides of DC3/C47s I never really noticed the dome head rivets on the outsides, was just a thought.
Bonzey

Mike altham · Postby **Mike altham** » January 10th, 2014, 5:11 pm

Had conformation off my mate who owns a dc3. They have mush head rivets. So domed is correct.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » January 10th, 2014, 6:15 pm

I've made a start with the panel line tape on the fuselage. It's taken me longer than I expected, probably because it's not knowing where to stop. The first attached pictures are of the starboard side, should I change my mind and have a DC 3 in civilian colours?

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » January 10th, 2014, 6:20 pm

Definately not, It's going to be a C 47, especialy now it's got those massive cargo doors and military pilots. All I have to do now is spray over the tape and start riveting, not a big job if you say it quick.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 3rd, 2014, 7:24 pm

I don't know where the time has gone but, at last, we have finaly arrived at the stage where we can put some colour on the Dak.....I mean C47 Skytrain. The paint I have chosen is automotive two pack base coat, which will be sprayed over celulose grey primer. As it happens, the primer is prety much right for the light grey underside, so we decided that a finishing coat of primer will be just right for the final colour. This was done on Saturday and the model was left overnight.

On Sunday we masked the model off ready for painting the upper surfaces, a task I didn't realise would be so time consuming. Mike volunteered to do the honours with the spray gun, so we started off on some small bits, the tail planes, elevators and cowls. I was more than happy to hold up the halogen lamp and join Alan to make up a pair of "critical" eyes. What follows is basicaly a photographic record of our day in the "spray booth". First up, the tail feathers and cowls.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 3rd, 2014, 7:36 pm

As the paint went on, and was still wet and shiny, we were all really pleased at the way the panel lines and rivets were so pronounced. I must admit that I was a bit dubious that they might disappear under coats of paint, "oh ye of little faith".

Next up came the outer wing panels, we were happy that everything had gone well so far, our main concern was the cold temperatures inside the unit we were working in, certainly not the best time of year for this sort of thing. The paint went on realy well, and I think we will be sticking to this system for the foreseeable future. As the paint dries, you can see it loses it's shiny lustre and also "drops" in colour (I'm reliably informed that means it goes darker).

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 3rd, 2014, 7:48 pm

Next up was the centre section. Again, we were all realy chuffed at the way the panel lines and rivets are so defined.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 3rd, 2014, 7:57 pm

Finaly, it was time for the big one, the fuselage. Mike started off by applying realy light coats and building them up gradually, I can't begin to describe how well pleased we all are with the final results. None of our group have ever got a model this big to this stage before. It's a first, and certainly not the last.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 3rd, 2014, 8:03 pm

The model is now back at my house where I can start to add the final details of invasion stripes, numbers and stars and bars, which will realy bring it to life. I'll post pictures as I progress. In the mean time, here's a couple of pictures of "men at work".

Alan Cantwell 1131 · Postby **Alan Cantwell 1131** » February 3rd, 2014, 10:12 pm

Wish i could have been there Dave but i am off the model scene for the forseeable future, she is looking great cant wait till i see her in the flesh, well done the team, bet that was one tasty pint in the pub after!!!!!!

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 7th, 2014, 8:56 am

So as not to clutter up my build thread with, what I hope will be, a lively debate, I've posted a new topic in the "General Discussion" section entitled "What would you do?" It's regarding my colour scheme and I hope you will take time to have a look see. Photos of where I'm up to will follow shortly.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 7th, 2014, 9:13 am

Here are a few more photos of where I'm up to. I'll be in the process of making up masks for the stars 'n bars which will be added once my "little" problem has been solved.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 25th, 2014, 6:44 pm

I've made up my own masks for the stars and bars with "low tack" masking film. What I've found out is that "low tack" film, plus dome rivets plus etched panel lines equals paint creepage. The underside of the model is not detailed, so I thought I'd start there with the star and bars on the right wing. I started off by masking off for a white base then added the infils and sprayed over with blue. Not too bad, a little paint creepage here and there but, once tidyed up, I was quite pleased with the results.

chris willis · Postby **chris willis** » February 25th, 2014, 7:00 pm

Loving it David, nice work.
Chris

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 25th, 2014, 7:21 pm

Thanks Chris. It was when I came to do the star and bars on the top of the left wing, which is detailed, that I saw I was going to have a problem. I masked off again for the white blank, then put in the infils before spraying the blue. Bigger dissapointment this time, I thought "Am I doing something wrong or does this happen to everybody?" Anyway, it wasn't as bad as I thought, a little patience and TLC and the problem was sorted.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 25th, 2014, 7:35 pm

Next up was the stars and bars on the fuselage. If I messed up with the white box, I'd be in for a lot of reworking, repainting and re... gretting I'd started in the first place. Having learned a lesson or two on the wing panels I felt a bit more relaxed and carried on. Again, I did get paint creepage, but I wasn't as concerned as before and felt confident that I could deal with it (am I still doing something wrong?) It was just a case then of masking off for the black stripes and the fuselage bit was done.

Alan Cantwell 1131 · Postby **Alan Cantwell 1131** » February 25th, 2014, 8:00 pm

Its the best yet Dave so now your the group builder, trimmer, and riveter, what would we do without you, she is looking great, cant wait till i see her together up at your gaff,

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 25th, 2014, 8:03 pm

The next thing to do was the large letter on the fin and to come up with an idea for the windows. The letter was masked of with normal masking tape (what bliss), sprayed, peeled off, no problemo. For the windows, I decided to pinch an idea from Terry Mason's VC10, I oversprayed some matt vinyl with some matt white and cut to shape, I think they look like windows, certainly from 10 feet away.

David Jones · Postby **David Jones** » February 25th, 2014, 8:10 pm

Cheers Al, this addition to the thread is taking me longer than usual because I forgot to resize all my photos beforehand, not to worry, nearly there now. The last thing I've done is add the numbers onto the fin and highlighted the panel lines. I was fortunate that a mate came up trumps with some laser cut masks for the numbers but, with them being so small, I really did suffer from paint creepage....more blooming TLC and patience.