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CD144019 - 1/144 C-9 Nightingale


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Should I design this for the old Airfix kit, or the Eastern Express / Fly (are they the same?) kits? The choice of kit might make a difference here due to the cabin windows I will need to include.

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I think the Airfix kit is the most common on the market.   Plus it's been around forever and builds into a very nice little kit.

18 minutes ago, KursadA said:

Should I design this for the old Airfix kit, or the Eastern Express / Fly (are they the same?) kits? The choice of kit might make a difference here due to the cabin windows I will need to include.

 

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I agree with Don. I have four or five Airfix/MPC kits just waiting for these decals.  I am curious to know which markings you intend to reproduce?  Some of these markings have been (VC-9C by LU) / are being done (C-9B USN/USMC by DD & Mexican AF by unk).  

 

So my vote is for (in order of priority):

#1. USAF C-9A (USAFE, PACAF & Scott AFB, just change serial # and sqn/cmd badge on nose / tail). AFAIK, C-9A decals have never been done, ever! 

#2. USMC C-9B (only 2 BuNos) in hi-vis red/gold cheatline (I have some photos). 

#3. USN C-9B/DC-9-32 (several sqns could be done with same blue/gold cheatline and generic BuNos & tail / wing code letters; just need different sqn badges on nose and "City of" names.)

#4. Italian AF DC-9-32 & Kuwaiti AF DC-9-32 (Or not. May not be a big seller in US, but will generate interest in EUR & ME).  

#5. Mexican AF DC-9-32 (not a whole lot of markings here. title, serial, tail flash and triangle natl insignia.) 

 

Then there are the other interesting civil / governmental C-9/DC-9s: FAA, NASA, UN, Raytheon, etc... that may spark some interest, though these have mostly been covered by FLY models.

 

My $.02.

Dutch

 

Edited by Dutch
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3 minutes ago, Dutch said:

I agree with Don. I have four or five Airfix/MPC kits just waiting for these decals.  I am curious to know which markings you intend to reproduce?  Some of these markings have been (VC-9C by LU) / are being done (C-9B USN/USMC by DD & Mexican AF by unk).  

 

So my vote is for (in order of priority):

#1. USAF C-9A (USAFE, PACAF & Scott AFB, just change serial # and sqn/cmd badge on nose / tail). AFAIK, C-9A decals have never been done, ever! 

#2. USMC C-9B (only 2 BuNos) in hi-vis red/gold cheatline (I have some photos). 

#3. USN C-9B/DC-9-32 (several sqns could be done with same blue/gold cheatline and generic BuNos & tail / wing code letters; just need different sqn badges on nose and "City of" names.)

#4. Italian AF DC-9-32 & Kuwaiti AF DC-9-32 (Or not. May not be a big seller in US, but will generate interest in EUR & ME).  

#5. Mexican AF DC-9-32 (not a whole lot of markings here. title, serial, tail flash and triangle natl insignia.) 

 

Then there are the other interesting civil / governmental C-9/DC-9s: FAA, NASA, UN, Raytheon, etc... that may spark some interest, though these have mostly been covered by FLY models.

 

My $.02.

Dutch

 

Yah, What Dutch said!

 

Though it looks like Fly already does the NASA, Italian, Venezuela, FAA, Kuwait and UN kit releases with the appropriate markings.  All are showing availability from overseas distributors on the Bay.

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Okay, keep it to the top 3 then.  For USN, my personal favorite is DC-9-32 163208 VR-46 JS-208.  I had the privilege of flying on her more than once.  For USMC: either 160046 or 47 is okay; flown on both.  For USAF C-9A, I flew Space-A on a PACAF machine from Kadena to Yokota circa 1996. I will go through old photo albums and see if I can conjure up a serial numbah!

 

Edited by Dutch
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2 hours ago, KursadA said:

Should I design this for the old Airfix kit, or the Eastern Express / Fly (are they the same?) kits? The choice of kit might make a difference here due to the cabin windows I will need to include.

 

The EE and Fly kits are not the same, the Fly kit is a few years older and has been reboxed by several different companies. The EE kit is a brand new tooling, released last year. Here's an excellent comparison of these three 1/144 DC-9 kits on AirlinerCafe by Jodie Peeler: https://www.airlinercafe.com/forums.php?m=posts&q=10551 which shows the Fly kit is a bit longer than the others so you might have to account for this with the cheatlines and windows. The Airfix kit is still a decent option and although not currently available is probably the one that people have several in the stash and can be relatively easily obtained for not much outlay. The EE kit is also significantly more expensive than either of the others. I reckon you could probably build all 5 versions listed in Dutch's post using Airfix DC-9s for the price of two EE kits!

 

The gold standard is of course the Authentic Airliners resin kit but this wouldn't be an option for the majority of us.

 

Jonathan

 

PS As the Liveries Unlimited sheet is long OOP I think it's still worth including a VC-9C. Also, how accurate are the Fly kit decals? If it doesn't hike the price significantly it may be worth having some of these markings for those who don't have (or want) the Fly kits. Whatever the final options it'll be great to have some more C-9 markings.

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Jonah,  I checked a review on one of the other websites for the Fly kit and the registration number for the NASA bird is slanted the wrong way on the port side!   Plus the cheatline looks wonked up at the tail.   Ronin Decals in Australia did decals for the NASA bird but I can't even find them doing a search of the interweb.   And you're correct, AA is way way out of my price range!

Don

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On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 9:58 PM, Drifterdon said:

Though it looks like Fly already does the Kuwait kit releases with the appropriate markings.  All are showing availability from overseas distributors on the Bay.

 

Although Fly do a Kuwaiti kit (which I have), they do not do the markings that I would prefer, so if Caracal could do a version from around the time of the Gulf conflict of 1990/1 I would be very happy. See the link posted for the first two aircraft.

 

https://dstorm.eu/pages/en/kuwait/c-9.html

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In the early 1990s while stationed in Tokyo, I flew on a USN C-9B from Atsugi to Chitose.  It was winter and we disembarked thru the rear airstairs.  Fresh snow hid a layer of ice covering the tarmac and a VERY senior officer had his legs fly up and he landed flat on his back  . . . .  HARD.    I mean HARD.  It knocked the wind out of him completely and all of us staff officers ran over to assist him.  He recovered and made a joke about the ice and we carried on.  

 

I cannot see a picture of a USN C-9B and not think of that scene.  

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I received the kit and started designing this sheet. Many thanks to Wayne, who had once again kindly sent me the official McDD paint specifications for the C-9, which should let me design very accurate decals for this important type soon.

 

c9adoc.jpg

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On 3/16/2019 at 4:02 PM, KursadA said:

I received the kit and started designing this sheet. Many thanks to Wayne, who had once again kindly sent me the official McDD paint specifications for the C-9, which should let me design very accurate decals for this important type soon.

 

c9adoc.jpg

These are exactly the markings I'm looking to do.   Can't wait.  I know they'll be another hit Kursad.

Edited by Drifterdon
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KursadA,  I am sending some additional details for the Airfix kit.  These include the tail cone jettison placard, some vents and door details.  The Airfix kit is also missing the eyebrow windows which were a feature of the DC-9.  I am not sure if the C-9's later in life carried the over wing escape route markings carried by commercial DC-9's but I will also include those as well.  From my days doing airline decals in the long ago past.  

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Having the official specs make things go a lot faster - I am not sure when I will be able to release this, but the first sheet is already done. There will also be a separate sheet with window and windshield decals. I have enough material to design a second sheet with USMC, Kuwaiti, NASA and VC-9C aircraft; perhaps to be done sometime in the future.

 

Four US Navy C-9Bs and three USAF C-9As on this one.

cd144019.jpg

Edited by KursadA
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Yeehah! Thank you for including VR-46 markings for 161530. Can you add an extra row of both USAF & USN serial/bureau/modex numbers so the modeler can make any serial/bureau number desired?

 

"...this one." Does that mean that there will be another one? Can't wait!!!

Edited by Dutch
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