Trumpeter 1/48 C-47 "42-24046"

[Drew T.]

Hi everyone!  With the P-47 wrapped up, I’ve already started on my next project, which is a kit I’ve had for years, Trumpeter’s 1/48 C-47.  Compared to the old Monogram kit, it definitely offers more detail and (somewhat) better fit, but it does have some inaccuracies that I’ll be fixing.  Below are the aftermarket sets I’ll be using:

 

Eduard 49431 C-47 Interior
Eduard 48609 C-47 Exterior
Aires 4446 C-47 Dakota Wheels and Paint Mask
Quickboost QB48 238 C-47 Dakota Correct Tail Rudder
Quickboost QB48 347 C-47 Skytrain Exhaust
Quickboost QB48 329 C-47 Engine Cowlings
Resin2Detail 48207 FAST FIX R-1830 Radial Engine
Aeromaster Decals Skytrains at War Part IV

 

The engine cowlings in the Trumpeter kit are apparently the wrong shape, so the Quickboost set will fix those.  Trumpeter also incorrectly depicted a metal covered tail rudder, while the Quickboost set correctly depicts a fabric covered rudder.  

 

The surface detail in the Trumpeter kit is decent, but after studying photos, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the riveting.  All the rivet spacing is identical in the kit, but it’s obvious in photos that the rivet spacing varies over the entire airframe.  Some of the panel lines on the fuselage are also either missing, or in the wrong location.  Because I’m crazy, I’ve decided to remove all the riveting and add my own.  At first, I contemplated using raised rivet decals since it’s very obvious in photos that the rivets are raised on most airplanes of this period.  However, it would cost a small fortune to replicate every rivet on a C-47 with raised rivet decals from HGW or Archer, which is out of business.  Instead, I decided to compromise and use my Galaxy Models riveting tool set to make recessed rivets.  I’ll also fix the panel lines that are incorrect and rescribe all of them more deeply, as they are very shallow as is.  

The subject of this build will be “Sugarpuss”, which participated in the Normandy invasion.  Apparently, the crew had to splice the fuel line in flight after being hit by flack!  This plane participated in Mission Elmira, which occurred on the evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944.  This mission involved towing gliders to deliver artillery to the 82nd Airborne Division.  Since I’m depicting “Sugarpuss” during this timeframe, I plan on leaving the cargo and crew doors closed, as I would assume there would be no need to fly with any doors open if all the cargo was being towed separately in a glider.  This should allow me to speed up the build process since there would be little reason to add extra interior detail if all doors are closed.  Since adding/correcting surface detail will be a long process, I don’t want to get bogged down on interior detail if possible.  

I’ve filled all the riveting with black rubberized CA.  I know using putty is easier, but I usually have problems with the putty shrinking over time when used to fill surface detail.  Also, the scribing tape I use for riveting can possibly pull up putty.  Below is an example of what this process looks like on the fuselage.  The left fuselage half has all the black CA sanded down, the right fuselage half has not yet had the CA sanded down.

 

I started work on the interior with the flightdeck.  This is the only part of the interior that has any real chance of being seen, so that’s where I will concentrate most of my efforts.  I used a fair bit of the Eduard interior set.  The Eduard set provides more accurate pilot/copilot seats vs what Trumpeter provides. I used them and added seat cushions with Apoxie Sculpt.  Armrests were added using sheet styrene.  I used the Eduards seat belts, but not the shoulder belts, as most C-47’s don’t show any shoulder belts.  

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it for now.  I’m painting the interior bits, then it’s back on to working on exterior detail!

Drew
 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Drew T.

[A-10 LOADER]

Great start so far Drew. My uncle was airborne during Normandy and was onboard one of those gliders that "controlled crashed" for the invasion.

Steve

[phantom]

Excellent start. Plan on doing this kit up one day as a RCAF CF-104 radar trainer with a Starfighter nose cone.

 

[Gwen Phoenix]

Hi Drew,

Perhaps you were going to elaborate on it a bit later but, may I ask why you have resorted to getting the Resin2Detail R-1830 radial engine for the Trumpy kit? My husband got the 1/48 Monogram C-47 kit aeons ago, so he decided to buy the new Trumpy 1/48 C-47 kit engine sprue and mid wings in order to have better detailed engines and the engine fairings on his Monogram kit. I recall the Monogram cowlings fitting the Trumpy engines quite well.

Will be following your build.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

[Drew T.]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone!  Gwen, the main reason I’m using the resin engines is because they’re even more detailed than Trumpeter’s engines.  Since they are 3D printed instead of cast, they come with ignition harness already installed.  This is certainly an easy detail to add to the kit engines, but the resin replacements speed up the build.  Below is what they look like.

 

 

The only downside is that they don’t really show the back ring of cylinders, but they aren’t visible with the cowling installed anyway.  The only challenge in using them is that I’ll have to scab up a surface on the kit to mount the engines at the correct depth.  

 

I now have the interior built and painted.  I left off a few of the bits in the section between the cockpit and cargo area since only a tiny bit of this area will be visible from the astrodome.  I also left off the seatbelts in the cargo area because they really won’t be visible with the cargo doors closed.  Plus, I can rationalize that they might have been removed if this plane was tugging gliders instead of carrying paratroopers.  I added a padded quilt pattern to the cockpit bulkhead by drawing the pattern in my Silhouette Cutter and engraving it on sheet styrene. I then glued the sheet to the kit bulkhead and trimmed it down. 

 

 All painting was done with Mr. Color lacquers.  I followed up with a wash of MIG Black Night Panel Line Wash and a drybrusing of light gray oil paint and some chipping with Tamiya silver enamel and a sponge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most wartime photos of C-47s show some sort of oxygen hose running along the rear and top of the cockpit windows.  I replicated these by using 0.025” dia copper wire and wrapping it with 0.010” dia copper wire.  

 

 

 

Now that the interior is complete, I need to re-rivet the entire fuselage and wings so I can begin the main assembly.  Thanks for looking!
 

[Cubs2jets]

Drew,

 

I'm sure you know, but the "issues" with the Trumpeter kit stem from the fact that it was modeled off an Li-2 - the Russian copy of the C-47.  Hence the metal covered rudder and "off" engine cowlings.

 

I'm pretty sure the Hoses in the cockpit are de-fog / de-ice for the windows.

 

Great progress so far.

 

C2j

[Drew T.]

Thanks John!  I have heard that the Trumpeter kit was based off the Li-2.  But I',m not even sure that's correct, since the cargo door also looks different on the Li-2 but Trumpeter at least got that right for the C-47.  I guess they made their own mashed up version of an Li-2/C-47 hybrid.  

 

Makes perfect sense for the purpose of the hoses.  

[Gwen Phoenix]

On 5/22/2023 at 12:33 PM, Drew T. said:

The only downside is that they don’t really show the back ring of cylinders, but they aren’t visible with the cowling installed anyway.  The only challenge in using them is that I’ll have to scab up a surface on the kit to mount the engines at the correct depth.  

 

Hi Drew,

Yes, that's why my husband wanted to build his with the two-row Trumpy engines, so that one engine could be displayed without the cowling. It depicted one of the meat trucks used by the company Air Bolivia, along with the Curtiss C-46s. Awful destiny for the Gooney Bird, if you ask me. 

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

[RichB63]

From P-47 to C-47…I predict a Stratojet will follow!

 

Whatever the subject, I’ll be tuning in to watch your work, which is so impressive.

 

Rich

[dai phan]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:56 AM, Cubs2jets said:

Drew,

 

I'm sure you know, but the "issues" with the Trumpeter kit stem from the fact that it was modeled off an Li-2 - the Russian copy of the C-47.  Hence the metal covered rudder and "off" engine cowlings.

 

I'm pretty sure the Hoses in the cockpit are de-fog / de-ice for the windows.

 

Great progress so far.

 

C2j

I second this. So if you see something that does not match the C47 blue print, this is the cause. Dai 

[JohnEB]

12 hours ago, RichB63 said:

From P-47 to C-47…I predict a Stratojet will follow!

Rich

Have they done a H-47?

 

Are they really that silly to use a zLi,-2 as their templaye?

Wow, that's hard to believe! Shows that whoever is in charge doesn't know much about aviation. 

While a Li-2 may have more than a passing resemblance to the Douglas, there will be a bunch of detail differences, you can see many just looking at photos.  The same goes for the Japanese Navy license built DC-3 used in the war.

Edited May 30, 2023 by JohnEB

[Cubs2jets]

I believe Li-2's are more available to study in museums in China than C-47's / DC-3's...

 

C2j

[Drew T.]

On 5/26/2023 at 1:21 PM, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

Hi Drew,

Yes, that's why my husband wanted to build his with the two-row Trumpy engines, so that one engine could be displayed without the cowling. It depicted one of the meat trucks used by the company Air Bolivia, along with the Curtiss C-46s. Awful destiny for the Gooney Bird, if you ask me. 

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

 

Hi Gwen, that makes sense.  Trumpeter does provide all the engine support bracing and full exhaust.  

 

On 5/29/2023 at 11:52 AM, RichB63 said:

From P-47 to C-47…I predict a Stratojet will follow!

 

Whatever the subject, I’ll be tuning in to watch your work, which is so impressive.

 

Rich

 

Thanks Rich!  The -47 thing is just a coincidence since I happened to have both kits in the stash.  A 1/48 B-47 would complete the trifecta though!
 

Quick update.  I finally finished scribing panel lines on the fuselage halves.  Upon studying photos, some panel lines in the kit are completely wrong or missing entirely, others I rescribed in a slightly different location so that the rivet lines will come out evenly spaced.  Also, the rearmost window on the left side of the fuselage should be removed.  It’s just another mistake Trumpeter made with this kit.

 

 

 

I sprayed a quick coat of white Tamiya primer to check for errors and give a uniform finish to make it easier to see where I need to mark out the rivet lines.  Once riveting is complete, I will repeat the same process on the wings and horizontal stabilizers. Don’t mind the spots of brown putty, I started applying it to a few rough areas before I remembered to take photos!  

 

 

 

Thanks for looking!
 

 

[Gwen Phoenix]

Hi Drew,

Nice progress so far. I'm staring at my husband's C-47 build by Monogram, and the nose on it doesn't look as defined as in the pictures you've posted of the Trumpy example.

Or are the noses in the Li-2 and the C-47 different in shape?

Cheers, 

 

Gwen

 

[Drew T.]

Thanks Gwen!  I can't imagine any reason the Russians would have changed the shape of the nose for the Li-2.  But since Trumpeter's kits are known to have shape issues, its possible that they just got the shape of the nose wrong.  The old Monogram kits have their fit issues and lack of detail compared to modern kits, but I would trust their overall shape over a Trumpter/Hobbyboss kit.

I'm afraid to look too hard for shape issues with this kit, otherwise, I'll never finish it!

[Drew T.]

Hi guys, I thought I’d share a few photos of the fuselage halves now that I completed all the riveting.  When the riveting tool punches holes in the plastic, it creates a small ridge around each hole.  I still need to sand down these ridges, but the rivet holes show better in this condition in the photos.  I only used reference photos to determine the rivet line patterns, as I couldn’t find any drawings that accurately show all the rivets.  All riveting was done with my Galaxy Tools rivet set in all six pitches (0.55mm, 0.65mm, 0.75mm, 1mm, 1.25mm, and 1.5mm.  I used HiQ parts scribing tape as a guide to make straight rivet lines. 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not riveted the area near the edge of the fuselage halves yet.  This will be done after the fuselage halves are assembled so that all the rivets line up.  I also still need to go back and add the door hinges and scoops at the back end of the fuselage.  These parts were oversized as molded on the kit, so I removed them to make riveting easier.   I’ll then spray another coat of primer to check for mistakes and post a few more photos.
 
Thanks for looking!
 
Drew
 

[A-10 LOADER]

WOW, very tedious work Drew but, fantastic job !!

Steve

[RichB63]

That’s some labor intensive work! But the extra effort is sure to pay off in the end. 👍

[Sodasorb]

Looking forward to see this one completed!  Great work so far.  

[Drew T.]

Thanks for the kind words guys!  Adding all this riveting and surface detail is time intensive, but for some sick reason, I enjoy it!  

Finally, the fuselage halves are completed!  Since the last update, I added a few small details.  There are three small rectangular windows positioned along the length of the fuselage on the C-47.  One is at the right rear side.  Trumpeter has this window positioned too far forward.  You can see from the picture I took from the inside that this window should be located behind the rear bulkhead, not in front.  

 

 

There should also be another window on the right side, near the top of the fuselage above the navigator.  Trumpeter forgot this one, so I added it.  

 

 

The third window is on the left side in the navigator’s area.  Although Trumpeter did not provide a cutout for this window, they did make the fuselage wall thinner in this area, which makes cutting it out easier.  There is some sort of tube that sticks out of the fuselage below this window, which I replicated with styrene rod.  There should also be a rectangular cutout below the navigator’s station on the left side of the fuselage.  

 

The C-47 has a series of long doors on both sides of the nose with hinges on the top and bottom.  I used stretched sprue to replicate these hinges.  

 

 

 I used sheet styrene to add detail to the cargo door hinges as well as add the scoop behind the door.  

 

 

There is a small scoop/vent as well as a tube above the cockpit on the left side.  I used styrene to replicate this scoop and Albion brass tube to replicate the tube.  

 

 

There is also a small scoop on the front of the wing root on both sides of the plane.  Sheet styrene was used to replicate these scoops.

 

 

 

With the fuselage halves finally complete, the next step is to  go through the same process on the wings.  Thanks for looking!
 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Drew T.

[A-10 LOADER]

Very nice work Drew.

Steve

[Cubs2jets]

Drew,

 

The rectangular window at the right rear is the skylight for the potty.

 

The forward one on the right is a skylight for the radio operator. 

 

On the forward left is a window for the navigator and that square hole below is for the drift sight.

 

The long doors on the lower forward sides cover fluid lines (mostly hydraulic) and some electrical cabling.

 

I can't wait to see this build in person!

 

C2j

[Drew T.]

Thanks guys!  John, thanks for the explanations on the purpose of all these doodads on the plane.  I guess Trumpeter assumed the crew was in the dark when they took a bathroom break!

[lgl007]

WOW, looking amazing!  The detail is incredible...

 

-Greg

[Drew T.]

Thanks Greg!  

 

Progress on the surface detail has been slow, but I'm getting there.  The outer wing sections are now done.  After filling all the rivet holes in the kit, which takes several steps, I gave the whole surface an even coat of Mr. Surfacer white primer so I can draw out the rivet lines with a pencil.  This allows me to fine tune the rivet line spacing before committing with the riveter.  In the below photo, the lower part has the rivet pattern drawn out while the upper part has the rivet lines added.  I just trace over the pencil lines with the riveter. 

 

 

Since the wings are mostly flat, I can get away with using my Hasegawa scribing template tool as a straightedge for the rivet tool rather than using scribing tape as I used on the fuselage.  After all the riveting is complete, I sand down the whole surface to remove the raised material displaced by the riveter.  Just like I did with the fuselage, I had to relocate some of the kit panel lines to line up better with the rivet pattern.  And all of the panel lines were deepened with my Tamiya 0.15mm razor saw so they would still have enough depth after painting to highlight with a panel line wash.

 

 

 

I just started on the inner sections of the wings.  Studying photographs, it looks like Trumpeter has the locations of the fueling ports off.  I filled them in with black rubber CA and relocated them slightly rearward and closer to the fuselage.  The raised round panel around the receptacle is sheet styrene.  I used an Eduard F-18 armament set for the refueling receptacles.  Since they are recessed from the wing surface, I drilled a large, shallow hole first, before gluing them in place.  Also, I have filled in most of the panel lines on these two sections of the wings, as their locations are slightly off as well. 

The 6 air scoops on the wing surface were too large.  I find it easier to make new ones from sheet styrene rather than trimming down the ones molded in the part, so I cut them off.  I'll add new ones once I finish riveting.  The same goes for the two air scoops on the back of the engine nacelle, except they are too small.  The should all be the same size, including the ones I added previously on the wing root. 

That's all for now, thanks for looking!

Drew