Product Description
Manufacturer: MiniCraft
Product Code: Minc14614
Description: C-54 Skymaster
Scale: 1:144
Skill Level: 2
C-54 Skymaster:
The Douglas Aircraft Company ruled the airliner market until the advent of the jet age, and even then Douglas would still keep a share of the market with its DC-8, DC-9 and DC-10. But rewinding to the beginning of the story, Douglas developed a new design that was one of the first all-metal airliners after the Civil Aeronautics Board (precursor to the FAA) ruled that airliners could no longer have wings or structural members made of wood.
Competing with the new Boeing Model 247, Douglas used their one and only prototype, the DC-1, to demonstrate the innovative capabilities of this next-generation aircraft. Douglas received orders for the design with its launch customer, TWA, though they wanted more seats and more powerful engines. The result was the DC-2. That led to further interest, greather capabilities, and the DC-3 was born.
Recognizing that greater range and payload was being sought by the growing airline industry, Douglas set out to create a four-engine workhorse to capture the longer-range market. While the first prototype flew in 1938, the design had a few bugs to work out and war broke out before the aircraft could enter the civil market. Like its brother, the DC-3, the DC-4 would enter military service, designated as the C-54. After the war, the DC-4 would enter airlines as well as a number of surplus C-54s.
Minicraft has been producing a nice variety of 1/144 scale aircraft subjects and this one was very much anticipated by modelers. This kit follows up earlier releases in DC-4 colors with markings reflecting its military service.
Assembly of the kit is straightforward as the fuselage halves simply go together, as do the wing halves. The engines are nicely represented in this scale as are the landing gear. Even though the propellers are designed to move (with a hub backplate), you might consider leaving these off as well as the landing gear until you’ve finished with the bare metal paint and decal application.
Markings are provided two examples:
- USAF C-54 45-0557, USAFE, Germany, early 1960s
- USAF C-54 42-72488, MATS, early 1960s
