O.W Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 For a couple of years now I'm the proud owner of the 1/32 HPH DC-3. Overwelmed by the number of resin parts, in combination with the price I bought it for I did not have the confidence in my skills tot start. After some time and finnishing the Trumpeter F-14D with all the Zacto add-ons I believe the time is wright to start with the DC-3. But the decals in the kit are okey but not my first choice. Are there aftermarked decelas out there? I prefer NMF speccialy a U.S.A.F, but its a DC-3 not a C-47. It would fit perfectly with my B-17,s and B-24,s. Hoping for some pointers. Otto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 Well I'm afraid you will be on your own. So few 1/32 C-47 and DC-3 kits were sold to give the possibility to an aftermarket set to be profitable, more particularly if you consider the required size of the decal sheet! I'm afraid designing custom masks looks to be the only option... Last, I do not think the USAF ever used the civilian version. O.W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 Otto- You can always check out Draw Decal. They have several civilian DC-3 decal options, which are printed to order. I believe they scale up to 1/32 as well. - Dennis S. Mount Juliet, TN USA RadBaron, Uncarina, O.W and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Eagle Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 Draw decals has several DC3 decal sets showing in their site. Not sure if 1/32 is one scale they cover but there are multiple prices showing. I assume 1/32 might be one of the prices. O.W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.W Posted September 8, 2023 Author Share Posted September 8, 2023 They go only up to 48th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 I plan on building mine as this one. RNZAF VIP, I somehow will have to build a VIP interior as the kit comes with a troop/transport type interior. I really like the kit (except the wheels....yuk) but I am under no illusion I have a lot of work ahead of me. thierry laurent and LSP_Ray 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 4 hours ago, O.W said: They go only up to 48th I bet if you ask them nicely, they would scale them up for you. Worth a shot at least. - Dennis S. Mount Juliet, TN USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.W Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 12 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said: I plan on building mine as this one. RNZAF VIP, I somehow will have to build a VIP interior as the kit comes with a troop/transport type interior. I really like the kit (except the wheels....yuk) but I am under no illusion I have a lot of work ahead of me. Hi Anthony, do you have the DC-3 or the C-47? The DC-3 comes with a passenger compartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markjames1968 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Having built two, i can also add that its a pig of a kit mozart and Archimedes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 17 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said: I plan on building mine as this one. RNZAF VIP, I somehow will have to build a VIP interior as the kit comes with a troop/transport type interior. I really like the kit (except the wheels....yuk) but I am under no illusion I have a lot of work ahead of me. The wheel tires are actually accurate... but for a civilian DC3! Some wartime C-47 possibly got them but I've never seen such tires on military planes used after WW2. The easiest way to solve that is to secure them in a lathe (or power drill) and sand the sides to get smooth flanks. Otherwise, you need to fully replace them but I've not found any similar one that can be used. Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archimedes Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 2 hours ago, Markjames1968 said: Having built two, i can also add that its a pig of a kit A 1/32 DC-3 is a bit of a Holy Grail for me. What makes this kit such a bear to build? Kind regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 The HpH C-47 kit has some strange features and part compatibility issues. For instance, the front interior left and right sections are not corresponding to the fuselage interior. I got new parts and they had the same issues. The seams under the fuselage (close to the wing fairing trailing edge) are not minor. Moreover, the design of the cabin interior assembly asks for using a lot of fragile parts. So, I'm curious reading Mark's remarks but even a dry assembly shows this is not going to be an easy journey. The kit has quite accurate WW2 features but, as it has no options, building the postwar version asks for various changes not included in the model. However, the kit has incredible surface details and it is not going to be easy to release a better model with regard to that aspect. Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markjames1968 Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 57 minutes ago, thierry laurent said: The HpH C-47 kit has some strange features and part compatibility issues. For instance, the front interior left and right sections are not corresponding to the fuselage interior. I got new parts and they had the same issues. The seams under the fuselage (close to the wing fairing trailing edge) are not minor. Moreover, the design of the cabin interior assembly asks for using a lot of fragile parts. So, I'm curious reading Mark's remarks but even a dry assembly shows this is not going to be an easy journey. The kit has quite accurate WW2 features but, as it has no options, building the postwar version asks for various changes not included in the model. However, the kit has incredible surface details and it is not going to be easy to release a better model with regard to that aspect. The comments you noted are correct re the terribly odd, differentialy sized and ill fitting cockpit parts, the etch used in the kit is just about ok but the flaps set is too thin and better scratchbuilt, the issues run across both the civilian kit and the dday model, i found the civillian one a little easier to build (this may have been partly down to experience tho), i converted my military one to the floatplane version with a set of 3d printed resin floats thierry laurent and Anthony in NZ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee in Texas Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 I contacted Draw Decals about enlarging decal sheets for warbird racing planes to 1/18 scale. They said they would do it. I haven’t ordered any yet. Dennis7423 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.W Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 23 hours ago, Lee in Texas said: I contacted Draw Decals about enlarging decal sheets for warbird racing planes to 1/18 scale. They said they would do it. I haven’t ordered any yet. Thanks for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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