1:72 Douglas Dakota C-47 - DC-3

One type, three flags

Douglas's twin-engine transport aircraft is probably the most widespread machine ever to take off, and this sheet bears that out in the most graphic way. The first set of markings belongs to the military version in the Mk III form, which in 1945 was operated by the British overseas airline. A civil firm with military machines was nothing special during the war, transport routes were kept up at any cost and this example belonged to the network linking Britain with the rest of the world.

The second variant is the most unusual on the whole sheet. The machine with the German registration D-ARPF was originally a Dutch transport aircraft by the name of Valk, which was left in 1940 at the Schiphol airfield and fell into the hands of the German armed forces. Repainted into the colors of the German state airline, it then flew in 1941 for its new owner. Captured transport aircraft formed a whole separate chapter during the war and models in such colors are rare in collections.

The third option draws attention somewhere else entirely: the South African aircraft with the number 6877 carried a nickname derived from the striking dazzle finish of the kind we usually associate with warships. The supplier does not give the year in which it flew that way.

All three sets of markings are released with water. The long straight fuselage of a transport aircraft is a rewarding surface for decals, only it pays to apply the bands along the windows in shorter sections, so that they do not slide. Once dry it is advisable to seal the edges with a thin layer of clear coat, so that the outlines of the film do not stand out on a glossy fuselage.