Monogram 1/48 C-47 Skytrain
Monogram 1/48 C-47 Skytrain
TLDR: I’m building a retro model
A few years ago, I tried to build a Kotare Spitfire over the weekend and almost did it...paint peeling up did me in. Flash forward to a few weeks ago and my Eduard 1/32 P-51 Hybrid showed up, and I did an unboxing video and was prepping for the build. I needed some paint and a friend of mine in my local IPMS (and Will Pattison chimed in for some reason too...) suggested I use MRP paints. I'm a Tamiya and Mr. Color guy through and through, but you don't turn down suggestions from master builders like Trystan and Will. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so I looked around on the tubes and found this new hobby shop in this quaint historic town called "Berryville" about 20km away nestled in the northern Shenandoah valley (of US Civil War fame) just west of the Blue Ridge Mountains that advertised they had a full range. Intrigued, I jumped in my truck and drove there on a beautiful but hot Saturday afternoon.
The shop, called Carpet Monster Hobbies (what a great name), is further nestled in the top floor of a historic building in downtown Berryville and as you walk up to the second floor you feel you're treading on the same space that 150 years ago both Union and Confederate soldiers once walked. I turned the corner and in front of me is a single door leading to a small room that measured smaller than my living room yet housed what I was looking for...a complete set of MRP paints. I put down $150 and picked up 20-something bottles.
On the shelf were a few of the newest releases including the Eduard P-51 but something else caught my nostalgist-eye...a Revell/Monogram 1/48 C-47 Skytrain w/Paratroopers. I left the shop, returned home, tried the MRP paints and realized I needed more time with them, but I couldn't shake that C-47 model. I had built one in the late 70's and remembered it as an easy build and the thought struck me..."let's do a weekend build of that model. I'm sure I can finish it over the weekend!". I went to their web site, ordered it and a day later it showed up on my doorstep! The owner of the shop drove the model over and dropped it off on my front step...needleless to say, amazing customer service (and savvy move because I've invited him to our monthly IPM meeting and he'll be there this coming Wednesday).
Armed with the model and the sure knowledge I’d crank this out over the weekend…I got my stuff together and started the build Saturday morning Aug 29th knowing I had this in the bag.
48 hours later…I failed again…but this time was different.
About half-way into the build, I realized I was having memories of building the first C-47 in this line that originally came out in 1978. It reminded me of lazy days sitting at my parents dining room table covered in newspaper whilst I built any number of Monogram 1/48 planes but it also reminded me of my father, who had parachuted out of a C-47 as a paratrooper in the early 60’s prior to him going to Vietnam as one of the first advisors from the U.S. And a singular memory came back to me that he, at the time, explained he jumped from one in jump school and my uncles had done so in WW2 (one in Europe, one in the Pacific). He further explained he had called in the original “Puff the Magic Dragon” for an airstrike during his tour there.
At this point, sometime late on Saturday I decide the “weekend” build was over, and I’d try and do a decent job on this w/no rush. I’m almost done. It’s a great model for 1978 and an OK model for now. Some flash, not a lot of detail (the Trumpeter one is better) but it’s a great add to my small D-Day collection. I had some trouble with the fuselage warping and had to use plastic-card to fill in a wing joint and as an older model it has raised panel lines, not a lot of color callouts, and as stated before, detail reminiscent of it’s time.
