Douglas C-54 Skymaster

Test Shot Preview

Revell, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

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The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian airliner (the Douglas DC-4).

Besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried presidents, prime ministers, and military staff. Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research, and missile tracking and recovery. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal and food supplies to West Berlin.

After the Korean War it continued to be used for military and civilian uses by more than 30 countries. This was one of the first aircraft to carry the President of the United States and to assume the call sign Air Force One. *

* Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster in Scale

Considering the importance of the C-54 / DC-4, it has only been rarely available as a scale model kit.

Mach 2 released a limited-run 1/72 scale C-54 some time ago. Mach 2 kits had a well-earned reputation of being roughly moulded and difficult to build.

Earlier, Rareplanes also offered a basic 1/72 scale vacform kit of the DC-4 in 1976.

The only other option is several variants of the C-54 and DC-4 released in 1/144 scale by Minicraft.

I was fortunate to recently receive an early test shot of the forthcoming Revell 1/72 scale C-54 Skymaster.

Please note that these sprues are not the final production version, and that changes will very likely take place before the kit is released.

Typically, these early test shots have a bit more flash than the final releases, although these sprues are pretty good in that department.

Revell's all-new Douglas C-54 Skymaster comprises around 300 parts in grey plastic, 22 clear parts and decals for two marking options.

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Thumbnail panels:

My first impression was, wow, this is a big model, even in 1/72 scale.

Surface textures are mainly very fine and crsiply recessed panel lines.

Trailing edges of the separate control surfaces are impressively sharp.

Flaps may be posed dropped or raised too.

Interior detail looks very good. The cockpit features all the main elements including well-detailed bulkheads and consoles.

Each side of the cargo cabin is lined with a separate interior shell that is moulded with impressive raised structural detail. The strips of oval cabin windows are wedged between the inner and outer fuselage parts - very cleaver.

The cabin is supplied with bench seats that have lap harness straps moulded in place, plus webbing for the inside of the fuselage sidewalls.

The floor is also moulded with fine structural texture.

The big cargo doors may be posed in a number of different open or closed positions. The forward cockpit entry door is a separate part too.

The engines look great, each featuring fine detail and six rows of cylinder banks, pushrods, manifolds and exhausts.

A number of different wheel options are provided.

The clear sprue includes the side windows, each side moulded as one strip, making assembly easier and cleaner. The canopy features extremely fine windscreen detail, although it is likely that this part will be more defined when the final version of the kit is released. Other clear parts include several domes, windows and lights.

Markings for two colourful options are provided on the decal sheet.

All the markings are in perfect register on my sample.

This is a big, well-detailed kit of an important subject that has never before appeared from a major manufacturer in 1/72 scale.

Whether you are into military or civil aircraft models, this one should be on your list!

Highly Recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell

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