| Douglas
DC-3
AC-700-104 L'Arsenal, 1/700 Scale, Resin Reviewed by Devin Poore, January 2019
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| The Douglas DC-3 transport is one of the most familiar
aircraft of all times. Production first began in 1936, with over 16,000
airframes built of various types over its lifespan. Initially built for
TWA to compete with the Boeing 247s of United Airlines, the DC-3 would
spend the pre-WWII years in civilian service, being used by, and built
on license, by countries all over the world, including the Soviet Union
and Japan. Civilian production of the airframe stopped in 1943 to focus
on the war effort, which switched over to military versions of the aircraft,
with over 10,000 models of the C-47 and C-53 varieties built, for use as
troop transports, cargo haulers, and paratroop missions.
Post-war skies saw the DC-3 return to its civilian duties. Upgrading with Rolls Royce turboprop engines began in the 1950s. Long since retired from airline service, with a few small ,rural exceptions, the DC-3 is most commonly used today for skydiving, cargo, sightseeing, and any number of other applications. Several hundred of the aircraft are still in service to this day Based upon measurements I found online at several websites, the full size wingspan was 95 feet, which would translate to approximately 41mm in 1/700. The model wingspan comes in right at 37mm, which is on the short side, but it looks like a DC-3 to me, so I'm not concerned. |
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| PARTS | |||||
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| The L'Arsenal DC-3 kit comes in their
typical accessory plastic bag, with a printed paper insert that shows the
only instructions for the 13-piece kits. There are enough parts in the
bag to build 2 DC-3s, with a spare landing gear included. The kits are
made up of separate resin fuselage, wing, and two horizontal stabilizers.
The resin is well case, blemish free, with very fine details such as cabin
windows, control surface panel lines, and engine super chargers. Also included
is a small PE fret that includes the propellers, two-piece main gear struts,
and a tail wheel. The brass is simply etched, no relief detail, but definitely
suitable for the scale. The only added bit required will be a drop of glue
or thick paint to put a hub on the prop.
I did a quick test of the components, and ran into two issues. One is that the wings are cast so realistically thin as to be translucent towards the tips. Normally this isn't an issue, but these are so thin that as soon as they are removed from the casting gate the tips curl slightly. I assume very light applications of heat can work this out. The other issue is that the wing saddle to fuselage joint has a large gap. Nothing that a bit of filling and sanding won't fix, but with the fine nature of the wing casting, one will have to be very careful. Otherwise, the kits look quite nice out of the box (bag). I think the wings could be beefed up a bit on the digital model from which these were printed, but otherwise, a nice little model. |
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||
 The
L'Arsenal DC-3s will do well for those working on a 1/700 scale diorama,
or someone just wanting a cool little cargo/passenger hauler. Cleanly cast
and well detailed, the issue with the thin sections of the wing aside,
they should build up quite nicely. Recommended.
Thank you to L'Arsenal for the review sample. |
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