1/144 Douglas DCT from the Minicraft DC-6

[Brian da Basher]

If you were wondering what's been on my workbench lately, I started with a 1/144 DC-6B which I picked up on the cheap at a fire sale over at Squadron. Here's how it should look when finished:



Mine is a little bit different...

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

I swapped out the wings with ones from a 1/72 Fiat Br. 20 and then added two engines from an Airfix Caravelle and T-tailed it. I thought you might like some pics before I paint it.

Brian da Basher

[bobbo]

YEAH!!

bobbo

[ysi_maniac]

  WWOOOOWW!

[John Howling Mouse]

Well, now, that is just fantastic.  Love the retro look of it.

But you should never have a T-tail out of guilt: "Wear it with PRIDE, Garcia!"

It's scientology-proven fact that T-tails improve the wow factor of any aircraft/aircraft model by a zillion percent.   

[Tophe]

Already wonderful ... Finished it will probably be even better

[Brian da Basher]

With the dawn of the jet age at the end of W.W. II, only a few firms dared to produce jet powered airliners. Little known is that Douglas Aircraft was one of the pioneers, their project DCT (Douglas Commercial, T-tail) made its first flight in 1951. Juan Trippe of Pan American airlines was keen to get jet airliners in service and ordered 25 DCTs before the plane was off the drawing board.

The first and only DCT, NC88818, was delivered for passenger trials on the 25th anniversary of Pan Am's founding and thus wore the "New Look" prototype Pan Am livery. Unfortunately, the "New Look" graphics were deemed too garish and they were dropped.

Pan Am's order was also dropped. A strike caused by empty rootbeer machines at parts contractor Bazatronic Industries (maker of the critical J-14 Mk. IV fastener which attached the wings and tail) made mass production of the DCT impossible. The fast pace of jet airliner development sealed its fate and NC88818 was scrapped in 1958. The only example of the DCT left is this desk model, found on top of a bone-dry Barq's rootbeer machine at a shuttered Bazatronic Industries plant near Beaver Tail, Canada.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

The decals make any airliner model, and I'm most grateful to Frank 2056 for running off these magnificent custom decals for me. The only decals on my DCT that didn't come from Frank are the registration numbers, cockpit windows and small U.S. flags. As you can see, Frank has quite a talent for custom decals!

The model was brush-painted by hand in Polly Scale acrylic Reefer White mostly. The anti-glare panel was done with acrylic Boot Black and the ends of the engines in acrylic Steel and Gunmetal.

I hope you enjoyed my DCT and the backstory.

Thanks a million Frank! I couldn't have done it without you!

Brian da Basher

[Ed S]

Well done, Brian.  Another fine example of your WHIFFING creativity and modeling skills.

Ed

[famvburg]

  Looks a little like the fictional airliner flown in "Fate is the Hunter".

[PALG]

I think thats really cool. I just love anything with jets from or purporting to be from that era; jet pods grafted onto something with old syle nose and wing designs just gets me going.

did you use Caravelle engines on that? got a few of those myself and trying to find a use for them.

[PALG]

  Looks a little like the fictional airliner flown in "Fate is the Hunter".

Any screenshots of that?

Did anyone else ever see the 1959 movie 'Jet Storm' ? 

I havent been able to get a image of the model they used in that but Brian's work here reminds me of it, despite it being a T-tail. Never mind the merits of the thriller itself about a hijacking, the production values were 'interesting'.  full view shots of the aircraft on the tarmac and in take-off used footage of a Tu-104. CLose up tarmac shots clearly used some propliner, and an old, one as it sat on its tail wheel, and while all external views depicted a single-deck aircraft, all interior shots depicted a double-decker config with a saloon downstairs. 

But the actual model used for inflight shots was really cool - a jet pod config like the Tu-104 but wdded to something looking like a hybrid of a Avro Canada Jetliner and a B-707.

[NARSES2]

Another BdB special 

[lancer]

  Looks a little like the fictional airliner flown in "Fate is the Hunter".

Now thats a film I could watch over and over again.

Mr. Spatman sir, that's one hell of a jet liner you've produced. Well done that man.

[oliv30330]

very good work