1/72 Car Air Ferry ideas

[McColm]

 If like me, you have a small collection of 1/76 diecast or plastic kit cars and love building model aircraft in 1/72 scale, you are limited to your budget when it comes to Air Ferries that carry cars.
Modern aircraft such as the rear ramp loaders or cargo/freighters are readily available and with the appropriate decals be converted into civilian equivalents
The only kit purposed built is the Airfix Superfreighter, Bristol Type 170.
Which can take 2-3 cars, depending on how long each one is.
There was a vacform Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair but this is very expensive and difficult to find. There has been talk of a conversion kit, but judging from experience a new fuselage and increased vertical tail fin would be needed, a donor C-54 or DC-4 wings, engines and landing gear.
However there is an alternative , which is from the same era and did have nose loading doors to begin with but later variants preferred the rear loading doors. Whether it was ever used as an Air Ferry is still being researched. The Armstrong Whitworth AW650 or AW660 Argosy.
The Mach2 model is available for such a whiff.
An upper deck for the passengers could be extended in the hump with a few extra windows. Scratch built cargo floor and ladders would also be added. Some useful interior photos would also be helpful.
I was going to suggest using the Convair B-36, but the nosewheel well would need relocating and a nose hinged doors added. The cockpit would need to be moved to the upper fuselage.
You would also need a lot of space for such a build.
Still big but on a lesser scale is the Blohm and Voss Bv222 Wiking. I have both plastic and the vacform kits.
A nose loading system could be adopted. As the Revell model already has an upper deck and detailed interior this could be copied on the vacform model as I haven't found a metal etching set.

[Mossie]

A stretch C-130 (L-100) could be an air ferry, in a later period.

Fairey Rotodyne has a similar size fuselage to the Bristol Freighter,  it could fulfill the role out if the box, or bashed into an airliner.

CH-47 and CH-53 could provide their fuselages for a bash, so could some 1/48 WWII bombers.

[Hobbes]

I'm picturing an An-225 car ferry. Add the An-124 tail ramp for quick loading/unloading, there's room for 9 cars along, 3 across and 2 high, so 54 in total. 

[The Rat]

My mind went to a C-130, modified with a raised flight deck like the 747, with a hinged nose like the C-5.

[kerick]

My mind went to a C-130, modified with a raised flight deck like the 747, with a hinged nose like the C-5.

I was thinking something like that myself. C-130 plus C-5 nose would be some seriously cool scale o rama. 1/144 C-5 plus 1/72 C-130 perhaps? It would make an interesting roll on, roll off car carrier. Now where and how would it be employed?

[Scotaidh]

My mind went to a Rotodyne.

[PR19_Kit]

I'm picturing an An-225 car ferry. Add the An-124 tail ramp for quick loading/unloading, there's room for 9 cars along, 3 across and 2 high, so 54 in total. 

Love it! 

With the forthcoming Revell kit and a bunch of N scale vehicles a diorama of the loading area would only take up around 5 square yards....... 

[McColm]

I did try and kitbash the Airfix Superfreighter with parts from the Rotodyne  I might try building that again.
The Airfix Rotodyne's roof isn't tall enough for a 1/76 LandRover. I had to flatten the Landie  windscreen and ditch it's hardtop.
And no the Rotodyne and Type 170 Freighter fuselages are not compatible. I even tried gluing two freighters back to back to get a roll-on-roll off version. That's another whiff that I will give another try at .
However the Revell Blohm & Voss Bv222A flying boat does come with the nose separated from the main fuselage. So a possible hinge and a repositioned flight deck. The lower cargo hold could be used with a few ramps, whilst the upper deck would be for the crew and passengers.
I did consider using the Airfix BAe Nimrod, with a side cargo door. Demilitarized, should work.

[jcf]

[jcf]

AW670 car ferry

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4618.msg36490.html#msg36490

https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958-1-%20-%200616.html

[McColm]

AW670 car ferry

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4618.msg36490.html#msg36490

https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1958/1958-1-%20-%200616.html

That looks whiffable, with a pair of Rolls-Royce Tynes or turbofan engines. Or a mixture of both.
I had a lot of problems with the Mach2 AW650 Argosy, especially with the engines.
Thanks for the info

[NARSES2]

Hi Ho, Hi Ho ......................

[zenrat]

But there are eight minis there...

[NARSES2]

But there are eight minis there...

Sad to say I counted them as well 

But if you look here then were there only 7 ? http://thedabbler.co.uk/2015/05/who-was-the-eighth-dwarf/

[McColm]

Could be just a promotional shot and have a ramp at the back with the doors open with more minis waiting to drive through.
Well it's a build for 2019.