KLM DC-4/C-54 (Papertrade 1:50)

[Siwi]

Originally Posted by Isaac

Erik

I would venture to say that all commercial aircraft post WW2 had metallic finish propellor blades.

The black ones are most likely from military surplus such as the C-54 variants, B-17, B-24 etc.... So the one in the museum may not be the actual props ( unless KLM used left over military spares ).


Isaac

To further complicate things, there are pictures of military C-54s with silver props!


Anyway, thanks to Erik for that tip about pins in prop blades. I'd tried this with wire and found it hard not to get a very visible indentation, never thinking to wrap it in paper and squeeze it into a taper.

[Isaac]

I have a sneaky suspicion that those are Hamilton Standard props taken from a B-17 and repainted.



or

( and probably true ) those are metallic props that museum painted over black with yellow tips ( museums are known to repaint historical aircraft wrong ) .

If that is the case, they forgot to leave the propellor manufacture's logo and serial numbers/data stamps which remained on all commercial planes as well as military.


Isaac

[Erik Zwaan]

Thanks guys for your responses, interesting discussion.

My knowledge about the DC-4 history in KLM service is limited but KLM started to operate the DC-4 right after WW2 and the first machines were surplus C-54s. This military version had a double cargo door, and the model I'm building of the PH-TAR is in fact a C-54, which flew from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to New York in 1946, to restart normal flying operations again. I mentioned this before, there's a video on YouTube of this flight, with both pilots smoking their pipes in the cockpit and the whole atmosphere is like if everyone is going on a school trip. Fascinating stuff.

Later on KLM got "real" DC-4s, and there were a number of differences with the C-54. A clear distinction for instance was the rear passenger door: No longer a double cargo door like in the C-54 but a single one in the DC-4. The aircraft on display in the Aviodrome museum (call sign also PH-TAR) is a C-54, but indeed, the paint scheme differs from the original PH-TAR. Hard to say exactly what differed for as far as I know there are only black and white pictures available of the original PH-TAR.

From the pictures of various KLM DC-4s it looks like propeller colors were either light grey, metallic and black and also the hubs were either alumina or black. Reddish or yellow blade tips. Different fuselage liveries, depending on service and location (e.g. white tops to withstand tropical heat in the West-Indies, and different striping). I have an interesting booklet that shows all or at least many of the different versions, and no two aircraft seemed to have been the same.

Well, it is what it is. In any case, the designer of the model, Cor van Haasteren, did a fine job to make the best out of this puzzle and the result is simply a very interesting model. To be continued

Cheers,
Erik

[Petestein]

Can't wait to see your rendition of this most beautiful and detailed model.

[Erik Zwaan]

Alright, the build continues. It started as a test build and the model I'm building is not the final version, although I don't know which modifications have been introduced in the final kit as I don't have it. Not everything in this blog may therefore be relevant, but so be it.

After studying the main landing gear, reinforcement is required as the model is relatively heavy. I think I finally found a simple way of reinforcing the main landing gear and tested this on the left side main landing gear strut and retraction unit. It's still work in progress and once finished I will show a more detailed step by step approach for the other strut.

As mentioned before, the V-shape of the wings in my build is less than anticipated, for some reason I couldn't make the wing skin suit the fuselage properly otherwise. This also affects the position of the landing gear but with a bit of fiddling around it didn't seem too problematic to solve.

Cheers,
Erik

[Don Boose]

It is a great pleasure to see such superb artisanship!

Truly outstanding work on the undercarriage.

Don

[Erik Zwaan]

Thank you Don!

I continued with the right main landing gear strut, and herewith some pictures how I reinforced the main strut and retracting gear.

The main strut has an internal wooden core (skewer) and the retracting gear has been reinforced with a brass pin, diameter 0.8mm. I drilled a small hole in the wooden core of the main strut through which the one end of the metal pin is connected, where both parts join. I used the instruction drawing to ensure the right angle between the two parts. The main struts are slightly out of the vertical. The other end of the pin protrudes through the wing.

Also the v-shaped upper part of the main strut is reinforced with brass wire, 1.0mm dia. By studying actual pictures, the easiest way to install the v-shaped part is actually to let it sit (or rest) on the engine nacelle skin. Use sufficient glue to stiffen up the assembly and also I placed a small wooden wedge in between the v-shaped part and nacelle skin so that the main strut factually rests on the engine nacelle.
The idea by doing so is that this helps to take up the weight of the model better when resting on its own legs. At least that's the intention - the proof is not yet in the pudding..... The wooden wedge is virtually invisible and is mostly hidden by the narrow landing gear door at the main strut.

Then the remaining details and landing gear doors. It certainly helps to use actual landing gear pictures. Google for "DC-4 main landing gear" and a wealth of useful pictures appear.

Wheels also done. They consist of several thin concentric circles, rounded off by sanding. Painted rubber black with neutral gray highlights to the threading. The instructions are not entirely clear about the width of the tires but based on the actual wheel dimensions the overall wheel thickness should be 9mm for the main wheels and 7mm for the nose wheel.

For now, I intend to only glue them in place once the nose gear has been installed, which will be next chapter of this build .

Erik

[Petestein]

So good that you finally finishing this fantastic but rather complex and difficult model. The landing gear by itself is a work of art let alone the beautiful wheels.

[Isaac]

Very elaborate landing gear. Lots of nice detail. And yes, it has to be re enforced to take the load of being on its gear for years.

Isaac

[Erik Zwaan]

Thanks Petestein and Isaac. Indeed, the landing gear takes a great deal of consideration as the building instructions provide little guidance.

Before gluing the main wheels in place, I decided to continue with the nose gear. First I fitted small hoses at the heater and fan assembly in the wheel well and painted them sky grey. The hoses are made of telephone wire.

The strut, fork and wheel assembly require reinforcement. The core of the strut is a 2mm dia brass tube with a 1mm dia pin. The pin protrudes through the core into the wheel. As you can see in the picture this "cheating" is hardly noticeable.
The wheel fork was built according to the instructions. The wheel axle is a 2mm dia brass tube that fits within the ends of the fork. The pin through the strut and into the wheel will provide sufficient strength to take the weight of the nose section (remember there's 60 grams of weight in the nose to prevent the model from tilting....). Then the steering mechanism and landing lights were added.

I enlarged one of the instruction drawings to 1:1 scale and made a template of it as an aid to position the nose wheel properly. Compared to actual pictures the position looks okay. It's a bit tricky though as the instruction drawings are not that accurate.
Next was the retraction mechanism, which is reinforced by 1mm dia plastic rods, glued in between the paper parts. I didn't follow the instructions to reinforce with cardboard as I don't think this will be strong enough to prevent the nose wheel assembly from sagging over time. Glued this fork to the strut, let it dry for a few hours and then placed it in the wheel well for proper alignment, and let the glue dry further. Finally I glued the entire assembly into place and let it harden overnight. By adding two other parts of the steering mechanism (also with a metal core) the side stability of the assembly is improved. Hopefully the extra glue used will also contribute to the overall strength and stability.

A few more parts to be added, and then the doors, but that's something for next time .

Erik