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

[romanmodels]

nose gear looks good Erik.

[Petestein]

How can a common human being, living on this planet be so talented when he tackles a card model? Well, you can be compared to other artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Beethoven, The Beatles, well soooooooooo many geniuses in several human art and science developers. Your work is amazing, something I have never seen before in the card models hobby. That DC-4 apart from being one of the most detailed card models I've ever seen, you are turning it into a museum piece worth to be exhibited in any aviation collection.

[JoeMon]

Very impressive work. The intention to detail on the gear, the smoothness of the fuselage and literally invisible joints is fantastic.

[dutchbuilt]

Don't forget the tail support Erik it adds to the rigidity of the landing gear and is intended to be used. Regarding the instructions: It is almost impossible to draw a perfect view of every angle of a construction. I know that some Polish cardmodel publishers sometimes show incredible detailed Instructions which have been made in a 3D program but for me that was not feasible.

[Erik Zwaan]

Thanks gents for your compliments but I'd say there a lot more builders on this forum with better skills than me .

In any case, the nose gear's finished with maybe a few more additional details to be added (not part of the model). I studied quite a few close-up pictures of the DC-4 nose landing gear to understand how to install some of the smaller parts, and got it when I remembered that Cor (the designer) once mentioned that the landing gear of the model is based on a Revell 1:72 kit. The picture of this model that I found on the internet exactly showed the details I was looking for; refer to the red arrows. It requires a slight modification of part 120, as in fact the part has to be cut into two. I took a few close-up pictures of the nose gear, and hopefully they speak for themselves.

After the nose gear was completed I turned to the main landing gear again and glued the wheels in place. As the main struts do not fully rest on the centerline of the wheel axles, gluing them in place is a bit tricky, but allow the glue dry for several minutes before placing the wheel assembly on the strut's ends and then they will stay in place.
After drying for approximately one hour, I placed the model on its own legs, and supported the tail end just sufficiently to prevent it from sagging due to the off-center location of the wheel assemblies to the main struts.

After full hardening of the glue (UHU acetate glue) I applied white glue around the strut-axle connection for additional strength. Only details left are placing the brake lines. I'm using 0.5mm thick plastic thread shaped in the required form. In the last picture the brake lines are dry-fitted. The plastic is white but will be painted in the same color as the wheels. Next time more on this and the final landing gear details.

It was a very enjoyable moment to finally see the model resting on its own legs, on a landing gear strong enough to hold it for many years to come .

Erik

[sharunas]

Outstanding build! Neatly looking model!

[Don Boose]

It's magnificent, Erik!

Don

[whulsey]

Just catching up. Great work on the landing gear!

[Erik Zwaan]

Thank you Sharunas, Don and whulsey!

In the meantime I have been installing the antenna masts and aerials, and various navigation pods/antennas. The model can be built in several versions (KLM, Berlin Airlift, Santa Fe, Avianca) and not every operator had the same radio/navigation equipment. Even within KLM several configurations were used if you carefully study various pictures of the DC-4s in service at the time.
The instructions are not exactly clear so I used several pictures of the real PH-TAR and other KLM DC-4s to get as close as possible to what it must have been. I reinforced the antenna masts with metal wire and used EZ line for the aerials. Not a very difficult job to install and glue but rather time consuming. And not the least: With all these thin wires everywhere around the model needs to be handled with quite a bit of consideration.

Also some "paper touchups" here and there where due to whatever reason the fit was less than expected or the print was a bit damaged due to holding the model so many times in my hands during the build.

Hydraulic lines (metal wire) at the steering cylinders at the nose gear, static wicks on the wings and horizontal/vertical stabilizer.

The tail stand, to prevent the plane from tilting during loading. As I put sufficient weight in the nose (50-60 grams), the model doesn't tilt at all.

The nicest detail is the KLM ramp, which I modified slightly by using plastic rods for the supporting mechanism rather than the paper version. The paper version came in handy as template for the plastic rods.

A few more details are yet to follow, as well as the final paint or marker touchups before the model will be varnished.

Cheers,
Erik

[YOAVHOZMI]

this model looks great Erik.

well done my friend.

YOAV