KLM DC-4 Picture gallery

[Erik Zwaan]

Gents, once more thank you for your continued reactions but let's not dwell too long on interior details. They haven't been designed for the reasons provided by the designer, which I fully respect, but that doesn't stop anyone to experiment yourself with creating some if you think it's worth the effort. That's a personal choice, well motivated one way or the other so never a waste of effort.

And let's be honest, you don't need a detailed cockpit, just the basic interior with pilot's seats, bulkhead with door closed, instrument panel and throttle quadrant, all without too many details is already sufficient. The windows are small and the suggestion of a cockpit interior when looking through the windows already makes a difference. The cockpit area of the model has no structural function, and if you glue the inside cockpit with additional paper, you'll be surprised by the strength of such double layer.

With respect to the cabin details, I initially played with the thought to cut out the windows, replace them with clear sheeting, install curtains and make a kind of shallow box on either inside (indenting into the formers, so without compromising structural integrity of the model), and painted in a shade of grey to capture a simple 3D-effect of inside cabin details. I hope you understand what I mean.

Both interior details I think are relatively easy to make and the only reason why I didn't continue with this is the fact that the build was intended as a test-build. But being trained as an engineer, I would have loved to take up this challenge.

This model is unique in its kind, and at some point during the design the designer had to decide which details to include and which not. I can imagine it's a process of continuous decision making. No choice is wrong, there's always a good reason.
For me, I'd say such a model triggers the imagination and hunger for getting to know more about the subject. Gathering more information never fails to provide me with ideas how to enhance the build, but the same process of decision making is involved: To go for the extra detail or not; do I think it is worth the effort? The fact that certain details are not in the model's design wouldn't have to stop any builder from making them yourself. Even Halinskis can be further detailed if you want, ha, ha .

Well, cheers for now, have a great weekend everyone.

Erik