John Haas weaves his special magic again, but this time not with a scratch build in wood but by converting a 1/48 scale DC-3 kit into a Shōwa L2D3-L (Type 0 Freighter Model 22 - 零式荷物輸送機22型 - Reishiki Nimotsu-Yusōki 22-gata) 'Tabby' in plastic! Over to John then:
'In the past I built four Monogram 1/48 models. I like the looks of the plane and the kit was easy to convert into different versions. I even converted one into a DC-2. I had an old idea to build a Japanese 'Tabby' variant, but I could not find another Monogram kit, so I turned to the only available other one - a Trumpeter kit. First I gathered all the info I could find on the Internet and my books.
'I chose the L2D3-L version, it seems to me the easiest way to convert the C-47 into a nice 'Tabby'. Well I should have known better! A 'Tabby' was way more different then a simple modified Douglas DC-3 as I found out along the way.
'The first step was building a new loading door. Next came the cockpit with the distinct additional windows. Here I had to improvise because there is not much information about what the cockpit interior was like. I kept the interior simple, only retaining the floor, because you can hardly see anything inside with those tiny widows. By the way, I had to make 14 new windows because the 'Tabby' had no holes in them.
'When the fuselage was ready, I had to make two new engines. Luckily in the spare parts box I found some old engines and cowlings from an old Revell B-25B Mitchell. It was possible with some modification to transform them into Mitsubishi Kinsei engines. The most difficult challenge were the inlet scoops as I had to fabricate a wooden master and vacuform them.
'The undercarriage also needed some modification, though it was more or less based on the DC-2, which was different from a DC-3 (C-47). The upper part of the legs had more struts.
'The last step was the replacement of the underwing stiffeners. They were simple straight ones instead of the sawtooth American versions.
'After all the construction work, it was time for some painting. Because I like to use the Revell Aqua Paints I had to mix the JNAF green. I tried to match Nick's recipe as closely as possible.:-)
'When I arrived at the decals, I had to print the large Hinomaru on white decal paper; they are quite large, I also liked to have some markings on the rudder. Unfortunately I could not find the right size number decals in the spares box, so I had to draw and print them with the Paint program on my PC. The last step was the yellow wing identification markings and I made those by painting white decal paper in yellow and clipping them in the right size.
'After fixing the antenna masts and stretched sprue wiring, the 'Tabby' was ready for roll-out for its maiden flight!'
With very special thanks to John for sharing these images and notes of his excellent conversion to create a 'Tabby' in quarter scale..
Image credit: All photos © 2024 John Haas
4 comments:
Great work again, John! Those are interesting deviations from the original DC-3. It certainly was a challenge to discover them all. I like that D1 Green camouflage. Thanks for posting!
Always found the Tabby to be of interest. Great looking model and pleasing choice of colors. Amodel has a 1/72 offering but your 1/48 scale build must be unique. The Soviets operated their version of the DC-3 that featured a powered dorsal turret. Thanks John and Nick for the enjoyable post.
John, you are never daunted by a challenge! A fine result. Thanks for sharing the build notes. All most of us need (I'd like to think...) is a similar resolve. And a great deal of craftmanship. Kudos.
Awesome conversion job! Hats off!
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