Manufacturer: Academy, from MRC, P.O. Box 6312, Edison, NJ 08818-6312, 732-225-6360.
Kit: No. 1603
Scale: 1/72
Price: $55
Comments: Injection molded, 184 parts (28 unused), decals
Pros: Most wanted subject, very good fit, accurate shapes, good cockpit, correct props for airliner version, good decals
Cons: Instructions don't mention necessary nose weight, anti-shimmy "horseshoe" missing on nose-gear strut, spinners too small, engines have a vestigial cylinder
Long atop our readers "most wanted" list for 1/72 scale aircraft, Boeing's Stratocruiser/C-97 family is finally here, thanks to Academy. When Academy designed its B-29/B-50 bomber kit family, it must have realized it could also produce the "double bubble" transport by molding some new parts. If you are familiar with Academy's bomber kits, you'll know some of the parts in this kit. The common core is the wing with its extended flap areas used on their B-50. Other common parts are some of the landing gear details, tailplanes, and engines (from the RB-50 kit).
But the new parts are what set this kit apart. An all-new fuselage (obviously), new nacelles (the exhausts come out the right side of each nacelle - out the left side on the B-50s), new fin (with the proper recessed hinge area), new props (correct for the airliner), and of course the new large cockpit canopy. Decals are provided for a Pan Am's "Clipper Nightingale" (misspelled on the boxtop, but OK on the decal) and a Boeing demonstrator.
Sometimes when a manufacturer produces a highly modified version of an older kit, the marriage of the new and old seems destined to fail. Not so here. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the old wings fit the new nacelles and fuselage. Interior detail is limited to the cockpit, but you get a fairly complete flight deck, with chairs for pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, navigator, and a jump seat, along with consoles and work stations.
There was nothing unusual about construction, and parts fit was very good. Oddly, there is no mention of adding weight to the nose - and you're going to need plenty, as there is a lot of plastic behind the main gear. I don't know how much I added, but I surrounded the nose-gear well with lead birdshot and gap- filling super glue.
I expected some warpage along those long fuselage seams, but everything lined up right. The edges of the clear canopy are set back from the windows so you can clean seams without damaging the "glass." My sample fit OK, but it was a tiny bit larger in diameter than the fuselage.
The method of attaching the nacelles to the wing seems odd; you assemble the form-fitting nacelles, then push them onto the wing from the front. Fortunately, there is enough flexibility in the construction to allow the nacelles to open wide over the thickest part of the wing and still close tightly at their trailing edges.
The landing gear is sturdy, but the attachment of the forward mounts (C44) to the nacelles is weak. Mounting the main struts is tricky; you must insert the end into the narrow trailing opening, turn it 90 degrees, then squeeze it into the mounting hole. It works! The characteristic anti-shimmy "horseshoe" for the nose-gear strut was not included - it was missing from the B-50 kit, too.
Since military C-97 and KC-97 versions are coming, a military-style antenna is molded on top of the fin. It is unneeded here, so the instructions direct you to remove it. Another oddity is the representation of each R-4360 Wasp Major "corncob" engine. Only the front row of eight cylinders is molded. Eight? There should be seven, but two cylinders are co-joined (to use today's parlance). I carved the offending twin away.
When you are finished building, you'll find a lot of parts left over. The radome and underwing tanks are intended for the C-97/KC-97 kits, and all the bomber interior parts and gun turrets (molded on the same sprues as the wings) can go in your parts box.
Academy's decals are well printed and fit surprisingly well. Holes for the cabin windows fit right where they are supposed to between the Pan Am double cheatlines. I was worried that the trim line around the nose (decal No. 8) would be trouble, but it fit perfectly. Many of the louvers in the nacelles, wing, and fin are represented by decals - done this way since the military versions seem to have different arrangements. The decals seem a bit thick, more noticeable on the natural-metal finish. I used SnJ Spray Metal for that, polishing with the aluminum powder on most panels, but leaving others unpolished.
The finished model is a beauty (and so much easier to build than the Rareplanes vac kit - see Great Scale Modeling 2000). I spent 34 hours on it, about average for me on a large model. It looks right, except for the spinners, which look a little small. Both airliner and military transport enthusiasts may now rejoice!