The Little World

The C-119 Flying Boxcar is ready for deployment. Ol’ 102 she is, and a finer example of the type couldn’t be found. At least not locally.

The decision to paint it in 1949 livery was prompted by the fact that there were no stub fins under the vertical stabilizer. That meant no side lightning stripes, no white top, and the original single front wheel. Also a much reduced antenna load on the top of the aircraft.

The picture sources for 101 to 104 are slim on the net, but there are three clear monochrome views and the rest is fair conjecture. There is probably a monograph or profile somewhere in a bookstore but nothing turned up locally. I’ll have to haunt the tech shops in Melbourne and Sydney.

It’s a ground bird, for sure. the open clams at the back are such a distinctive feature of the type that I cannot bear to glue them shut. On another C-119 I might even be tempted to make working hinges.

One amusing thing is the shortness of the folding boarding ladder. You might be able to struggle to the front hatch in a scramble, but I wouldn’t try to get off quickly – you’d pitch headfirst to the tarmac. Likewise treat the boarding ramps with caution as there is nothing that fastens the front end to the sill of the aircraft.

The silver finish is two Tamiya AS-12 cans and then a top coat of White Knight gloss acrylic from Bunnings. This latter could be too thick for some purposes but if you are careful it provides a good gloss protection without costing the earth. Kind to decals, too.

The plane will feature in a number of Wet Dog Regional photos and then reside with my daughter – it is her model after all. An ideal way to build your cake and eat it too.