IPMS Kit Review: Revell 1/48 AC-47 Vietnam Gunship

Revell

1/48 AC-47 Vietnam Gunship

Kit Number: 85-5615

Reviewed by Perry Downen, IPMS# 44000

MSRP: $31.50
Website: www.revell.com

In 1960, the Air Force began looking for a new weapons systems to use in Vietnam. Under the program Project Gunship I, a WW II Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport was converted into the first side-firing gunship. This new aircraft was designated AC-47D (Attack-Cargo). Following a successful combat test program, the 4th Air Commando Squadron (ACS) was formed and equipped with these gunships. From then until September 1969 53 AC-47 D gunships were built. Because it was so vulnerable to enemy ground fire, 28 percent or 15 aircraft were lost.

In a similar approach as Project Gunship I, this kit is a modification of the old Monogram C-47 Skytrain kit. It comes in a rather large and strong cellophane-wrapped box. The box contains approximately 115 parts in four bags of light gray plastic and one bag of clear parts. The physical size of this 1/48 scale model is impressive.

The instruction booklet consists of nine pages with 21 steps of assembly, painting and decal placement. The instructions are clearly written, well illustrated and follow a logical assembly sequence. Unfortunately, the instructions do not include fuselage side views of the camouflage pattern and decal placement. These missing side views, however, can be found on the Internet at: http://manuals.hobbico.com/rmx/rmxs5615-guide.pdf. That said, decal registry and color are good. Included on the decal sheet are markings for two different aircraft. One correction to note: the decals for the 4th Special Operations Squadron have the tail code as "EI". Research shows that it should be "EN" instead.

Construction starts with the assembly of the interior where the navigator’s station, radioman’s station, cockpit, and cargo (gunroom) compartment are located. In addition, the head parts are placed behind the rear bulkhead. The detail on all these parts is nice, considering the age of the basic kit. However, I could have saved several construction hours by not painting, detailing, and installing these interior parts. Once the fuselage is closed, very little of the interior is visible.

There are locating pins along the fuselage join line to help with the parts alignment. By carefully mating the two fuselage halves, I achieved a rather tight seam. I used very little filler, but during the minor clean up a small portion of the raised panel lines was lost.

I deviated from the wing assembly sequence in hopes of achieving a tighter fit with the fuselage. First, I mated the bottom center wing to the fuselage. I had to use some filler at the fore and aft end of the center wing. Then I added the bottom half of the wings to the center wing. Finally, I added the top half of the wings to the bottom wing halves paying particular attention to minimize the join line with the fuselage. This worked out well and made for a neat join that required no filler.

The assembly and placement of the remaining components, tail surfaces, landing gear, engine mounts, engines, cowling, etc. was routine. I encountered no problems and all parts fit nicely. The control surfaces have a fabric finish to them. They may be a little too pronounced, but the effect is still nice. I did not add any after-market or scratch-built pieces. The only extra work I did was to clean out the filter housings intake.

The final step is painting the model and adding the decals. For me, the biggest challenge, by far, was painting the Southeast Asia camouflage scheme. However, with a little practice and suggestions from club members, I managed to achieve an acceptable finish.

Revell has produced a much-needed model from the Vietnam era at a very reasonable price considering the size of the model. For a basic kit that has been around since the 1970s, it finishes out nicely – even with raised panel lines. While the actual construction of this model may be something a novice builder can accomplish with ease, the finish may be a bit more challenging.

I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Revell Inc. for providing this review kit and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.

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