Williams Bros. 1/72 C-46 Commando

The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company publicity. It was used primarily as a cargo aircraft during World War II, with fold-down seating for military transport and some use in delivering paratroops. Mainly deployed by the United States Army Air Forces, it also served the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps, which called it R5C. The C-46 filled similar roles as its Douglas-built counterpart, the C-47 Skytrain, with some 3,200 C-46s produced to approximately 10,200 C-47s. The major benefits of the C-46 were higher speed, greater cargo capacity, greater range and greater altitude performance which made it a good choice for flying over the 'hump' in the CBI.

After World War II, a few surplus C-46 aircraft were briefly used in their original role as passenger airliners but the glut of surplus C-47s dominated the marketplace and the C-46 was soon relegated to cargo duty. The type continued in U.S. Air Force service in a secondary role until 1968. The C-46 continues in operation as a rugged cargo transport for arctic and remote locations with its service life extending into the 21st century.

I bought this kit over 30 years ago and have now just removed the shrink wrap to do the preview. Williams Bros. was a one/two man operation that produced interesting short run kits of American subjects in a variety of scales. Most widely liked were their 30s racers in 1/32 scale. The company was sold to a buyer in Texas who has, over the years, been slowly re-issuing their kits, sometimes with different decals. Even back then the kit had issues with flash and while not on all the parts, there is enough to cause some additional clean-up work to be done.

As you can see from the parts diagram, which is also the instruction sheet, the kit offers options and requires some additional work to produce the variant that you want to build. In terms of options, other than things like the astrodome and antennas, one has the ability to build a three or four blade prop. This consists of separate blades and separate hubs, which is not my ideal. The kit does have a fairly reasonable cockpit that uses a decal for the instrument panel. There is a floor for the cabin, but that is it. A two row radial engine is provided that is also fairly basic, but adequate.

The main gear well is bare with no detail. If building the kit on its gear, the tail wheel doors will need to be cut away and repositioned in the open mode. Wings themselves are five pieces with a lower center section and two outer sections. The upper wing halves overlap the lower parts providing a sturdy assembly. I like that the forward part of the engine cowling is a single piece so no concerns about what to do about a 'split lip' to this part. I do not like the rubber tires as they look toy-like and will split once stressed.

As you can see, the instructions are simply an exploded view. What color information is provided is all generic. Four marking options are provided. One is an earlye-war version that uses the three blade props and is in OD over Neutral Grey. Next is an unpainted metal version from 1944 as shown on the box art. This option uses the four blade props. Third is a Chinese Air Force version from just after the war in unpainted metal. The final option is a Flying Tiger Line airliner. This one requires the wing tips to be shortened and the chord of the elevators to be increased. This option uses a three blade prop. The decal sheet is quite large, too long for the platen of my scanner, and is fairly nicely printed. Not sure how viable they are, but perhaps contacting the current producer of the kit will enable one to get a fresher sheet. Draw Decal does several airliner livery options.

Probably not a kit for everyone and I've heard tales of this one being rather difficult to build. However, it should not be beyond the ability of any intermediate modeler, a category into which I think most of us fit. For those wanting something newer, Valom does multiple boxings of a 1/72 C-46 that can be found at around $60 plus shipping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_C-46_Commando

June 2024

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