Whiskey Jack Decals 1/144 Queen Charlotte Airlines DC-3

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Queen Charlotte Airways started up in 1943 and plied the Western skies until 1955 when Pacific Western Airlines pushed QCA out of business. During this time, the airline flew a variety of aircraft, with the Douglas DC-3 arriving in the fleet in the last couple of years. While the DC-3 offered a higher level of comfort than prior aircraft in the fleet, they arrived too late to save the airline.

This latest sheet from Whiskey Jack provides markings for both of the QCA DC-3s. Both are finished similarly and differ only in the details. The aircraft are natural metal overall, with the fuselage and vertical fin in white. Adding a splash of color, the wingtips are painted yellow and trimmed in black. Along the fuselage is the cheatline, a combination of black and yellow, with a matching yellow stripe outlined in black for the tail. Small registration codes are on the upper right and lower left wing, while even smaller examples are included for the vertical fin. Other details include the Douglas logo, door outlines and window decals. Finally, the instructions provide a template with the correct outline for the fin and rudder, which is undersized in the kit.

With the Minicraft DC-3 kit readily available and inexpensive, it is a pleasure to see interesting liveries such as this one. If you have a spare kit lying around and want something a bit different, pick this sheet up.