The Beechcraft Model 18, popularly known as the Twin Beech, was produced in a myriad of civil and military versions over its 30 year production life. The USAAF and later USAF used the C-45 Expeditor variant until the early 1960s, while the US Navy and Army flew the type right into the ‘70s.
Iliad Design's new sheet of decals is designed for the 1:48 ICM kit (also re-boxed by Revell) with three interesting schemes that span the long career of the Twin Beech in US military service. Despite its title, the sheet isn’t restricted to the C-45, and features:
1. SNB-2H s/n 23605 stationed at NAS Jacksonville in WW2 era ambulance markings
2. UC-45J s/n 51248 assigned to NAS Atsugi, Japan in the 1960s
3. AT-7C s/n 333482 of an unknown unit immediately postwar bearing a “Protect The Victory” recruiting slogan
The decals are excellent quality as we’ve come to expect from Iliad Design, being thin and glossy and printed in perfect register. The colours look very good, with a correctly deep Insignia Blue and Insignia Red - the latter contrasting noticeably with the bright red-cross insignia.
All three aircraft will need a little conversion work from the standard kit. Options 1 and 3 feature a wedge-shaped revolving astrodome that isn’t included among the clear parts. The instructions include useful reference photos of the full-sized item, which shouldn’t be very hard to scratch-build.
Option 2 is a re-manufactured postwar machine with longer nacelles and extended leading edges. For this Iliad Design recommend the Belcher Bits resin set to save a lot of work.
The instructions feature large colour profiles of each scheme, along with top views tha show the underside markings “ghosted” through. There are concise notes pointing out distinguishing points on each aircraft.
Set #48033 "Beechcraft C-45s" is available now from Iliad Design, price: $12.00
Conclusion
This is another excellent release from Iliad Design. I recently bought Revell’s version of the kit and was very disappointed by the quality of the decals that came with it, so this set of alternative markings is particularly welcome.
Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Excellent quality decals backed up by straightforward and helpful instructions. Very interesting subjects.Lows: None notedVerdict: You'll need to do a little modification work to the standard ICM/Revell kits, but this is a fine release for modellers wanting to build something a little different from the Twin Beeches covered by the kits' markings.
Our Thanks to Iliad Design! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
About Rowan Baylis (Merlin) FROM: NO REGIONAL SELECTED, UNITED KINGDOM
I've been modelling for about 40 years, on and off. While I'm happy to build anything, my interests lie primarily in 1/48 scale aircraft. I mostly concentrate on WW2 subjects, although I'm also interested in WW1, Golden Age aviation and the early Jet Age - and have even been known to build the occas...
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