A couple of DHC-2 Mk. IIIs…

Here are a couple of card model builds of De Havilland Canada’s DHC-2 Mk. III Turbo Beavers. Both are 1/48th scale and while the kits (by an outfit called Design Group Alpha) build into nice replicas, I added scratchbuilt detail to both to improve accuracy. Paper used was a 170gsm glossy stock.

C-FOPA is operated by Ontario Provincial Air Services. This is the first floatplane I’ve ever tried. (I also learned the difference between “amphibious floats” and “seaplane floats,” but learned it after I was finished. C-FOPA had amphibious floats, so I had to go back and add the retracted landing gear. Even in card modeling, if you gloss over the instructions, you can get in trouble quickly….)

I built C-FDJH pretty much stock, but opted to build it with the landing gear instead of floats, and I add skis. I also dropped the flaps and the elevator, which required some scratchbuilding.

One thing I came to realize when researching C-FOPS and C-FDJH online was that over the years, the appearance of individual DHC-2 Mk. IIIs can change, and I don’t just mean markings. I found photos of the same aircraft with a large ventral fin, photos of it with a small ventral fin and photos with no ventral fin at all. I found photos of it with finlets on the horizontal stabilizer and photos without. The antenna arrangement can change over time, as can the anti-collision lights. You basically have to pick a photo and model the photo.




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