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BY BILL ENGAR

CARGO MANIFEST:  ATLANTIS MODELS A376, LOCKHEED C-141A STARLIFTER, 1/108 SCALE -- ASSEMBLY KIT FOR BUILDERS AGES 14 AND UP -- MOLDED IN SILVER PLASTIC -- PAINT AND GLUE NOT INCLUDED -- 45 PARTS -- 16 INCHES LONG -- 17 INCH WINGSPAN -- MSRP (2025) $US 32.99

Atlantis Models' 1/108 Lockheed C-141A Starlifter comes in a BIG box that features vintage artwork from the original Aurora Canada release of the kit

Atlantis Models has re-released Aurora's vintage Lockheed C-141A Starlifter.  The Starlifter was a state-of-the-art strategic cargo aircraft for the U.S. Air Force that served from 1965-2006.  Aurora's 1/108-scale kit of the Starlifter debuted in 1969 and hasn't been available since that time.  Monogram got the molds when Aurora ceased operations in the late 1970's and never re-released it.  After Monogram merged with Revell, the tooling still remained unused.  Circa 2018, Atlantis Models took possession of much of Revell-USA's vintage tooling and for 2025 has released what is I believe their largest aircraft kit to date.

The first thing you notice is that this is a pretty big model!  The surface is very smooth with no rivet detail and prominent recessed panel lines.  That's silver-colored plastic for builders who like minimal painting.

Aurora didn't put a lot of surface detailing into their aircraft kits like rivets or panel lines.  This is probably a plus for contest modelers who would lose the rivets and raised details while filling and sanding seams.

Atlantis consulted with our friend John B. to develop this decal sheet.  It's 100% accurate with markings of your choice for a bare-metal or gray-white C-141A.

Atlantis takes extra care to be sure the tooling for clear plastic parts is polished to perfection.  What you get is a crystal-clear windscreen!

Aurora's aircraft models were engineered for easy assembly and we anticipate that parts assembly will be straightforward.  The kit is perfect for the casual modeler looking for a quick, enjoyable project.  Those who prefer putting more time and effort into their models (like building for a contest for example) have a base for adding detail or a spectacular paint job.  For example, a scratch-built cockpit could be fabricated by a modeler with intermediate skills.  It'll show up nicely through that clear "glass."  A simpler alternative would be to paint the inside of the transparency black.  This will give an appearance of depth.

All doors including those for rear cargo access are prominent recessed panel lines.

The wing-top is one piece which will provide perfect wing anhedral.

A closeup shot of engines and wheels.  The model may be built with gear-up if you want.

The tooling appears to have held up well and the molding looks good.  There is a very small amount of flash.  The lower wing parts had barely-noticeable sinkholes.  The fuselage has a few opposite the alignment pin posts near the center seam but a small amount of putty will take care of them and no details will be destroyed.  Small parts have minor ejection pin marks.  Landing gear struts are spartan; in addition to a scratch-built cockpit, some advanced modelers might consider adding some detail there.  Of course the C-141 sat low on its landing gear and the only way you could really see it is by doing a bottoms-up view.

We'd suggest filling the prominent hatch outlines since the decals include yellow door outlines and windows.  We like the anti-icing vents at the wing root on the fuselage.  It's a nice little detail.

The instruction sheet has a very nice color page with a markings guide.  You can do two favorite schemes for the C-141A.  Better buy two kits so you can build both!

Assembly is easy.  Atlantis includes vintage Aurora artwork.

Two schemes are included, and both depict actual aircraft as verified by a former Air Force official.  63-8077 was an early C-141A (1965) in natural-metal.  It was involved in an unfortunate accident in 1973 in Spain.  Tail# 65-0249 was a white-and-gray aircraft that had a landing gear retraction problem leaving McMurdo Research Station, Antarctica in 1979.  It lost a main gear upon touchdown but managed to land safely in New Zealand hours later.  The aircraft survived to be upgraded to "B" variant later on.

Casual builders will be able to enjoy a trouble-free quick build of this model.  Experienced builders could execute a bare-metal paint job for the early aircraft by masking different panels (the box art gives you an idea of what this should look like).  Done right, this can be spectacular.

This box side has plenty of data about the kit and an image of the decal sheet.

The other side has mostly licensing information.  Yes, nowadays you need permission to sell a likeness of a piece of taxpayer-funded government property.

Another suggestion for the advanced modeler is a C-141A to C-141B conversion.  The "B" had fuselage plugs added fore and aft of the wing to increase the aircraft's length by 23 feet four inches.  The easiest way to do this is to buy two kits and cut out pieces of the fuselage from one kit and add them in the same locations in teh second kit.  Plugs to make the C-141B were 13 feet four inches ahead of the wing and ten feet behind.  In 1/108 scale, this translates into a fuselage plug 1-15/32" (3.74 cm) long in the front and 1-7/64" (2.82 cm) behind the wing.  You could also do it with sheet plastic instead of sacrifcing a second kit.

The box underside shows a silver C-141 as it appears in the silver scheme.

Fairing in the cut plugs takes a lot of skill and putty to smooth seams made from cutting.  You can use the decals for 65-0429 since it was converted to "B" standards.

This is what greets you when you first open the kit box.  Why not experience it for yourself?

We were so happy when we heard that Atlantis was bringing this model back.  They've done a very nice job with this release.  With two favorite C-141A schemes, we're sure you'll want to buy two kits.  You won't find such a big airplane model anywhere else at this price! 

We give this model kit an enthusiastic Four Thumbs Up and recommend that you add it (or two!) to your collection!

SPECIAL THANKS TO ATLANTIS MODELS FOR PROVIDING THIS KIT FOR US TO REVIEW AND ENJOY!

BONUS FEATURES

THE C-141

Since its inception, one of the missions of the United States Air Force has been transportation of personnel and materiel.  During the World War II Era, surface ships were accepted to be the primary method of moving assets to the battlefields of Europe and Japan.  However, with the emergence of reliable cargo transport aircraft and the considerable increase in speed that air logistics offered, it became obvious that air cargo transports would provide a strategic advantage in moving military supplies and personnel.

Douglas revolutionized military airlift capability with its C-47, a derivative of the civilian DC-3

The C-124, also a Douglas transport, was much larger than the DC-3.  It utilized WWII technology with its piston engines.  The C-141 replaced this aircraft.

Another Douglas transport, the C-133, innovated with turboprop engines, a high wing, and rear-loading.

Douglas Aircraft's DC-3 made passenger air transport commercially viable.  In military form, the C-47 became a workhorse during WWII for rapid movement of troops and supplies, particularly in the Pacific theater.  Limitations of its 6000-lb cargo capacity necessitated design of larger transports and Douglas fielded its DC-4 and eventually its post-war C-124.  Technology quickly evolved Post-War.  Douglas' own C-133 could carry a fully assembled Atlas ICBM.  The C-133 was an innovative aircraft  but it was not without its problems.

Lockheed's Constellation was repurposed as the C-69 during WWII, but only a few were ready for wartime use by the time the bugs were worked out.  Lockheed had more experience with its large, twin-engine Neptune and Ventura during the War.

Postwar, Lockheed created the C-130, a tactical airlifter quite a bit smaller than the C-133.  In 2024, the C-130 exceeded 70 years in-production, longer than any other military aircraft.

Douglas' C-133 was developed as a strategic airlifter.  However, the design and the aircraft lacked the longevity that seemed to be built into its DC-series aircraft such as the DC-3, DC-4 and DC-6, all of which had military derivatives. 

Lockheed utilized its experience with twin-engine WWII patrol aircraft such as the Neptune and Ventura to design the modern-at-the-time C-130.  This aircraft was extremely adaptable and updated versions are still being built to this day. 

Like Douglas, Lockheed had experience with large passenger transports in the form of the Constellation.  It is acknowledged as one of the most beautiful airliners ever built.

The Constellation's straight wing was similar to the P-38 and F-80/T-33, but the general design was too antiquated for the C-141.  The Starlifter got a swept wing and podded engines.

After WWII, Lockheed finally perfected the Constellation, demonstrating that it could build a large passenger airliner.  To replace older transports, the Air Force wanted a faster cargo aircraft that took advantage of jet engine technology.  Lockheed kept the same general configuration as the C-130 that had  a high wing and podded landing gear to provide a large, easy-to-load cargo area.  

​While the later C-133 shared the format (high wing, rear-loading, podded landing gear), the C-133 had trouble with metal fatigue and the aircraft could never be approved to carry passengers or paratroopers.  Lockheed's massive C-5 replaced the C-133 as the primary strategic airlifter for the USAF. Unfortunately, early C-5's also had trouble with metal fatigue.  Valuable engineering knowledge that eventually made this project successful long-term was learned from development of the C-141.

Starting in the late 1970's, many C-141A's were upgraded to C-141B's with the addition of a 23-foot fuselage stretch and in-air refueling capability.

During much of the 1980's, C-141B's wore "Lizard" camo.

Lockheed used experience gained from the XF-90 and Jetstar corporate jet programs to add swept wings to its C-141 project, the first large jet-powered dedicated cargo transporter.  Like the Boeing KC-135/707, the C-141 utilized podded engines.  Unlike the C-135, the C-141's T-tail provided unimpeded access to a rear-loaded cargo compartment with easy straight-in/straight out loading capability.  The C-135's required a lift to load cargo through a high side-door.

Lockheed built on its success with the C-141 by building the C-5 Galaxy.

C-141's were eventually painted in an overall tactical gray.

By the 1960's, turbojet technology had matured and the efficient and powerful (for the time) TF-33 was chosen to power the C-141.  These turbofans gave the C-141 plenty of power.  The airframe was designed from the outset to have a longer life than previous large, propeller-driven transports.  Engine power was deemed more than sufficient for the C-141 as-designed and the plane reached its load capacity by bulk more often than by weight.  After extensive use during the Vietnam war, it was decided to add capacity by stretching a number of C-141's.  This was cheaper than buying new airplanes.

Boeing's C-17 has replaced the C-141.  Design and procurement of this aircraft took much longer than the C-141 and it was considerably more expensive, even adjusting for inflation.

One legacy of the C-141 is Lockheed's C-5.  The upgraded C-5M is expected to be in service for years to come.  Unlike the C-141, C-5 has doors at either end allowing deliveries to be moved out the front door at the same time pickups are loaded in the back.

The USAF needed a heavy-airlift capability with the demise of the C-133's and emerging turbofan engines were up to the task.  Lockheed undercut Boeing and the massive C-5 Galaxy was born.  While the C-5 is still in use today after several updates, all the C-141's have been retired.  The '141 was a workhorse for the USAF and they were essentially worn out after four decades in service.  The C-17, originally designed by McDonnell Douglas before its acquisition by Boeing, has replaced the C-141.

MORE ABOUT THE SPECIFIC C-141A AIRCRAFT DEPICTED IN THE KIT

TAIL# 38077

Atlantis Models works hard to enhance their re-releases of kits from their legacy tooling bank.  Usually their models are better than any previous release of the kit.  For the C-141, they wanted to improve the kit by including more accurate decals than had ever been provided.  Our key aviation consultant, John B, worked with Peter Vetri to develop two accurate decal schemes including an early all-metal aircraft and a white-gray aircraft.

An Air Force photo of C-141A 63-8077, as depicted with accurate markings included in the Atlantis kit.

Tail# 63-8077 was depicted in Aurora's box art for their original 1969 C-141 model kit, but the decals in the box didn't match this scheme and the nose# was incorrect.  For the first time, the markings are accurate right out of the box!  38077 had an unfortunate end in August, 1973.  On approach to Torrejon, Spain, a cascading series of distractions and crew fatigue snowballed into a terrain collision where all but one of the crew and passengers died.

TAIL# 650249

50249 after its "safe" landing.

50249 was repaired, upgraded to a "B" and flew until retirement in 2005.

Tail# 65-0249 was a C-141A in 1979.  In late October of that year, it participated in a crew rotation and resupply mission to McMurdo Station, Antarctica from Christchurch, New Zealand.  Departing McMurdo, the aircraft suffered a main gear strut mishap where the right-side gear partially detached and remained hanging after normal retraction of the other struts.  The best option was to head bak to Christchurch, the closest location with a landing strip and crash crew.  The aircraft faced many challenges and the extra drag from the hanging landing gear decreased its range to the point where it was doubtful that it could make it to Christchurch.  Upon landing, the strut detached but the aircraft was able to stop without further mishap thanks to exceptional airmanship.  It could easily have gone far worse.  With no injury to the crew and passengers, it could be considered an excellent landing under the circumstances.

WAY TO "B":  SUGGESTIONS TO STRETCH AN ATLANTIS C-141A INTO A C-141B

Stay tuned -- we'll add more material to this article soon!