Douglas DC-7C

[Tone]

Overall It looks to me like a DC-7C because of the distance between the fuselage and the inboard engines!

Also, since the -7C received a lot of publicity and quickly became a "Queen Of The Skies", it received an inordinate amount of attention from publicity agents and model makers.

For how long ... two, maybe three years at best until the jets came along!

Wow ... I didn't know we had plane toy/model collectors on Sardegna ... welcome!

[MichaelB]

Toy/model collectors and builders are world wide!
The 7C has a wing root extension that has a single chord length, unlike the tapering wing itself. The -7B and C all could have saddle tanks in two sizes, or not. The 7C has three windows forward of the prop line, the 6 and 6B only two. Although it can't be seen in photos, the -7C has a taller fin.
The -7 came into the line in 1954; I last flew one in 1968 and there are still several -7 fire bombers out there. Not a bad life span..

[Avio72]

Overall It looks to me like a DC-7C because of the distance between the fuselage and the inboard engines!

Also, since the -7C received a lot of publicity and quickly became a "Queen Of The Skies", it received an inordinate amount of attention from publicity agents and model makers.

For how long ... two, maybe three years at best until the jets came along!

Wow ... I didn't know we had plane toy/model collectors on Sardegna ... welcome!

Thanks for the welcome, in fact I have a small collection, but on a smaller scale.
Unfortunately missing a piece Beachcraft a C-45, which my sister a few years had the bright idea to throw it in the trash without telling me: (

[Tone]

I last flew one in 1968 and there are still several -7 fire bombers out there. Not a bad life span..

Michael, I swear I saw an Eastern Air Lines DC-7 sitting out at the cargo terminal at Charlotte NC last December ! I had to pinch myself to remind myself I wasn't dreaming.

I looked it up when I got back home and it turns out the plane had engine problems and made an emergency landing for repair.

I also spotted one in an episode of The X Files back in the mid 90s, and more recently in the TV show Pan Am earlier this year.

[MichaelB]

Yes, that DC-7B was originally an EAL plane and was restored to service in 2010. It did have an engine failure in Charlotte and remains there still. Until enough $$ are accumulated to replace the engine, it will stay in Charlotte.
One side was painted so that it could make an appearance in the Pan Am TV series (which was a dismal series).
More recently DC-4 N460WA appeared in the opening episode of Vegas just this season. Also look for a DC-7 at the end of American Graffitti.

[Tone]

Also look for a DC-7 at the end of American Graffitti.

That was Magic Carpet Airlines, a real airline that was operating the DC-7 in 1972-73 when that movie was being filmed.

[MichaelB]

Really, and here all these years I thought they had tagged that name on it to add a layer of meaning and import to the movie, and our hero's life...it still works...