Lockheed Martin Constellation TWA Super G 1/85 Scale Mahogany Model

Introducing the ready-built KLCT Desktop Model. This 1/85 scale model was handmade with precision and accuracy to produce the finest model that will be the centerpiece of your collection for years to come. This model is a perfect gift for pilots and aviation enthusiasts alike. Not too big or too small, this model features a wingspan of 16.50 inches and a length of 14.75 inches. This model features a very accurate paint scheme with realistic panel lines.

The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an aircraft in the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner and first flew in 1950. The aircraft was also produced for both the United States Navy and Air Force as transport and AWACS aircraft.

Since 1943, Lockheed had been perceiving a stretched variant of the Constellation family. The first was an L-049 with a fuselage lengthened by 13 feet. The next was an L-749 lengthened by 18 feet. Neither was built due to the lack of suitable engines on the civilian market.

The idea was relaunched after a threat appeared, when the Douglas Aircraft Company launched a stretched version of its own DC-6 airliner as a cargo transport for both military and civilian operators designated the DC-6A. Douglas was soon to launch a passenger version of this new aircraft known as the DC-6B. The new DC-6 had the capability of carrying 23 more passengers than Lockheed's current production L-749 Constellation.

In 1950, Lockheed had purchased the original XC-69 Constellation prototype back from Howard Hughes. The XC-69 however, was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials instead of the Wright R-3350 engines which usually powered the Constellation (this had been done by Lockheed to test the R-2800 as a possible engine option for the L-049). The XC-69 was lengthened by 18 feet, to become the basis for the L-1049 Super Constellation. The aircraft first flew later that year still fitted with R-2800 engines, but was quickly refitted with R-3350 956-C18CA-1 engines with jet stacks to help enhance the performance of the aircraft. Later modifications included strengthened landing gear and larger vertical stabilizers. Being impressed, Eastern Air Lines had placed an order for 10 aircraft, while Trans World Airlines (TWA) followed with a larger order for 14 aircraft.

The L-1049 had almost 550 improvements and modifications compared to the L-749. Improvements over the L-749 included increased fuel capacity, rectangular portholes, larger cockpit windshields and improved heating and pressurization. Further developments of the L-1049 would later include the Turbo-compound R-3350 engines, external fuel tanks on the wings known as "tip tanks", weather radar and freight variants.