I would like to express my sincere thanks to Minicraft Model Kits for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.
In the mid-1930s United Airlines decided they needed a larger plane than the DC-3s they were using. They contacted Douglas Aircraft to develop such a plane. Douglas designed and built a large aircraft they called the DC-4E (E for experimental). It flew for the first time on June 7, 1938. More than twice the size of the DC-3 (138 ft. wingspan and 97 ft. long) the cabin had a wide pressurized cross-section, a tricycle landing gear, and triple vertical stabilizers similar to the Lockheed Constellation. With its four Wright R-1820 engines developing 1450 hp each, it could potentially fly nonstop from Chicago to San Francisco.