This page is a mix of information and resources for anyone considering building a scale model of the CAC Wirraway. This page is a work in progress, and information is constantly being added.
Plastic Kits Available
This is a list of commercial plastic kits of the CAC Wirraway, sorted alphabetically by scale. Not all of these kits are still available, but many of them appear on eBay at various times. Much of the information in this list is also available on the ScaleMates website.
1/72
MPM
Description and comments coming soon…
Special Hobby SH72194
This kit was first first released in 2010 (kit number SH72194), depicting the following aircraft:
- Wirraway Mk II (CA-9 contract) A20-444, NV-J of No. 23 Squadron at Lowood, Queensland.
- Wirraway Mk II (CA-9 contract) A20-496, T-M of No. 23 Squadron at Lowood, Queensland
- Wirraway Mk II (CA-9 contract) A20-572, QE-H of No. 4 Squadron RAAF at Port Moresby, New Guinea
The outlines of the kit moldings appear to be based on the Richard Caruana drawings published in 2003, which sadly are not accurate (see my comments regarding these drawings here).
The kit instructions call for the interior of the cockpit, the fuselage frame and the interior of the wheel wells to be painted in “Interior Green”, but all these areas should be painted silver. There was no “Interior Green” paint on Wirraways from the CAC factory.
Parts B14 depict the hydraulic undercarriage retraction jacks, but these were actually mounted inside the wings and were not visible, so these parts can be deleted.
The rear observer’s gun (part B2) appears to be a 30-calibre Browning gun, and should be replaced with a Vickers GO No. 1 Mk. 1 machine gun.
The radio antenna configuration for A20-444 shown in the box cover art is incorrect. The correct configuration (wires from the vertical stabiliser to both wingtips plus a wire from the vertical stabiliser to the antenna lead-in on the upper rear fuselage) is shown in the corrected image below:
It is correct that A20-444 had no forward antenna mast in front of the windscreen.
Special Hobby 72331
The Special Hobby kit was re-released in 2015 (as kit number SH72331 “First Blood over Rabaul”) with some new parts, depicting the following aircraft:
- Wirraway II (CA-3 contract) A20-47, GA-B of No. 21 “City of Melbourne” Squadron circa 1941
- Wirraway II (CA-3 contract) A20-71 of No. 24 Squadron, piloted by P/O C.A. Butterworth at Rabaul, New Guinea during the Japanese raids of January 1942
- Wirraway II (CA-3 contract) A20-101 “The Secret Weapon” of No. 23 Squadron circa 1941. Note that photographs of “The Secret Weapon” of 23 Squadron do not show the serial number of the aircraft clearly, and A20-101 was never allocated to 23 Squadron, so the identification of this aircraft as A20-101 is incorrect.
- Wirraway II (CA-5 contract) A20-103 “Ugh!” of No. 4 Squadron circa 1942, which shot down a Ki-43 Oscar in December 1942 while piloted by P/O John S. Archer
The kit moldings are identical to SH72194, but an additional resin part represented the enclosed rear cockpit of “The Secret Weapon”.
Once again the kit instructions incorrectly call for the interior of the cockpit, the fuselage frame and the interior of the wheel wells to be painted in “Interior Green”. These areas should be painted silver.
Once again, parts B14 can be deleted.
Once again, the rear observer’s gun (part B2) should be replaced with a Vickers GO No. 1 Mk. 1 machine gun.
Special Hobby 72473
The Special Hobby kit was re-released again in 2023 (kit number SH72473 “In training and combat”) depicting the following aircraft:
- Wirraway II (CA-9 contract) A20-617 of No. 86 Squadron based at at Bohle River airstrip, Queensland, circa 1945
- Wirraway III (CA-16 contract) A20-637, QE-J of No. 4 Squadron based at Finchhaven, New Guinea circa 1945. Note that the instructions state that this aircraft was a CA-9 contract aircraft, but that is not correct.
The kit moldings are identical to SH72194.
Once again the kit instructions incorrectly call for the interior of the cockpit, the fuselage frame and the interior of the wheel wells to be painted in “Aircraft Gray Green”. These areas should be painted silver.
Once again, parts B14 can be deleted.
Once again, the rear observer’s gun (part B2) should be replaced with a Vickers GO No. 1 Mk. 1 machine gun if building A20-637.
Both of the aircraft depicted in this kit had received “dive bomber wings” (outer wings with upward-folding dive brakes above the standard flaps) by 1945, and these should be scribed into the surface of the outer wings.
Ventura / High Planes Models / Jays Model Kits
Description and comments coming soon…
Beechnut 1003
The Beechnut kit was released sometime in the 1980s and is a very basic offering. Beechnut indicated that 2,000 kits were produced. The kit features 13 parts molded in a very waxy type of styrene and requires many additional parts to be fabricated from stretched sprue or found in your parts box.
The dimensions and shapes of the moldings are not too accurate. The fuselage is too short and too narrow aft of the wing. Here’s how the fuselage lines up to my 1/72 drawing:
1/48 Scale Kits
Special Hobby
Sierra Scale Models (vacuum-formed conversion kit for the Monogram AT-6 Texan kit)
Other Resources
STL files for 3D printing. Click on the item below and it should download an STL file which you can print on your 3D printer.
1/32 Pratt & Whitney Wasp gear reduction housing
More coming…