>> **** DONE: 1/72 CAC CA-15 "Kangaroo" - Prototype / Weird Aircraft / Trainers

[parsifal]

Username : Parsifal
First name : Michael
Category : Intermediate
Scale : 1/72
Manufacturer / Model : Czech master Resin (CMR)
Extras : None at this stage.

Although the CAC CA-15 bore an unmistakable resemblance to the P-51 Mustang, it was a completely different aircraft developed by the Australian Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.

The Kangaroo, as it was unofficially known, was planned as a replacement for the Mustang which had been built under licence in Australia by CAC. The CA-15 was bigger overall than the Mustang, and the prototype was powered by a Rolls Royce Griffon Mk.61 rated at 2035 hp. It had been planned originally (in 1943) to power the a/c using an American R2800 engine and then in 1944 an experimental Griffon rated at 2400 HP. The US refused to provide a copy of the R 2800 and the british cancelled their modified Griffon. Eventually, at the end of 1945 CAC managed to "borrow" a copy of the griffon 61 and the original intent was to use the type to augment the High altitude P-51s with this aircraft for mid to low altitude work Production aircraft would have been fitted with a three speed supercharger.

Although clearly superior to contemporary single-engined fighters of the day with a top speed in level flight of 448 mph, with some unofficial flight test pushing the top speed in level flight to a jaw dropping 503 mph, the aircraft was simply too late to see production. Although still superior to the performance of the earliest jets at the time of its first flight in March 1946, the writing was already on the wall for propeller driven fighters.

The single CA-15 prototype was scrapped in 1950.

This is an apparently simple build, but I am certain that looks are deceiving here. its a limited production all resin kit based on an old mould , in which the original production was plagued with kit failures due toi the material being far too soft. CMR seemed to have solved this kit failure, but I am wondering about fit and accuracy here, given the age of the mould. Its a first for me in that it is an all resin build.

Might be an easy build, but somehow I doubt it. I will also need to master the application of clear metal finishes and appropriate pre-shading with this finish.......

Some photos of the kit as ive received it

 

[parsifal]

And one further image....the box art

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Look forward to it Michael...

 

[fubar57]

Interesting little kit and history Michael. Can't imagine what it would have looked like with that whacking great radial in front of it. Did a quick search and couldn't find another build. Never built a complete resin kit before so this will be a lesson for me

 

[Robert Porter]

Great subject, unique! Never heard of it so it added to my knowledge already. Also never built an all resin kit. Make sure you stock up on debonder before you start!

 

[Crimea_River]

I was thinking the same Robert.

Good choice Michael.

 

[T Bolt]

Very cool Michael ! I didn't know they had first planed to put a radial on it. A shame they scrapped such a unique aircraft.

 

[parsifal]

Interesting little kit and history Michael. Can't imagine what it would have looked like with that whacking great radial in front of it. Did a quick search and couldn't find another build. Never built a complete resin kit before so this will be a lesson for me

This is one impression of the radial version of the CA-15 with radial. There are others that show the engine circumference to be bigger than this

 

[parsifal]

There are a few contemporary articles on this bird, but images of the cockpit are few and far between. all are Black and white, so working out the colours to use in the IP will be difficult. There will need to be an element of guesswork in this.

 

[Airframes]

Excellent choice Michael.
Can't imagine what they were thinking, looking at sticking a whacking great round engine on the front of an otherwise sleek and aerodynamically efficient airframe. Glad they glued a decent RR lump on the front, even though it didn't go into production, With a radial, it would have looked like bag of sh*te !

 

[fubar57]

Just saw this thread down below your thread. Haven't a had time to go through it yet

CAC CA-15 Kangaroo

 

[parsifal]

I have to post a correction to a statement I made earlier. Some parts of the model are made from regular plastic, not resin as I had earlier stated.

Didn't really check the model properly until last night. Sorry for the mix up guys.

 

[mikewint]

Nice Michael, those initial pics do look like a Mustang but with that massive radial front end???

 

[parsifal]

Been reading up about silver paint "alclad II". Anyone used this stuff. is it worth getting. Some sources talk about applying a base coat of "alclad shiny black" (not the correct name) as a base coat to different parts to get some shading effects. I would have thought any black would do this as a pre-shading colourisation. I would also think it important to get the surfaces as schmick as possible, no dints or bumps. There is nowhere to hide with a bare metal finish.

I was thinking of using a regular grey primer in the base, then shiny black in selected surfaces (not just the panel lines), then this alclad Ii stuff, I would have thought that would give a reasonable finish. it needs to be shiny with dark shading in places to get what I want.

Some on line references reckon that the whole model should be painted as a base coat this shiny black. that doesn't make a lot of sense to me.....


"Alclad II Lacquer Natural Metal Finishes" by Bob King, Austin Scale Modeler's Society

 

[Robert Porter]

Black basing when using a metalizer is becoming very much a thing. It adds a bit of depth to the color and finish as well as making the over lying paint less toy like. Alclad is great paint that provides and excellent realistic look. It is however VERY fragile and will easily pick up fingerprints if handled. But it does deliver a high quality metal look provided your surface is clean and smooth. It is I believe lacquer based.

 

[parsifal]

thanks very helpful. if the metallic surface has a hard clear coat applied over the top of it, would that eliminate the softness issue?

 

[Robert Porter]

Some yes, it is important not to handle it until both the top coat and clear protective coat have fully dried. But be careful on any clear coats I have very little direct experience with AlClad's but have heard the clear coats have caused issues. I would test on some scrap first to make sure your particular combination plays well together.

 

[turbo]

Alclads are great metalizer paints Michael. A gloss black base is desirable if you want to achieve a truly shiny finish, but this is not always the case. As Robert mentioned, the black base lends some depth and a realistic look to the paint, but I've seen people use different base colours on different panels to get subtle tonal variation.

In reality, many NMFs were not highly shiny (particularly birds exposed to the elements for a while), so regular or even no primer can be used (Alclads are lacquers). The key is to build them up slowly with light coats. Finally, there are times when you want to use a clear coat over metalizers, but they can attenuate the NMF effect.

Your plan of using a gloss black base just on selected panels is a good one as this is a method to introduce subtle variation between panels.

 

[parsifal]

well, the alclad is on order from Belgium of all places. should arrive in about 10 working days. meanwhile I will make a start this weekend on the innards. not a lot of opportunity or indeed need for great detail here, though for fun I might have a slash at improving the IP a bit.