CAC CA-15 Kangaroo

Kiwi Resin Models, 1/48 scale
 

Reviewed by Brett Green

Background

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. 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, 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.

The CA-15 in scale

There have been at least three models of the CAC CA-15 Kangaroo available to date. Two of these have been in 1/72 scale - a vacform kit from Wings and a resin offering from NKR.

In 1/48 scale, NKR also released an all-resin kit during the 1980s. This kit is long out of production. I owned two of these. Detail was sparse to say the least, and the resin had the tactile consistency of soap. One of the kits had the fuselage halves secured with elastic bands and the minor pressure had cracked one of the resin parts in two.

Certainly not their best effort.

Considering the lack of CA-15 kits in 1/48 scale, I was pleased to hear that David Lochead's Kiwi Resin Models was releasing a new kit of the type.

Kiwi Resin Models' 1/48 scale CAC CA-15 Kangaroo comprises 33 cream coloured resin parts, 17 parts in white metal; two vacform canopies and markings for one aircraft (prototype), all packed into a stout cardboard box.

The resin parts are cast cleanly, featuring a smooth surface almost competely free of imperfections. The edges of the larger parts do look alarmingly ragged, but a few minutes with a sharp hobby knife and sanding stick will remove the excess material. The good news is that the casting blocks on these parts are minimal.

Smaller parts will also require careful cleanup. The larger casting blocks on parts such as the spinner and the supercharger intake should be tackled with a razor saw.

Structural detail is good, with subtly recessed panel lines adorning the smooth resin surface of the kit. In fact, the panel line detail is a bit too subtle in places where is has faded and softened. Some rescribing will restore consistency across the airframe.

The kit supplies the basic parts for a nice cockpit. The front office is fitted out with sidewall detail cast to the inside of the fuselage, plus separate floor, rear bulkhead, headrest, seat and instrument panel. You'll have to source your own harness, rudder pedals and smaller detail parts such as handles and quadrants.

The wheel wells are cleverly designed with an accurate rear wall recessed back from the opening thanks to a separate insert at the front. Structural detail has been cast into the wheel wells - very nice.

The fuselage halves are hollow and have been broken down into two parts for each side. Take your time lining up the nose and main fuselage parts, as filler will be quite obvious under a natural metal finish.

The wings are supplied as one piece each (left and right) plus the forward insert mentioned earlier.

Please note that the fuselage and wings are slightly asymmetrical. They were designed this way so do not remove any material from the centreline which might reduce the fuselage width.

White metal parts are provided for the undercarriage legs, exhausts, propeller blades and several smaller detai parts including a control column. These look like they will clean up nicely.

The vacform canopy is supplied by Falcon, and it is beautiful. A spare is offered in case of slip-ups with the hobby knife.

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Decals are also excellent. The markings represent the one and only prototype at the early stage of its testing when it wore the wartime blue and white roundels and prototype "P" marking.

Kiwi Resin Models has supplied a good basis for an accurate and well detailed 1/48 scale CAC CA-15 Kangaroo.

In common with all limited run kits, you will need to spend some extra time cleaning up the resin and white metal parts, and test fittting assemblies prior to committing to glue. You will likely be filling and sanding after basic assembly as well. However, if you are an experienced modeller with a few kits under your belt, Kiwi Resin's CA-15 should not throw out too many hurdles.

If you think you'd like one of these models though, don't dawdle as they are a very limited production run.

Thanks to Kiwi Resin Models for the sample

Text and Images Copyright © 2009 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 11 January, 2009
Last updated 12 January, 2009

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