1/72 High Planes Kit

CAC Wackett Trainer

by David Thompson

--------------------

 

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Wackett Trainer was the first Australian design to enter mass production, and was the first in-house design of CAC following its formation to build the Wirraway.

Designed to meet a RAAF pre-war specification for a 2 seat monoplane elementary trainer, the Wackett was the only indigenous design to see production during World War 2.

The creation of the Empire Air Training Scheme and standardisation on the Tigermoth resulted in an order for only 200 production aircraft and many served as Wireless trainers in the RAAF.

Servicing with the RAAF from 1941 to 1945, over 40 aircraft entered the civil register, and a further 30 served with the NEIAF prior to Indonesea’s independence, the first Australian design and made aircraft to serve in a foreign Airforce.

This model is the High Planes kit.  Typical of limited run models, it is pretty basic with a lot of parts clean-up, trimming/sanding and dry-fitting required.  The cockpit tub was scratchbuilt from thin wire, some tape seatbelts added and a few levers from stretched sprue.  Also added some hydraulic lines to wheels and engine wiring from fuse wire.  Pitot was also scratched.

The kit wheels were the worst feature, so I replaced them with some Airfix Spitfire spares.  The Canopy is vac-formed and I cut it to display in an open position.  Steel tubing exhaust stubs were also added.

Paints were Model Master pouch paint acrylics and the kit decals were used, except for the 00 on the front which is from an A-letters set.  The only weathering applied was a dark enamel wash in the few panel lines/control surface joints.
A3-200 crashed at Hervey Bay in Queensland on 24/2/1943 and was converted to components.

David

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by David Thompson