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Project Notes

#658 CA-19 Boomerang

Building the Special Hobby 1:72 RAAF CA-19 Boomerang, as stationed in New Britain 1945 (no electronics).

Build

Notes

The CAC CA-19 Boomerang ‘Jungle Scouts’ is another interesting kit from Special Hobby depicting equipment used by Australian forces in the Second World War.

The CAC Boomerang was the first Australian-built fighter aeroplane to see the action in the Second World War. Boomerangs were operated in the defence of Australia and also fought over New Guinea and other Pacific islands. Its final version was the fighter-reconnaissance CA-19 which was equipped with a downward looking camera aft of the pilot’s cockpit.

Paint Scheme

Chosen scheme: A46-217, QE-G, named “Hep Cat”, pilot Fl/L L. Burghard, No 4 Sqn RAAF Cape Hoskins, New Britain, February 1945. The cat possibly refers to the Geelong Football Club.

Exterior:

Feature Color Recommended Paint Used
A camo Foliage Green H/C302 70.895 Gunship Green
B camo White H/C1 70.951 White
C prop, wheels Black H12/C33 70.950 Black
D prop tips Yellow H/C329 70.952 Lemon Yellow

Interior:

Feature Color Recommended Paint Used
A Aluminium H/C8  
B Flat Black H12/C33 70.950 Black
C Neutral Grey H/C306  
D Burnt Iron H76/C61  
E Tire Black H77/C137  
F cockpit interior Interior Grey-Green C364 70.893 US Dark Green + 70.897 Bronce Green + 70.951 White
G Gloss Black H/C2  
H Foliage Green H/C302  

Build Log

Always a good day to start a new project, and always something interesting from Special Hobby, even if the instructions can be a bit like “part fits through here, under this other part, and attached in this general area, sorry no locator marks or lugs”

build01a

Cockpit done.. that’s about half the model!

build01b

The kit comes with resin emgine parts that are nicely detailed.

build01c

As I’ve found to be quite common with Special Hobby kits, the cockpit assembly lacks positive locating guides and has some fit issues. But I managed to squeeze it all in with a bit of effort.

build01d

Curious that the propeller doesn’t have a freely rotating shaft. So it just got permanently glued on.

build01e

An that’s it for the build with aerial rigged. I had some real issues getting the decal carrier film to blend. Not silvering per se, just very obvious tonal difference especially with all the little stencils. Rather than wast time trying to clean them all up, I think I would have preferred to just skip all the stencil marks just apply the main insignia.

build02a

The is the CA-19 Boomerang with a CA-3 Wirraway in the background (both Special Hobby 1:72 kits)

build02b

The Hep Cat nose art was apparently a very stylish nod to the Cats - the Geelong Footy Club.

build02c

Credits and References

About LEAP#658 scale modelsCraft
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This page is a web-friendly rendering of my project notes shared in the LEAP GitHub repository.

LEAP is just my personal collection of projects. Two main themes have emerged in recent years, sometimes combined:

  • electronics - usually involving an Arduino or other microprocessor in one way or another. Some are full-blown projects, while many are trivial breadboard experiments, intended to learn and explore something interesting
  • scale modelling - I caught the bug after deciding to build a Harrier during covid to demonstrate an electronic jet engine simulation. Let the fun begin..
To be honest, I haven't quite figured out if these two interests belong in the same GitHub repo or not. But for now - they are all here!

Projects are often inspired by things found wild on the net, or ideas from the many great electronics and scale modelling podcasts and YouTube channels. Feel free to borrow liberally, and if you spot any issues do let me know (or send a PR!). See the individual projects for credits where due.