1/72nd Malayan Campaign Wirraway and an RCAF `Cousin'- Finished

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                While doing the 1/48th Wirraway I was asked to share my smaller kit with you too,....so here it is,.....with the RS Model Yale which I have already started;

Box Art;

Decal Options,...I`m going for GA-B from 21 Sqn RAAF based in Malaya under RAF command in 1941;

I had already started the model by pre painting the interior and assembling the cockpit but here is how it stands, I have also bought a set of CMK resin after market wheels. One of the decal options is a single seat dive bomber `converson' and the kit includes a `solid' rear canopy made from resin. As I`ll be building an early version then the plastic cowling will be used rather than the later cowling which is provided in resin ;

I have previously built this kit in later RAAF markngs and it is very nice indeed.... so I`m hoping to enjoy this one!

 

On the other hand,....I have never made a model of a RCAF North American Yale before so when RS Model released this kit recently I decided to give it a go;

 

The decal options are nice but upon checking them against available photos of the real thing there are some mistakes! Hopefully you can read my notes on the box, plus the silver aircraft have yellow panels on the wings too;

 

I have already started this one and here it is with the main airframe together,....I mucked up some of the seams and had to use some filler.The parts are nice and crisp;

 

I`ll be building this one in a silver scheme with yellow high viz panels methinks?

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited May 3, 2017 by tonyot

[mhaselden]

You're just taunting me aren't you, Tony!"

 

Looking forward to this one.  Quick note for your info - the colour side view for A20-47 'GA-B' incorrectly shows the fin flash as having only white and blue stripes.  The actual aircraft had a red front stripe of equal width to the blue stripe (ie the red didn't fill the entire front of the fin).

 

Cheers,
Mark

[tonyot]

Here are some Yale pics;

decal option 1;

 

Decal option 2; Restored aircraft.

 

Decal option 3;

 

Decal Option 4,.....silver,...not yellow!;

 

Here are some nice generic photos;

 There is some good colour footage around thanks to the film `Captain of the Clouds' ,....note how some had replacment wings still bearing French roundels;

 

And some nicely restored examples;

 

With one at Duxford in the UK too;

 

Nite the two different styles of undercarriage fairings seen in these photos.

Cheers,

              Tony

Edited April 26, 2017 by tonyot

[tonyot]

And,..... here is the Wirraway that I shall be building, A20-47, GA-B from 21 Sqn RAAF based in Malaya in 1941 which later formed part of Y Sqn  at Kluang, Malaya which was set up to train newly arrived fighter pilots which also flew ground attack sorties against the advancing Japanese.

 .

 

And here are some excellent photos posted by Peter Malone from Aussie Modeller International website (http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11814&start=10 )

featuring  A20-86, GA-O from 21 Sqn RAAF, which after re equipping with Brewster Buffaloes helped set up a fighter OTU at Kluang, Malaya using the Wirraway`s as Y Sqn and as mentioned above performed ground attack sorties against the Japanese, some employing a siren mounted on the side of the fuselage to create a piercing wail like that of the German Stuka while dive bombing . 

GA-P.

A20-83, GA-?

The colours are Earth Brown, Foliage Green and Aluminium undersides and as cam be seen the entire engine cowling was finished in wrap around camouflage, unlike the kit instructions. The roundels may have been refinished with darker blue rings and they eventually had yellow rings added and fin stripes to match the RAF aircraft which they were working alongside. The serial under the wings may have been overpainted.

 

As can be seen here, the early Wirraway`s did not have an air intake incorporated into the upper querter of the cowling like later aircraft, as represented by the resin cowling in the kit;

early cowl,...with intermediate underside air intake with added scoop;

 

later cowl with air intake incorporated and also the late bulged underside air intake;

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited April 26, 2017 by tonyot

[georgeusa]

The Master Plastic Kit Machine is at full speed it seems. For someone laid up, you sure do a ton of model making. (I'm hoping your output is a sign you are feeling better and the back is behaving.).  Looks like an an interesting pair of trainers will be produced shortly. 

 

When mr. Nigel Heath paid a visit a couple of years ago, I took him to the No. 1 British Flying Training Museum located in a small town near Dallas. Apparently several thousand British and Commonwealth air cadets learned to fly and received some culture shock in the fields of Texas. It is a really nice museum with several trainers in various states of restoration. The museum also has some significant amount of retained records concerning who trained, air hours, etc. I think you would like this little museum Mr. O'Toole. A link to their web site is here. No. 1 British Flying School. For decades, whenever one of the cadets that trained their passed away, their obituary and other relevant information was posted in the museum's newsletter. The latest is on the web site.   I think one of the Texan walk arounds posted on this site was from pictures when Nigel and I visited there. 

[tonyot]

28 minutes ago, georgeusa said:

The Master Plastic Kit Machine is at full speed it seems. For someone laid up, you sure do a ton of model making. (I'm hoping your output is a sign you are feeling better and the back is behaving.).  Looks like an an interesting pair of trainers will be produced shortly. 

 

When mr. Nigel Heath paid a visit a couple of years ago, I took him to the No. 1 British Flying Training Museum located in a small town near Dallas. Apparently several thousand British and Commonwealth air cadets learned to fly and received some culture shock in the fields of Texas. It is a really nice museum with several trainers in various states of restoration. The museum also has some significant amount of retained records concerning who trained, air hours, etc. I think you would like this little museum Mr. O'Toole. A link to their web site is here. No. 1 British Flying School. For decades, whenever one of the cadets that trained their passed away, their obituary and other relevant information was posted in the museum's newsletter. The latest is on the web site.   I think one of the Texan walk arounds posted on this site was from pictures when Nigel and I visited there. 

Hiya George.

                    It is because I am laid up that I`m doing so much,.......I`m bored silly stuck inside on the settee. At least the pain is receding, giving me more energy to do something constructive and I`m back up and able to potter around for short distances inside the house to get paints and take some photos, but if I overdo things then I soon feel it. I read from your Aenger post that you are struggling too with your hands,..... do hope that you are OK and did not think that my `fingers crossed' comment was in bad taste,.....I just did not realise!

Thanks for the link to the website and it is really great that the British invasion of  Terrell, Texas is till remembered to this day! As you say, I bet Texas was a real culture shock to the British Commonwealth airmen who passed through, even though they would have been brought up on a bevvy of Saturday matinee Cowboy films! The USA must have seemed like Mars to a British lad in those days, especially those used to rationing, blackout and the British weather.

 

All the best mate,

                           Tony. 

[georgeusa]

I took no offense to any comment you made. Don't worry. Just glad you are feeling better. The problem with my hands is a permanent loss of tactile sensation due to complications from shingles outbreaks I've had beginning in1991. It's like my hands are permanently asleep. Modeling helps with my eye hand coordination and general attitude. Just keep building, and for selfish reasons, keep the historical stories coming along with your builds. 

[foresterab]

tonyot

 

I've got some photos of the Yale currently located at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada if interested?  Unfortunately not many due to a limited time to take photos but I can email them to you if you'd like?

 

http://www.warplane.com/aircraft/collection/details.aspx?aircraftId=34

 

Just send me a private message with your email if interested,

foresterab

[Mr B]

Lovely

 

Really love the history associated with your builds..............being a Malaysian I can related to the entire theme................

 

Rgds

 

[Biggles81]

Another nice project Tony, you are a machine, even with an injured back. I can't wait for my hand to heal and get back to the workbench - so much RAAF inspiration.

 

Cheers,

 

Ken

[tonyot]

Thanks everybody,........ it is always nice to have a bit of encouragement,.....and a bit of pressure which pushes me along when I`m otherwise tempted to shelve a project. 

12 hours ago, foresterab said:

tonyot

 

I've got some photos of the Yale currently located at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada if interested?  Unfortunately not many due to a limited time to take photos but I can email them to you if you'd like?

 

http://www.warplane.com/aircraft/collection/details.aspx?aircraftId=34

 

Just send me a private message with your email if interested,

foresterab

Thanks for the offer,......I`ve got quite a few pics from the web but if I get stuck I`d be very glad to fall back on your photos,.....cheers for that.

 

While I`m on,.....a bit of progress;

 

The Wirraway has had the airframe put together,......I left the cockpit loose inside so that I can locate it properly later and line it up with the canopy. I`ve applied a bit of filler along the seams, some plastic shims along the lower nose joint and also in one of the wheel wells while it needed a bit of a clamp to hold the centre section in the correct place.

 

The Yale has also had the undercarriage spats added,.....I`ve gone for the shorter ones as the option which I prefer, in silver with code letters applied seem to have worn this later style as opposed to the full spats;

 

Cheers for now,

                        Tony 

[rob85]

More fine work on a great subject. the kit looks alright as well, could be one for the future.

Rob

[airjiml2]

Tony,

Great work on both members of the North American Trainer family.  While you are correct that there are two styles of Yale landing gear fairings, they short fairings are actually the same as the long fairings.  They just took off the wheel pants!

 

As for the BFTS in the U.S. and being a fish out of water, there is a good book on the topic.  "Wings of Georgia" by Jack Currie is about Mr. Currie's time in Georgia learning to fly with the Americans before he returned to the RAF.  Certainly a fish out of water tale.

 

Feel better,

 

Jim

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                  Cheers Rob,.....yes I`d get one, there are so many schemes and markings for the Wirraway!

Cheers to Jim too,......I know what you mean, I just couldn`t express it very well, I just meant that the subject that I want to build didn`t need the longer spats provided in the kit and I used the shorter ones. Like the Stuka, Lysander etc I knew that the fairings had just been removed. I`ll look out for `Wings Over Georgia' too,.... I`d love to know what he thought of diners, fast food, most people owning cars etc.

 

Right,....a bit more progress;

 

The Wirraway has been sanded and the fairing added to the top of the nose;

 

The Yale has also been sanded smooth too;

 

And both are now receiving a coat of Tamiya Bare Metal Silver from a rattle can,...the Wirraway on the undersides and the Yale overall;

.  

Having built a couple of 1/32nd scale Spits and a 48th scale Wirraway these two seem really tiny and it is a bit weird!  

 

Cheers for now,

                        Tony

Edited April 27, 2017 by tonyot

[tonyot]

Just a quick thought,......I am wondering whether the Wirraway`s in Malaya were repainted with blue undersides similar to the Blenheim fighters,....using Sky Blue paint which I suspect may have come as spare paint with the Buffaloes from the USA? 

Here is a colour photo of a Blenheim;

Here is the recently restored FAAM Martlet with its original blue undersides,..as applied in the USA;

And a b&w photo of another Martlet Mk.I during wartime wearing its original delivery colours,....as depicted above;

 

 

Here are some  photos of Buffaloes during and after re assembly in the Far East after delivery from the USA,.....I think that they had a similar blue painted underside to the Martlets? 

 

And finally,....another look at the Wirraway photos posted earlier,.....of note is the fact that the underwing serial has been painted over in the head on shot at least!;

No under wing serial!

 

Just a thought? They had already received RAF style roundels and fin flashes,.....but no fuselage band,....but then they were not considered as fighters,...so could their silver undersides have been repainted blue? I`m not sure if this could be true,.... I`ll just leave it out there,....

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited April 27, 2017 by tonyot

[mhaselden]

Tony,

 

The blue paint applied to the Blenheims was probably locally mixed or standard RAF stocks of MAP Sky Blue rather than coming with the Buffalos.  If the paint came with the Buffalos, it ought to match the underside of the Buffalos and hence there should be a close match between the underside and the fuselage band (assuming the same paint was used for those bands).  However, the Buffalo fuselage bands show as a lighter tone than the undersides on monochrome imagery.   

 

There is a photo of Wirraway A20-83 taken from the front port quarter which shows that the aircraft did wear underwing serials as of April 1941.  It's possible that the undersides were repainted at some stage while in the Far East but I lean towards the undersides remaining in aluminium with serials throughout the campaign.  The Wirraways were primarily used as trainers until events forced them to be used in the ground attack role.  The lack of interest in the Wirras is illustrated by the fact that the old 21 Sqn markings were not overpainted, as evidenced by the pics of A20-86 after its capture by the Japanese.  I accept that those pics appear to show no underwing serials but they aren't the best quality.  Equally, I struggle with the concept that much/any time would be devoted to painting the undersides (while retaining the roundels) on these second-line machines.  If such painting did occur, it was likely very late in the day and, if so, why keep the roundels (there's a pic of a captured Vildebeest with light-toned undersides but it wears no roundels under the wings).

 

Bottom line - make it how you'd like since nobody knows for sure.  I know that's really unhelpful but it's the state of things, I'm afraid.

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited April 27, 2017 by mhaselden

[tonyot]

Hey no worries Mark,

                               I`d rather build it with silver undersides and underwing serial anyway,.... I was only floating a possibility and trying to explain why the underwing serial may have been covered up,.... call it thinking out loud if you will. As for retaining the roundels,....it isn`t hard to paint around them, but hey.

I found the auction of the 21 Sqn insignia allegedly taken from the fabric of a 21 Sqn Wirraway on line and have posted it below,..... I may have something like this on an old decal sheet so I`ll look out for it and maybe apply it to the left hand side,...although a photo of this side of GA-B doesn`t show this at that moment in time on that particular airframe;

 

And how the insignia looked on the units Buffaloes;

 

I like the bomb in its pouch,

 

I read that,..after 21 Sqn RAAF changed their aircraft to Brewster Buffalo's in mid 1941. A group of five Wirraways based at Kluang in Malaya for training purposes as Y Sqn was pressed into combat against Japanese ground invasion forces; these were generally flown by New Zealanders from No. 488 Sqn (NZ) RAF with Australian observers originally from No. 21 Sqn RAAF, and had some successes. 

 

Cheers

          Tony

 

Edit,.....just noticed 21 Sqn RAAF Wirraway A20-47, GA-B in this photo depicting 8 Sqn RAAF Hudson`s;

Edited April 29, 2017 by tonyot

[mhaselden]

Hi Tony,

 

That pic of the boxing kangaroo badge is the one I discovered a wee while back.  I had the idea of scaling it down and then printing it onto decal paper for use on my Wirraway...I just don't know if that would work.  Note that the badge on the Buffalos was modified to remove the bomb from the pouch - that came with the role switch when the Sqn changed from Wirraways to Buffalos.  According to "Demon to Vampire", the unofficial history of 21 Sqn RAAF, the badge was turned into a series of templates for rapid application to the Sqn's Wirraways.  However, I've yet to find a single photo showing the badge on a Wirra...which does seem a little strange.

 

Re the photo of Kinninmont, that was NOT taken in Buffalo AN172.  The photo was most likely taken on 19 Nov 41 when 21 Sqn was declared operational.  Buffalo AN172 was a reinforcement aircraft flown by Kinninmont only in efforts to replace 21 Sqn losses in Dec 41.  I doubt that it wore any unit codes and definitely not the boxing kangaroo badge. 

 

I decided to do some digging regarding the W Flt, Y Sqn Wirraways.  The most comprehensive record I can find is in "Bloody Shambles Vol 1" which has a detailed description of an attack by 5 Wirraways at Muar on 19 Jan 42.  Participating aircraft were A20-43, A20-58, A20-72, A20-83 and A20-87.  Of these, A20-83 suffered an undercarriage collapse on landing while A20-58 crashed due to engine damage during the raid.  It's therefore entirely possible that the boxing kangaroo badge came from A20-83, an airframe of which Carl Mydans took a couple of photos in April 1941.  In addition to these airframes, we also know that A20-86 'GA-O' was operated by W Flt based on the photos of that airframe captured by the Japanese at Batavia.

 

"Demon to Vampire" provides some additional clues regarding the W Flt Wirraways, including a photo of "A20-67" wearing the codes 'GA-P' but A20-67 never served with 21 Sqn, indeed it never left Australia.  The '6' in the serial is slightly covered by the tailplane so it could potentially be A20-87, one of the aircraft that took part in the Muar raid.  The same book also has a photo of the well-known A20-47 'GA-B' in formation with A20-65 'GA-F'.  According to the ADF Serials website, A20-65 was lost in the Far East sometime between Dec 41 and Mar 42, in other words during the time when W Flt operated Wirraways.  Thus I think we have another potential identity.  Other  Wirraways serving with Y Sqn according to the ADF Serials website included: A20-44, A20-47 (GA-B), A20-50, A20-59, and A20-85.  

 

Finally, "Glory in Chaos" provides another interesting clue.  There's a nice air-to-air shot of A20-72 with underwing serials and roundels, Type A1 fuselage roundel and fin flash, essentially very similarly marked to A20-86, 'GA-O'.  The code letters are mostly obscured but it's possible the individual letter is 'W'.  The bottom of the letter is visible and it looks to be more of a 'W' than an 'N' or other letter.

 

So...if we take all this together, we have the following aircraft that probably served with W Flt, Y Sqn (items marked with * were retained by 151 MU and issued to Y Sqn on 10 Jan 42):

 

A20-43 *

A20-44 *

A20-47, GA-B *

A20-50 *

A20-58 * - Fate:  Crashed due to damage sustained to engine, 19 Jan 42

A20-59 *

A20-65, GA-F

A20-72, GA-W?

A20-83 - Fate:  Undercarriage collapsed landing at Kluang after the Muar mission, 19 Jan 42

A20-85

A20-86, GA-O - Fate:  Captured by Japanese at Batavia

A20-87, GA-P

 

The Wirraways were primarily based at RAF Kluang which was considered a forward airfield, lacking in typical station support functions that one would expect at a main base.  According to one source, the Sqn moved from Kluang to Kahang shortly after the Muar raid on 19 Jan 42 before retreating to RAF Tengah, Singapore, on 23 Jan 42.  For the final retreat, Y Sqn was ordered to Batavia, NEI, on 30 Jan 42, some 5 Wirraways making the flight including A20-86, GA-O.  For much of Jan 42, Y Sqn was the only RAF aircraft unit based in Malaya!  Given the operating locations and retreat timelines, I think it improbable that the undersides of the Wirraways were ever repainted...not impossible, but improbable. 

 

One final note - apparently, the rear gunners were equipped with a pair of Vickers K guns on a locally-improvised mount. 

 

Sorry for rambling on but see what happens when your models pique my interest?!!!!

 

Cheers,
Mark

Edited April 29, 2017 by mhaselden

[tonyot]

Cheers for all of that Mark, really interesting mate. I had heard about the twin Vickers mount but have not seen evidence of it on the Malaya based aircraft so might just leave it off my model,...... then again if I can find a spare pair,....you never know!!

 

Onto progress with the models,.......well the silver was applied;

The Yale was then masked off and Trainer Yellow was applied by rattle can for the yellow panels while black was also added for the antiglare panel too;

And her it is with the masking removed,.....the area around the anti glare panel wasn`t brilliant as the brush painted Humbrol actylic black crept under the tape,...so the area needs tidying up. The canopy was brush painted freehand too and requires another coat;

 

On with the Wirraway,......with the silver applied it was time to mask this off and add the upper surface camouflage;

And yesteday eveing and this morning I applied the camouflage,....by brush,....using Polly Scale acrylic RAAF Earth Brown and US Dark Green,.....the canopy is only loosely fitted at this stage as I`m probably going to cut it down;

 

I`ve since tidied up the Yale and appied a coat of gloss varnish to both models,....ready for the decals,

 

Cheers

            Tony

Edited April 30, 2017 by tonyot

[Dazey]

On 27 April 2017 at 5:47 AM, tonyot said:

And here are some excellent photos posted by Peter Malone from Aussie Modeller International website (http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11814&start=10 )

featuring  A20-86, GA-O from 21 Sqn RAAF, which after re equipping with Brewster Buffaloes helped set up a fighter OTU at Kluang, Malaya using the Wirraway`s as Y Sqn and as mentioned above performed ground attack sorties against the Japanese, some employing a siren mounted on the side of the fuselage to create a piercing wail like that of the German Stuka while dive bombing . 

 

Hi Tony,

 

I just found this thread – it's interesting and I'll follow it from now on! I had not heard of the siren on Wirraways before. 

 

Your builds look very nice. I have the 1/72 "first blood over Rabaul" kit that I hope to do a decent job on, so I'll be looking for pointers.

 

Regards,

David

[tonyot]

Thanks David,

                       I`ll look forward to seeing your model mate.

 

Right another update,.....first the Wirraway,......I`ve added gloss varnish last night and the decals have gone on today;

 

I`m not sure about the colour of the codes and serial,....they appear a little bit dark to me but they may be OK after a coat of matt varnish? As Mark pointed out earlier SH have fotgotten to add the red stripe to the fin stripes so a section of Xtradecal dull red was cut to length and added, as seen below; 

 

Now the Yale,....well I opted for this aircraft;

Which is provided as a yellow aircraft on the decal sheet but is quite obviously silver with yellow trim! The `X9' codes were the wrong style on the decals however I used the number `6' from another option and turned it upside down. However,...and a warning for those who have this kit,...... the decals are very thin and I had a disaster with one of the number `6`s' and one of the serials,.....arghhh!! You have been warned. I`ve patched the code up the best I can and the serial isn`t brilliant but hey!

 

 

So thats that,...... another coat of varnish has been applied to seal the decals in,

 

Cheers

            Tony

 

PS- I used Xtradecal black stripes for the black wing walk areas.

Edited May 1, 2017 by tonyot

[dogsbody]

On ‎26‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 1:47 PM, tonyot said:

 

And here are some excellent photos posted by Peter Malone from Aussie Modeller International website (http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11814&start=10 )

featuring  A20-86, GA-O from 21 Sqn RAAF, which after re equipping with Brewster Buffaloes helped set up a fighter OTU at Kluang, Malaya using the Wirraway`s as Y Sqn and as mentioned above performed ground attack sorties against the Japanese, some employing a siren mounted on the side of the fuselage to create a piercing wail like that of the German Stuka while dive bombing . 

 

 

 

Cheers

          Tony

 

Nice image of the siren. Somewhere I have a photo of a similar item under the nose of a Blenheim.

 

 

Chris

[dogsbody]

Found it! I wish it was a better image but it was scanned from a small picture that was in Planes magazine Vol. 1 No. 4, 1982.

 

 

 

 

Chris

 

 

 

[tonyot]

16 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Found it! I wish it was a better image but it was scanned from a small picture that was in Planes magazine Vol. 1 No. 4, 1982.

 

 

 

 

Chris

 

 

 

Nice find Chris,.....very interesting indeed!

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,.....another quick update;

 

I`ve applied a coat of matt varnish and then given the models a watercolour wash;

And then this afternoon/evening I`ve been removing the wash using kitchen roll and then finishing off the models on my trusty tea tray!

 

Almost done now,......just a few more finishing touches,

Cheers,

              Tony 

Edited May 2, 2017 by tonyot