Introducing the ready-to-ship Waco Glider mahogany model. This 1/56 scale model was handmade with precision and accuracy to produce the finest model that will be the centerpiece of your collection for years to come. This model is a perfect gift for pilots and aviation enthusiasts alike. The model has a wingspan of 18 inches and a length of 10 inches. This model features a very accurate paint scheme with realistic panel lines. This collectible model represents the Waco Glider CG-4A, the tough glider that landed thousands of airborne troops in World War II. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by skilled craftsmen using a wealth of detail, the Waco CG-4A glider makes a great gift for any pilot, naval aviator, aviation enthusiast or history buff.

About this Model:

Your model will be delivered exactly as shown in the photographs with the exact same paint scheme.  The stand shown in this photograph may vary or change with the model you receive. If you would like to change this model in any other way, please visit the Custom Model section of our website to commission a customized model to be built.  

History of the Waco Glider:

When one thinks of airborne armies, the picture is of a sky filled with parachutes. In World War II, an airborne assault usually included hundreds of troops making dangerous landings in heavily loaded gliders. Designed by the Waco Aircraft Company of Ohio, the CG-4A glider could carry 13 troops when configured as a troop carrier, or a jeep, howitzer or other heavy equipment as a cargo glider. With a wingspan of 83 feet, it could carry 4,200 pounds of cargo. The CG-4A featured a tubular steel frame covered with fabric coverings. Towed to the drop zone, usually by a C-47 Skytrain, the glider was released and its crew of two guided it to a landing. During the Normandy invasion, a total of 104 gliders carried troops of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions into battle. The two pre-dawn glider landings, missions "Chicago" (101st) and "Detroit" (82nd), landed anti-tank guns and support troops for each division. The missions took off while the parachute landings were in progress and followed them by two hours, landing at about 0400, two hours before dawn. Chicago was an unqualified success, with 92 percent landing within two miles of target. Detroit was disrupted by a cloud bank that had bedeviled the paratroops and only 62 percent landed within two miles. Even so, both missions provided heavy weapons that were immediately placed into service. Only eight passengers were killed in the two missions, but one of those was the assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne, Brig. Gen. Don Pratt. Almost 14,000 CG-4A gliders were built by 16 companies during World War II.