RADIO CONTROL (RC) COMBAT
Greg Rose, 1312 NW 196th St., Edmond OK 73003
RC Combat kit manufacturers are continuing to support the rapid expansion of RC Combat. The growth in new kits and kit manufacturers is hard to keep up with; following is some recent manufacturing news.
AirKill Products LLC
AirKill Products LLC (5049 College Oak Dr., Sacramento CA 95841; Tel.: [916] 332-4661) has converted its Focke-Wulf Ta 152H from a machine-cut kit to a new laser-cut version, which can be built as a short-winged Fw 190D-9 or as the long-winged Ta 152H.
As do AirKill's other laser-cut kits, the Ta 152H features all hardware needed for a Combat model, and vacuum-formed parts to cut building time.
AirKill has announced that it is producing "Plastic Packs" for all models formerly offered as short kits. "Plastic Packs" are available for more than 20 Gus Morfis designs, including:
- Curtiss P-36 Hawk and P-40 Warhawk
- P-47 Thunderbolt
- P-51B Mustang (razorback frame hoods or Malcolm hoods)
- Grumman F6F and F8F
- F4U Corsair
- Italian MC.200 and MC.202
- Ki-61 Tony
- Soviet La-5, MiG-3, and Yak-9
- Arado Ar.234
- Messerschmitt Me 109F/G
- British Typhoon, Tempest, Sea Fury, Spitfire, and Hurricane
Plans for these designs can be obtained from Gus Morfis (4709 Greenmeadows Ave., Torrance CA 90505; Tel.: [310] 378-5679).
Stay tuned; AirKill has several releases in the works.
JDB Aerotec
Now offering 14 different kits, I asked some people at JDB Aerotec (2202 Beck Ln., Lafayette IN 47905; Tel.: [765] 474-1738) if they plan to eventually kit every airplane from WWII. They just laughed and said that they had some prototypes that haven't even been flown yet, but no one ever really answered my question. Based on the two new kit releases, I suspect that it just may be JDB Aerotec's secret goal.
The company has added the P-47 Thunderbolt to its line. As with all other JDB kits, construction is cut foam with a vacuum-formed canopy. The P-47 kit can be built as the earlier razorback version or as the late bubbletop series.
JDB has also added a third twin-engine aircraft: the Ar.240A. This little-known German model spans 45¾ inches, making it the smallest twin-engine kit of which I am aware. The combination of its engines so far forward (the props are almost in front of the fuselage) and a long 43-inch fuselage make the model rather docile in one-engine-out situations.
JDB isn't planning to stop now; there will be at least two new designs in 2000, including one of the best-known airplanes of WWII.
Pica Products
Pica Products (2675 N.E. 188 St., Miami FL 33180; Tel.: [305] 932-8008) has introduced a fourth 1/12-scale model for the Scale Combat flier: the F4U Corsair.
As do the Me 109, P-51, and F-82 Twin Mustang already offered, the F4U Corsair features the Pica laser-cut "laser lock" design, an ABS-formed cowl, a PETG formed canopy/turtledeck, preformed landing gear, and pressure-sensitive decals.
Although Pica markets the above kits to the sport flier, the company has a feature designed specifically for the Combat flier. Any of those four designs are available in a "Combat multi-pack" of three or six kits, packaged in a single box, at a nice savings over the more conventional single-kit-in-a-box price.
Pica's comments on the "laser lock" design forcing correct alignment caught my attention, so I picked up an Me 109 to see how well the system works. (I have problems getting the correct alignment on the T-tail of the Me 109. I can never get the stab perpendicular to the fin and parallel to the wing of the airplane. Sometimes I get one or the other, but never both. I strongly suspect that the builder, and not the kit manufacturer, is at fault. I will tell you in a later issue if the Pica system helped me build a straighter tail.)
Wallace RC — MiG-7 kit
In the July 1999 Model Aviation, I gave the Scratch-Built Beauty award to Bob Wallace for the MiG-7 that he built for a Radio Control Modeler construction article. Bob liked the sleek MiG design so much (and others who saw it fly loved it) that he decided to kit it.
Wallace RC (9 Sylvan St., Avon, CT 06001; Tel.: [860] 673-2000) offers a kit of the MiG-7. However, Bob stresses that the kit is not the same as his MiG design that appeared in RCM.
"The model in the construction article has a built-up fuselage," he said. "In the kit, the fuselage is a one-piece epoxy/fiberglass body with a molded-in vertical tail fin."
Although the design in the new kit uses a foam wing core, even that has been changed; the kit uses an "improved airfoil design." The 44¾-inch-span kit features a molded epoxy/fiberglass fuselage and a tough epoxy/fiberglass "belly radiator scoop," and detailed assembly instructions.
The MiG-7 from the kit reportedly flies well on .15- to .26-size engines, and is designed to be competitive in the RCCA (Radio Control Combat Association) 2105 or RCCA 2610 event.
Warbirds Limited — Fw 189 Uhu
Warbirds Limited (8948 E. 95th Pl. South, Tulsa OK 74133; Tel.: [918] 307-1100) has introduced its third Combat kit: the twin-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (not to be confused with the much-more-famous He 219 nightfighter, also known as the Uhu).
The Fw 189 "army co-operation monoplane" was also referred to as the "German P-38," although the resemblance is only in the general twin-tailboom configuration.
The kit features mixed construction of Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass sections and vacuum-formed components with foam core wings.
Because of the large size of the original design, the Fw 189 is designed for 2610 events rather than 2105 events. Reduced 10% from 1/12 scale, the model still spans an impressive 54 inches, and has 395 square inches of wing area. The prototype is powered by two Magnum .15s, and it handles very well in the air.
In the picture of the Fw 189 taken at the AMA RC Combat demo in Muncie IN, note the RCCA (Radio Control Combat Association)-required head protection. This is a good rule for Combat. If you are serious about the event, pick up some headgear to protect yourself and the excellent safety record of RC Combat events.
Scratch-Built Beauty
The Scratch-Built Beauty award for this month goes to Scott Anderson of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Scott built his Curtiss P-40B Warhawk from Gus Morfis plans.
Powered by a Cox Conquest .15 (the engine is now produced by RJL), Scott covered the model with MonoKote, painted on the Formula U camouflage colors, added panel lines with a Sharpie marker, and hand-painted the famous "shark's mouth." Scott made his own decals by scanning the decals from a 1/48-scale plastic kit, enlarging them to 1/12 scale, then printing them on transparency film. "I've seen this airplane fly; it looks as nice in the air as it does on the ground."
I have run out of space, and I still have more to cover. Until next time, fly safely, fly Combat, and be sure to check your six! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
