RADIO CONTROL COMBAT
Greg Rose, 3429 Elm, Orion, MI 48359
There is an old Army Air Force song from WWII that says, "What do you do in the ground crew? You fix, fix, fix." Well, the traditional fix-and-build time is upon us Combat fliers, so I thought it might be a good time to update the kit manufacturers and plan source list. First presented almost two years ago, the list has grown to the point where it has to be covered in two separate issues. This time we will update the kits and plans sources available for the 3/4- and 1/2-scale RC Combat crowd; the next column will cover the "open" class RC Combat kits.
Scale (3/4) Kit Manufacturers:
- Air Kill Products — 14 Shady Lane Ct., Sacramento, CA 95834; Tel.: (916) 425-9933.
Offers short kits for some of the plans available from Gus Morfis. A short kit includes machine-cut ribs and formers, vacuum-formed canopy, vacuum-formed details (air scoops, etc., dependent upon model), and, on radial designs, a vacuum-formed cowl. Plans are not supplied with a short kit and must be purchased from Gus Morfis Plans. Current short-kit offerings: F4U Corsair, Grumman F8F Bearcat, Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Hawker Sea Fury, Lavochkin LA-5, Yak-9, and MiG-3. Air Kill also offers a set of plans and a hardware kit for its own catapult design.
- Column Scientific — 7300 N.W. Expressway #171, Oklahoma City, OK 73132; Tel.: (405) 721-4502.
Manufactures a long-nose Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9 using a conventional balsa-and-plywood fuselage with a large vacuum-formed turtledeck and integral canopy to speed building. Built-up and foam wings have been available. Several long-nosed "D" versions have been converted to the "A" version for Combat flying.
- D. Sign Models — 3915 10th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407; Tel.: (612) 724-6614.
Offers a wing-core-and-plan combo for a Piper L-4 Grasshopper. Quickly built with balsa-and-plywood construction, this little Piper is competitive with traditional fighter designs for Combat use.
- House of Balsa — 10101 Yucca Rd., Adelanto, CA 92301; Tel.: (619) 246-6426.
Offers a Messerschmitt Me-109E kit that can be modified to meet 3/4-scale rules. The model features built-up wings and a fuselage with a large vacuum-formed turtledeck and integral canopy to reduce building time.
- Hobby Hangar — 1862 Petersburg Rd., Hebron, KY 41048; Tel.: (606) 334-4331.
Now offers a balsa-and-plywood P-47D Razorback kit designed by Rich Uravitch. Features vacuum-formed canopy and cowl, machine die-cut parts, and a built-up wing.
- K&A Models Unlimited — 9300 Yvonne Marie Dr., Albuquerque, NM 87114; Tel.: (505) 890-7549.
Offers three 1/12-scale slope soarers with instructions for conversion to powered 3/4-scale Combat models: P-38 Lightning, Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, and P-51D Mustang. Kits feature epoxy/fiberglass fuselages, foam-core wings, vacuum-formed canopies, cowls and details, and come complete with hardware. Upcoming: K&A Focke Wulf Fw-190A and Messerschmitt Me-109K.
- Marvin Banka Models — 17 Rutledge Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618; Tel.: (609) 883-1490.
Produces custom-cut kits. Some are cut balsa-and-plywood and include vacuum-formed components. Contact Marvin Banka for kit contents. Plans supplied with custom-cut kits must be purchased from Gus Morfis Plans.
- Meys High Tech Hobby — 10 Starr Rd., Danbury, CT 06810; Tel.: (203) 743-7259.
Offers AcuScale P-51 Mustang and F4U Corsair kits featuring lightweight fiberglass fuselages, foam-core wings with carbon-fiber spars, clear vacuum-formed canopies, and precut formers and tail feathers. More AcuScale designs are expected.
- Northwest Tool — 6711 Rabbit Ct., Waldorf, MD 20603; Tel.: (301) 843-7601.
Kits include Messerschmitt Me-109G, Macchi MC.202, Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony, and Hawker Hurricane. Use conventional balsa-and-plywood construction for the fuselage; some kits feature a large vacuum-formed turtledeck with integral canopy. The Me-109G, MC.202, and Ki-61 have built-up wings; the Hurricane has a cut-foam wing core.
- Patterson’s — Box 2031, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602; Tel.: (970) 928-0947.
Imports Aero Design Models/AT & Texan. Although designed for slope soaring, the ADM models are easily converted to powered 3/4-scale Combat models. With lightweight fiberglass fuselages, preshaped foam wings, and sanded tails, these models are the closest thing to an ARF available to Scale Combat fliers.
- Progressive Miniature Aircraft — 2467 North John Young Pkwy., Orlando, FL 32804; Tel.: (407) 298-8257.
Produces P-51 Mustang, Spitfire, A6M Zero, P-63 Kingcobra, and Messerschmitt Me-109 kits. All kits feature built-up wings and extremely complete fuselages. The large-winged Kingcobra is a preferred "first-time fighter" for many pilots.
- Royal — 790 W. Tennessee Ave., Denver, CO 80223; Tel.: (303) 778-7711.
Imports 1/2-scale Supermarine Spitfire and P-51 Mustang kits that can be built to meet 3/4-scale rules. Both kits use conventional balsa-and-plywood construction with vacuum-formed canopies.
- Zigg's Originals — 105 Swanton Rd., Madison, WI 53714; Tel.: (608) 249-4480.
Produces 1/2-scale Spitfire, Me-109, F4U Corsair, A6M Zero, Fw-190A, and F6F Hellcat kits. Wings and fuselages are hot-wire cut foam and build up extremely light. Kits include vacuum-formed canopies and cowls but do not include hardware. The A6M is often touted as a good "first-time fighter."
Scale (3/4) Plan Services:
- Double Digit Publications — 2705 Harvest Rd., Modesto, CA 95355; Tel.: (209) 521-5412.
Offers RC plans for the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and the Fairey Firefly using a bonded balsa-and-foam technique to cut and shape the models.
- Gus Morfis Plans — 4709 Green Meadows Ave., Torrance, CA 90505; Tel.: (310) 378-5679.
The largest source of plans for the Scale Combat scratch-builder, offering more than two dozen plans for 3/4 and 1/2 scale fliers and 1/2 sport modelers. Available plans include Curtiss P-36 Hawk, P-38 Lightning, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, P-47D Thunderbolt (bubble top), P-51D Mustang, F-84 Thunderjet, F-86 Sabre, F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F9F Panther, F4U Corsair, Ryan Fireball, Hawker Hurricane, Typhoon, Sea Fury, Supermarine Spitfire, Martin Baker MB-3, De Havilland Mosquito, Lavochkin La-5, Soviet Yak 1/3/7/9 series fighters, Me-163, Me-262, Macchi MC-202, Dewoitine D-520, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony, and Ki-100.
- Air Kill Products — (see address above).
In addition to short kits, Air Kill offers some plans and hardware kits. Plans supplied with short kits must be purchased from Gus Morfis Plans. Air Kill also offers its own catapult design.
- Column Scientific — (see address above).
Manufactures the long-nose Fw 190D-9 and provides built-up and foam wing options; several have been converted for Combat flying.
- D. Sign Models, House of Balsa, Hobby Hangar, Meys High Tech Hobby, Marvin Banka Models — (see addresses above).
These sources offer plans, short kits, or custom kits for various designs; inquire individually for details and kit/plan contents.
- John Pond Old Time Plan Service — Box 90310, San Jose, CA 95109; Tel.: (408) 292-3382 (Tues. and Fri. only).
Offers a huge variety of plans, including many 1/2-scale Control Line and Free Flight plans that may be adapted to RC Combat. Quality varies by source. RC-convertible plans include Arado Ar-96, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Heinkel He-51, and many others.
- Verivol Plans — 5726 Case Ave. N., Hollywood, CA 96101-1950; Tel.: (818) 980-6184.
Offers RC plans for the Arado Ar-96, Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony, and a very lightweight Focke-Wulf Fw-190 A.
All designs listed are of conventional balsa-and-plywood construction. Short kits of several designs and custom kits of many designs may be obtained from Air Kill Products or Marvin Banka Models (see addresses above).
To be continued in the next RC Combat column.
I took some flak for my last column — not for the issue of overweight Combat models (the majority opinion has been to keep the models light and safe to protect both people and the RC Combat movement), but for letting features such as the "Scratch-Built Beauty of the Month" run.
The "Scratch-Built Beauty of the Month" award goes to Dale Sebring of Blackfoot, Idaho, for his beautifully built, own-design Fiat G-50. Dale chose a North African paint scheme with hand-made details and markings. Power is from an O.S. .20 engine and a Futaba radio is used. This is Dale's second building award; the Fiat even surpasses his earlier Ki-100.
There was no mention of who built the beautiful MiG-3 parked in the background. Dale — is this another one of yours?
Until next time, keep building (or repairing — that counts almost the same as building) and be sure to check your six!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
