Kyosho: P-40 Warhawk ARF

Model Airplane News, Aug 2002 by Kotleba, John

The Curtiss P-40 was the U.S. Army Air Corps' primary fighter when America entered WW II. Though it lacked speed and maneuverability compared with Japanese and Luftwaffe fighters, the P-40 had a reputation for strength and the ability to absorb combat damage. Its weight allowed excellent diving speed that complemented the battery of six, .50-caliber machine guns. Nearly 14,000 P-40s were manufactured during its five-year production run.

The almost-ready-to-fly (ARF) .40-size P-40 Warhawk is one of Kyosho's popular Super Quality Series line of warbirds. It is an authentic re-creation of one of WW II's most famous fighters, with a scale appearance that is true-right down to the distinctive shark's-mouth nose art.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

On opening the box, I discovered that all of the major balsa and plywood sections had already been assembled and covered with pressure-sensitive, adhesive-backed film in a flat camouflage olive-green-and-tan color scheme. This film also adorns printed panel lines, rivets, hatches and enough markings to bring a smile to the face of even the most experienced scale modeler. The only decal that needs to be applied is the famous shark's mouth on the nose.

The kit contains a prebuilt, all-wood fuselage, wings and tail assemblies, a generous hardware package, an adjustable nylon engine mount, a fuel tank, canopy, cowl, spinner, fixed-- wire landing gear, main wheels and tailwheel, strut covers and wheel-well inserts. For added realism, Kyosho also leaves enough room to install 90-degree mechanical rotating retracts as an option. A 15-page, photo-- illustrated instruction manual and three sheets of pressure-sensitive adhesive covering film in tan, olive green and light blue complete the package. The extra covering comes in handy during the assembly and for potential future repairs.

ASSEMBLY

I first compared the contents of the box with the list of materials in the manual to make sure that everything was there. When I was sure the kit was complete, I turned my attention to the covering on the fuselage, wing and tailpieces. There was a fair amount of sag in the covering on most of the surfaces, so I let them sit in the sunshine for an hour or so. Since the Warhawk is covered with pressure-sensitive adhesive film, be sure to press down on all of the seams with your finger. I then tightened the film with a heat gun. Make sure that you do not warp the wings or tail feathers. Don't use a heat-sealing iron on this material; it will remove the colored print and melt the film.

WINGS

The first step is to join the aileron to the wing using thin CA on both sides of each hinge. Remove any excess CA with a paper towel.

Each aileron requires a standard-size servo. To remove the aileron servo hatch, locate the four pinholes that designate each corner of the hatch and carefully cut the covering from one hole to the other. The kit comes with metal devises to connect the pushrods to the control horns. Just make sure that you file flat spots on the pushrods to secure the setscrews. Thread the servo wires through each wing panel using the provided strings. I added aileron differential throw by making the appropriate adjustments to the servo-- output arms.

Glue the dihedral brace and wing halves together with 30-minute epoxy. I opted to install Hobbico's 90-degree rotating mechanical retracts. If you choose to do the same, cut an opening in the top center section of the wing to accommodate the retract servo, as shown in the manual. Locate and remove the film from the area where the landing-gear base will be mounted. The instruction manual clearly shows the main wheels mounted on the inboard side of the landing-gear struts, but for improved ground handling, I wanted them on the outboard side; this also achieves a more scale-like appearance. Consequently, to have outboard wheels that retract properly, the retract units must be swapped.

Use the dimensions provided in the illustrated diagram to determine the locations of the wheel wells. Be sure to measure from the center of the retracts pivot pin to the center of each wheel axle. Use the retracted strut as a guide in determining the location of the wheel wells' center point. Kyosho provides two 90-degree bellcranks and the necessary hardware for this step, but you must provide the pushrods and connectors.

The manual instructs you to CA the wheel-well inserts and strut covers into place, but I opted to use 2x8mm screws instead. This makes the retracts easily removable for future adjustments. I completed the wing assembly by gluing the belly pan into place.

ENGINE INSTALLATION

I chose to use the new O.S. Max .50 SX Ring 2-stroke engine. I used the supplied engine mount and followed the detailed instructions to temporarily mount the engine in the inverted position. The appropriate centerlines come already marked on the firewall-a nice feature!

Before I inserted the blind nuts on the rear of the firewall, I coated each side of the firewall with 30-minute epoxy thinned with alcohol (50 percent by volume) and allowed it to cure overnight. This prevents the blind nuts from being pulled through the wood when you tighten the engine mount. I then installed the throttle pushrod, making sure that it would not interfere with the fuel tank. Because the engine would be completely covered by the cowl, I mounted a glow-plug igniter on the right side of the fuselage.