Messerschmitt 40 (oz13643)

About this Plan

Messerschmitt 40. Radio control sport-scale model WWII fighter. Wingspan 54 in, wing area 521 sq in, for .35 -.45 engines.

Discontinued kit from Midwest. See old listing for this kit at: http://web.archive.org/web/20021126...

Quote: "Germany's premier fighter plane from World War II in a practical size. This kit features: Fully symmetrical airfoil wing, D-tube construction utilizing hardwood spars, sheeted leading and trailing edge surfaces and beveled ailerons. Die-cut, lock together fuselage construction using Micro-Lite Plywood and pre-cut solid 1/4 in thick Balsa tail surfaces for rapid assembly. Complete hardware package including pre-bent main landing gear legs, tailwheel wire, elevator joiner, nylon control horns, landing gear straps, fasteners and gear cover attachment fittings. Vacuum formed canopy and exhaust stacks. Authentic self-adhesive military markings."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Note the manual includes partID pages, showing all formers at reduced scale.

Update 5/1/2024: Added kit review from RCM August 1992, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "RCM Product Review: Messerschmitt from Midwest Products. The Messerschmitt is a member of Midwest's Success Series kits which with a fully illustrated step by step construction manual and full size plans assures you of success. The Messerschmitt is the second of three planes in the fun scale class of war birds, the Mustang (oz14915) was the first, and the Zero (oz10600) is the third.

This intermediate flier, advertised as a 'Low wing taildragger which acts as a sport plane' will easily teach you how to handle a taildragger. If you are a scale enthusiast, this plane will be the ideal one to scale up to after you have spent your time with a trainer.

The fuselage is of jig lock ply construction and the tail has 1/4 in sheet balsa surfaces. The wing is fully symmetrical and of D-tube construction with hardwood spars and fully tapered ailerons. The canopy and exhaust stacks are vacuum formed and the self adhesive decal sheet is one of the best we have seen in a long time.

We feel that Midwest places their instruction manual in the box last so it will be the first thing you discover when you open the box. This step by step format manual is excellent, well prepared, and the drawings with each step are self explanatory.

Page three of the manual contains a complete inventory list, and pages four and five show all the die-cut parts. Marking all die-cut parts prior to removal from their sheets, will save a lot of confusion later. The ply die-cut pieces were removed from the backing sheets, with no splinters, no sanding just perfectly. completely cut through. The right and left fuselage sides were cut w ith two dies, so there was a clean, knot-free outer surface for each side.

Construction: The fully symmetrical wing is constructed using standard practices with tabs on the trailing edge of all wing ribs. A tapered building jig is furnished to assure the wing will have a measured amount of washout introduced throughout. This is one of the ways 'Success Series' works to give you an easier building, better flying airplane.

All construction was done with Satellite City's UFO thick and thin cyanoacrylate adhesives. Particularly so in bringing the two halves of the wing into a unit. UFO thick was spread on each root rib, the wing was then pinned in place, with proper dihedral, until the glue sets.

The center section glass was adhered using the method developed by Satellite City whereby you spray the center of the wing with 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive, then place the glass over the contact cement, smooth out, then adhere with UFO thin. This is the best and easiest method we have found to insure an extremely strong wing.

If you have built a number of fuselages, but never a jig lock fuselage you are in for a surprise. All you have to do is assemble a complete fuselage, in hand, with rubber bands and masking tape to hold it together, then using UFO thick, glue it into one piece..."

Supplementary file notes

Manual.
Review.

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