There is not a lot of information on the western internet about a series of small control line kits made by Kimura (木村) in Japan. You'll more commonly find them mentioned in English as "KMCo" as that's what is written in English letters on the box. Kimura kits are designed to be rugged, easy to build, and require as few additional parts to complete as possible. Kimura kits are still in production, though not all at the same time. Restocking can take a while, though there is usually a lot available. Kimura planes are still popular in Japan and you'll often find one of their planes photos of contests in Japan.
I recently purchased 2 kits in Japan from Powers International. They're from the two most popular lines: semi-scale stunt and .15-sized stunt designs.
The semi-scale line is mostly warbirds, including the Spitfire, P-40, P-51, Hellcat, P-39, Yak-9, Bf-109, Ki-61, Ki-43, A6M Zero, J7W1 Shinden (it's wild), and the Fuji Aero Subaru. They are all (except the Shinden) flapped designs with straight wings and full fuselages. Some are more convincing scale-wise than others. Most of the kits are available in 3 sizes: for .09, .15, and .29-.35 engines.
The .15-sized stunt designs are sized down versions of some great stunt planes. From the US: the Lew McFarland Shark and the Nobler, and from Japan: The Blue Max (full fuse and profile versions), Typhoon, Skylark, and the Hara Hurricane.
.09-Size Fuji Aero Subaru
I purchased a .09-sized Aero Subaru and a .15-sized Shark.
Since the Subaru is similar to a larger lineup of Kimura kits, we'll start with it. You can see the straight wing and external controls that is ubiquitous across their smaller kits. This one comes in .09 and .15 sizes. Since the .15 was sold out, I bought the .09 version and would put a Fuji .099 on it if I build it.
Here's the box opened. Keep in mind that this kit just took a ride in the luggage compartment of a flight from Tokyo to Singapore, so some of the parts have come loose. You'll notice that the box has a lot of hardware and laser cut parts. It also comes with a very sturdy Japanese tissue convering that Kimura makes. It is 52 g/sqm. It also includes decals.
It comes with full-sized plans that includes instructions in English and Japanese. The plans suggest using an Enya 09.
The spruce(?) spar is pre-slotted for the ribs.
Here are the laser cut parts. The cutting is top-notch. But now I know why the box is so darn heavy. It has plywood fuselage sides, wingtips, rudder and formers. The balsa for the stab and elevator are very heavy as well, though extremely stiff and straight. Given that these kits were designed so that they could survive storage in small apartments and being transported by bus or train, it makes sense. When and If I ever build this thing, I will replace the fuselage sides, wingtips, and rudder with balsa versions.
Closer look at the laser cutting. The fuselage sides really are beautiful, just possibly the wrong kind of wood.
Here are the ribs. You'll notice no cutouts. The bellcrank and leadouts are on top of the wing, not in it. I do not know if this carries over to the larger versions of these kits (specifically the .29 to .35 sized ones). You may see that the label on the rib set is just "13 cm)." Most Kimura kits are made from the same sets of ribs in various sizes. You can also buy the rib sets from Kimura.
The first hardware bag includes a hardwood motor mount, bellcrank mount, cloth hinges, and wheels.
The next hardware bag contians all screws and bolts, as well as control horns, a bellcrank, the elevator horn, and even tacks for construction! Kimura makes all their own bellcranks and horns.
Here are the pre-bent pushrod, landing gear, canopy, fuel tubing, and a prop.
And finally, the fuel tank which they also produce themselves.
Overall, a really impressive little kit. At the current exchange rate, Kimura's semi-scale plane kits cost about:
$45-48 for .09 size
$53-60 for .15 size
$75 for .29-.35 size
.15-Size Shark
This is very cool, a .15 size Lew McFarland Shark. The construction is basically the same as the Aero Subaru, so I'll only note differences in the photos below. Some things are noticeable in the photo right away: the controls are still external, and the nose doesn't taper due to the plywood fuselage sides. Nevertheless, even with a straight wing, it looks a lot like a Shark.
The Sharks' plans are simpler and only in Japanese. I'm guessing they assumed that people buying a classic stunt design will know a lot of the basics explained in the Aero Subaru plan.
Box contents. Includes the same tissue covering.
The laser-cut balsa parts. The wing is straight, though unlike in the semi-scale series, each plane has a specific set of ribs. The wood is good. The control surfaces use very hard balsa that's heavy but straight.
A whole lotta plywood. The formers look outstanding though.
Various sheets and blocks. They are all very light. The spar is spruce.
The hardware includes a high-pitch APC prop.
I love the little Shark and hope to build it someday soon with an OS 20 FP that I brought with me to Singapore. I would replace the fuselage sides with balsa for weight and to get the correct nose taper.
The .15-sized stunt kits are priced at:
Shark: $61
Taurus: $75
Nobler: $84
Typhoon: $89
Profile Blue Max: $90
Blue Max: $90
Hurricane: $90
The Nobler, Typhoon, Hurricane, and Blue Maxes are a little larger (listed as .20 size) and have leadouts mounter through the wing and tapered wings.
I hope this is helpful for anyone who comes across one of these kits and wonders what's inside them!
Topic: Review: KMCo. (Kimura) Kits From Japan (Read 1140 times)
