BARRACUDA BR32386 A-4KKahu Skyhawk Conversion Kit Installation Guide

BARRACUDA BR32386 A-4KKahu Skyhawk Conversion Kit

Product Information

The BR32386 A-4K Kahu Skyhawk Conversion Kit is designed by Kerry Carlyle and Mike Swinburne with research by Craig Sargent. The kit is designed to convert the Trumpeter 1/32 scale A-4E/F Skyhawk kits into an RNZAF A-4K Kahu Skyhawk. It can also be made to work with the Hasegawa A-4E or F kits with some modifications. The kit contains parts needed for the conversion, including an instrument panel, rear panel, HUD body, hi-intensity strobe, HUD glass, decals, fin top, UHF commas antenna, underwing ILS antenna, underwing RWR antennae (two), rudder top, VOR/ILS antenna, rudder pedals, Para brake housing-late, Para brake housing-early, throttle handle, stick top, and intake.

It is important to note that the kit consists solely of parts that were 3D printed. If you are used to working with cast resin  parts, be aware that 3D printed parts do not have the same properties and require a little different handling. 3D printed parts are very strong, stronger than injected plastic, but they have one caveat. A sharp jolt (such as from dropping them onto a hard floor) may cause parts to break. Therefore, it is recommended  not to drop parts onto hard surfaces.

Product Usage Instructions

1. Remove supports if necessary from the front and rear instrument panel halves. Sand rear faces of these parts by block sanding to make them flat and smooth.
2. Assemble the HUD body and attach it to the front instrument panel half with CA glue. Attach the HUD glass to the front of the HUD body with clear glue.
3. Assemble the kit rudder pedals and test fit them into position. Mark their location on the cockpit floor. Remove resin rudder pedal parts very carefully by gentle repeated scoring of the supports. Once free, clean up. Attach rudder pedals to kit floor after painting all parts. A blob of poster putty will hold them angled back a few degrees while the glue sets. Note that the rudder pedal pushrods run aft on the floor, disappearing behind the consoles.
4. Attach the hi-intensity strobe to the top of the fuselage spine with CA glue.
5. Remove fin top from supports by careful sawing near visible part edges and by clipping with nippers around the bottom of the part. Clean up with files and sanding sticks. Remove small supports from inside antenna mount recesses. Our first few hundred production fin tops have raised part numbers. File or sand off the raised numbers. Our later production parts have recessed numbers. Cut top of kit fin off from kit fuselage halves as shown in Fig14. Test fit new fin top to kit fuselage. Adjust as needed.
6. Remove guards from fin and rudder parts sprue by clipping with nippers. Saw 3 parts free as shown and clean up. Test fit resin rudder top to kit rudder and attach with CA. Test fit ILS antenna to slots. Remove any supports in slots and scrape top and bottom of slot with a hobby knife. Taper the base of the antennas as shown in lower part of Fig13. Test fit and install with CA, making sure they are at 90 degrees to the tailfin centerline when viewed from the front.

Always carefully test fit parts before assembling them. Assemble 3D printed parts with Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. Sanding sponges in various fine grits, such as from Tamiya, are excellent for removing the finest stepping from the 3D printing process, if your parts have any. Priming is recommended to check for any stepping or minor surface flaws. Sanding sponges will make quick work of these.
Happy modelling!

A-4K Kahu Skyhawk Conversion Kit
Designed for the Trumpeter 1/32 scale A-4E/F Skyhawk kits. May also be made to work tor the Hasegawa A-4E kit.

This set was designed specifically for the 1/32 Trumpeter A-4E/F Skyhawk kit It contains parts needed to convert the model to an RNZAF A-4K Kahu Skyhawk. It can be made to work with the Hasegawa A-4E or F kits with a little work.

Tips for Working with 30 Printed Parts

This set consists solely of parts that were 3D printed. If you are used to working with cast resin parts, be aware that 3D printed parts do not have the same properties, and require a little different handling. You can tell 3D printed parts from Barracuda as they will most likely be gray, whereas our resin parts are cast in yellow tan or clear resin.
3D printed parts are very strong; stronger than injected plastic, but they have one caveat. A sharp jolt (such as from dropping them onto a hard floor) may cause parts to break. This is not good for models of any kind, so try not to drop parts onto hard surfaces!:-)
Removing parts from their print supports requires a little care. If the supports attach to the thin edge of a part, take care to cut or saw away part carefully. Breaking off the supports may chip an edge off the actual part. Save yourself so me time and frustration and remove supports carefully. After that, cleanup is like with any model parts. Files, sand­ paper, grinding burrs in motor tools are all good for this task.
Sanding sponges in various fine grits, such as from Tamiya, are excellent for removing the fine stepping from the 3D printing process, if your parts have any. Priming is recommended to check for any stepping or minor surface fla””6.
Sanding sponges will make quick work of these.
Assemble 3D printed parts with Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. Always carefully test fit parts first

KIT CONTENTS

• instrument panel
• rear panel
• HUD body
• hi intensity strobe
• HUD glass
• decals
• Fintop H) UHF commas antenna
• underwing ILS antenna
• underwing RWR antennae (two)
• rudder top
• VOR/ILS antenna
• rudder pedals
• Para brake housing – late
• Para brake housing – early
• throttle handle, stick top, intake

Assembly Instructions for This Set

• Remove supports if necessary from the front and rear instrument panel halves. Sand rear faces of  flat. Glue front and rear together, ta king care to align them. Fill and s and s earn. Carefully slice or s aw supports off the Heads Up Display body. Clean up with files and sandpaper. Test Iii HUD into instrument panel assembly using image below as a guide.
• Paint and glosscoat for decals. Apply the black decals first, working in sections. Use a strong decal solvent once the decals have started settling down to get them to conform to the recessed dial faces. Once the black decals have had time to dry, apply the white detail faces using the same technique. When dried overnight, flat or satin coat the instrument panel, then add clear to gloss to the dial faces to simulate glass. Test fit the instrument panel and install with CA during assembly
• Assemble the kit rudder pedals and test fit them into position. Mark their location on the cockpit floor. Remove resin rudder pedal parts very carefully by gentle repeated scoring of the supports. Once free, clean up. Attach rudder pedals to kit floor after painting all parts. A blob of poster putty will hold them angled back a few degrees while the glue sets. Note the rudder pedal pushrods run aft on the floor, disappearing behind the consoles. See Fig 11.
• Carefully remove the throttle handle and the upgraded control column top as shown in Fig 7. The kit throttle mounts into a round hole. The real throttle lever is flat and sits in a slot on the starboard console. Modify kit console as shown in Fig 9 and test fit the new throttle lever. Remove the old style control column top and attach Barracuda 3D printed part with CA as in Fig 10. Remove the square cooling intake by carefully slicing through the green marked area in figure 7. Once part is free, carefully sand flush the four purple areas on the inside face of the intake panel. Set aside for installation later. We will come back to it, I promise.

• Remove fin top from supports by careful sawing near visible part edges, and by clipping with nippers around the bottom of the part. Clean up with files and sanding sticks. Remove small supports from inside antenna mount recesses. Our first few hundred production fin tops have raised part numbers. File or sand off the raised numbers. Our later production parts have recessed numbers. Cut top of kit fin off from kit fuselage halves as shown in Fig 14. Test fit new fin top to kit fuselage. Adjust as needed.
• Remove guards from fin and rudder parts sprue by clipping with nippers. Saw 3 parts free as shown and cleanup. Test fit resin rudder top to kit rudder and attach with CA. Test fit ILS antenna to slots. Remove any supports in slots and scrape top and bottom of slot with a hobby knife. Taper the base of the antennas as shown in lower part of Fig 13. Test fit and install with CA, making sure they are at 90 degrees to the tailfin centerline when viewed from the front.

• Remove the UHF Commas Antenna H, the underwing ILS antenna I, and the two RWR antennas J from the yellow tan resin sprue by carefully sawing from the base with a hobby saw. Cleanup parts and test fit, using the photos, diagrams and measurements shown below in Fig 16 through 22. Attach parts as shown with CA.
• Check your references to determine whether your aircraft was fitted with the early Para brake housing with the more pointed domed cap, or the later, flatter capped housing. The change was made because the early dome was jettisoned when the chute was deployed, and had to be retrieved from the runway. The later cap was hinged and retained after the chute was deployed. Remove supports and clean CA glue. up Para brake housing. Attach as you would the kit part with CA glue.
• The high intensity strobe light is best added after the model has been painted and decaled. The strobe light inside the cover is molded as a cavity. This can be painted carefully with clear orange. The recessed plate on the bottom can be painted silver. When dry, the strobe light part can be attached to the model with a clear glue, such as rearview mirror cement or Mig Productions Ultra Glue.

• Find the small intake (accessory cooling intake) P you cleaned up way back in step 4 and attach it, as shown in Figs 23 and 24, on the port fuselage just over the wingroot. That’s pretty much it. Build the rest of the model as per instructions.
• Repeat process as often as needed, until you have built enough A-4K Kahu Skyhawks. Impossible, you say? You may be right!

Additional A-4K Kahu detail images

This conversion started life some 4-5 years ago, as just an instrument panel and gunsight created in CAD by Kerry Carlyle. It sat for 3 to 4 years, until renewed interest jumpstarted the project. Over the last 9 months, the project kept growing in scope until it became what you see today, as well as two other sets for the Skyhawk in 1/32. This conversion kit is the passion project of a number of very talented guys, all (not surprisingly) New Zealanders. I owe a great big debt of gratitude to Kerry Carlyle, Craig Sargent, Mike Swinburne and Anthony Galbraith for their knowledge and talent and patience with my end- less questions. This set was also one of Barracuda’s very first sets to utilize 3D printed parts extensively, so that steep learning curve slowed things down a bit, too. to Thanks also to Calum Gibson. hope I have not forgotten anyone! We all hope you enjoy building this conversion. The Kahu Skyhawks had some great schemes, and I look forward to seeing some built to in the future.
Happy modelling!

OTHER BARRACUDACAST SETS AVAILABLE FOR THE 1/32 A-4 SKYHAWK

www.barracudacals.com

References

• Barracuda Studios

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