This may be old news to some, but I’ve only just been able to look at the Tamiya Bubbletop on Saturday.
After looking at the kit, it’s quite evident that Tamiya are leaving themselves open to further variants in their P-47 Family.
With the way the kit is molded I’d say they’re apt to release a P-47M and an ‘N’, which is good news; I’ve been wanting a good ‘M’ for quite some time as have many others, no doubt. I know there’s one guy here on the forum who’d welcome a new kit of the ‘N’, too.
Now if only they’d lower the stinkin’ price a tad…
Hey Blackwolf,
You mean that there are two people on the forum lookin forward to a new “N” variant!!!
If and when Tamiya comes out w/ one, do ya think I should save one for Wayne?
Talk to ya a lil later.
Flaps up, Mike
I’m sure he does, otherwise he wouldn’t fire all that crap atcha. That’s what it’s all about, too bad alotta folks here at the forum just aren’t in on the whole gag though… [:p]
I would be surprised if Tamiya did an “N” without doing a completely new fuselage. Since the “N” had a wider track undercarriage, the inner wheel covers were actually out on the wing iitself instead of being in the wing root. So there would have to be a fill-in peice for the underside of the wing root - that means filling and sanding. But on the other hand Tamiya might think that the majority of the people who build it will be those who have no real aversion to filling and sanding. And doing an “N” means that they would have to do a different engine front and prop - THAT COULD ALSO BE USED TO DO AN “M” !
Well, seeing as the Razorback and the Bubbletop kits are really quite radically different from each other in a number of areas, I’d say that an ‘N’ wouldn’t be out of the question. Especially given the mold manipulation that can be done nowadays.
Used to be that if you had a complex multi-part tool (or even a simple one) the join lines were usually very apparent on the finished product; especially if it was badly done, as with AMT’s P-40’s. But with a company like Tamiya, the results should be much better.
All they would have to do is switch out some stuff on the fuselage in the area near the gear wells. Other than that (and the unique fillet) the external fuselage, I think, would need no real changes. The cockpit and different engine, yeah, that’s a given. They did it with the Razor and the Bubble, so I don’t think they’d bat an eyelash here. As far as the prop goes, the bubbletop gives you the four main props used on all variants of the Jug.
The real change, however, would not be to the fuselage but to the wings. With the 18" plugs at the wing roots and the redesigned outer wing shape, the ‘N’ had 22 square feet more in the way of wing area than any of the previous variants. And yes, the gear was moved outboard as a result of the insertion of the wing plugs. It was also strengthened.
I’d say that if Tamiya did an ‘N’, there’d be completely new wings. Again, they did it with the previous two kits, only with those it was the fuselage that changed.
My guess is that Tamiya have developed these kits over a long period of time. When the Hasegagme kits came out, they looked hard to beat. But I think Tamiya took their time with these and tried to make them even more appealing than Hasegagme’s. I’d say they not only tried, but they succeeded.
Just being paranoid - hoping that Tamiya does not decide to try to kluge the exiisting bubbletop fuselage if they decide to do an N. As you pointed out, the razorback and bubbletop fuselages are very different, so there is not really any reason to think they would not do a new fuselage for an N.
Per the props, there are actually 5 different types used on production P-47’s (based on the info I have on hand):
Curtiss Electric C542S ( “toothpick” )
Curtiss Electric C542S-A114 ( symetrical paddle blade as used on the D )
Curtiss Electric with Type 836 blade ( asymetrical paddle blade )
Curtiss Electric C642S-B40 ( symetrical paddle blade as on M and N )
Hamilton-Standard ( Roger Freeman’s book shows two different model numbers for H/S props - typo ?).
The difference that I have noted in the two CE symetrical paddle blade props is in the cuffs. The cuff on the C542S-A114 is straight - that is the leading and trailing edges are paralell to each other. On the C642S-B40 the cuff is actually tapers - being wider at the hub.
Blackwolf,
Interesting news. Sure would like to see a P-47M
and an N from Tamiya . But I’d hate to see anything happen
to the bubbletop or razorback versions. Just got a call from
my local shop that my Tamiya bubbletop has arrived. I’m
going to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. Maybe looking at the
kit first will help with the price!
Not to change the subject but have you seen the
Amtech X-Kits ad for the 1/48th XP-40Q-2 ? [8D] I’ll have to
get a couple.
fuzzy
Blackwolf,
All things considered the Tamiya kits are
worth it . It’s just hard to decide on which decal sheet to use.
Glad to hear that they look good. Saw one up close at a local
airshow man that’s a BIG fighter. Sure did fill the camera lens.
Thanks for the info. Iguess I won’t get much sleep tonight !
fuzzy
I remember sometime back we discussed doing the “XP-47M” razorback - just had some thoughts on another experimental P-47 that could be done if Tamiya does see fit to do an N:
Use a non-“type C” R2800 and toothpick prop
Use the early D cowl flaps from either Loon or Scale-Quest
Remove the dorsal fin and sub a straight dorsal fin from a Hasegawa kit
Leave off the wing pylons, rocket stubs, and guns
Paint OD/Gray
VOILA ! The XP-47K !
I can hear it now…
“an OD/gray P-47N?”, “what is it doing with that dinky prop ?”, “where are the pylons ?”, “it has the wrong dorsal fin”, etc. [:)]
You know, over the years I have looked at hundreds of different photos of P-47’s and did not notice the difference between the symetrical paddle blade prop on the D and the prop on the M and N until a couple of years ago !
