Nakajima G10N1 Fugaku

[63cpe]

I guess the mythical Nakajima G10N or G12N Fugaku is somewhat known to you all. Nevertheless here some information found on the Wikipedia: " The Nakajima Fugaku (富嶽, Mount Fuji) was a planned Japanese ultra-long-range heavy bomber designed during World War II. It was conceived as a method for mounting aerial attacks from Japan against industrial targets along the west coast (e.g., San Francisco) and in the Midwest (e.g., Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Wichita) and the northeast (e.g., New York City and Norfolk) of the United States. Japan's worsening war situation resulted in the project's cancellation in 1944 and no prototype was ever built.

The Fugaku had its origins in "Project Z (bomber project)", a 1942 Imperial Japanese Army specification for an intercontinental bomber which could take off from the Kuril Islands, bomb the contiguous United States, then continue onward to land in German-occupied France. Once there, it would be refueled and rearmed and make another return sortie.

Project Z called for three variations on the airframe: heavy bomber, transport (capable of carrying 300 troops), and a gunship armed with forty downward-firing machine guns in the fuselage for intense ground attacks at the rate of 640 rounds per second (i.e. 38,400 rounds per minute).

The project was conceived by Nakajima Aircraft Company head Chikuhei Nakajima. The design had straight wings and contra-rotating four-blade propellers. To save weight, some of the landing gear was to be jettisoned after takeoff (being unnecessary on landing with emptied bomb load), as had been planned on some of the more developed German Amerika Bomber competing designs. It used six engines,[1] as with the later Amerikabomber design competitors, to compensate for nearly all German aircraft engines being limited to 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) maximum output levels apiece.

Development was initiated in January 1943 and a design and manufacturing facility built in Mitaka, Tokyo. Nakajima's 4-row 36-cylinder 5,000 hp Ha-54 (Ha-505) engine was abandoned as too complex.

Project Z was cancelled in July 1944, and the Fugaku was never built."

Here some first pictures of the test fit and testing of the overall layout. This is in 1/72.

PXL_20260222_174223477 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260222_174306963 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260222_174334682 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260222_174404963 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260222_174419274 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr

There are now 4 engines on the wings as the 2 outer nacelles are curing. So it'll have 6 engines when finished. Fuselage is still taped together.

I started this project about four years ago when I found a cheap 1/100-ish VEB antonov-12. It's fuselage was splintered as the brittle plastic was smashed by something heavy. It was like a puzzle.
While rebuilding the fuselage is found out the diameter of it's fuselage is the same as an 1/72 B-29. Besides this funny coincidence I figured the VEB AN-12 nose looks more like the G10N nose (dependant on  what source you follow) than the AN-12 nose. By grafting the AN-12 nose on the B-29 I could build an G10N! Now what wings to use? I figured an Messerschmidt Me-323 wing would fit the bill. So found an Me323 to donate it's wings. I figured some Mitsubishi J2M3 Jack fuselages would be great for nacelles extended by some He-219 aft nacelles beyond the trailing edge of the wing. Just like an XF-12 Rainbow the nacelles will be of the "straight through" type and the flaps (not installed in the pictures) will be cut to fit around the nacelles. Exhausts will be centralized to the extreme end following the additional trust ruling often used by late war japanese aircraft. Props are B-29 units with P-61 spinners.

I'm working on and off this project for quite some time now and it's taking shape. The fuselage is almost ready as a third bombbay is installed. Bombay doors are positionable. Bombs need to be installed, gunpositions will have remote aiming gear from an B-36 and reargunner will be put in aswell.

PXL_20260222_174854496 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr

Anyway, hope you like it..Keep on modellling!

David aka 63CPE

[PR19_Kit]

LOVE it! 

Those are some SERIOUS wings there! 

[63cpe]

Well, with those de six engines on, the proportions look more correct. Still it's got some serious wings as it needs to have. It 's bigger than a B-29.

Will post pictures with all six engines on soon.

David aka 63CPE

[Old Wombat]

Knew you'd love it, Kit! 

Seriously cool build! 

[Dizzyfugu]

This is cool, love it! 

[zenrat]

Hells bells!  Look at the span of that thing!

Marvellous Dave.

How does it compare in size with a B-36?

[Dizzyfugu]

How does it compare in size with a B-36?

The "real" Fugaku bomber had a span of ~65m, the B-36 ~70m. 

[NARSES2]

Fascinating project 

[63cpe]

As promised here some pictures with six engines on.

PXL_20260223_201654827 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260223_201721012 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr
PXL_20260223_201734455 by Buddy Holly, on Flickr

It's span is 76 cm which is in real life 54,72 meter.  Still 15 meter short of an B-36 span an about 10 meter short of the "real" span of the G10N.

Length is 49,5 cm without rear guns. That's in real life 35,64 meter. Again about 10 meter short of the "real" length of the G10N.

So, it's big but not as ginormous as the "real" G10N or the B-36.
Then again as it's a tad smaller than the "real" G10N it seems to me more realistic to a war industry that is short on stategic materials. Another argument are the engines the J2m3 nacelles can take the 1,34 diameter Kasei engine. So can easily take the smaller (1,23 meter) Mitsubishi Ha43/MK9 engine of 2200 HP which were readily available than the planned but much more complicated Nakajima Ha54 36 cilinder 5000HP engines.

David aka 63CPE

[Captain Canada]

Wow ! This is incredible !

[NARSES2]

She's a sleek looking beast 

[su27rules]

  

[jcf]

Nice rendition of a confusing
subject.
🤣

Seventeen page, 642 post topic over on Secret Projects:

Project Z, G10N etc

[Pellson]

Beautiful!! 

[chrisonord]

This is looking very interesting