USN/USMC Flying Fish

[frank2056]

Against my better judgment, I got the Mikro-Mir Caproni B.72 Flying? Whatsit:



I decided to make it a USN or USMC vehicle, so first thing was to swap the inline engines with radials. I got some Eduard Quickboost B-17G Flying Fortress Engines (Wright Cyclone R-1820), outlined the wing cross section and CADed out a cowl and engine pod. I didn't go all out on the details, since the kit itself isn't very detailed.:



I printed a few copies, Here's one pod pressed together with the engine. There's some dust from sanding and some sections still need cleanup:



I also wanted to replace the anemic single machine gun with twin .50 or .303 guns. A search through my spares didn't reveal anything suitable in 1/72, so I looked online and found these free 1/35 twin .303 on Cults3D by Razz Dabat Designs

I rescaled them to 1/72 and the fragile results are outstanding. You can even see the open barrels:



I also opened up the cockpit area to allow room for a third crew member.

The two Wright engines should have allowed this vehicle to fly (albeit poorly) so I'm going to see what it looks like with end plates, similar to the William Horton wingless aircraft

Since US torpedoes weren't good for their intended task, I have to decide what armaments, missions and era to place this in.  Contenders are:

- USN/USMC WWII torpedo attacker
- Replace the torpedoes with a 37mm gun and make it a harassment/recon vehicle. A cross between the missions undertaken by the PT boats and B-25s in the Pacific.
- Pre-war Yellow wings, with torpedoes.

Let's see how far this goes before the Mikro-Mir curse hits.

[scooter]

- Pre-war Yellow wings, with torpedoes.

I vote pre-war.  It's just crazy enough to be suggested by a BuOrd cracked pot boffin.

[Old Wombat]

- Pre-war Yellow wings, with torpedoes.

I vote pre-war.  It's just crazy enough to be suggested by a BuOrd cracked pot boffin.

And, of course, BuOrd thought the Mk.14 torpedo was perfect in every way.

[kerick]

There is the Mk13 aerial torpedo. It worked fairly well when dropped at slower speeds than WWII torpedo planes.

[NARSES2]

Fascinated to see what you do with this   

[frank2056]

I started to scratch-build the cockpit, including sourcing some instrument panels from my junk bins, when I remembered that I'd downloaded a free 1/72 Hawker Sea Fury cockpit from Muteman on Cults3D I separated the components in the file and printed the seat, instrument panel, control stick and rudder pedals.

Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job on the supports - they were way too big -  and the very fine parts on the seats broke off while trying to remove them. No big deal; I wasn't going to use those details and the rest of the seat and other components printed well.  I'll have to trim the edges of the instrument panel to fit, though.

My Neanderthal fingers broke off one side of the reflex sight. It's amazing that the foot braces on the rudder pedals printed:



The resin behind the dials is thin enough that some light sanding should open them up. I can then either print dials or paint a piece of white plastic.

Here are the pilot and copilot stations:



I also started working on the floats and the torpedoes.  The flash around the parts is so bad that it's hard to tell what's flash and what's the actual edge of the float. I had to take them apart at least once. The torpedoes are also flashy. I can tell already that the struts between the floats and the wing will have to be replaced or reinforced with metal. The attachment point is 0.5mm deep or less.

[Wardukw]

This kit makes no sense and I love it 😍.
It's so stupid it's cool as hell 
There's no doubt tho ..this is gonna look sweet 😋

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! 

[Rick Lowe]

Phill - check out the printing link - the guy has a printable HH-3 tail rotor...

And Frank, thanks for the link - I see a few things I will be getting done, in my future...

[jcf]

The Mk.8 torpedo as used on the flush-deck destroyers and PT Boats, before they were replaced by the Mk.13, would be the most likely option.
US Mk.8

[jcf]

Somebody at Caproni saw a cropped photo of the Curtiss CT-1.

[Rick Lowe]

That'll be it!   

[frank2056]

Slowly making progress:

End plates on (with twin rudders). I used the original end caps as well. They were helpful in getting everything lined up:



I designed the engine pods based on the upper wing cross section. It wasn't a perfect fit once the two wing halves were glued together, so I used tome putty and thin styrene rod to fix the gap:



I have to decide if the pilot is the guy in front or the guy in the middle. The other guy would be the co-pilot. Both would have the ability to release the torpedoes. The tail gunner has a small seat for when he isn't actively shooting. The kit also has two span-wise split flaps at the rear. I'll probably split them in the middle to provide some roll control.

[Wardukw]

Phill - check out the printing link - the guy has a printable HH-3 tail rotor...

And Frank, thanks for the link - I see a few things I will be getting done, in my future...

Rick I found the rotor you mentioned..one word ..yummy ☺️
My only question is how big is it ?    .
It'd be pretty damn good for me mutant Apache once I figure out the size of it 😏

Frank mate...looking great so far 👏 👌

[PR19_Kit]

The pics are coming up 'Content not viewable in your region'.

Even your avatar says that too Frank.