I've been weighing up whether to try and enter this group build or just look on from the sidelines. Over the past few days I've been thinking about BAAAD aircraft ideas and I kept returning to the Bachem Natter. Arguably one of the most dangerous aircraft ever designed! One of the worlds most lethal engines (the HWK109-509 of Me.163 fame) strapped to a wooden fuselage built with unskilled labour. Flying at over 500mph past slow bombers at it tries to shoot them down with inaccurate unguided rockets.
I was going to build a Japanese home defense Natter to be a bit different, but I didn't have one in the stash. I did, however, have a Messerschmitt Me-328. So I changed my plans to use that instead. Here is a rough draft of a back story and the obligatory starting shot of the kit...

Various plans for new German aircraft had been shipped to Japan onboard a U-Boat. It was attacked with depth charges en-route and some parts of the designs were mixed up or lost. On arrival, Japanese engineers endevoured to piece together a useful aircraft design. Rikugun produced the Ki-328, which, superficially looks like the Messerschmitt Me-328. However, the aircraft performed like the Bachem Natter. It had a Mitsubishi Toku Ro.3 rocket motor (derrived from the Natter's HWK 109-509). Takes off vertically under a basic auto-pilot, fires a salvo of 32 unguided rockets at the attacking formation of B-29's, then once the fuel had been expended, the aircraft glided out of harms way and seperated into stages to be parachuted down to the ground and re-used.

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 09:26:50 AM.......and seperated into stages to be parachuted down to the ground and re-used.

One of which, hopefully, was the pilot. 

Quote from: PR19_Kit on March 23, 2025, 09:51:17 AM

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 09:26:50 AM.......and seperated into stages to be parachuted down to the ground and re-used.

One of which, hopefully, was the pilot. 

Maybe, maybe not? This is the bad ideas group build after all 

Ya better be building the V1 version with the longer wings Raff or Kit will not be impressed 😤   
I know I'm gonna like this 🙂

This is a great idea for a bad idea build! The Wikipedia article on the 328 will induce much head shaking.


 Huma made a kit of this that included two versions (A and B) in one box. The PM kit looks slightly different, but that's not surprising. The planes in the Huma version came with pulse engines - one under each wing. It's debatable which engine variant would be more dangerous to the aircraft and pilot.

A Natter trainer would also be a bad idea.

Quote from: Wardukw on March 23, 2025, 10:57:41 AMYa better be building the V1 version with the longer wings Raff or Kit will not be impressed 😤   
I know I'm gonna like this 🙂

Hahaha! What if I told you the long wings were being put aside to make something with longer wings have even longer, longer wings? 

Quote from: jcf on March 23, 2025, 12:10:53 PMA Natter trainer would also be a bad idea.

 

Would that be a bad idea or somehow would it be such a bad idea that it's actually a good idea? After all,  there aren't too many planes out there that would benefit more from having a solid bit of training behind you before flying it into combat 

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 12:41:47 PMWould that be a bad idea or somehow would it be such a bad idea that it's actually a good idea? After all,  there aren't too many planes out there that would benefit more from having a solid bit of training behind you before fly it into combat 

The problem would be that both the instructors AND the pupils would get killed.

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 12:38:12 PMHahaha! What if I told you the long wings were being put aside to make something with longer wings have even longer, longer wings? 

Way to go!   

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 12:38:12 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on March 23, 2025, 10:57:41 AMYa better be building the V1 version with the longer wings Raff or Kit will not be impressed 😤   
I know I'm gonna like this 🙂

Hahaha! What if I told you the long wings were being put aside to make something with longer wings have even longer, longer wings? 

Yep..Kit would definitely be good with that and from his response I would say I'm right about that  ✅️ 😄

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 09:59:51 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on March 23, 2025, 09:51:17 AM

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 09:26:50 AM.......and seperated into stages to be parachuted down to the ground and re-used.

One of which, hopefully, was the pilot. 

Maybe, maybe not? This is the bad ideas group build after all   pilots were the auxiliary warhead,

A bomb vest was standard equipment,
the pilot was an auxiliary warhead. 

 

Quote from: PR19_Kit on March 23, 2025, 01:49:23 PM

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 23, 2025, 12:41:47 PMWould that be a bad idea or somehow would it be such a bad idea that it's actually a good idea? After all,  there aren't too many planes out there that would benefit more from having a solid bit of training behind you before fly it into combat 

The problem would be that both the instructors AND the pupils would get killed.

Well it is Japanese after all, there were prior indicators to this sort of thing.

So with only 9 parts to the entire kit, I've had longer sneezes than the total assembly time! The next thing to work out is what booster system to use? I only have 3 Schmidding SG.34 boosters. Or should I use a single, larger booster slung underneath the Ki.328?

Quote from: RAFF-35 on March 24, 2025, 01:05:39 AMSo with only 9 parts to the entire kit, I've had longer sneezes than the total assembly time! The next thing to work out is what booster system to use? I only have 3 Schmidding SG.34 boosters. Or should I use a single, larger booster slung underneath the Ki.328?

Raff ..bad ideas GB mate...use all of em!!!