If one's good, two's awesome! The FW-380

[Faust]

If there's one thing that can be "blamed" for my ever-increasing love of weird aircraft models, it's the crazy world of "Luft '46". I LOVE concept aircraft, especially those churned out on the napkins and lunchroom tables of the final days of Nazi Germany! There was no real end to the ideas those engineers and designers were willing to consider, and there weren't apparently any rules as to what should and shouldn't be tried.

With a situation like that, it doesn't take much to really fire up my imagination, and often I find myself MAKING UP my own Luft '46 creations instead of going with more "mainstream" and "legit" options, of which there are quite a few!  To that end, I thought the following:

If a Mustang was good, and they made a Twin Mustang, then it stands to reason that since the FW-190 D9 was good, there really should have been a twin of that! Thus, another one of my forays into the dark reaches of my imagination began. The result is the FW-380; check it out and let me know what you think.  I always love input, especially on my Luft '46 creations!

http://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/planes/hellerairfix-172-focke-wulf-fw-380/

[Army of One]

I love the D9........I take it it's a nightfighter....? I love this work......did you consider a tandem configuration to ease pilot workload.....? Its a fantastic peice of work......

[Captain Canada]

Nice one. Colours look nice but for me it needs to be dirtied up a bit.  Are those a bunch of cannons sticking out the top ?

[scooter]

Nice one. Colours look nice but for me it needs to be dirtied up a bit.  Are those a bunch of cannons sticking out the top ?

Probably Schräge Musik cannons, which makes it very much so a night fighter

[Faust]

You are all correct:

They are Schraege Muzik, and it is a nightfighter!

Follow the link above the pic for more info on the build and the cammo scheme. I may only post one pic, but I always have a full build article to go with it!

I tend to build my planes perfectly clean, as if they were in a museum, since that's how I see my shelves. However, if it was in a diorama, it would be dirtied up, for sure!

[deathjester]

Oh very nice - great idea, totally in keeping with the sort of things rolling out of German factories at that time - and I really like the finish on the paintwork!

[Dizzyfugu]

I love the D9........I take it it's a nightfighter....? I love this work......did you consider a tandem configuration to ease pilot workload.....? Its a fantastic peice of work......

Nice one, the night fighter idea with the Schräge Musik installation is plausible, too. Did a similar conversion some time ago, too (from two Italeri D-9s;with a jet pod added under the central wing piece, a connecting stabilizer and a totally new landing gear installation with a more narrow track that retracts into the fuselage), but as a day fighter.

A long canopy for a second crew member and some "antler" antennae would suit it well, IMHO - Revell offered a respective night fighter with the radar equipment, and the long trainer canopy can be found as a vacu part. The podded solution is good, too, but looks a bit modern?

Nice work, nevertheless! 

Waiting for someone to tackle a twin Ta 152?

[dumaniac]

love the concept

nice camo too

thanks

[kitnut617]

Hmm!  interesting --- very, very interesting --- 

[lancer]

Oh that is simply gorgeous!!! A lovely build and a great idea....

[Army of One]

[/quote]

The podded solution is good, too, but looks a bit modern?


[/quote]

Didn't the P38 nightfighter have a podded radar.....? Or was that after WWII......?

[zenrat]

Me likey.

I've often wondered about zwillings with the tails unconnected by a horizontal stabiliser.
Surely it makes sense to do so as it would add rigidity and drastically reduce twisting moments on the central wing section?

[Dizzyfugu]

The podded solution is good, too, but looks a bit modern?


[/quote]

Didn't the P38 nightfighter have a podded radar.....? Or was that after WWII......?
[/quote]

Yes, in late WWII; I think that dish antennae were not very popular among German engineers, only during the latest stages of the war these were introduced (the Morgenstern device, IIRC, on some Ju 88 night fighters), so the slender pod appears (at least to me, and that's no general benchmark!) a bit odd to me?

[kitnut617]

Me likey.

I've often wondered about zwillings with the tails unconnected by a horizontal stabiliser.
Surely it makes sense to do so as it would add rigidity and drastically reduce twisting moments on the central wing section?

I've always liked the idea of having separate stabilizers, in theory if you loose one there is a backup that (hopefully) still works, even if it's just to get into a attitude to bail...

Engineering wise it's a nightmare --- the twisting forces imposed on the wing center section are tremendous, in so much you have to over-design the center section to compensate, which means heaver structure with corresponding heavier weight.  Joining the two tail together allows you to build with a much lighter structure, something that was all the rage towards the end of the war.

[Army of One]

Yes, in late WWII; I think that dish antennae were not very popular among German engineers, only during the latest stages of the war these were introduced (the Morgenstern device, IIRC, on some Ju 88 night fighters), so the slender pod appears (at least to me, and that's no general benchmark!) a bit odd to me?

Mate.......fair comment........