A Yank in the RAF -- *DNF*

[JohnRatzenberger]

I hadn't intended to join this GB, then I ran across this, America's first jet.







Which became an instant candidate when I found that the 3rd YP-59A was traded to the RAF for a Meteor for test purposes; the RAF getting the short end of the deal.



Anyway, to convert a P-59B to a YP-59A only requires rounding the wing tips and the vertical tail, and the instructions have a scale drawing to assist. I'll figure another way to do landing gear than the vacform parts.

And, best of all, I think I get credit for a CBK ?

[PaulBradley]

Ithink I get credit for a CBK ?

Yes, and if you'd like to write up the build for Classic Plastic.....

[JohnRatzenberger]

Ithink I get credit for a CBK ?

Yes, and if you'd like to write up the build for Classic Plastic.....

Sure ... I was looking for something to put in your pile.
Note to self, save the original untouched pix for grumpy artwork editor ...

[PaulBradley]

Oi, I resemble that remark!

[JamesPerrin]

You get credit for doing a vacform

[JohnRatzenberger]

I also get credit for doing it the hard way, given there are several injection-mold kits out

[JohnRatzenberger]

This is a pretty nice kit. The parts are well molded with only one tailplane being a bit flat. There is raised panel and river detail, but it's subtle. The plastic is uniformly thick.



But the back conversion isn't as simple as the instructions, and other documents imply. I think the YP-59 rounded wing tip should result in longer ailerons and span, but most documents that discuss dimensions say all models were 45'6" span. Doesn't make sense. Worse yet, the taller, rounded tail isn't all -- the whole tail & rudder shapr is different and also, I believe, the under fuselage.

I have 4 choices, jury is out:
-- do it OOB, paint it like the RAF version and dare you guys to comment.
-- make rounded wing and tail and not get overly excited about the rest of it.
-- go whole hog and rebuild the back end.
-- toss it aside and do something else.

I need some help; I've been through my stuff today without success:
-- any cockpit photos or plans; just enough to get it close (not as critical as the 3-views).
-- any scale 3-views of the P-59A, even simple ones.
-- in lieu of 3-views, there are a couple kits, supposedly this version, out -- anyone got one that can do a xerox of the wings & fuselage so I can take some measurements ?

Thanks

[JohnRatzenberger]

I have found that span for the prototype, which looked very similar to the early YP-59A's, was 49' -- that confirms my thought that the rounded wingtips should be extended past the 45'6" of the kit and I can make that work. One problem down.

The tail is still an issue. I have been all over again and only have a vague handle on it. I think I can just sketch in a solution that looks about right and minimizes work. The tough part is the lower fuselage which on the kit has a ventral "strake" deepening the fuselage and chnaging it's shape significantly.

Stay tuned ...

[PaulBradley]

John, do you have SAMI 11/10 (Oct. '05)? It has a build of the Special Hobby 1/72 and Hobbycraft 1/48 kits, plus some profiles - including the RAF one.

[PaulBradley]

IP photo:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/plan ... anel_2.jpg;

Planes of Fame out at Chino has a YP-59 under restoration to fly.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Thanks for that Paul, it will help.
Their YP-59 isn't an original; at one point the YP's were brought up to production standard and so lost their rounded tips & tails.

[JohnRatzenberger]

John, do you have SAMI 11/10 (Oct. '05)? It has a build of the Special Hobby 1/72 and Hobbycraft 1/48 kits, plus some profiles - including the RAF one.

No, I do not, or if I did, I did not extract that article before recycling; could I get a copy ?

I have found several online reviews of those kits, but no good profile photos I could scale from.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Thanks to Paul Bradley for several emails full of reference drawings and information !!

The kit has more dimensional probems than I thought. Scaling out the P-59B it seems that the kit drawings are slightly underscale and the kit parts even more so. You can see below that the parts are laying inside the lines, not on them. The wings are each 3 mm out for proper scale and the fuselage even more, about 8 mm.



From all this, I had to figure out what to fix, or not to fix. The wings, as I said earlier are now easy -- I know the right span and can make a rounded tip to fit. I have no intention to address whether the chord is right or not.

That leaves the fuselage and tail which are not minor.



The above drawing is probably confusing -- I did some scale work on the copier to get scale drawings then overlaid the kit fuselage -- the drawn-in black line is the kit, and the color profile is the desired size/shape.

How I deal with this is a subject for later, because I haven't decided yet.

However, one thing is sure -- time to stop whining and get to work.

[Martin R]

However, one thing is sure -- time to stop whining and get to work.

John,

Well done sah! Spoken (written) like the modelling trouper we know you are. We have every confidence and can't wait to see more.

regards,

Martin

[freedomfighter]

Not in the group but dipped in to have a look round, as the early jets are an interest of mine. I do have "Flame Powered" by John Carpenter, which states that the span of the XP-59A was 49ft. Did Paul Bradleys info fulfil your requirements?