Done 3D Printed 1/72 Scale Curtiss XP-46

[TheRealMrEd]

Not an easy project, but fills a gap in the collection. For those interested, the gory details of the "build" are HERE.

And now, the rather poor pics. Sorry about that!!

Many have claimed that the NA-73X Mustang was built to copy this Curtiss XP-46 attempt at a laminar flow wing. Actually, the government made North American Aircraft buy Curtiss's Wind tunnel testing data, because N.A. had never built anything other than the T-6 Texan (or Harvard or SNJ, depending on your flavor). N.A. claims they did their own research. The two aircraft types may have a vague resemblance, but I don't think it's very much...

Comparison pic for your perusal. Doubt that you've ever seen THESE two models side-by-side!

Thanks for looking, as always...

Ed


"Dispensing the Tribal Wisdom since before there WAS a Tribe!"

 

[Wurger]

 

[Snautzer01]

Very nice.

 

[Gnomey]

Good work!

 

[DisplacedTex]

There is a XP-46 3d printing flie in 1/48 scale at cults3d.com that prints in several parts. The wing halves, fuselage, landing gear, prop/spinner and canopy are printed as seperate pieces. I would opt for resin printing one as opposed to the FDM filament method. Resin prints have ultra-fine resolutions that can rival injection molding. At 1/48 scale, panel lines would be visible and clean.

 

[TheRealMrEd]

There is a XP-46 3d printing flie in 1/48 scale at cults3d.com that prints in several parts. The wing halves, fuselage, landing gear, prop/spinner and canopy are printed as seperate pieces. I would opt for resin printing one as opposed to the FDM filament method. Resin prints have ultra-fine resolutions that can rival injection molding. At 1/48 scale, panel lines would be visible and clean.

Sounds great, wonder if they would print up others in God's Own One True Scale... (1/72)...

Ed

 

[SaparotRob]

It won't be metric.

 

[DisplacedTex]

The beauty of .stl files used in 3d printing is that they can be sized up or down to your wishes. The file designer comes up with his design at whatever scale he wants, but the printer's software is where the magic happens.