1/72 R-4360 Wasp Major?

[Killingholme]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone currently sell a detailed aftermarket R-4360 Wasp 'Corncob' engine in 1/72 scale?

 

Will

Edited March 2, 2018 by Killingholme

[John Thompson]

I believe Engines and Things did one, but it doesn't appear in their current (January 2018) catalogue. Maybe you can find someone who has it and is willing to part with it if you ask in the right place - good luck!

 

John

Edited March 2, 2018 by John Thompson

[Killingholme]

Thanks John. That's a lead at least!

 

Will

[72modeler]

Will,

 

Engines and Things did a very nice 1/72 resin R-4360- stock number is 72-003. It has all four rows and the accessory section at the rear. I have just one, and I was planning to use it as a master to cast just the crankcase and first row of cylinders, as that is pretty much all you would see behind the prop/spinner of the aircraft that used that engine. Unless you were doing a cutaway or model with the cowling panels removed, you wouldn't have much use for this casting. IIRC, John Adams of Aeroclub also did an R-4360 in white metal, but it  just had the crankcase and 1st row. It is the fact that it has seven cylinders in each row as well as a very unique arrangement of the magnetos around the crankcase that  seemed to make it so difficult for kit makers, as some cast it with nine cylinders, for example Special Hobby on their F2G's. Anyway, both items are long, long OOP, so I would think they would be hard to find. The Aeroclub  R-4360 metal engine front stock number was EP064. You didn't say how many you need or if you need the entire engine casting or just the front, so you might be better served to find one of the Aeroclub engines and use it to make a master to cast as many as you need in resin. I have one of the Aeroclub 4360's but it's earmarked for my F2G-1 Corsair project.  Roll Models used to carry the Engines and Things R-4360, but it's no longer listed in their current catalog. Best I can do- sorry!

Mike

[Killingholme]

45 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

Will,

 

Engines and Things did a very nice 1/72 resin R-4360- stock number is 72-003. It has all four rows and the accessory section at the rear. I have just one, and I was planning to use it as a master to cast just the crankcase and first row of cylinders, as that is pretty much all you would see behind the prop/spinner of the aircraft that used that engine. Unless you were doing a cutaway or model with the cowling panels removed, you wouldn't have much use for this casting. IIRC, John Adams of Aeroclub also did an R-4360 in white metal, but it  just had the crankcase and 1st row. It is the fact that it has seven cylinders in each row as well as a very unique arrangement of the magnetos around the crankcase that  seemed to make it so difficult for kit makers, as some cast it with nine cylinders, for example Special Hobby on their F2G's. Anyway, both items are long, long OOP, so I would think they would be hard to find. The Aeroclub  R-4360 metal engine front stock number was EP064. You didn't say how many you need or if you need the entire engine casting or just the front, so you might be better served to find one of the Aeroclub engines and use it to make a master to cast as many as you need in resin. I have one of the Aeroclub 4360's but it's earmarked for my F2G-1 Corsair project.  Roll Models used to carry the Engines and Things R-4360, but it's no longer listed in their current catalog. Best I can do- sorry!

Mike

 

Cheers Mike,

 

I'm doing a Valom XF-8B, and quite fancied showing off that huge engine. Perhaps I'll just put some effort in to detailing the front row and magnetos on the Valom plastic (which is very crude). Anyway, it looks like the engine installation on the XF-8B had a ducting to push the airflow close to the engine- so not much will be seen of the cylinders themselves- more the crankcase and magnetos:

 

http://www.boeingimages.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=2JRSN2PHFPUW1O 

[71chally]

Don't know about a scale Wasp Major, but a couple of months ago I discovered that there is a real one in storage just two miles down the road from me.  It is a thing of beauty!

You are right about that ducting covering the tops of the cylinder heads.

[72modeler]

40 minutes ago, 71chally said:

Don't know about a scale Wasp Major, but a couple of months ago I discovered that there is a real one in storage just two miles down the road from me.  It is a thing of beauty!

You are right about that ducting covering the tops of the cylinder heads.

And you thought a Napier Sabre had a ton of moving parts! I still marvel at how Goodyear managed to stuff those into the nose of the F2G-1/2 Corsairs! The aviation history and traditions museum here at Lackland AB used to have a cutaway R-4360 that was motorized....impressive mass of reciprocating parts!

Mike

[71chally]

It's a work of mechanical art!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

3 hours ago, 72modeler said:

The aviation history and traditions museum here at Lackland AB used to have a cutaway R-4360 that was motorized....impressive mass of reciprocating parts!

The Kalamazoo Air Zoo has one of these. 

[John Thompson]

On 3/2/2018 at 3:05 PM, 72modeler said:

And you thought a Napier Sabre had a ton of moving parts! I still marvel at how Goodyear managed to stuff those into the nose of the F2G-1/2 Corsairs! The aviation history and traditions museum here at Lackland AB used to have a cutaway R-4360 that was motorized....impressive mass of reciprocating parts!

Mike

 

Chck this animation of the internal workings of the R-4360 - trippy, dude...

 

 

John

Edited March 4, 2018 by John Thompson

[David H]

I can enthusiastically recommend Graham White's book: "The R-4360- Pratt & Whitney's Major Miracle".

 

Fascinating reading about the engine itself, the planes that used it...and also a good dissertation about how radial engines evolved over the years and the challenges designers faced in order to extract more power from them.

 

-d-

[Robertone139]

That monster weighs 3,200 lbs.
I remember well because they had one at the NMNA in Mainside NAS Pensacola when I was training in the TH-57, which maximum gross weight was....3,200 lbs.

I have one of the Engines & Things ones BTW.