Russian B-29 Kits?

I have bought - and made - the Academy B-29 kit as a Tu-4 Bull.

It is sold in Russia under the Modelist lable (IIRC) - where I purchased it

- but it is the Academy kit.

The only visual changes are replacing the .50 machine guns with 23mm cannon

- and of course, Russian stars!

I added underwing racks and two resin NeOmega KS-1 'Kometa' missiles under the wings.

I can recommend the book by Yefim Gordon & Vladimir Rigmant - 'Tupolev Tu-4 Soviet Superfortress' - Number 7 in the Red Star series from Midland Counties.

It outlines the history of the reverse-engineered B-29 and gives details of all the Tu-4 variants produced by the Soviets - including the turboprop testbeds and Chinese AWACS plus the Tu-70 airliner and Tu-85 bomber.

Happy Modelling

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast Flankers Website -

Dear TF; I just recieved in the mail today a kit of the TU-4/b-29 by a Russian company called Modelist, sadly it is the Minicraft kit with russian decals, but I Really don't think the russians changed anything except for the Engines & machine guns on thier Bulls that is readly vivible on a 1/72 scale kit I got the kit from a hobby shop in the ukraine thier email is snipped-for-privacy@souvenirs.com.ua, the cost was $29.97 USD plus shipping, it took 3 weeks to get the kits. they even take credit cards. I hope this will help you out. Cheers,Bob Kasza

How different were the engines visually? Kim M

Inside the cowlings you cannot tell the difference.

To make a Tu-4 from a B-29 all you need do is change the .50's to 23mm cannon - just a bit thicker in 1:72 scale.

That and red stars plus a construction number is all you need to make a Tu-4.

You could add two KS-1 'Kometa' missiles from NeOmega - just to be different :-

Although used operationally by the Tu-16KS, the KS-1 was also carried by the Tu-4.

Ken

I remember hearing that when Stalin ordered captured B-29s reverse-engineering to make the Tu-4, his engineers were so scared of him that they interpreted his instructions for "total duplication" to the letter and included a couple of patches applied over bullet holes.

-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

Probably an urban legend. I've heard the "patch over holes" line applied to everything from aircraft to ships "acquired" by the Soviets from the West. They are nor stupid people after all. Recent documentaries on the Tu-4 story reveal as much.

WmB

To reply, get the HECK out of there snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net

cannon - just a bit thicker in 1:72 scale.

It always struck me that the top of the gun turrets were slightly different; i.e. slightly flatter and less domed, but it's not too obvious.

Jon.

And the US military were so scared of Lyndon B Johnson that they were afraid to contradict him when he called the Blackbird the SR-71 instead of the correct RS-71.

The name was adopted as the official designation.

If you believe the Stalin story - why not believe that ???

And - if the Tu-4 was an 'exact copy' - why did it have Soviet engines and armament ??

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast Flankers Website -

Weren't the engines & props reverse-engineered as well? I thought I read that somewhere. Only real drawback to the Modelist kit being the Academy kit would be if you wanted to open the bomb bay & 'bomb it up', you'd need to round up appropriate USSR bombs. Neomega, IIRC, makes suitable ones. Also, hopefully they included the Hamilton Standard props rather than the Curtiss Electric.

"We" must be afraid of some other folks too, since this is the same way we've ended up wth the F-35 & probably all the "F/A-" & "KC-767" crap.

No - th Tu-4 was powered by 4 x Shvetsov ASh-73TK 18-cylinder radials .

They were developments by the Soviets of licence-built Wright Twin Cyclones

- a sort of parallel line of development independently by the Soviets that led to a similar engine to the Wright R-3350-23A on the B-29, so there was no need to copy - they already had a similar engine..

The V3-A3 or V3B-A5 propellers were copies.

As for Soviet bombs - check out the range from Master Club :-

I can recommend 'Tupolev Tu-4 - Soviet Superfortress' by Gordon & Rigmant - Volume 7 in Midland Counties 'Red Star' series.

As well as detailing the development of the Tu-4 - it also gives a table of the type of bombs used, which bay they were in and on which type of bomb rack they were carried !!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast Flankers Website -

Volume 7 in Midland Counties 'Red Star' series.<

Ironically I just ordered that book this morning. I am looking forward to thumbing through it.

CB

I have just been playing wiv my new digital camera - so I took some photos of my Tu-4.

The results are at :-

Let me know what the photos are like on your PC - they look very moired(?) on mine - I may have compressed them too much.

Or else I need a better screen resolution.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast Flankers Website -

mine - I may have compressed them too much.

Or else I need a better screen resolution.<

I believe the effect is due to the compression in the jpeg.

I like the comparison of the Tu-95 to the Tu-4.

CB

Ken, the pics look a little dark to me. I'll have to try and get my

1/144th Tu-4 in front of the camera. The thicker barrels of the machine guns in this scale may pass as 23 mm cannon. I liked the Tu-4 - Tu-95 comparison too.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Thanks everyone for your inputs. This is most insightful.

TF

I'm only using the built-in flash - just playing at the moment. I may buy a proper flash later.

I have bought the Aacdemy 1:144 scale B-29 - to make as a Tu-4. I want to try some forced perspective shots with the 1:72 scale version.

I also bought the 1:144 scale Tu-22M2 for the same reason.

Trouble is, I am so busy trying to get my An-22 finished for Yeovilton on the 14th Feb that I haven't had time to play with the camera - and spending time on this NG doesn't help !!

Ken

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast Flankers Website -

AFAIK, the KC-767 is an unofficial designation. Something else will probably replace it. Kim m

This reference dates back to a book from 1961,"Journey of the Giants," by Major Gene Gurney, USAF [later reprinted in 1963 as "B-29 Story: The Plane that Won the War." It is internally inconsistent, however, as the Soviets had three intact airframes to analyze, and they did not all have the same ad hoc battle damage repairs. Unless someone has photographic evidence of true Tu-4s with these anamolous patches, I think this has to be written off as denigration of those 'copycat commies, too dumb to engineer anything themselves.'

Mark Schynert