P-58 Stallion
1946, Guadalcanal. With the war dragging on, the Allied forces look to maintain a technologically superior edge. With a stalemate on land and at sea, and the rise of Aircraft like the Pfeil in Germany, and the Shinden in Japan, the US also looks to improved aircraft for it`s embattled forces.
First on the scene is the prototype XP-55 Ascender, followed by the XP-56 Black Bullet (both actual WW2 Aircraft Prototypes), but both are cancelled early in 1944 due to serious design problems. After these are a series of improved prototypes leading to the XP-58 Stallion which first flies in late 1945. After a Japanese Shinden is captured during the battle of Iwo Jima, the US development teams were finally able to discover and correct the flaws in their own designs.
Finally arriving in combat production in February of 1946, the new P-58a Stallions are quickly dispatched to front-line units for full combat evaluation. It is hoped by many back home that new aircraft like the Stallion will help break the stalemate and lead to the defeat of the Axis Powers...
Like many historians (both amateurs like me and professionals) have long discussed and written about alternate what-if`s for the WW2 era. There have been a multitude of books, games and even movies based upon these ideas of alternate history. My designs are uniquely my own but are based on numerous prototype aircraft from the 1930`s and 40`s. Aircraft such as the Shinden, Ascender and Pfiel actually flew and were accepted for production but most were cancelled due to wars end. I present these as an alternative "what-if" where designs like this made it into production in a war that didn`t end in 1945. Look for additional products in this line coming soon!
Features:
Numerous smart-prop`d extras and over 20 ERC controls for the various parts of the aircraft to allow for maximum usability. Controls include some standard combat maneuvers as well as individual controls for the various moving parts on the aircraft. The model also features a fully detailed interior with working flight controls that are tied by ERC to the flight surfaces and moving parts of the aircraft.
Included smart-prop`d figure add-ons:
1 pair of smart-prop`d external "drop-tank" fuel tanks is included. These "droptanks" conform to the Stallion and are individually pose able so that the user can make them fall away and tumble as they drop...
1 set of 2 smart-prop`d 500lb bombs.
1 set of 6 smart-prop`d “60lb” individually pose-able rockets.
1 pair of smart-prop`d 250lb bombs that can be individually posed.
1 set of smart-prop`d rocket rail mounts for the 60lb rockets.
1 set of smart-prop`d inner-wing pylons for the drop-tanks and bombs
1 set of smart-prop`d seaplane floats for naval reconnaissance use.
1 set of 2 smart-prop`d "prop-blur" effects props for the propellers of the aircraft to give a sense of motion in flight
1 smart-prop`d "dummy" pilot figure (this figure is non-pose-able and doesn`t not contain any joints or bones, it is also low poly but is provided so that you can have a crew in the aircraft for your renders without needing to use the fully rigged figures)Some locations such as flaps have had only one rotation rigged... the others are unused and hidden in the parameters tab. This was done purposely to represent the mechanical nature of the aircraft and the way it would function. All flight control surfaces, rudder, landing gear, and moveable parts can be accessed in the scene tree for the skeleton of the Stallion (I`ve rigged the parts rather than using morphs to allow the moveable parts to function). The ERC`s for this aircraft can be accessed by selecting the parameters for the "Body" of the aircraft and will move both the exterior parts of the plane as well as the controls inside the cockpit.
http://www.vanishingpoint.biz/productdetail.asp?productID=2425
