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[Vampire_pilot]

Great looking model, Lone Wolf!

A few thoughts about the planes and the loadouts.

The 800 and 500kg bombs on such small planes were typically Kamikaze loadouts only. Same as with the prop fighters, the plane barely able to haul it, often only with reduced fuel. Would it make sense to leave these loadouts without the additional gun armament, dumping excess weight for more bomb load, as it was done with prop fighters?

The excess power of the current Me-262 FM is kind of painting over this if you equip the heavy bombs, it is a plane twice the weight and power.
From the performance chart, anything beyond one 250kg bomb makes little sense in a return mission and would be hard to operate at reasonably high speeds.

[trent]

Great work, Lone Wolf and CWatson! Thank you very much for all your amazing work! 

[trent]

The 800 and 500kg bombs on such small planes were typically Kamikaze loadouts

Not so with the Kikka. From the start, the historical requirements were that the Fighter-Bomber variant was to be able to carry 500kg and 800kg bombs. This was a specific historical requirement of the IJN that was not negotiable.
The Kikka was also required to be able to fly at 620km/h at sea level while carrying a 500kg bomb... not negotiable according to the IJN requirements. The fighter-bomber / Interceptor was also to be armed with Type 5 30mm cannons.

The Kamakize / special attack variant was to carry either a 250kg bomb or a 500kg bomb. An addition requirement of the Kamikaze variant was that it should be armed with 2x Type 99 20mm cannons for self defense and to shoot at the target before ramming into it. This was the historically required loadout of the aircraft and is also reflected in all reference material I've read on the Kikka. Deviating from these historic IJN requirements of the aircraft would be pure speculation and personal opinion.

[Vampire_pilot]

What kind material do you have on the Kikka? I believe, the Monogram Close-Up is the most comprehensive book with first hand accounts. There's the Chrysler report on the engines too but other than that, is there good first hand material that's not copy/paste internet sources? I'd be interested.

There is a section in the Close Up about the specifications under which the Kikka project was launched in August 1944 (the Kokoku Heiki weapons). The introduction of the 800kg bomb to existing planes (Shiden, Raiden, Suisei) was part of that and it must be assumed the 800kg was at the time base line for any new project.
But I do think in real life using this configuration as a fighter bomber would have been not clever. I don't think a Raiden ever was used that way although it could have done it just as well.
The Kikka's only strong point is speed and altitude performance after all. Going in on deck with 800kg under it's belly seems like a desperate scenario in any way.

The history of that project that became Kikka has taken a few twists. For example the bomb release mechanism being in and out and in again. Which reflects the meandering ways of how this was seen as potential fighter or just Kamikaze and then fighter again over the months in 44 -45.

The figure you give for the requested speed is contradicting the Close-Up. It gives very detailed figures for the actual airframe (the one we have here) and with the engines of the Ne-20 line:
620 km/h (336 knots) is the top speed at sea level without external loadout.
With a 500kg bomb top speed was predicted ~500 km/h (275 knots)

I think it comes down to what one would want the plane to represent: A Kikka of 1945/46 with the technology and airframe that we know and that flew in August 45 or a -kai variant, pushing the limits of what would have been achievable with more development and better materials.

Bottom line, it's up to the mod maker, just throwing my 2 cents in

[trent]

Monogram Close-Up doesn't really elaborate all that much on planned operational variants of the Kikka, focusing heavily on the development history of the prototype instead.
The book, Japanese Secret Projects: Experimental Aircraft of the IJA & IJN 1939-1945 by Edwin Dyer, while also giving good information on the development history of the Kikka, also gives more information regarding the different planned operational variants of the Kikka, which I think is relevant to representing an operational Kikka in IL-2 1946.

According to this book, the specifications you listed are in line with the initial IJN requirements which had the less powerful Ne12 engines in mind.
On page 116, it lists the performance requirements for the aircraft with less powerful Ne12 engines as 513km/h at sea level while carrying a 500kg bomb.
When it was decided to go with the more powerful Ne20 engines instead, the IJN requirements were revised to 620km/h at sea level while carrying a 500kg bomb (page 117).

In the end it is as you said, what the mod maker wants to do with the mod. Since Lone Wolf brought us a properly armed Kikka and a planned twin seat variant. It is apparent to me that he wants to focus on planned operational variants of the Kikka. Otherwise we might as well fly an unarmed prototype, which would not be of much use in a WW2 air combat game.

[Vampire_pilot]

That's basically boiling down to my comment. Do you want a Luft46 plane or the one that was running in 1945 and being built on the pre-production line already.

Interesting that the book uses the the more accurate Kitsuka spelling.

But you are wrong about the Ne-12. Mikesh in the Close Up actually relates to the Ne-20 version that was stating production in 1945. What you posted in there looks more like a spec list just a few days after the Ne-20 was fired the first time.
The figures  are actually not that far apart, just a lot less detailed and seemingly given as a development spec list at the time.

This is the Mikesh data, someone I usually trust with his research:

[trent]

The performance data at the top of that page does not say what engine it refers to. The performance with a 500kg bomb does indeed look like the initial IJN requirements for an Tr-12 / Ne12 powered aircraft. There are some specs regarding the Ne20 lower down on the page, but it is separate and not part of the performance specs given. In fact, other information in the same book, indicates that those performance specifications are not for a Ne20 powered aircraft.

If you look at page 30 of Monogram Close-Up (the very same book you took that from), you will see that they show the IJN specifications for the Kikka where they specifically state the type of engine the data refers to...
 
The first block on page 30 shows the initial specifications that were required of a version that was to be powered by the weaker Tr-12 engine (510km/h at sea level while carrying a 500kg bomb). They specifically say that this is the specifications with the weaker Tr-12, which are the same as those you have listed.

The second block shows the revised specifications for the Ne20 powered aircraft... 620km/h at sea level while carrying a 500kg bomb.
Here they specifically state that this is for the Ne20 powered aircraft (which they do not in the data you posted) and that all performance specifications are with a 500kg bomb. This was taken directly from the same Monogram Close-Up...

[Vampire_pilot]

Yes, that is what I am saying (some of it). That is the revised spec list from March 45.

To me it appears the final table which I posted is the actual and predicted performance sheet for the aircraft that was existing in August 45 eventually. You may say that it nowhere states it explicitly and you are right but this is in no context with the Ne-12 or the Tr-12. If you read up on the data for those two, to me the numbers don't check out, they are way too weak to get even close to what is proposed.
Mikesh specifically gives the same performance figure in the comparison table where he assigns 2x Ne-20

anyway, the only difference I see is the top speed at sea level with or without the bomb. The rest are plausible numbers for a  Ne-20 aircraft for me if you compare the figures (weight, thrust, areas) to a Me-262. The ship never flew with a bomb so we never know. I can very much live with a little bit more juice in the Kitsuka.

[RealDarko]

Great discussion, plese keep the info flowing!!

[exhausted]

I'm going to insert my input, even though I'm not involved with making the mod.

From the point of view of somebody who wants to fly "realistic" Japan 1946 scenarios, perhaps it's a good idea to plot the performance just shy of the revised expected numbers in order to account for low quality of manufacturing, upkeep and materials.

I've already used the Kikka in a scenario where it's defending a group of Kamikazes against a strike of Corsairs escorting Bearcats. Because of the damage model, I was only able to bring one down by killing the pilot.

[MIKEGTJK]

Is there anyway I can get a template of this aircraft for skinning

[CWatson]

P.S. Will be possible to get RATO rockets?

 Its in the works.