Keep the KI61 we have right now.....Oboe you think it will affect any part of modeling if they change the entire plane model? I think the ki61 should be a little faster.....
Oh I definitely agree that the current model should be kept. HTC made the right choice with the -KAIc, given the MA's tilt toward later war aircraft. Those nose-mounted Ho-5 20mm cannon devastating in close. But I would like to see different armament options and how the change in weight between the different gun packages would affect handling and performance. Greebo might be right, maybe it'll be a single 3D model with all the different packages available as options. But I have learned that there was an increase in fuselage length by about 8" with the -KAIc, and its interesting because when I would adapt the IL-2 skins to AH format, I always had to add length to the fuselage. I'm not sure how much difference in center-of-gravity 8" makes in a 29' airplane, but maybe it would be significant?. I believe I can see the shorter nose evident in this first screen shot (IL-2?) compared to the second, and I think the shorter nose just looks better, more trim, somehow:
A lot will have to change in the Ki.61 update. Currently the skin is divided between 2 256x256 bitmaps - that will probably change to a single 1024x1024 bitmap.
EDIT: The Ki.61-1b also has a retractable tail wheel (top picture). That really helps maintain a more trim, cleaner look. I don't know how much that would affect top speed, but I would think it would increase it by at least a few mph? My understanding is in real life the tail wheel retract mechanism was problematic and their solution was to install a non-retractable tail wheel.