Trying to figure out how to...

[rickshaw]

I'm trying to figure out how to make a large diameter, contra-rotating turboprop spinner in 1/72.  Rather in the style of the Pogo series of vertical lift fighters.   I was thinking about using a 1/48 drop tank to form the spinner and slice it to make the contra rotating sections and adding prop blades from somewhere (1/48 again?).    Any other suggestions on how to do this?

[Captain Canada]

Your plan sounds like the plan ! Might have to get a few different size tanks tho, to keep the curvature after you cut into them. Maybe find some spinners from the same ( I'm thinking Mustang ? ) but of diferent scales ?

Good luck !

PS-what are you building ?

[rickshaw]

Your plan sounds like the plan ! Might have to get a few different size tanks tho, to keep the curvature after you cut into them. Maybe find some spinners from the same ( I'm thinking Mustang ? ) but of diferent scales ?

Good luck !

PS-what are you building ?

Nothing, yet.  Just had a thought about something which might look interesting and was wondering about how to create what I'm looking forward.   Mmm, a 1/48 spinner perhaps with some disks of plasticard behind it.  Might work as well.  Have to have a think about that one. 

[PR19_Kit]

Why not actually use a Pogo spinner?

The kits are still fairly plentiful on ebay, and cheapish too, and the spinners are HUGE in 1/72.

[Mossie]

If you can't find a Pogo, you could use counter-rotating props from a kit model or after market props, P-38 comes to mind.  If you need a broader chord, maybe 1/48 props would work?

[Dizzyfugu]

I've built severel contraprops from scratch, and the tank tip method is IMHO the way to go - cutting the tank in two front parts and adding blades one by one. Tedious, but it works. You can even make the prop moveable - I had good success with polystyrene tubes from Evergreen, there are sizes that perfectly fit into each other. You can insert a piece of large diameter in the rear ring and a long, thinner piece as an axis in the front spinner part. Another piece of the large diameter tube is then mounted in the fuselage, so that you can loosley fit the rear prop on the spinner axis and insert the whole thing into the fuselage mount, while all parts remain moveable.

Here's a pic of such a construction:


1:72 [Inspired by] The Sky Crawlers - Stockum Air Force "Fafnir Ausf. B" turboprop fighter (kitbashing/scratch-built) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr