Thanks for the help on the figures. Now about propellers...

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I had recently posted a topic about the figures that sometimes come with a kit. It was very helpful and I learned a lot. Basically, if you hang the plane from the ceiling, you should put the figures in to make it look more realistic. After all, a plane doesn’t fly without someone controlling it. Then I got to thinking about the propeller. If the plane is supposed to be “In flight” you wouldn’t see the propeller.So, when you pose a plane to be flying, what do you do to the propeller to keep the plane from looking like it’s just gliding along with the engines not working? [?]

2

The easiest option is to just cut the blades off an the hub. When the engine is running at flight speed, the blades are all but invisible anyway. If you catch the light just right, you can see a blur of the prop arc. This can be duplicated by cutting a circlular disc of thin, clear plastic and sticking the prop hub/shaft through that. You can paint a very light blur on the disc to represent the nearly invisible blades.

Darwin, O.F. [alien]

3

Darwin got it!!! Also, if you want to simulate a damaged bomber you could reposition the propeller blades to the feathered position to show an engine thats been shut down.

Tom Y. [8-]

4

Or, you could just put little electric motors in the nallaces-

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/LHprs/mot1.jpg[/image]
I realize this is probably a bit far for most people to take it. What can I say, I’m nuts! [8-]

Both of the given examples are good. If they’re going to be hung from a ceiling, cutting off blades seems the best way to go. In my opinion clear discs don’t look that realistic, and it’s very difficult to make them that way.

5

That is exactly what I have done… but I added a light ‘mist’ coat of black around the edge of the disk to represent the black prop tips (It was a 1/72 scale C-130). On the Herk, those black prop tips (on aluminum blades) are very noticeable as the prop spins…
Just my thoughts, hope this helps!