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Adding Motors or extra moving parts/lighting On 1:72 WW2 Planes


Sylakk

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As a long term model builder I only started building airfix in the last 3 months .  Ok i admit i made a mess of a couple when i was 10 or 11 but im 34 now and i have had some practice im still not "Great" but i dont have many critics in my house.. The first Airfix kit i built was the Dogfight Double Typhoon / FW 190 and enjoyed it but seeing it sat there lifeless made me wish i had put motors in them i have built 3 more kits since and put motors in them all. They are the JU 52 , and old (S4) B-25 Mitchel and an FW 189 (Owl) . i power them all off a Hornby Variable Transformer and they look good to me .The B-25 on full power will Taxi its self , that was a result . im currently looking at building my 1:72 B-24 liberator with a working undercarrige .  has anyone else put a personal spin on their 1:72 Kits to add a bit of flair to them ? Landing Lights ?. Motorized Turrets ? i would love to see and hear what you serious modellers can do :) .dont get me wrong im no thinking of making a 1:72 lancaster with fully functional 303 brownings.....that would just be pure Genius. but beyond my capability 

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 would'nt the aircraft have to be bigger than 1/72 to fit in the stuff you are suggesting? sounds great though, i've always wanted to do this to my aircraft but i'm not sure how, but..... my dad used to be a electrician so i might get a bit of help! 

you will just have to try it. good luck!

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 The key to having these things on small kits is "if its in the way and you cant see it when the model is finished, remove it". The B-24 Liberator has landing gear that drops down sideways so the theory is simple. the hard part is having 3 wires for the 2 motors in the wing and a Yoke/push/pull bar to control the landing gear all joining in the fusalarge. Fortunately its a larger kit so wont have to be to precise and the motors are very small . Just look at the FW 189 kit , the motor area is so small it had to be delicately shaved thin to fit them in . as for doing it on the 1:72 scale thats what make these things a little harder but i think the feeling you get when its done is so worth it . just buy a cheap spitfire kit, some micro motors (i pay £2 for 5 off ebay from China) , a variable transformer and some solid phone wire as for a stand i use car brake pipe you can fit 4-5 small wires down the middle so it looks neat and tidy . Get as creative as you like and give it a try.  and thanks for wishing me Luck ... i might need it hahaha :) 

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 I remember Tamiya used to have a series of 1:72 planes where the prop was run by a Mabuchi 'Baby' motor in the nose.

The cables were wired to two brass sleeves in the bottom of the plane, and the stand which had the battery and an on/off switch had matching prongs which supplied power to the plane, which could be dismounted as required.

 

Maybe you could operate the U/C with a motor in the fuselage winding up thin cables which were run into the wings? You could also have a few LEDs with optic fibres taking the light to wherever it was needed. If the model was big enough you could fit one of those R/C actuator rigs and run it all by remote ...

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