1/24 aircraft engines

[landman]

What are the odds of finding one out of the plane and for sale?

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'd guesstimate pretty much slim to none...other than AMT's 1710 Allison, and those Merlins the guy overseas makes.

There are some nice engine kits in 1/35 though, and one of them is about right to pass for the smallish Jacobs R-755 radials in the Cessna 190 / 195 / LC-126 in 1/24.

That bees part of the reason several years back I bought a buncha 1/24 aircraft models to use as engine source-material (to resin cast for my own use).

Edited March 10, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[LDO]

There are a couple of forums where you could place a "Wanted" ad. Large Scale Planes would be the first choice.  Next would be Aircraft Resource Center. 

[Scott Colmer]

If you can ever get your hands on the Stroker McGurk version of the MPC Phone Booth, it has a pretty cool version of an older Aircraft V8 with an up draft carburetor. I had one, but let it go. Here is a shot of the real thing.

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Edited March 10, 2018 by Scott Colmer

[Ace-Garageguy]

The old Red Baron kit has a seriously underscale Mercedes inline aero engine too,

[Snake45]

I've seen quite a few 1:1 cars with Allisons, but I don't think I've ever seen a single one with the Rolls Royce (Packard) Merlin. This is probably because the Merlin's main advantage was its two-stage supercharger, which was for high-altitude operation. "Down low" the Allison was just about as good. 

Cars (and even motorcycles) have been built with radial aircraft engines, but it's more of a stunt than anything else. They're really not very practical for actual road use.

Just as a thought starter: I have an old Revell 1/32 scale P-51D with some shape and accuracy issues. Someday I'm gonna put a 1/24 Chevy engine in it, and a 1/24 cockpit, and call it a 3/4 scale homebuilt in 1/24. Yes, this has been done in real life! (I need to find some good refs on the engine-to-prop interface on these things--the gearbox or whatever it is.)

[LDO]

I don't know about Merlins, but there was a ground vehicle twin called the Meteor. It has a cast iron block and powered tanks and big trucks. Maybe other vehicles as well. It has also powered a few one-off cars. Jay Leno has a car built on old Bentley chassis with a Meteor engine. It looks like the 1930 race car (Heller kit) but is a little bit bigger. I think it would be an awesome powerplant for something that looks like a 1930ish luxury sedan, but I also think it is wildly impractical. It was made for leaded gasoline. Either find that or modify the cylinder heads to use unleaded. I don't know the compression ratio. That might need to be lowered for pump gas. That work would not be cheap on an engine like that. It is fun to dream, though. I also daydream about the Ford GAA. Would love to see that in 1/24 or larger. 

Edited March 10, 2018 by LDO
Correcting my stupid autocorrect.

[mecklm]

I saw several aero engines in 1/24 scale on Shapeways. There were at least 3 different radial engines and one of the V-12's (can't remember if it was the Allison or Rolls).

The radials I stumbled across were multiple identical engines in one file and at least one of the bundles was pretty pricy at around  $70 - they may have the same engines as a single item but I didn't happen to see any. Since I was actually searching for something else I certainly didn't do a comprehensive search for these aero engines. 

Again, going by my failing memory, I seem to recall the V-12 being something like  $20-25.

Of course there are all sorts of automotive engines in both 1/25 and 1/24 scale so perhaps a passable aero engine could be created with one of those as a basis. 

Just another option you can look into. Good luck with your project either way! 

Mike 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I've seen quite a few 1:1 cars with Allisons, but I don't think I've ever seen a single one with the Rolls Royce (Packard) Merlin...

There have been a few. The first two I always think of are these.

John Dodd's "The Beast"...

 

And this crazy Australian '55 Chebby...

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[landman]

It is interesting to see the discussion here. What I was after was a nice 1/25 or 1/24 Merlin to add to my engine collection. I already have built an Allison (from the AMT Thunderbird kit) and I have putchased a Junkers Jumo from out friend Firerods.He has a Merlin too and so does  or did Ma. The large scale aircraft were a long shot as Bill said but from what I’ve seen they are beautiful. So I thank you guys for all the leads and I’ll keep looking. The Merlin on Shapeways is over $100.

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by landman

[Scott Colmer]

I forgot about the Miss Budweiser. The box says it is a Rolls Royce engine.

 

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[LDO]

I may have an extra Merlin from the old Airfix P-51D.

We can talk trade if you want. No need for PM. I would be looking for a complete car model. Probably an AMT Phantom Vicky or Revell '29 or '32 Ford.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, landman said:

What I was after was a nice 1/25 or 1/24 Merlin to add to my engine collection. 

 

The Spitfire (Merlin) has also been kitted in 1/24. I believe the BF 109 has, too, which has an inverted V12 Daimler you might want for your collection. Also the Ju 87 Stuka--Junkers Jumo engine?

You might score one or more of these by asking at one of the model airplane sites. Many modelers don't care about the engines and glue the cowlings solid, so there might be some in spare parts boxes. Also, there MIGHT be detailed resin aftermarket engines for some of these, which won't be cheap but shouldn't be near the $100 of Shapeways (maybe half that?). And don't forget, any airplane modeler who's bought the aftermarket resin engine now has the kit one left over in HIS spare parts box. 

Come to think of it, I'm gonna throw the question out on Hyperscale and see what happens. If I get any good answers, I'll post a link. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, Scott Colmer said:

I forgot about the Miss Budweiser. The box says it is a Rolls Royce engine.

Holy moley. I HAVE to get one of those.

[Snake45]

Hey Ace, have you ever heard that the Packard-built Merlins were actually BETTER than the ones built by R-R? I just read an article by a VERY knowledgeable individual that explained why. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, landman said:

...our friend Firerods. He has a Merlin too...

I bought two of his Merlins for a twin-engined LSR VW bus a while back. While they are very nice, I was a little disappointed with them, having assumed (which I know I should never do) that they would be cast from individual parts. They were instead cast from a built-up engine.

The project stalled at that point, and I've been getting around to getting set up for silicone moldmaking and casting small parts again. The project list is long enough to justify the expense finally, but I'm not going to buy materials with a limited shelf life until I have more free time.

Edited March 10, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

14 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Hey Ace, have you ever heard that the Packard-built Merlins were actually BETTER than the ones built by R-R? I just read an article by a VERY knowledgeable individual that explained why. 

I have heard that, yes, but never knew why. I do seem to recall that there were some design changes made to simplify and speed up production. Do you have a link to the article perchance?

PS. I also seem to remember that one of the old-school SoCal machine shops that hard-core old rod guys would remember was one of the early builders of racing Merlins. I seem to remember a shot of a bare block being line-bored in one of the old rod mags, with the old guy and his young apprentice in the shot.

Ring any bells, anybody?

Edited March 10, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Snake45]

2 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I have heard that, yes, but never knew why. I do seem to recall that there were some design changes made to simplify and speed up production. Do you have a link to the article perchance?

The article was in the last issue of Mustangs International, but I don't think it's available online. 

Basically, when the RR engineers presented the blueprints and specs to Packard, the head Packard engineer laughed in their faces. "We can't possibly work to those specs. You have hundreds of skilled, experienced craftsmen on staff who can skillfully hand-fit parts to make them work. We build a thousand cars a day. If we worked to those specs the way you people do, we'd be lucky to build a hundred cars a week." The specs and tolerances had to be considerably tightened to match US production methods and practices.

The author said that even to this day, you can take three Packard built Merlins, take them apart, throw the parts randomly into bins, and reassemble three engines in short order. If you try that with three RR-built Merlins, you can get one engine back together without much trouble, and maybe a second one with considerable extra effort, and you might NEVER get a third running engine out of the rest. Pretty cool! 

[LDO]

49 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

...

PS. I also seem to remember that one of the old-school SoCal machine shops that hard-core old rod guys would remember was one of the early builders of racing Merlins. I seem to remember a shot of a bare block being line-bored in one of the old rod mags, with the old guy and his young apprentice in the shot.

Ring any bells, anybody?

I believe that is Dave Zeuschel.  I'm a big fan of warbirds and Reno racers. BTW there is a new resin kit builder who makes racing planes. He is taking pre-orders for Tsunami in 3 scales, with 3 different sets of markings/paint. Lots of other racing planes, too. Civilized Models, IIRC.

Edited March 10, 2018 by LDO

[Ace-Garageguy]

I just had to post this here. Too pretty. Late Griffon-powered Spit. Sorry.  

 

[Matt Bacon]

The Meteor is a Merlin adapted for powering tanks... ie only at ground level. Most “Merlin” powered mad cars you hear about are actually Meteors...

best,

M.

[Scott Colmer]

Did someone say twin aircraft engine VW bus?

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[landman]

5 hours ago, LDO said:

I may have an extra Merlin from the old Airfix P-51D.

We can talk trade if you want. No need for PM. I would be looking for a complete car model. Probably an AMT Phantom Vicky or Revell '29 or '32 Ford.

Unfortunately I am pretty sure I don’t have any of those you mention.Hwever,hold that thought until I get back home.

[Snake45]

57 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I just had to post this here. Too pretty. Late Griffon-powered Spit. Sorry.  

 

I believe that one's a Seafire XVII. I gotta do a model of one of those. 

BTW, did you know that the Spitfire XVI was basically a Spit IX but with an American Packard-built Merlin instead of a R-R Merlin? And then some of the XVIs got bubble canopies like this Seafire XVII, which I don't believe any of the IXs did. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

22 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I believe that one's a Seafire XVII...

You're right of course. Royal Navy painted in clear view and an arresting hook. Duh. 

She was just SO pretty, I didn't even notice.