Twin-prop Wind Turbine (1/24 scale model)

I'm in the early stages of building a diorama based on one line from the song Red Barchetta by Rush (I like the idea and it'll use up a lot of surplus parts from other builds –also: I get to build a barn!*). Since the setting is a barn in the future, with the barn being quite aged, and the car (the main focus) being rather contemporary, I wanted to somehow indicate The Future by adding some advanced technology.

My initial impulse was to build a hover or jet bike of some kind but that might upstage the main scenario, so I opted to make the barn off-grid but still powered. Scratch building some solar panels for the roof is still an option, but the idea of a weird and futuristic small scale wind turbine lodged in my brain, so I gathered some bits and pieces from a couple of Messerschmitt kits and a tank kit I bought as kitbash donors for other builds.

Not everything above was used, and other parts were added, but keen-eyed veteran model builders will identify engine cowlings, two propellers, and a tank's main gun, among other military tidbits. I pretty much made it up as I built it, with only a vague plan in mind. The fun part of kitbashing is taking parts from kits of varying scales and imposing a new scale onto the final product, in this case 1/24, to match the car.

I had an idea how these parts will go together, but I knew I had to paint them separately before assembly.

Close-up of the kitbashed internal detailing.

Test-fitting the props.
I'm using Bondo glazing for my seams.

Painted with Tamiya acrylics.

I would have liked a smoother finish on the main body, but I don't have an airbrush (yet), but the hand painting kind of gives it a bit of a weathered look.

Weird and futuristic, I think.

I took some shots outside in the morning sunlight and was hapy to discover it almost looks real among natural scenery.

I gave the turbine a clear gloss coat and added a few decals from the Barchetta model, making this also a Ferrari product (spot the logo). That being the case, I now probably should have painted it a bright automotive colour like red or yellow. Oh, well, most wind turbines are white, so this adds to the realism, I guess.

*Yes, I am really more excited about building a barn (from scratch) than building a shiny red sports car (the actual subject of the song and diorama!).

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