How to create weathered propellers...

Jack -

Thanks for posting the pics! This does help a great deal for reference on Spit's props.

Here is some posted pics found at Britmodeller, illustrating wear on the sheath portion of wooden props:

regards,

Jack

I almost never use pure "flat black" for painting anything other than a small "opening" that isn't really an opening.  For actual surfaces, like tires, props, or skin panels, I almost always mix in some cream or light gray.

Having done the prop flat black then go back with a light coat of dark gray, it does really give it a more realistic dull black look as opposed to straight up flat black. Photo to follow soon...

Don, I agree, and I've had success with drybrushing as well.  I've generally dabbed a little bit of paint (almost dry) with a course scotchbrite, then drybrushed over top of that so it wasn't so 'stark', just to tone it down.

Blacksheep, glad I could help, hope it works for you.

I believe the Stuka, Ju 87 prop blades are of a laminated or ply wood design.  I have seen pictures from after the war that show were the prop blades were blown off with an purposely set explosive charge by the Americans.  They did not want any unauthorized flights, so this was the easiest way the render the aircraft unusable.  

From what I've read, for those propellers that are finished with a black plastic coating, the first sign of wear would be the loss of the sheen.   Any chipping would be along the leading edge and the backsides.  The area near the tips would be more prone, and trail off moving towards the nose.

Ground crews would be very diligent about the health of the prop,  any suspect blades would be replaced  well before the wood itself is exposed.

Just brainstorming here, but some possible explanation of nicks on the front could be  from  a head on pass from an enemy fighter, defensive fire (such as from a bomber), or flying through shrapnel which might happen in the ground attack role.  Any thoughts?

regards,

Jack

Dry brushing a silver or aluminum on the leading edge is an alternative method to simulate erosion from dust and dirt as opposed to large "chips", and is quick and easy to do.

Oh that technique is even better! Thanks for the heads up AndrewW. I'm gonna try one techique using a steel wool to gently peel off the black. I've got a spare prop handy to try it on anyways.

looking at Blacksheep's description of technique, I have done this same technique in the past, though after spraying down the metal color I've laid in a layer of gloss, just one more layer to protect and not scrape through.  I also use the backside of my knife for the scraping.  The other technique I've tried and had success with is dabbing on paint with a scotch bright pad, very gently.

Dora prop blades were all wood. As far as I know didn't have a metal leading edge...

I don't think the engine/propeller history of the Spitfire can be summed up in a few sentences, but I can find evidence of wood right through to 1945 by way of crash photos.

There is this poster ad, dating from 1945 - Jablo supplied blades to Rotol, who in turn  made complete prop assemblies for Spitfire assembly plants.

There is this interesting article of Rotol creating a constant speed prop made of wood, dated May 23rd, 1940:

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/hurricane/Flight_Rotol_23_May_1940.pdf

regards,

Jack

I believe only the earliest Spitfires had the wood props.  They were fixed pitch and that limited performance.  They soon equipped them with metal, adjustable pitch props.

"Be aware that most Spitfire props were made of wood, with only the leading edge covered by a thin sheath of brass."

Wow, didnt know that! I would not have thought that wood could have withstood the power of a WWII fighters engine.

Now I see the sheath in the photo, then it is 'possible' chipping can be found on the leading edges of the prop blades. I, too have seen photos of some Spits (as well as Bf-109's & FW 190s) of prop blades sheared off due to wheels up landings.

The sheath, along with the whole prop blade,  was covered in a black plastic material.  It might be visible, depending on the scale you are working on.  In the photo below,  from PrimePortal, can clearly see it. This prop though is post war, as Rotol did not have their logo present back then.

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I've not much more to add about the German props.  I'll just post the link instead of copy/paste.  The response to the importance of the sheath was particularly interesting:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946790-german-wood-prop-construction/

regards,

Jack

Looking at the Spitfire prop provided by Jack, is it possible the metal sheath edges is slightly visable with the black on the real prop? Or were they painted over?

Just as a quick answer to that prop question. The pitch of that blades are angled so that the rear of the blade does the pulling. Angled as such the back side catches most of the debris damage. I've seen it on  both sides of a tail rotor blade on a helicopter but the pitch is constantly being changed on those for turning so when landing the dirt and grass will hit both sides.

Good call Jack. I questioned why would they even try to weather Spitfire props when they're made of wood. Now it all make sense with the brass edges. I knew Bf-109s and maybe FW 190s were made of wood from my own research but wondered how they can be weathered when the color usually calls for Black Green props.

Question - how and what cause the props be chipped from the back side?

Also I believe that whatever chipping there would be was mostly on the back side and the edge, not the front (seen from in front). That's the surface that encountered the air.

mustang1989 - before getting to your question, I should correct my statement about Spitfires.  "Most" is a bit too all encompassing, and should have said 'many'.

Now to the Dora,  I've never come across any construction details for German wooden props.  What is interesting though, several times I've seen it mentioned that the Jablo method of prop blade construction was copied from the Germans before the war.  So in that regard it should have some sort of metal sheath on the the leading edge. 

Found the above photo which seems to confirm, but no idea what year or type of aircraft.  War shortages too might have a bearing on availability of metal, here too I'm not sure how vital it was for the metal sheath to be present.  I'll post on another forum, as this is an interesting question.

regards,

Jack

That's good info Jack! What was the leading edge of the Lufwaffe wooden props lined with? I'm building a Fw190 D9 and don't know if it was straight wood or a metal of some sort.

Be aware that most Spitfire props were made of wood, with only the leading edge covered by a thin sheath of brass.

regards,

Jack

Another effect that I've seen on blades was the paint was literally worn off of the leading edges over time. I was a Huey crewchief for about 8 years and noticed this particularly on the tail rotor blades. I usually paint the blades aluminum like what was mentioned, paint the desired color and rub the finish back down with my finger until the aluminum base coat starts to show. This works for me with all aluminum based blades.

Another easy way would be to apply some liquid mask on the edges with a fine brush on top of the aluminum base coat.  Let it dry and then airbrush the prop color and brush off the liquid mask with an old toothbrush.  

Its easy and you dont' have to worry about using a blade to scratch off anything.

I have painted metal props black and then dry brushed aluminum on the leading edges to simulate the abrasion of the paint.  The chips on props I have seen are so small you would not see them on smaller scales, so the chips are probably best on larger scales.  The abrasion would be okay on most medium scales.