Finished Building a 1:10 Twin-Spool Turbofan Engine – What a Beast!

[Potaka]

Hi everyone,

Last month, I just wrapped up the build on the TECHING DM119 twin-spool turbofan engine, and honestly—I'm blown away. It's made up of over a thousand metal parts, and once it's together, you don't just stare at it, you actually run it.

The fun is in the little details: it's electric-driven, has a working throttle lever, and even an engine sound module. Push the lever forward, and the spools really spool up, while the speaker gives you that jet-like whine. I wasn't expecting it to feel this close to the real thing sitting on my desk.

The core section was hands-down my favorite part. The cutaway design lets you actually see the internals working, and watching it all spin is just awesome. Took me about a week from start to finish—the build wasn't easy, but every screw I tightened felt worth it when I powered it up for the first time.

Has anyone else here built an engine model like this? Jet, piston, whatever—I'd love to see your projects. Also, any tips for speeding up tricky builds? I'm definitely on the slower side with kits like this.

Here's my final work:

 

[Edbert]

That looks awesome!

No, I've never built one of them before, was interested in some of the ICE versions, but the price tag scared me off.

 

[Tommergun]

Very cool. The only thing similar was I built the old 1/4 scale AMT Wankel motor back in the late 70's. I remember that being pretty cool seeing everything move and rotate.

 

[Potaka]

That looks awesome!

No, I've never built one of them before, was interested in some of the ICE versions, but the price tag scared me off.

Thanks! Yeah, the ICE kits really caught my attention too—they look awesome, but I had the same reaction once I saw the price tag. I feel like the DM119 is a good "middle ground" (still a bit pricey, but not over the top), since it scratches the itch without going crazy. Are you still following ICE kits? I've seen some glow-fuel engines that are cheaper, though they tend to be much smaller in size.

 

[Potaka]

Very cool. The only thing similar was I built the old 1/4 scale AMT Wankel motor back in the late 70's. I remember that being pretty cool seeing everything move and rotate.

View attachment 156892

That's awesome—you've got some real history with this hobby! A 1/4 scale Wankel sounds like a blast, especially from back in the 70's. Must've been pretty wild to see it all moving for the first time. How big is this model kit and what material is it made of? Do you still have that kit, or did it get lost to time?

 

[idhikaazpaul]

That looks really nice! Could you maybe share a video? From the photos it's hard to tell how big the model actually is, and I'm also curious what the sound effect is like.

 

[Tommergun]

That's awesome—you've got some real history with this hobby! A 1/4 scale Wankel sounds like a blast, especially from back in the 70's. Must've been pretty wild to see it all moving for the first time. How big is this model kit and what material is it made of? Do you still have that kit, or did it get lost to time?

Oh I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. If I recall, I got it all to move but it wasnt long before it broke and then I decided to try to take it apart to fix it but ended up trashing it and moving on to something different. It was a typical plastic kit about as big as a volleyball.

 

[BarleyBop]

Wankel

Hahaha! I remember well all the fuss, the detailed articles in popular science and mechanic magazines. A kid brought a model in to physics class in high school... we laughed ourselves silly at the name of it! LOL

 

[Potaka]

That looks really nice! Could you maybe share a video? From the photos it's hard to tell how big the model actually is, and I'm also curious what the sound effect is like.

I was too busy and forgot to put up the video, you can hear the real sound effect at the end of the video.

 

[Potaka]

Oh I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. If I recall, I got it all to move but it wasnt long before it broke and then I decided to try to take it apart to fix it but ended up trashing it and moving on to something different. It was a typical plastic kit about as big as a volleyball.

Haha, that sounds exactly like something I would've done at that age too—get it working, then curiosity takes over and the "fixing" attempt ends up being the end of it. A volleyball-sized Wankel must have been pretty impressive to see though.

 

[Potaka]

Hahaha! I remember well all the fuss, the detailed articles in popular science and mechanic magazines. A kid brought a model in to physics class in high school... we laughed ourselves silly at the name of it! LOL

Sounds like a very interesting thing, LOL.

 

[idhikaazpaul]

I was too busy and forgot to put up the video, you can hear the real sound effect at the end of the video.

This sound is amazing! Thanks for your sharing. It's the first time I've seen a model with this kind of sound effect, and it really takes hearing it in person to truly appreciate it.