Comper/Cierva C.25 autogyro - 1/72nd half-scratch conversion

This notable 1932 transformation of a Comper Swift into an autogyro is the product of the somewhat unsuccessful “technical marriage” of Comper and La Cierva. Their child, the Comper/Cierva C.25, was a sole example, and evolved by trial and error (that is, crashing) into its final form, given its civil registration and toured to tout the benefits of such aircraft configuration, quite in vogue in those times.

I have at hand two different 1/72^nd scale kits of the Comper Swift as a starting point. A vintage Aeroclub vac and a the new and technologically advanced one (resin and 3D-printed) released by Dekno/Arctic decals. I have built and posted on this blog three models made with them:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2024/04/comper-swith-aeroclub-172nd-vacuformed.html

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/05/comper-swift-de-havilland-gipsy-engine.html

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/01/comper-swift-arctic-decalsdekno-joint.html 

The conversion mainly involves creating new vertical tail surfaces, new wings and struts and a pylon with its corresponding rotor, so it’s not an onerous task for a modeler with a modicum of experience.

A plan by Bill Young was found on the Net that is mainly a very good base, but the shape of the oval additional vertical fins and the rotor blades is off, compared with photos. Easily corrected, though. The plan omits to depict the red painted edges of all tail surfaces and rotor blades leading edges. The suitcase and storage compartments (visible in photos and part of the Swift fuselage) are omitted too in the plan. There is a great article on a 2005 (009, 010, 011, 012) Air Britain magazine about this subject: “The Whole Truth- The Comper Lightplanes, part six”.

As we know, the recurrent aviation dream of an affordable, practical “personal transport” (pursued by the Comper Swift and this autogiro -and many other designs) never really materialized. Which is a good thing, considering what a skyward California 405 freeway, chronically congested, would be. 

 Making the flying surfaces and pylon with the traditional method:

The rotor blades (again, do not follow the plan on that, but photos):

The new parts to the side of the Aeroclub kit

The beautiful and comprehensive Arctic Decals/Dekno kit, issued in several liveries and powerplants:

So, the question is which one to use in order to build the autogyro...I cherish my vintage and very hard to find Aeroclub vac, on the other hand it seems a waste to cannibalize such a complete and beautiful kit like the Arctic Decals/Dekno rendition...

Decisions, decisions... 

 

To be continued... 

Short Crusader Schneider Cup - Karaya 1/72nd scale resin

 

The beautiful lines of the Short Crusader didn’t help much with its performance, nor did the manufacturer’s choice of a radial engine over the predominant inline arrangement for the Schneider trophy. An unfortunate problem with the aileron rigging meant that after being assembled in Venice for the actual race it hit the water as soon as it took off, the pilot thankfully escaping unscathed.

After no little fuzzing here is Karaya’s Short Crusader. To arrive to a happy conclusion some hurdles had to be dealt with. Do not follow Karaya’s box artwork, as the blue struts are associated with an early stage in life of the plane that did not have the tail number as depicted, and used a wood prop. The box art would be accurate if the struts were white (painted so after a repair) and the prop metal, as seen in Venice, and if it did have the red stripes over the floats (not provided on the decal sheet). The cylinder “helmets” need the prominent undercuts and a little carving -as seen in photos- to be accurate. These corrections and additions shouldn’t be a problem for an experienced modeler (the only kind of modeler that should be dealing with this type of kit anyway). For a full description of the caveats and some contemporary reference material you may visit the step-by-step building post:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2026/09/short-crusader-schneider-trophy-karaya.html