1930's Geebee Racer

I started on this model in February, finally got around to finishing it. Please let me know what you think.




Very nice. I always liked that plane. It looks as if it shouldn’t be able to fly. The R3 version, however, is one sexy plane.

Steve S

Really nice job

It looks as if it shouldn’t be able to fly

That was the exact thing I was thinking when I first looked at this model :slight_smile:

But definitely a nice job on this, have you thought about putting it in flight in an outdoor scene?

This plane is a little like a bumble bee, it doesn’t look like they should be able to fly but they do.

Here’s an in flight image.


I thought that the cockpit looked too small…then, I did a quick Google search. You are spot on with these proportions. The real plane just looks odd. Nicely done!!!

She looks good in flight ! Are you using any hdri lighting in the flight render?

Great job on this, and she does indeed look good in flight. :slight_smile:

They were strictly used for racing so they kept the canopy as small as possible to cut drag. Here’s an airplane that took that to the extreme…

This should be your next plane, jayd.

Steve S

Yes there is a little hdri lighting. This is the first time I’ve used this lighting setup, still needs some work.

Thanks for feedback!

That is a sweet looking plane, maybe I’ll give it a try.

Very nice jayd. I’ve always loved that aircraft too.

I may be wrong, but somehow the propeller (and hub) look a little bit tiny, both in span and chord. Is it to scale?

Nice model!
I think that you have to tweak a little the rendered flight scene - it is always difficult to integrate such a model with the background (avoiding the typical effect when it looks like “a model hanged against a background photo”). I do not know precisely, how to make it to look more real on this photo - maybe additional postprocessing? Different light setup? (The shadow below horizontal stabilizer seems too dispersed for such a sunlight day - maybe you should minimize the size of the directional light and increase its strength a little?). Minimal amount of smudegs and dirt on some surfaces?

Yeah they were racing planes! Spot on with the model there! If you’ve ever seen the film Pearl Harbor, the real life character portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the film flew these after the war. Apparently they are a swine to fly because the torque from the huge engine is so much it keeps trying to roll the plane against the propeller, but they are monstrously fast in a racing circuit, kind of like the nascars of aeroplane racing!

I’ve always liked them and it’s great to see such a good representation of them. Great stuff!

I agree the lighting does need work, so little time and so much to do.

I posted these images last February, it’s the engine in the plane.



They were difficult to handle and required an expert pilot to fly them. Thanks JohanvdM!

Absolutely love it! I have always wanted to model one of these, but have never gotten around to it. The design of the plane is so appealing to me, because it reminds me of cartoons :slight_smile: . Great job!