Building a "Working" Cutaway Turbine Engine Model from Stirling

[SixPapaCharlie]

I got a Stirling turbo fan engine model kit to build it with my daughter. I’ve seen these around before but never looked closely until now. The build quality is very solid.
It is all metal, nicely machined, and weighs about 10 pounds when fully assembled. Ours uses a small built-in electric motor to spin the fan, but they also make engine models that run on fuel.
At our pace it will probably take around 2 or 3 evenings to put together.

This will end up in a video because they asked me to include it and gave me a discount code. I’m not posting this to promote anything. I just wanted to mention it because it is legitimately a cool engine model. If you are into aviation or mechanical design (@Ted) , their lineup is worth browsing.

Here's the site: https://www.stirlingkit.com/collections/turbofan-engine-kits


This is what we are building:

If you are a motor head aside from aviation stuff, check out their high end V8 engine models.

I will post the final product once complete but so far, really impressed.

 

[Lindberg]

Definitely looking forward to your video, but I'm afraid $500 is over my budget for Chinese websites with broken English and fake reviews.

 

[dans2992]

I’m not knocking YOUR build…. But their video of the PT6 is…. Interesting.

If I were them, I would have fixed this before making the video:

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Oh this might be more interesting than I thought... I'll post the end product here.

 

[murphey]

Can I apply the hours for the P in A&P?

 

[Sac Arrow]

A turbine engine that works on the Stirling cycle????

 

[Cap'n Jack]

A turbine engine that works on the Stirling cycle????

It's the company name.

Model Engine Kits | Your One-Stop Shop to Buy All Engine - Stirlingkit

Stirlingkit is the professional supplier of Stirling engine model for sale. The model kits are run by the excellent generator. The Kit has a wide range of application as great gift for Kids' science project.

www.stirlingkit.com

They make a number of models, including Stirling engines.

 

[Sac Arrow]

It's the company name.

Model Engine Kits | Your One-Stop Shop to Buy All Engine - Stirlingkit

Stirlingkit is the professional supplier of Stirling engine model for sale. The model kits are run by the excellent generator. The Kit has a wide range of application as great gift for Kids' science project.

www.stirlingkit.com

They make a number of models, including Stirling engines.

Oh.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I've been getting ads for this engine or something very similar on Facebook from a site called Yicoli or something like that, where it's only $36. Complete scam, obviously...

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Ours is coming together nicely. It is a father/daughter project and our schedules don't align much so it is going slow.
So far everything seems to be machined with tight tolerances and no slop. I hope it turns out good.

 

[Bill]

Big fan of the project so far.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Definitely looking forward to your video, but I'm afraid $500 is over my budget for Chinese websites with broken English and fake reviews.

He's making that FO money now. Money is no object!

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

He's making that FO money now. Money is no object!

Cash everywhere in this house I tell ya. It keeps clogging up the vacuum cleaner. I almost slipped on some last night. It's just all over the floor. It's unfortunate I only have one fireplace to burn it in to keep us warm this winter.

 

[eman1200]

 

[Bill]

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Turned out pretty cool. It's solid. I would guess between 8-10 lbs.

Only takeaway is you have to follow the instructions carefully. I literally left out one bearing in between 2 sections and the whole thing wobbled like a warped record.
They did provide extras of some of the parts so when I saw the little bearing left over, I didn't think much of it.

I counted all the left over pieces and used pieces and realized I had 1 more so I disassembled the sections and added the bearing I missed and its all good.

 

[manac]

Very nice! Might need Santa to get me one.

 

[Van Johnston]

Put it on a skateboard and hook it to a fish scale and see how much thrust it generates.

 

[s2mumu]

Definitely looking forward to your video, but I'm afraid $500 is over my budget for Chinese websites with broken English and fake reviews.

It actually seems to be only $280 right now.

 

[david.h]

That's cool, but it's too small. Working on a few around the shop today...

 

[Lindberg]

It actually seems to be only $280 right now.

Currently listed as $400 with the "standard" tool set. But such pricing shenanigans are par for the course. They can charge whatever they want and decide later whether to send you anything.

 

[manac]

Put it in your cart it’s 280.
My issue is they won’t say where it’s coming from.

 

[Lindberg]

Put it in your cart it’s 280.
My issue is they won’t say where it’s coming from.

China, if at all. You would probably have better luck ordering from the manufacturer through Amazon:

Amazon.com : TECHING

 

[flyingcheesehead]

China, if at all. You would probably have better luck ordering from the manufacturer through Amazon:

Amazon.com : TECHING

And note the $900 price tag. For all the other sites that sell it cheaper, well, caveat emptor.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

so I disassembled the sections and added the bearing I missed and its all good.

If you didn’t blame your daughter and make her cry, you did it wrong

 

[s2mumu]

Currently listed as $400 with the "standard" tool set. But such pricing shenanigans are par for the course. They can charge whatever they want and decide later whether to send you anything.

But I think Christmas discounts are quite normal. If they were scammers and wouldn't ship the goods, I don't think we would have seen this post. However, I'm remaining neutral because I haven't bought any of their products. Perhaps I need to watch more videos to learn more about their products and website before making a decision. Honestly, the price is quite attractive.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

It actually seems to be only $280 right now.

Different product? Sale price?

Currently listed as $400 with the "standard" tool set. But such pricing shenanigans are par for the course. They can charge whatever they want and decide later whether to send you anything.


View attachment 147751

@SixPapaCharlie got his engine.

China, if at all. You would probably have better luck ordering from the manufacturer through Amazon:

Amazon.com : TECHING

@SixPapaCharlie got his engine.

And note the $900 price tag. For all the other sites that sell it cheaper, well, caveat emptor.

They have several products with different prices.

But I think Christmas discounts are quite normal. If they were scammers and wouldn't ship the goods, I don't think we would have seen this post. However, I'm remaining neutral because I haven't bought any of their products. Perhaps I need to watch more videos to learn more about their products and website before making a decision. Honestly, the price is quite attractive.

For what you get, I agree. Also as you noted, @SixPapaCharlie did get his kit and was able to put it together.

Stirling Kit has been around for some time. Some years ago, they only appeared to have stirling engines (so @Sac Arrow 's question was valid to me). They are based in Hong Kong with a warehouse in Shenzhen. A colleague bought a low-temperature stirling engine from them some years ago and it works well. It is interesting to see how much work comes from the hot air above a cup of hot water.

Low Temperature Stirling Engine Motor Steam Heat Education Model Toy - Stirlingkit

Low Temperature Stirling Engine Motor Steam Heat Education Model ToyFANTASTIC SMART THING WITH EXTREMELY WELL MADE WHICH RUNS LIKE A DREAM----The stirling engine is produced with high quality material and elegant workcraft. this stirling engin...

www.stirlingkit.com

 

[Lindberg]

But I think Christmas discounts are quite normal. If they were scammers and wouldn't ship the goods, I don't think we would have seen this post. However, I'm remaining neutral because I haven't bought any of their products. Perhaps I need to watch more videos to learn more about their products and website before making a decision. Honestly, the price is quite attractive.

It's interesting that you joined the forum just to post in this thread about how attractive the price is on this.

 

[Lindberg]

Different product? Sale price?

@SixPapaCharlie got his engine.

@SixPapaCharlie got his engine.

They have several products with different prices.

For what you get, I agree. Also as you noted, @SixPapaCharlie did get his kit and was able to put it together.

Stirling Kit has been around for some time. Some years ago, they only appeared to have stirling engines (so @Sac Arrow 's question was valid to me). They are based in Hong Kong with a warehouse in Shenzhen. A colleague bought a low-temperature stirling engine from them some years ago and it works well. It is interesting to see how much work comes from the hot air above a cup of hot water.

Low Temperature Stirling Engine Motor Steam Heat Education Model Toy - Stirlingkit

Low Temperature Stirling Engine Motor Steam Heat Education Model ToyFANTASTIC SMART THING WITH EXTREMELY WELL MADE WHICH RUNS LIKE A DREAM----The stirling engine is produced with high quality material and elegant workcraft. this stirling engin...

www.stirlingkit.com

Yes, SixPapaCharlie is an influencer to whom they sent a kit in exchange for promotion. That has no bearing on whether anyone else will get one they order.

And I didn't say the kit was fake, but you can even see in SixPapaCharlie's photo that Stirling just stuck it's sticker on someone else's product.

I know you feel compelled to speak up whenever a Chinese company is impugned here. Can you explain the fake reviews on the website?

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Just for transparency on my side. @Lindberg is correct in that I did not order through the site. I was contacted and asked if I would review the product on social media.
I get asked this by companies quite frequently and usually I say no because most are not aviation related. My favorite so far was a company that makes tests for cats that detect diabetes.
I almost pulled the trigger on that one just so I could fly with a cat. But I don't have time to teach it to pee on command.

I think I have reviewed a headset and fire extinguisher both for no compensation, just the review video in exchange for the product. Nobody has ever paid me to say nice things about their product. As a general rule if a product sucks, I will just opt to not to review it publicly. I tested one thing that didn't go well and I sent it back and said the best thing is for me to not publicly comment on my experience. Sometimes it is just to test a new thing. I am currently testing a lightspeed headset that came with a return shipping label I like LS and am testing out of my own curiosity.

I have done a little research on this particular brand and I have seen some negative comments and some positive. I have seen videos of builds done by others and from what I can tell, the metal products seem to agree with my experience. I suspect some of the 3D printed nylon models may be less precise (Video above showing indication of warpage).

What I got is really solid and the shipping address was from China. If there are shipping issues, I do believe there would be a vested interest in making sure mine arrived in a timely manner given that it was to be a promotional build. As far as the company and when or if your product will be received, I don't think I can validate that as mine was likely navigated through a prioritized channel. Just guessing. I am pleased with the product and we had fun building it.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Yes, SixPapaCharlie is an influencer to whom they sent a kit in exchange for promotion. That has no bearing on whether anyone else will get one they order.

And I didn't say the kit was fake, but you can even see in SixPapaCharlie's photo that Stirling just stuck it's sticker on someone else's product.

I know you feel compelled to speak up whenever a Chinese company is impugned here. Can you explain the fake reviews on the website?

You are reading more into my reply than I wrote. My reply comes down to "The company has been around for a long time and IME, they ship what they claim to sell." I didn't look at the reviews, nor will I do so. @SixPapaCharlie 's review is sufficient and he indicated the item was good. The low-temp engine my colleague bought certainly works well enough, but that was some years ago.

 

[Lindberg]

You are reading more into my reply than I wrote.

You wrote, three times, in response to warnings about possible non-delivery that SPC got his kit. I pointed out, confirmed by SPC, that he was sent a free kit in exchange for promoting it to his following.

If you were previously unaware that many social-media product scams rely on influencer marketing, now you're aware. It's trivial for them to send a high-quality product (not manufactured by them, as they claim) to influencers, and then send junk--or nothing--to others.

To be completely clear, my comments suggesting that caveat emptor are not in any way directed at Bryan. I don't question his sincerity at all and I know that he wouldn't knowing participate in anything shady.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

You wrote, three times, in response to warnings about possible non-delivery that SPC got his kit. I pointed out, confirmed by SPC, that he was sent a free kit in exchange for promoting it to his following.

Please read again. He got a discount code. You don't get a discount on a free item. I also indicated that this vendor has been around for some time- scammers don't last for years. Edited based on post #34 below. The quoted material below didn't indicate that the code was to be shared by @SixPapaCharlie .

...and gave me a discount code.

If you were previously unaware that many social-media product scams rely on influencer marketing, now you're aware. It's trivial for them to send a high-quality product (not manufactured by them, as they claim) to influencers, and then send junk--or nothing--to others.

Why do think I'm unaware? So this company is a scam? That's not my experience. This company has been around for years. Why do you think I'm lying to you? I guess I'll have to post a picture of the stirling engine a colleague bought from them some years ago. For around $35, it's rather cute. Of course, you'll claim I made an AI image or another equally stupid claim.

Are there scammers out there? Of course there are. Stirlingkit.com isn't one of them. That's the company under discussion.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

To clarify, they gave me a discount code to give out for 15% off. I didn't pay for the model.

 

[Lindberg]

Why do think I'm unaware?

Your posts don't acknowledge how some of these scummy sites operate. Lack of awareness seemed like the kinder interpretation.

So this company is a scam?

I don't know. I've merely identified some indications that it might be and suggested a safer course of action for those desiring the advertised products.

That's not my experience.

You haven't identified any actual experience you have with this company.

This company has been around for years.

So?

Why do you think I'm lying to you?

I haven't said you are. Your friend's anecdote about a different product from years ago could be completely true and accurately remembered and reported. It's still irrelevant to the red flags presently apparent with this site.

Are there scammers out there? Of course there are. Stirlingkit.com isn't one of them.

You seen very certain of that based on someone else's experience from years ago.

 

[Omalley1537]

Classic Internet forum…a member shares something cool he is doing with his child, and it devolves into an argument over Chinese companies and whether you’ll receive what you ordered.

1) if we have gotten to the point of at least a PPL, theoretically we possess at least rudimentary judgement abilities.

2) if one pays by credit card (as most internet orders are), charges can be disputed if the item isn’t received and the company goes dark on comms.

Would it be so difficult to just appreciate the cool project Bryan and his daughter worked on and completed? Good grief.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Classic Internet forum…a member shares something cool he is doing with his child, and it devolves into an argument over Chinese companies and whether you’ll receive what you ordered.

1) if we have gotten to the point of at least a PPL, theoretically we possess at least rudimentary judgement abilities.

2) if one pays by credit card (as most internet orders are), charges can be disputed if the item isn’t received and the company goes dark on comms.

Would it be so difficult to just appreciate the cool project Bryan and his daughter worked on and completed? Good grief.

Because PoA?

 

[Omalley1537]

Because PoA?

True, but it’s also everywhere as I’m sure you’re aware.

On one of my motorcycle forums, a guy will post a pic of his brand-new bike and by the third or fourth reply, it’s a dispute about why anyone would buy that brand of bike, a new bike at all, and/or why he plans to “waste (his) money” on an aftermarket part.

 

[Salty]

Can we morph this thread into an argument about them calling it a "working engine"?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Your posts don't acknowledge how some of these scummy sites operate. Lack of awareness seemed like the kinder interpretation.

Scammers exist. That wasn't the point of the discussion. The point of my posts is whether this company is a scammer. You never heard of the company, or their product before this discussion and yet you decided they were a scammer.

You haven't identified any actual experience you have with this company.

My colleague bought one from Stirlingkit.com, put it in their workspace. It is still there. My experience is I know someone who bought one and got what was promised and I saw the product.

You seen very certain of that based on someone else's experience from years ago.

It still runs well today. It appears to be the same product they sell today (in the background of the video below). New companies and URL's tend to be clues for scammers, this company and web site have been around for many years- at least 5 or 6 that I can recall.

Here's the low-temp stirling engine running from the heat of hot water- I think it is rather cool, as is @SixPapaCharlie 's build. Click on the image to access the video.
20251204_093914[1] by Jack Silver, on Flickr

Can we morph this thread into an argument about them calling it a "working engine"?

The one in the video is a working engine