Feel free to move to correct section. any ideas on making a parachute? 1:72 I have no problems making a mould to form it over but what do I use? thin paper? tea bag? can't fathom what would give the right texture.
also an idea on size would be good I found many good articles on design how many panels how many lines but no mention of its diameter lol. its for a Ww2 German pilot circular chute with small circle opening in top. doesn't need to be exact to scale but needs to look right I was thinkin about two and half body length in diameter?
any thoughts on this?

I looked into this a while back, didn't find much. What I did find was the American model of parachute during D-Day and Market Garden was a twenty eight foot diameter chute with twenty eight panels. I can't imagine the US and Germans were too different in their designs of parachutes. Sorry I can't be of more help.

28 panels, four gores. 14 shroud lines 21meters in length, 6 meters between canopy and main lift webs.

I don't know if pilot chutes were the same as for Fallschirmjaefer, but theirs were designed so that they landed face down.

Maybe this might be of some use

German parachute site

Nige

This question has been brought up, before. You can use a shooter marble for a form. Apply a small, circular piece of doped tissue paper over the marble. Let it dry. You should be able to cut a small hole with a razor knife. For the cord, .1mm wire is recommended.

Unfortunately that site is for modern German chutes. In fact, their T-10 is the one that some US units still use. (The ones who don't want their inexperienced jumpers trying to maneuver around in a mass tactical jump)
Likewise the reserve chute shown is the older side pull reserve reserve used by The US. The third is a ram air chute, and the rest are Czech.

I have good pictures of the chute from roundabout the right time, its mainly the diameter I am stuck on. judging by the lengths of the lengths of the lines and the free length between canopy and Webbing I scaled down the left over line to about 120mm. this seems overly big to me or is that about right?

Sounds way too big to me as well in 1/72. Don't forget that the measurements would be for the chute laying flat on the ground, not formed above the jumper.. I think...