Blackburn Roc Floatplane Target Tug

[The Spadgent]

Wowza! That's moved on a bit eh. Great work on the floaty floats. 

you're too good at this, it's not fair some female hat wearing aliens have all the fun, 

Jont .

[Martian]

10 minutes ago, The Spadgent said:

Wowza! That's moved on a bit eh. Great work on the floaty floats. 

you're too good at this, it's not fair some female hat wearing aliens have all the fun, 

Jont .

You mean female hat wearing aliens like this?

 

 

 

29 minutes ago, TonyTiger66 said:

Beautiful work on the floats and struts Martian  .

 

This is all looking very impressive indeed 

 

Best regards

TonyT

Cheers Tony. I got the struts finished today but until the glue is cured the floats are too fragile to be moved for the photo session.

 

Martian

[Martian]

The strut assembly has now had time to cure properly and although it will remain fragile until it is finally glued to the model, I was able to move it about so I could get the promised pictures done for you.

 

To get the struts to line up I built a small jig to match the holes that had already been drilled in the wing underside. This will now have to remain in place until it is time to glue the assembly to the wings. Apologies for the tape obscuring the struts from some angles but until the model is ready for painting , it will have to stay in place to hold the jig firmly in place. I think the pictures convey what the strutting looks like. Initial indications are that the floats will fit the model without too much trouble. We all know that remark will probably ensure that they won't even though a dry run went fine. Positive news is that Saint Crisp of the Sea King's beaching gear seems to work fine with all four wheels touching the ground. I  may need to make a small adjustment to one of them where a locating pin was broken and had to be replaced with a brass item but that will only take a second or two.

 

All the above work was extremely fiddly and took up nearly all of my modelling time yesterday so I think I will work on the SH-34 build today.

 

Here are the pictures and thanks for looking.

 

Martian

 

 

 

[CedB]

Very nice work Martian, they're looking grand  

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I'd actually forgotten about how much work you'd already done to the Roc's water-boots, so nice to see them again.  I for one will be amazed if your calculations aren't proved correct, even if you had forgotten them!

 

Great to see Tamiya-San's Stringbag beaching gear being put to such excellent use.

[Hamden]

 

Great result with the floats. I'm sure they'll just drop straight into place when the time comes!

 

  Roger

[Martian]

31 minutes ago, CedB said:

Very nice work Martian, they're looking grand  

Thanks Ced.

25 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I'd actually forgotten about how much work you'd already done to the Roc's water-boots, so nice to see them again.  I for one will be amazed if your calculations aren't proved correct, even if you had forgotten them!

 

Great to see Tamiya-San's Stringbag beaching gear being put to such excellent use.

Thanks Crisp, I hope you are right. Having forgot how I worked out the length of the struts, the plans I have don't take account of the rake and splay, I will be up a certain creek without a certain implement if they don't fit as I can't go back and check my calculations.

17 minutes ago, Hamden said:

 

Great result with the floats. I'm sure they'll just drop straight into place when the time comes!

 

  Roger

Thanks Roger, you clearly have more confidence in me than  have at the moment. Thi is the one part of the build I have been dreading.

 

Apprehensive of Mars

[Jamie_Graham]

1 hour ago, Martian Hale said:

The strut assembly has now had time to cure properly and although it will remain fragile until it is finally glued to the model, I was able to move it about so I could get the promised pictures done for you.

 

To get the struts to line up I built a small jig to match the holes that had already been drilled in the wing underside. This will now have to remain in place until it is time to glue the assembly to the wings. Apologies for the tape obscuring the struts from some angles but until the model is ready for painting , it will have to stay in place to hold the jig firmly in place. I think the pictures convey what the strutting looks like. Initial indications are that the floats will fit the model without too much trouble. We all know that remark will probably ensure that they won't even though a dry run went fine. Positive news is that Saint Crisp of the Sea King's beaching gear seems to work fine with all four wheels touching the ground. I  may need to make a small adjustment to one of them where a locating pin was broken and had to be replaced with a brass item but that will only take a second or two.

 

All the above work was extremely fiddly and took up nearly all of my modelling time yesterday so I think I will work on the SH-34 build today.

 

Here are the pictures and thanks for looking.

 

Martian

 

 

 

Ufff ... stunning work with this floats!!! Another step forward ... and in my opinion, every step in the right direction!! 

 

[Martian]

2 hours ago, Jamie_Graham said:

Ufff ... stunning work with this floats!!! Another step forward ... and in my opinion, every step in the right direction!! 

 

Thanks Jamie, I do hope so after all the effort that has gone into it.

 

Martian

[longshanks]

Certainly looking the biz!!

 

I have faith it will all come together

 

Kev

[pheonix]

Those floats are superb. The strutting must have been a b....r to work out but you seem to have succeeded. This is truly a most impressive build - I really take my hat off to you for what is an incredible piece of modelling. In this scale there is so little room for error - and yet you have managed to avoid any so far, as as things are going, will continue to do so. I am really looking forward to the paint going on - hopefully not too long now.

 

P

[Martian]

4 hours ago, longshanks said:

Certainly looking the biz!!

 

I have faith it will all come together

 

Kev

Thanks Kev, I'll believe t when it happens.

56 minutes ago, pheonix said:

Those floats are superb. The strutting must have been a b....r to work out but you seem to have succeeded. This is truly a most impressive build - I really take my hat off to you for what is an incredible piece of modelling. In this scale there is so little room for error - and yet you have managed to avoid any so far, as as things are going, will continue to do so. I am really looking forward to the paint going on - hopefully not too long now.

 

P

Thanks for the kind comments P. A decision will need to be made soon as to the probable underside colours and their demarcation line with the upper surface scheme. We do have one picture of a Bermuda based Roc with sky undersides but research shows that the majority of Rocs had the standard black and yellow stripes.  That said, pictures of target towing Rocs are hard to come by and I am unsure as to whether the few that I have is a truly representative sample. This is going to be a tough nut to crack.

 

Martian

[Massimo]

It' s really taking shape!!!Those light grey and white additions maake it look already colourful!!!

[corsaircorp]

Oh dear tentacled one,

Really nice hat indeed !

I really like your work on that floats, wonderfull.

It must go straight in the wing underside's holes MUSSEN Meine Liebe Mussen !!

Thank for sahring the nice job !

Sincerely.

CC

[corsaircorp]

On ‎13‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 01:12, Martian Hale said:

I am afraid so. Aside from some completely scratch built projects, this is by far the hardest aircraft build I have ever done. From the start, it has consistently thrown up new and unexpected problems and I fully expect this to continue when work I resumed. We will get there though the kit was a silver wedding present from Mrs Martian so unless I want to get blurglecruncheoned, I have to succeed!

 

Martian

And You will ! For sure, I'm confident !

Sincerely.

CC

[Brandy]

Those floats are looking very spiffy indeed! If you don't have measurement for the struts you can work it out very easily as long as you have plans showing side and front views. 

 Think right angled triangles......The side view will give you one side (measure along the strut), the front view will give you the base line measurement (draw a vertical line down from the top of the strut and measure the distance from that line to the lower strut end). That's your right angled bit, the strut itself is the third side!

 

Ian

Edited August 18, 2017 by limeypilot

[Navy Bird]

Beautiful work, Martin. Probably the best floats I've seen, and they're not even painted yet. Anticipation!  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

1 hour ago, corsaircorp said:

And You will ! For sure, I'm confident !

Sincerely.

CC

What, succeed or get blurglecruncheoned by Mrs Martian?

1 hour ago, limeypilot said:

Those floats are looking very spiffy indeed! If you don't have measurement for the struts you can work it out very easily as long as you have plans showing side and front views. 

 Think right angled triangles......The side view will give you one side (measure along the strut), the front view will give you the base line measurement (draw a vertical line down from the top of the strut and measure the distance from that line to the lower strut end). That's your right angled bit, the strut itself is the third side!

 

Ian

Thanks Ian, following your excellent explanation was rather like being at school again. The only thing missing was the Headmaster, who taught maths, advancing on me as though he was about to strangle me and exclaiming to all that I was an "evil child" for getting something wrong again!

3 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

Beautiful work, Martin. Probably the best floats I've seen, and they're not even painted yet. Anticipation!  

 

Cheers,

Bill

Thanks Bill. It was a bit of luck that the Swordfish floats were very close to Shark floats in overall dimensions. The only bit that was bit tricky was changing where the step went.

 

Martian

[Brandy]

" YOU, YES YOU, BEHIND THE BIKE SHED.... STAND STILL LADDIE!"

 

I knew a couple of those at school too......

 

Ian

[corsaircorp]

I second that, Always in the back of the classroom, near the window, looking for planes.

Sincerely.

CC.

[Grey Beema]

I too used to frequent the back row of the Maths class, though with 40 odd kids in the class it was pretty easy to disappear in full view.  You have inspired me to use your float trick here (the frame not the floats) to try and mount that bloody upper wing on my Sea Gladiator..

 

BTW Here is me with my head stuck up a chickens a... from a Stephens (Boxing) day rugby match a few years back. It is sound sensitive and dances to Jingle Bells whenever it here's a loud noise.  It was busy that night

 

 

[Martian]

Thanks Guys. I was just rubbish at maths, mostly due to my middle school not teaching us the stuff we needed to know when we got to upper school. As a result my mates and myself were behind the guys from other middle schools when we got there and really struggled.

The same was true in English. The middle school did not believe in correcting spelling mistakes on the quite incredible grounds that it might stop us from fully expressing ourselves! I still struggle with my spelling at times to this day. Muppets! How can one express oneself fully if one can't spell properly? Sorry, rant over.

 

Martian

[TheBaron]

Filled with awe at the quality of your floaty parts.

 

They are todully awesome Mars-dude!

 

Given the number of canals back on your home planet I imagine that  these would be prove a boon on day trips to Solus Lacus...?

 

I too struggled with maths due to the quality of schoolteachering. For some reason the maths dept. at my comprehensive was staffed entirely by sociopaths who sublimated their anger through the medium of numbers:

'But in the town it was well-known when they got home at night...'

 

My English teacher for the whole period was by contrast a kind and sensitive man - himself an author - who took seriously the vocational responsibility of helping others to express themselves by giving them the tools to do so.

 

Crack on Martian. This is primo stuff.

 

 

[HomerJ_757]

On 18/08/2017 at 00:05, Martian Hale said:

 

 

 

You say say it is a hat wearing female, but how do we really know that it is not you assimilating an Earth human for a meal?🍽 

[Martian]

6 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Filled with awe at the quality of your floaty parts.

 

They are todully awesome Mars-dude!

 

Given the number of canals back on your home planet I imagine that  these would be prove a boon on day trips to Solus Lacus...?

 

I too struggled with maths due to the quality of schoolteachering. For some reason the maths dept. at my comprehensive was staffed entirely by sociopaths who sublimated their anger through the medium of numbers:

'But in the town it was well-known when they got home at night...'

 

My English teacher for the whole period was by contrast a kind and sensitive man - himself an author - who took seriously the vocational responsibility of helping others to express themselves by giving them the tools to do so.

 

Crack on Martian. This is primo stuff.

 

 

Thanks Baroness. I never thought of turning Shark floats into canoes! You're not just a pretty face are you?

 

4 hours ago, HomerJ_757 said:

 

You say say it is a hat wearing female, but how do we really know that it is not you assimilating an Earth human for a meal?🍽 

Alright its a fair cop, put on the bracelets, chink, chink, oh god I'm nicked (again).

 

Martian Off to Specsavers as soon as he can get out of the slammer.