Author Topic: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished  (Read 4169 times)

Offline Frank3k

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1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« on: April 17, 2020, 10:28:13 AM »
Albert Robida was a great French illustrator from the late 1800s. I'm sure most of you have seen his artwork.

This will be a 1/35 scale flying vehicle inspired by some of his artwork. The first illustration isn't his - it dates from 1828 and depicts Mr. Charles Golightly flying on his steam powered rocket:


The story for the artwork (in its various forms) is described here

Albert Robida drew his views on life in the year 2000 as well as war in the 20th century. I'm using the drawings below as inspiration:

The mailman:


War in the 20th Century:


This is what I have so far:


The main body is from a 1/72 V-1 rocket, split in two. Mr. Jameson is riding on a cylindrical part from a 1/12? scale Star Wars speeder bike. The tail is from an old Seaview model, flipped upside down. The ring in front of ol' Jim is the cowling from a 1/72 plane. I used a strange tubular part from (I think) a Star Wars snow speeder. The wings swivel.

I've since added a probe (or whatever the rods are on the red flyer) and I'm debating on adding a prop.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2020, 11:12:44 AM by Frank3k »

Offline ericr

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2020, 11:00:30 AM »
great source of inspiration !  :smiley:

Online Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2020, 11:25:30 AM »
Got to love a large spare parts box!  Looks quite Steam Punk too, 
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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2020, 02:24:17 AM »
Loving this one already.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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Offline Frank3k

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2020, 09:28:06 AM »
I've made some progress. Here's Jimbo riding his mechanical flying stead:



It looks more like a steam punk cruise missile, since I haven't built or added the seat/saddle and controls:



I popped a wing off to get a side view:



The wings and tail feathers were completely redone - using tape to simulate rib tape was a good idea in principle, but not in practice...

Offline Antonio Sobral

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2020, 05:05:57 PM »
Beautiful!

In the 1880's I guess "steampunk" would be the main sci-fi "trend". The model reflects it perfectly!

Offline ericr

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2020, 05:16:50 PM »

very good !

Offline Robomog

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2020, 05:30:15 PM »
This is looking very cool, looking forward to seeing the finished model  :-* :-*

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Offline Frank3k

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2020, 01:46:12 AM »
Thanks guys. I have no idea on how to add landiing gear/legs/skids to this. I guess the originals were just meant to float a few feet off the ground.

Offline apophenia

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2020, 10:38:29 AM »
...I popped a wing off to get a side view...

But it looks like,  when that wing came unstowed, Jimbo fell off and is now plunging earthward  :o
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2020, 02:04:58 AM »
Yeah, the 1880s were long before OSHA...

Offline Frank3k

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2020, 11:12:29 AM »
I think this one's done:

I stole borrowed took inspiration from all three of the original drawings. Mr. Golightly's rocket, Robida's mail delivery and Robida's War in the 20th Century:

The tank behind Jim is the mufler from a Tamiya 1/35 M3 tank.

The steering wheel and the wing angle adjusters are wheels from a 1/72  Sd.Kfz. 251 that Jeff sent me. For the steering wheel, I just opened up the spaces between the supports. The handle/knobs are just styrene rods with putty:


They're hard to see in this picture, but each of the small tubes contain the green radium tubes and electro-atomic lifting coils. I think the part is from an MPC snow speeder:


The steering wheel is free turning, so I could position the handle/knob into his hand:


Jim had a previous engagement, so he's not in the following pictures. The seat is part of a ski from the Trumpeter 1/35 Gaz-98 Aerosan:


The control stick is a styrene rod. It not only provides control, but also adds extra mayhem in case of a crash:


This was a fun little kitbash/scratchbuild. Parts used:

Mac 1/72 V-1 fuselage
Tail fin from either an Aurora or Polar Lights re-pop of the Seaview (it came in a box of parts)
Unknown bits from an MPC speeder bike and MPC Snowspeeder
Wheels from a 1/72 Sd.Kfz. 251
Muffler from a Tamiya 1/35 M3 tank
Part of a ski from a Trumpeter Gaz-98 Aerosan
Engine cowl from a Mikromir plane disaster
Styrene sheets and rods.
Mr. James Jameson borrowed from my last build.

Tanks for looking and commenting!
« Last Edit: April 23, 2020, 03:35:41 AM by Frank3k »

Offline finsrin

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2020, 11:39:21 AM »
With rider in saddle of Albert Robida inspired flyer (see the connection) there is possible Hollywood movie application.  Has so much character.  Is movie prop waiting for a movie.
Way cool scale-o-rama combo.  8)


Offline Robomog

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2020, 10:55:07 PM »
The finished craft does not disappoint, Robida would have been impressed.

Love it !  :-* :-* :-*  :-*


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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2020, 03:11:44 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline apophenia

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2020, 03:46:29 AM »
Okay, I think we've reached a whole new level here  :smiley:  Amazing, inspired stuff Frank ... that parts list alone!  :D

Wonderful work ... and I love Story's idea of a GB  ;)
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2020, 07:41:01 AM »
Thanks guys! It was a fun build and I didn't have to repaint - which a rare thing for me.

Jim saying goodbye to his horse:



Based on this cartoon:

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2020, 12:36:22 PM »
Marvellous work.. great source of inspiration

Sort of a Steampunk version of Slim Pickins riding the bomb from Dr Strangelove


Offline Jacques Deguerre

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Re: 1880s Albert Robida inspired flyer - Finished
« Reply #19 on: April 27, 2020, 10:36:00 PM »
Frank, that is one cool looking flyer you’ve built! I don’t know why this never occurred to me before but Hiyao Miyazaki must’ve also been highly influenced by Robida.