Author Topic: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'  (Read 13692 times)

Offline Robomog

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The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« on: September 01, 2017, 07:40:15 AM »

(EDIT  -  July 2021  -    sorry guys I'm running out of space on my Flickr account so I'm going to have  to delete all the work in progress pics. If you need to see any of them please let me know)

After the Bluebird tragedy  Bittsa Industries, a private company intending to compete for the water speed record, radically redesigned their machine to incorporate as many safety features as possible.

Named ‘Jings!’ It was a jet powered machine with the engine above the main hull on a pylon, the  body of craft  featured a punt style hull with short canard wings to prevent the craft from nosing up at speed. To stabilise the craft in the water two wings were attached with floats at their extremity. The machine was designed to ride up onto its step at speed and skim across the surface of the water with minimal contact only a stabilising fin and the rudder actually in the water.
Initial slow speed runs on Loch  Lomond proved satisfactory in both the operation and handling and it was decided to fully test the machine before actually attempting the world record.

By the third trial and at around half the available power the craft was up on the step with the floats out of the water. On the sixth trial they accelerated to full power and that’s when disaster struck.

Despite the forward canard, the machine suddenly unstuck and left the water. The pilot pulled back the throttle which caused the craft to nose down and hit the water at speed which bounced it back into the air, lacking the computer technology of today to damp the control movement the machine bounced three more times, each getting more violent than the next as the driver tried to regain control of the craft but over compensated as a result. The fourth impact  proved too much, the machine hit the water and the pylon holding the wings and engine parted from the main body. Fortunately the safety systems worked perfectly and there was barely any flash from the leaking fuel, but the engine was still producing thrust so the engine and wings moved forward and struck the bobbing hull before continuing up the loch some hundred yards and disintegrating in a spectacular welter of spray. The cabin section slewed to a halt still upright and afloat, but it had received a mortal blow and slowly started to sink.

Fortunately the chase boat arrived in time to take off the driver before the remains part of ‘Jings’ slipped beneath the waves.
 As the driver looked on he said “Bugger that for a game of soldiers, I’m not doing that again” and never drove or flew a jet powered  vehicle again.
Bittsa Industries realised it was way out of its depth and moved onto other things, all documents regarding ‘Jings’ were archived and eventually destroyed.

‘Jings’ disappeared into History before it really got off the ground, or rather after it got off the ground when it wasn’t supposed to and suffered the consequences !

                                                                      -----------------------------------------------------

Hi All

First model in 30 years and a scratch  build so I can get used to techniques again, also my first whiff so a lot happening here at once.

The build was influenced by the Floaty Group build and intended for the Racing Group build but I have posted here because it is unlikely I will finish it before the deadline.

Looking at my parts  stash it was immediately obvious I have a lot of rubbish. So having a rough idea in my mind I felt anything in there was fair game. I found a piece of bubble packaging that would serve as a rakish canopy and selected the parts as shown below. It’s unlikely  i will use all of them but this is the starting point.

Perhaps you would like to play spot the part ?


20170708_114615 by Robomog, on Flickr

Will update progress soon

Mog

« Last Edit: July 11, 2021, 04:22:12 AM by Robomog »
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Offline Old Wombat

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2017, 08:56:38 AM »
Sounding & looking promising! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2017, 12:10:11 PM »
J-79 from a B-58, looks like canopies from an Me-163 and a Saab Tunnan. The rest, not getting much on the ol' meatware image recognition neural net.

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2017, 07:12:18 PM »
Hi Frank3k

right on the button with the Engine, why I had only one in the stash when it had four beats me and I'm still looking for the big pannier !

canopies not 163 as I have never had that kit I think I know what the left one is from but not the right.

Mog
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Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2017, 04:43:24 AM »
Watching with interest and applauding your use of blisterpack!

A far under-utilized material in my opinion.

Looking forward to more,

Brian da Basher

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2017, 09:26:31 PM »
Hi Brian

Funnily enough it was the blister pack which triggered Jings the idea. 

This site has effected me psychologically you know,  every piece of plastic I look at I try and think of what use to put it too.  Only the other day I was in McRons with the family looking closely at a the plastic top of a coffee cup thinking of possibly turning it into a flying saucer. Mum said 'are you thinking of making a model of that?' Then Mrs Lady Mog piped up with 'I thought he was doing that to !' My notoriety goes before me.

Mog
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2017, 09:41:24 PM »
Right, build has started in earnest,  although this is a seat of the pants build I quickly learned it had to have a sequence. The canopy governed the size of the hull and cockpit position, the cockpit depth governed the hull depth, the engine had to be fitted before the wings act.

So here we have started,  the canopy is shown placed in position and the cockpit cut out, the pilot seat position is also dependant on the canopy. The jet engine has been separated from the pylon as I have to turn it round so that it will be blowing in the right direction.

20170714_210500 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170714_210543 by Robomog, on Flickr

More as it happens

Mog
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2017, 07:50:53 AM »
Initial parts list for them wots interested

Wings = Supermarine Seahawk left over from a truly awful conversion to a swept wing Seahawk prototype
Engine = B58 Hustler spotted by Frank3k
Camouflaged hatch = SM79
Left hand canopy = P47 Thunderbolt
Right hand canopy = don't know looks a bit Migish
Top drop tank = A4 Skyhawk (I think)
Bottom drop tank = don't  know
Floats = Grumman J2F Duck
Small blue wings = Navy Blue Angels Grumman F11F
Small silver wings = F5 Freedom Fighter
Silver Angled wings = Don't know possibly Fouga Magister or helicopter tail stabiliser

How many did you get ?

Mog

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Offline elmayerle

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2017, 09:11:34 AM »
Shouldn't that be "Supermarine Attacker"?  The Seahawk was a Hawker design.

Very interesting collection of parts there; 'twill be most interesting to see them come together.

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2017, 08:31:38 AM »
Doh !  Quite right well spotted Hawker Seahawk not Supermarine
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Offline Robomog

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2017, 09:17:37 AM »
More progress, started the cockpit detail, built the shell and two side consoles then subsequently found out that they took up too much room so found an instrument panel from the spares box and adapted the controls for a single driver.

The wings have had the moulded weapons pylons removed and the Aileron detail filled in, also had to fill in some moulding dents and a line of pits cause by the wing resting against a vinyl tank track, curios reaction between the two that.

The bubble packaging has been trimmed and cut in two, one half will form the canopy the other part will become part of the structure, it is going to support the engine so I have reinforced it with plastic card, photographs show that Gel Superglue does fog a transparency but this won't matter as it is going to be painted over.

20170719_213821 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170719_213839 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170729_005957 by Robomog, on Flickr

The build continues.....................

Mog
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2017, 07:46:48 AM »
I seem to be getting more spare time so building continues apace.

I have discarded a large number of the parts I originally chose at the start, the following picture shows a sort of exploded view


20170729_010439 by Robomog, on Flickr

I've detailed the cockpit with an instrument panel and seat belts, no driver as it will be sat on its beaching gear (design pending).

20170802_192507 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170802_192602 by Robomog, on Flickr


With the cockpit is done I can gauge the depth of the hull and have cut the ribs to suit, then stuck card along the keel and sides

20170802_192417 by Robomog, on Flickr

The Completed Hull

20170819_174819 by Robomog, on Flickr


 Note the black line at the back, I suffered a (born again) noob sanding accident and ended up with the classic  banana shaped stern, this is a couple of pieces of plastic card stuck on and sanded Very carefully to true up the shape.


Coming soon the engine and the wings ....................

Mog


 
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Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2017, 08:34:21 AM »
<------------------------- WARNING ------------------------------>
<---------- furry black thing has stopped construction --------->
<-----Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible ----->


20170902_162808(0) by Robomog, on Flickr

20170909_164021 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170909_164000 by Robomog, on Flickr

Hi all

I'd like to introduce you to Claude, resident house cat and daddies boy.

He has discovered my back bedroom retreat and has claimed my lap for catdom and personal use, regardless of sharp knives, open tins of paint, pointy things and live adhesives so had to move the lappy out of the way temporarily.

Some cats have no idea.

<---------   Watch this space for Further Bulletins ------------>

Mog


Mostly Harmless...............

Offline andonio64

  • Fio Piccolo's understudy
Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2017, 07:28:29 PM »
Hi Robomog,
I'll watch your build log, not only because I like the work you are doing on this "Jings" but also because I love your cat! We have a family cat as well, but after a few attempts to get on the workbench she got rudely scolded and she does not attempt any more.

 ;)

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #14 on: September 28, 2017, 12:16:37 AM »
Hi andonio64

Thanks for your comments,  Claude is the latest in a long line of cats we have had in our house, he is a rescue cat basically a domestic gone wild, gone domestic again and born again kitten. when we were running a small cat rescue operation before Mrs Lady Mog became poorly we had 11 cats in our house, all ours, because we kept inheriting the nutters that nobody else wanted. Happy days.

regards

Mog

P.S.  Normal Service will resume shortly
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #15 on: October 02, 2017, 07:18:44 AM »
Back in control again.............

Time for the engine and wings.  Offering up the hull to the engine and pylon it was immediately obvious that the engine was pointing down a bit so I had to build it up at the back to make it parallel with the hull. I was going to join these assemblies with plastic sprue but as the reinforced bubble packaging was going to carry the  weight of the back end I made some pins from some metal rod i recovered from a discarded laptop keyboard. They were fitted into predrilled holes in the pylon and fixed with superglue corresponding holes drilled in the decking and again fixed with superglue.

20170819_174852 by Robomog, on Flickr

You can see the start of the construction of bleaching gear below. A little challenge in its own right.

20170902_151309 by Robomog, on Flickr
20170902_151330 by Robomog, on Flickr

The model was left for a good twenty four  hours to allow the gel superglue to set hard.

The wings offered a conundrum,  I originally intended to tuck the wings under the jet engine but with the extra height created by levelling the engine they looked more like feet, attaching them to hull would have made them almost flat so I compromised and attached them to a convenient flat spot at the bottom of the pylon using a laser level and protractor  to line them up......... liar ........ actually I used a wooden stirrer some tape and a mk1 eyeball (You can dream!)

20170902_160501 by Robomog, on Flickr

The picture below also shows the wingtip floats have been prepped using the same construction as the engine pylon, in retrospect  it is a little over the top I could have used plastic for the pegs. However the fit was rather good.
20170902_160516 by Robomog, on Flickr

I'm going to let the assembly dry thoroughly and do some more work on the beaching trolley.

Watch this space ......................


Mog



Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2017, 07:10:47 AM »
Did I say I was going to do some work on the beaching gear.................................  I Lied !

Now that the structure had dried, a bit of filler was needed where the wings met. Once that was rubbed down the floats were fitted and the keel fin and rudder.

20170904_180258 by Robomog, on Flickr


20170909_170306 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170909_170336 by Robomog, on Flickr


A couple of views of the completed model so far.  I have given it its first coat of white paint to show up any flaws

20170918_200138 by Robomog, on Flickr

20170918_200109 by Robomog, on Flickr



Hang on, somethings not right here

Ahhh CANARDS !!!    (now there's a good inoffensive swear word)
 
I haven't attached the front wings !

Then as if by magic....................

PING !

20170929_111601 by Robomog, on Flickr


That's Better

 Its ready for painting now and I am facing this part of the build with some trepidation because it is so easy to wreck the piece.

 I'm going to use acrylics as I have just has a bad experience using Humbrol enamel to paint a tank.

Guys is it me or has the formula changed for Humbrol  enamels, the pot i'm using has the consistency of thin custard, I am sure back in the day when brush painting it used to be thinner and flow more easily, I keep getting a streaky finish.

Anyways the next post will focus on the Beaching Gear............... Honest!

thanks for watching

Mog


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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #17 on: October 14, 2017, 03:46:33 AM »
Cool
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #18 on: October 17, 2017, 06:12:02 AM »
That's wonderful progress and those wings and the engine pylon faired in very nicely.

Brian da Basher

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #19 on: October 17, 2017, 09:08:51 AM »
Dunno what they've done but once I've mixed mine I get about 3 to 6 months out of the pot then it's gone solid (&, yes, I seal the pot securely). :-\
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline andonio64

  • Fio Piccolo's understudy
Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #20 on: October 18, 2017, 04:01:40 AM »
Great progress on this Mog, I look forward for more!

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #21 on: October 19, 2017, 04:09:36 PM »
Thanks for your comments Guys, all feedback is greatly appreciated.

I'm still psyching myself up to start the painting but The next instalment will be ready soon.

Mog
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Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #22 on: October 19, 2017, 04:41:42 PM »
I find myself slightly bemused by the design because I keep seeing this launching straight up into the air, with all the weight of the engine so far back. ???
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #23 on: October 19, 2017, 06:53:04 PM »
Hmmm.  I may have been rumbled Here, but the driver is exceptionally over weight, maybe i'll move the fuel tanks to the front  ;).

or add some lead ?..............
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Sad Story of 'Jings!'
« Reply #24 on: October 24, 2017, 04:21:20 AM »

The beaching trolley was an afterthought once I had started this build. It was intended to be a simple structure to rest Jings! on, a sort of fancy display stand.

20170904_180503 by Robomog, on Flickr

The Initial design you can see In  some of the early progress photographs basically a simple square structure sitting on four wheels with some sort of tow bar. The uprights incedently are metal reinforcement retrieved from a discarded laptop keyboard, you find them under the bigger keys. They are installed as is into holes drilled into the plastic frame and fixed with CA.

I quickly found this design wouldn't work,  the ex Bloodhound tow bar I intended to use was too wide and the wheels I had chosen too high.

I increased the depth of the suspension but that didn’t help, it was then that I realised I had to make room for the keel fin and rudder. Cutting out a section of the frame I then used a piece of curved plastic from a ballpoint pen body to create what would be in real life (real life?) a protective tray.

This had a knock on effect of how to deal with the steering.

20171006_202151 by Robomog, on Flickr

In the end I settled on a narrow extension and hit on the idea of having a small twin wheeled steering unit with the tow bar incorporated. I also wanted this to pivot and the tow bar to be loose so that I could pose the beaching trolley It sounded good and looked good on paper but I did open myself up to a whole lot of hurt in construction.

Back In  the parts box I found a pair of suitable wheels and attached them to a piece of spruce. I drilled a hole in the top of the sprue to take a metal bar that was going to be the pivot and two tiny holes between the wheels through which I looped some fuse wire that held the tow bar, this was fashioned from a chunk of Bloodhound carrier strut that had a convenient moulding that made a effective towing eye. I fixed the wire loop with a drop of superglue and left the piece to set. A good night’s work.

Two nights later I discovered that I had been a bit heavy handed with the CA, it had leaked through the holes and the whole piece was rock solid!

Which only go’s to prove smugness comes before a fall. (Note to self: get some debonder)

Starts again back at the spares box: This time I found a complete nose wheel  and another piece of random undercarriage that would fit the hole in the frame. The undercarriage was too narrow to drill so I fixed a tiny open loop on to it with CA, once set I could thread the tow bar on and close it by bending, no glue involved here!

20171010_204444 by Robomog, on Flickr

The extension frame still proved to low so out with the scalpel to cut the cross piece out and a new section complete with new hole fixed over the forks of the frame.

I suddenly decided I needed something to tow it so I have dug an old Land Rover (ex Bloodhound kit circa 1973), i’m not going over the top on this one, but I carefully took the roof off and put some glass in it and painted the inside. I have spent quite a lot of time making good my appalling construction of this vehicle and given it a coat of white, i think it will look acceptable when i have finished.

Here is the story so far, the top of the steering needs to be detailed, the main wheels are a little askew but that can be sorted out after painting, and it is still tipped forward a tad which I will adjust later.

20171011_203750 by Robomog, on Flickr

 20171011_203825 by Robomog, on Flickr


Next,  kill or cure,  the painting starts ........

Mog

Mostly Harmless...............