the roswell

[del]

well it is very cold in the shop (carport) and so i am thinking (danger danger) about number two (no i have not finished with number one yet). my thinking got me looking in andrews design library at the roswell. i built the 1/12 scale paper version (i like it). now if i could just make it out of more roadworthy materials.

my thoughts are make the floor frame out of 1 by x so the center is open. the edges would have to be cut at an angle, because the walls are not straight up and down (need to figure out these angles). then cut the walls out of 1/8 inch ply and hook the pieces together and fiberglass the outside and inside. next cut out the door and the hatch (would a double door look better?). use hinges like a modern car totally on the inside. so far that is all i have got (if i ignore the fenders long enough, will they go away?).

now shoot down my ideas so when spring comes i will work on tear number one.

del

[angib]

I think your plan sounds good. I'm sure the right way to go is to use a floor with a hole you can climb through while building and to complete all the exterior before cutting the door opening.

I would use a full plywood floor skin from day one but with a hole missing from the middle that could either be filled in later, or become a storage tray.

It's tempting to believe that the two front panels and the two back panels can be stitched together and then opened out like a stitch and tape boat, but you won't be able to use that technique on any other joints. They have to be made in mid air.

I think some internal building frames will be required. They would hold the roof the right height from the floor while building and would also hold the right curved shape in the two side walls - without support, I think these will tend to flatten half way along.

The really, really tricky bit is laminating the curved frames around the door opening and around the door edge. These have to be done from inside and getting the pieces through the floor probably defines how big the central hole has to be.

Internal door hinges sound nice but you need to look at where they will end up when the door is closed - two big bars sticking at least 6" into the body right over where your head will be when sleeping doesn't sound too handy to me.....

Andrew

[del]

in my quest for more info on the roswell i have googled roswell, roswell trailer, roswell travel trailer, and roswell teardrop trailer. any ideas where more info (pictures hopefully) on this elusive trailer. yes i am trying to find more info on the roswell to get mike and the judges excited about my little project (so do not tell mike this is here, it can be our secret).

thank you
del
(remember do not tell mike)

[doug hodder]

Del...drop a PM to Grant...when I started the Rocketear he told me that he had some info on it...I don't know what he has, as I went in another direction on this build...Doug

[del]

does anyone else have info on the roswell trailer? any info or drawings would be helpful.

thank you del
':worship:'

[alaska teardrop]

Most recent Roswell sighting........

http://www.khon2.com/home/ticker/5387746.html

[del]

andrew

in your drawings of the roswell there is a page of sections through body. if these run true from on end to the other? one could build these out of ply (3/8?) and assemble the floor, and roof frame to these spars. what ply to use and how wide to cut them as well as how far to space them are still ?s. this seems easier to hold the seems together till the fiberglass dries.


the fenders on the last page seem to be a scale of the body. what scale would be most helpful.

thank you
del

[angib]

Yes, I assume that if anyone was going to build a Roswell, they would make at least a couple of frames to hold the shape of the centre section. But you will see one problem if you look at the profile (side) drawing - the door extends forward of the roof, so you can't get a frame in front of the door, where it's needed.

I haven't drawn out any details for the fenders, as their size will depend entirely on the size of the tyre being used. The fenders shown are not scale versions of the body - they have different proportions.

Andrew

[del]

andrew

on the frame work infront of the door (it needs to support the hinges) how about framing it as if the wall did go all the way up and skin the side. once the side is on (no front yet) cut off the extra and then angle a support back to the roof for the top of this spar.

the rest of the spars 16 inches apart, made of 3/8 ply and 2" wide? the door hinge spar being doubled 3/4 ply.

the fenders get a back seat for now, tyre size is not decided yet. if i was to build a scaled down version of the body would it look bad? or just mount basic fenders up for now? why do i think the fenders will take twice as much time as the rest of the build?

thanks del

[Wolf]

Andrew,
Have you got any drawings of the stock fenders of the Roswell? I too am interested in building one. I would like to build the fenders like the original drawing. Also I wonder about flattening the whole trailer down a little to not be so "egg" like and more streamlined, any ideas?

Wolf
Tears O' Joy

[angib]

Wolf,

I've added an extra last page to the Roswell PDF showing the dimensions of the original fenders I drew. But please note these are (relatively!) simple fenders that can be made from thin ply and will fit around reasonably-sized tyres (205/75-14) - they are not the compound-curvature fenders shown in the artist's sketch that look like they would fit around vintage narrow tyres.

Building a Roswell to different proportions makes sense, as I keep emphasizing that the Roswell as drawn doesn't look like the Roswell as sketched! But doing it is a whole new design, which I'm not volunteering to do....

Andrew

[del]

andrew

i have two words for you
thank you

:thumbsup:
'8)'

[Wolf]

Thank you Andrew for the work that you have done on the drawings of this trailer!!!!!

I have to get into my cad/cam program and start playing with it some more and see if I can draw up some fenders like the original drawing. If it wasn't for your drawings I don't think that I (or anyone else) would be taking on a project like this at this time. This will not be an easy trailer to build.

I may have to put off Project Streamliner a little longer to build the Roswell

[del]

anyone have info on the roswell? search ideas? i found info on ufo's, some tv show (maybe movie), but no more on this little trailer. any help would be appreciated.

del

[grant whipp]

I guess that it's time for someone to "come clean" and release some kind of Official Statemet with regards to the origins (or even existance) of the mysterious 1947 Roswell ... and since I'm pretty close to the sources, I suppose it oughta be me!

Officially, the Roswell is the figment of a couple of very fertile imaginations ... those being the illustrator, Wm. "Bill" Harper, and a well-known but as yet un-admitted rapscallion, both from the far reaches of Northern California. Back at the end of the 20th century, Mr. Harper had one of his chronic visions, and shared it with one of his many like-minded associates. Many a quart of midnight oil was burned as the design evolved from the proverbial napkin sketch to the illustrations posted on the teardrops.net Mystery Teardrop Page. Many more were burned as various possible details for galley arrangements and access were discussed and sketched, and the "plan" for fabrication was scheduled. Unfortunately, workload and othe projects took presidence, and no known construction of the Roswell ever got off the ground. It was decided at that point to "leak" the illustration and see what transpired. As fate would have it, all other documentation seems to have mysteriously disappeared.

UN-Officailly, sources closest to the truth remain closed-mouthed while winking a smile and glancing towards the stars ...

CHEERS!

Grant