Special Hobby – 72141 – Blackburn Roc Mk.I

Description:

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/72 scale of a British WWII Blackburn Roc Mk.I fighter aircraft.

The Blackburn Roc Mk.I was a British naval fighter developed for the Fleet Air Arm during the late 1930s. Designed as a turret fighter, the Roc was based on the Blackburn Skua dive bomber airframe but featured a key difference: a powered Boulton Paul dorsal turret equipped with four .303 Browning machine guns. The concept was to allow the aircraft to engage enemy planes from any direction without the need to maneuver into a firing position—a theory influenced by air combat lessons from World War I, but one that quickly proved outdated.

First flown in 1938 and entering service in 1939, the Roc was hampered by its poor performance. The added weight of the turret and associated equipment significantly reduced speed and agility, making it ineffective against more modern, faster enemy fighters. It saw limited frontline use, operating primarily from land bases rather than aircraft carriers as originally intended. Most were withdrawn from frontline duties by 1941 and reassigned to secondary roles such as air-sea rescue, target towing, and training. Although its operational record was brief and unremarkable, the Blackburn Roc remains a unique example of an experimental approach to fighter design at the dawn of World War II—one that emphasized defensive firepower over speed and maneuverability, and ultimately demonstrated the limitations of the turret-fighter concept.

This is a reissue of the 2009 kit, with same content and decal sheet. Also released in 2017. Include a decal sheet with 3 x RAF markings and one Finnish marking. Kit include PE (photo-etched) and resin cast parts.