It's been a while. You may recall my scratchbuilt Zeppelin from... a few years back. It's still stalled at the rigging stage. I rigged the tail with monofilament, wasn't really happy with the results and have decided to re-do it with some ultra-fine lycra, but the thoughts of a.) cutting off the 70+ meters of rigging and b.) figuring out the best way to attach all that elastic thread made have diminished my enthusiasm for the project. Some day...
In the mean time, I've been messing around in CAD, working on more inflatables. It seems I have become something of a theme-modeller.
I believe I posted renders of my R-Class Zeppelin and Hindenberg way back when (to add to the 1/144 collection), so I'll start with an SS B.E.2c. Airfix released their aeroplane a couple of years ago, which is all well and good, but it's much cooler in blimp form.
So I designed a conversion in 1/72
Next was an attempt at a Drachen observation balloon. It's designed in 1/72.
This turned out okay, but felt a bit lifeless. Zeppelins have frames; balloons don't. That means they usually droop and sag. I wanted to depict a well-inflated balloon (more specifically, I didn't want to have to model creased and sagging fabric!), but it needed a bit more droop than my rod-straight original. Still not perfect, but much better, IMO. Now I need to figure out a good way to depict the sails on the side.
From there, it was on to the allied Caquot types. These are a more complex shape to model. I've started with a Type M2, again in 1/72. Again, to give it a more lifelike feel, I've added some subtle bulging of various panels. Still needs some work, particularly on the panel strips, but it's progressing...
I'll be doing a Caquot Type L as well - it has a similarly bulbous balloon, but instead of the typical three fin layout for stabilization, it's got a single rudder that runs from top to bottom, which gives a more torpedo-like appearance.:
http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/Artillerie/Caquot_type_L_PT.jpg ...and then lastly (for now), a WWII Type VII Barrage Balloon. These are a sort of development of the Caquot design, so it fits the theme.
