Martian

Bad General, Naughty General, Wicked General! Like I haven't got my tentacles full with anything else at the moment! Let's see shall we? Four Zeppelins in build, nearly one hundred photographs to annotate for the Zeppelin photo library, this kit underway, the daily search for suitable artifacts for the display and on top of all that, I have the Fair Elaine pestering me to get the Zeppelin book finished, like they can be conjured out of thin air! Would a thorough blurglecruncheoning speed thigs up? Or maybe beaming some Vogon poetry into the home of every citizen of Oz until the batch appears would be more effective? Helpful of Mars 👽

I thought I had identified and come up with solutions for the problems with these kits but I have hit on a new fix for the panels in the lower hull that Takom would have one attach the gondolas to and then drop into place on the lower hull. We have long since, like when we first looked at the instructions,(Yes, contrary to popular opinion, I do look at kit instructions. Silence in the cheap seats!) decided that that is a really pants idea and ditched it. What has been a problem is the rubbish fit of the panels, the filling and sanding of which invariably destroys the bomb door details on the panels. I was getting started on the Q Class hull for the LZ.107 and having got the halves of the bow section joined together, was thinking as to whether there is a better way of fitting the panels. I wondered whether things would be any better if I tried sliding them into the rebates on the lower hull. Hey presto! a far better fit was achieved and with minimal effort too! I have also marked out and drilled all the strut attachment points for the outriggers. I found this much easier and less destructive on 0.5mm drill bits by doing it before the front and rear sections of the hull are joined to the centre section. Obviously this is because it is much easier to hold the hull assemblies steady. Hopefully this will be of help to anyone building these kits. Helpful of Mars 👽

Evil Child! I have never set tentacle in Belgium in my life! I wasn't there so I couldn't possibly have done it! Cutting off all beer supplies to the Naughty Corner is now under serious consideration. Martian 👽 Martian 👽

Thanks Ed. haven't looked at the areas you mention yet so I don't know if I can live with them or not. This build was meant to be a quick and relaxing project as a diversion from the Zeppelin production line and although I am still enjoying it, I can see that I am not careful, it could well become a millstone around my neck. I therefore need to limit extra work to the bits I enjoy doing, such as building up airframe structures. This boat will be finished as a Dutch machine, hence the sub-title "A flying boat with clogs on" and the utility variant probably as a US cab. That one will be much more out of the box. The kit supplies both types of radome but both the types I intend to make have the later "torpedo" shaped domes. One unexpected benefit of this build is that I am now enjoying working on the modelling side of the Zeppelin project more. So, in a way, it has already fulfilled its purpose. Martian 👽

Just a quickie(fnar, fnar), the Q Class kit arrived this morning and will be making an appearance in these pages in the very near future. I shall try and see what further refinements I can make to the kit to entertain you further. Martian 👽

A Martian's white bits are his own private kingdom to which only Mrs Martian has access . Blame the member for Abu Dhabi, what goes on his head is well known as being the stuff of nightmares. We have sent for the BM shrink. This is what happens when senile members of the Imperial General Staff don't pay attention. As for micro-soldiering, go back to planning the next big push. Airfix did some really good WW1 figures back in the day. Helpful of Mars 👽

I'm sure the General will have some sort of cream for it, Failing that either Captain Darling or Lady Melchett will have. I draw the line at any kind of "ointment" that Baldrick might be pedalling. I heard that he has been experimenting with some sort of concoction made out of pig poo and turnip peelings. Just thinking about it makes me feel better already Sorry I forgot that slight miscalculation. Something to do with appointing Slackbladder as head of security? Martian 👽

There is something at the back of my mind that says it is Beaumaris, although I stand to be corrected on this point. Martian 👽 Edit: I have checked and it is indeed Beaumaris on Anglesey.

Yesterday was very much a day of two parts. In the morning I was doing micro-soldering and solving problems that had kept my brains taxed ever since I began the Zeppelin project. However, in the afternoon, I was feeling quite grotty and it seemed to take an age to get even the simplest task on the Mariner right. In the end, I decided to cut my losses before I ended up ruining the model. Before that, I did ,manage to get the portside structure finished and the main frames fitted to the starboard interior. So, we now just have the stringers on the starboard side to do an a limited amount of detail to the deckheads. Hopefully I will feel a bit better tomorrow and be able to get this phase of the interior put to bed. Where's Nurse Mary when you need her? @general melchett, put her down! Thanks for looking. Under The Weather of Mars 👽

So, whist I am still trying to figure out the identity of the "mystery ship" I hit on a problem regarding finishing it as the L.11. The ship in the pictures sports the later style of rear gondola. I have as will be seen in the accompanying pictures, I have built the model with the early style rear gondola. Building the kit with this in mind from the start is a relatively easy conversion. Less so at this stage of the build. It would involve the very high risk of ruining the extra detail I have put into the model. As I am very happy with what I have achieved thus far to the point that I feel that the gondolas are the best that I have achieved to date, I am naturally reluctant to do this. The amended plan is to do the Q Class that I have on order as the camouflaged army ship, finish the current P Class as an alternative ship, possibly the LZ.38, the first ship to bomb London and do the L.11 at a later date, perhaps using the Snowman 1/700 kit. So, what have I been up to? Although the exhausts that I have fitted out my previous Takom builds are a considerable improvement to what you get in the box, I have not been too happy with the way of mounting them. This time round I decided to try soldering brass mounts to the exhausts so that they can be mounted in very much that their 1/1 scale counterparts were. Two days, a lot of swear words and burnt tentacles later I think we have got there. It's a good job that I enjoy building these Takom kits. Better start thinking of how to make a 1/350 scale cloud car. Wibble (yet again!). Martian 👽

Wretched Earthling! Naughty Corner, quick march! @corsaircorp awaits. Vengeful of Mars 👽 PS: Sorry CJP, they followed me here, honest!

|A fat lot of use you two are! Exasperated of Mars 👽

No! Not @corsaircorp! Anything but that. We will end up being in debt to the cryptanalysts of both Bletchley Park and GCHQ until the end of the universe! Worried (Extremely) of Mars 👽 PS: That conjures up the kind of image that makes it more essential than ever that we get a wibble emoticon.

Good point Ian. Or, the L.11 was used for Navy camouflage trials. The Bundesarchiv pictures all seem to have been taken in November/December 1916 after the L.11 had been withdrawn from front line service and shortly before she was scrapped in April 1917. To my mind as least, it would make more sense to use a ship that was in a training/trials role and coming to the end of its useful life than taking one out of the front line and weakening one's strength. I think that the absence of the cloud car is telling in so far as the Fuhrer der Luftshiffe, Peter Strasser, did not believe in the things, considering them to be both inefficient and a waste of carrying capacity. It may also be significant that all the camouflaged L.11 pictures originated from the German Institute of Ocean Sciences, suggesting an original Naval source? The Navy were obviously thinking about camouflage for their Zeppelins as is demonstrated by the later appearance of the black and grey Raiding Scheme". I can see where this is going: I will end upmaking both ships and letting people make their own minds up!* I did notice at he show that one trader had a stock of Takom Zeppelins for sale and that he had sold out of them by the end of the day. Coincidence? maybe but I probably should have at least tried to extract some commission from him! Martian 👽 *I have already ordered another Takom Q Class to cater for that very enevtuality!

That is even worse than one of @Pete in Lincs's jokes and that's going something! Martian 👽