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Scratchbuilt 1/144 Zeppelin. Building a WWI Q Class Zepp.


ICMF

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Hello,

I am the designer of the paper model of the airship, and I am amazed what you are doing here! I was following the thread from the beginning, now I finally decided to register.

Keep on the great work!

Best regards,

Thorsten

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Hello,

I am the designer of the paper model of the airship, and I am amazed what you are doing here! I was following the thread from the beginning, now I finally decided to register.

Keep on the great work!

Best regards,

Thorsten

Well that's cool. I'm glad you like it - I couldn't have done it without you! I'm just not sure whether to praise or to curse you for that fact! :winkgrin:

Seriously though, your paper model is awesome, and your research and presentation top notch. If anyone has had their curiosity piqued by this build, I'd urge you to check it out: http://jleslie48.com/zep/model_parts/Pclass_description.pdfhttp://jleslie48.com/zep/model_parts/LZ_45_L13_Instructions_final.pdf and http://jleslie48.com/zep/model_parts/

Its easy to see, looking at the paper model, how straightforward a jump it is to build it in styrene. Thorsten actually made it look pretty easy, which is why I currently find myself in this mess. :)

As for all the other praise and responses... :blush: Glad you're enjoying it, though; it's actually been a good source of inspiration when I face yet *another* round of filling and sanding misery.

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ICMF, thanks for the kind words! I can live with such a curse ;-)

If you seriously plan to build an R-class ship, too, don't miss the book "German Rigid Airships", it has lots of plans, reconstructed from wrecked ships during WWI.

Now I am quietly looking forward to your next update!

Thorsten

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Thorsten, do you have an ISBN for that book? A quick google search has only turned up a book by Rev. Michael Alder by that name, and when I search for THAT book, the descriptions are all about Jewish solders in WWI. :shrug:

As for the Zepp... More procrastination. :) I'm still trying to figure out how to accurately mark up the Q class, so I've been goofing around with the R Class in CAD. Because having one Zeppelin scratchbuild in progress isn't dumb enough... :D

3_zpswdanmuno.jpg
2_zpsw5x7udd9.jpg
Front and middle gondolas are roughed out. Just have to finish up the rear. Then start detailing. And, y'know, get back to the Q-class. :) For some reason, I'm more inclined to do digital modelling lately; everything fits perfectly, and you never ruin any projects - if you get something wrong, just delete it and start again. And painting is only the click of a mouse, with zero cleanup or objectionable odours involved!
Oh, and have I mentioned, these beasts were BIG? Spot the person:
1_zps5fdkkbqf.jpg
Edited by ICMF
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Well, I think I've solved my rib tape dilemma.


The problem was, I needed a way to securely mount the Zeppelin so that it was plumb, straight and true, with a template underneath so I could mark off the rib stations, yet it had to be free to rotate around its axis. A four foot lathe would be one possible solution, but kind of tough to find, so I sort of bodged my own:


IMG_1283_zpsjtvx4sz3.jpg


The notes should explain things (excuse the blurry, hasty photo), but basically, I can now rotate the model around a rod inserted in the 'spine', while it's held firmly in place with a couple of jigs. So by holding a square to the markings on my template, I can transfer those dimensions to the model, which will mark the positions of the rib tapes.


It's basically a fiddly, annoying way to mark off a whole slew of really precise (I hope) points, so that I can connect all the dots.


A few more hours of carefully setting the whole thing up, and I should be able to get marking. The really frustrating thing about all this is, if it all goes according to plan, it will probably only take me about 10 minutes to mark everything off. Weeks of planning, hours of preparations, for a few minutes actual work. Sigh...


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Assorted updates with mixed news.


Good: the lathe idea worked (although it was painfully tedious! line a square up to the template, slide it against the Zepp, tick a line, rotate, repeat sharpening your pencil every few dozen lines...)

Bad: in my haste to get started and squeeeeeze the nose section into place, I cracked the nose cap. I *should* have disassembled the jig and re-assembled it around the blimp, but no, I had to force it... :(

Good: The nose cap had lost some definition anyway through sanding and filling, and I have a spare, so it's not the end of the world. Bit of measuring and sawing and it was gone.


It also gave me the chance to model the ultra-rare, MiG-21-style Zeppelin:


IMG_1286_zpszsdxndgc.jpg


Striping went pretty easily with some .7mm Aizu tape (basically, thin width Tamiya tape). About 12m worth - don't think I've ever burned through so much tape so quickly. :D


I also attached the revised tailplanes. They'll need a bit of filler around the seams, and I'll have to re-apply some of the rib tapes which will get obliterated in the process, but it's back to looking like a blimp again. Shaved down some excess plastic and test fit the spare tail cone too, and the fit is almost perfect. Good thing - I don't want to get into a major sanding operation now that the tapes are on!

IMG_1288_zpsxdg9megy.jpg


I also cut off the cracked nose, as mentioned above. I trimmed a little too much plastic, so added a .010" shim to build up the gap. Pretty pleased with the test fit:

IMG_1287_zpshjckrjcb.jpg


...and then finally, I decided to test fit the control surfaces. I'll need to tweak the location points slightly, and I need to figure out how to skin them, but it's the first time I've had a basically complete balloon. Quite pleased with things. :)


IMG_1289_zpsxnpdwnt7.jpg


So a touch of Mr. Surfacer on the tail fins, then it's ready for a final (hopefully, ohpleaseohpleaseohplease) primer coat. Starting to feel like the end is in sight.

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just a request.....

Once you get that final primer coat on (I dread to think how many cans of Halfords grey primer this is going to take), can we have a photo of the whole thing in all it's glory..... We've been looking at small details for a while now and they are fantastic but a pic of the big beastie all in one colour will hit home to us just how insanely big this build really is!

Thanks

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Will do. TBH, the detail shots are mostly because it's a pain* in the bottom to set up a full backdrop to shoot the whole thing, and only slightly easier finding a place to photograph it in the first place. And because full-on shots tend to be weirdly long and skinny, because of the nature of the beast. It's hard to compose a great photo of what is essentially an over-inflated cigar. :)

Hoping to prime this weekend, assuming all goes according to plan. Got a coat of putty on the fin joins this morning, and hope to cover the rudders this evening.

*ironically, I originally typed 'paint'. :)

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Quick primer coat on. There's a bit of touch up sanding to do, but nothing too serious.


What IS more serious: I've got some Sharpie bleeding through where I marked a few areas to be sanded/filled. :( That's not the end of the world - I can sand it down and hopefully remove all traces of the ink. What IS bad is, I'm almost positive there are other sharpie-ed markings that haven't bled through and which could be a ticking time bomb. Granted, the stuff that's bleeding through was 'full strength', while the stuff that's not showing was mostly sanded away, so hopefully it'll be okay but... I'm worried some unseen bit of ink might work its way out over time. :(


Any suggestions for creating a barrier for the ink? I know paint won't work. Future? I'm tempted to coat the entire thing in decal film... The alternative is to strip the rib tapes, sand the last coat of primer off, strip all traces of Sharpie, re-mark the rib locations, re-tape and re-prime.

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