Zeppelin !

[Neil Lambess]

On 06/03/2022 at 20:50, Martian said:

Thanks Colin. The Takom kits are in 1/350 scale and are sizeable chunks of plastic. They are somewhat, although not by much, easier to work on. I am hoping that Takom go on to release a kit of the R Class as this can form the basis of the S, T, and U Classes as well as the envelopes were the same size and shape.

 

Martian 👽

I like they fact they are in lead coloured plastic ...

[Martian]

Right, as promised, today we have the results of several days' worth of fiddling about with lots of tiny parts (Fnaar Fnaar!)

 

I was unimpressed with the two dimensional items provided on the photo-etched sheet that comes with the kit,soI decided to make my own from scratch. This took some while as I had to keep breaking off work to allow microscopic slivers of plastic stripand rod to fully cure after they had been glued into place. I am reasonably pleased with the result of my labours but already I can see how the radiators might be improved next time round. Yes, there will definitely be a next time sooner rather than later as I want to do a ship where I throw everything I have learned from the two Takom kits at another one. After consulting Mrs Martian, who has a better eye for these things, we decided that the Q Class has proportions that are more pleasing to the eye and another one of these is on order. Yes, I know I already have another P and Q Class kits but I want to keep them back as I like them as kits in their own right; a definite case of me wanting to have my cake and eat it! I can and I will.

 

One of the things that is slowing down the builds,other than having my room turned into some sort of Zeppelin factory, is that I have found one build of the Mark.1 Models R33/34 in an Airfix Model World and a basic build of one of their P Class kits that I built in 2017. So there is not much experience to draw on,mine or anyone else's, resulting in me having to keep stopping and having to have longer thinks than with a more conventional subject every time a problem crops up. working in such small scales,of course presents its own challenges

 

Another benefit of the models being part of a dedicated display (something else I have never done before!) is that, I can walk away from the modelling side of the project and immerse myself in some other aspect of it: More reading upon Zeppelins, getting artifacts framed up or thinking about the booklet I am going to place on the display for the public to peruse.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

 

 

 

 

Edit: The macro makes the modelling look terrible but I have to keep reminding myself that it looks good to the naked eye.

[billn53]

Who knew a bag of gas could be so complicated? Very fine work you’ve done there, my tentacled friend. 

[psdavidson]

45 minutes ago, billn53 said:

Who knew a bag of gas could be so complicated

Exhibit 1: SWMBO

[Martian]

42 minutes ago, psdavidson said:

Exhibit 1: SWMBO

You do realise that if your other half sees that you are deader than a dead thing?

 

Martian 👽

[LorenSharp]

1 hour ago, psdavidson said:

Exhibit 1: SWMBO

This brings new meaning to "The Year of Living Dangerously". Pardon me while I stand Waaaaaay over here -----------> to stay out of the line of fire and any stray lightning bolts that may suddenly appear out of nowhere.

[Martian]

If ever there was a case of modelling not being just building, painting and researching, this evening's update is a classic example. Followers of this thread will have noticed that I have been quiet(ish) for the last week or so. this has been partly because I have been working on the Mark.1 Models U Class kit, more of which in a later update but mostly because I have been doing a lot of thinking. I always get a great deal of satisfaction just thinking about a problem with a build and how to overcome it and I consider this every bit as much of the modelling process as the more physical side of the Hobby. Tonight's update is a good example of this. As you will all have gathered, I am not that impressed with some parts of the etched brass supplied with the kit and one of these is the "railings" that protrude beneath the gondolas. They are too small and too two dimensional. The railings are not actually railings at all but are there to hold handling ropes when the airship is on the ground and were quite substantial items.

 

I first thought about making them from 10 thou plastic rod but decided that they would be too easily broken. The question then arose as to how I could make them from brass rod? One of the main problems in bending brass rod is keeping it in the same plane when more than one bend is required.Another is getting the bends sufficiently accurate to fit the holes that I had drilled out in the kit parts. In the kits Takom just provide shallow dimples which are not going to add any strength to what we are trying to do. How to get around these problems?

 

After a lot of thought, I settled on making a jig for each railing that would overcome both issues at the same time.

 

 

What you see in the above picture is the start of making the outside of the frame. The first bend is held in place with some masking tape and the brass rod butted up against some square section .80 Thou strip. The rod is then held firmly against this while the second bend is made. This gives us the outside of the frame. Holes were drilled right through the sides of the gondola where the dimples are on the kit parts. I used a 0.5mm drill bit for this to allow for a bit of wiggle room for the frame. This is now glued in place using gel CA to allow for any adjustment.

Small lengths of rod are then let into the gondola at one end and butted up against the inside of the frame at the other. Then, using liquid flux and tiny pieces of solder, the butt joins are carefully soldered together.  A micro-file can be used to tidy up any excess solder and a fibreglass pen to clean off any left over flux. If all goes to plan, one should end up with this result:

 

 

 

It's all a bit fiddly but the satisfaction is enormous and at least you lot don't have to work it out as that part of things has already been figured out by your friendly neighbourhood Alien.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and as always, thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

[Terry1954]

Very impressive work Martian. So as I understand it, the soldering took place with the brass in situ in the bottom of the gondola? If so, where there any issues with heat transference from brass to plastic?

 

Terry

 

 

[Martian]

5 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Very impressive work Martian. So as I understand it, the soldering took place with the brass in situ in the bottom of the gondola? If so, where there any issues with heat transference from brass to plastic?

 

Terry

 

 

Thanks Terry,no there were no problems with heat transference, most likely due to the fact that the iron was only in contact with the brass for a fraction of a second. This is probably due to my using liquid flux rather than the more usual paste, the flux not having to melt first before doing its job. I knew things would be OK on this front as I had soldered parts in situ on my Hunley build. I just had to be careful not to touch the plastic with the soldering iron.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Martian 👽

[Martian]

I have spent the last few days making all the handling frames for both kits and getting the tips of my tentacles burned. When will I learn that you cannot pick up a soldering iron in the same way as one would pick up a pen? 

 

I had hoped that there would be something in my collection of etched brass for the railings that encircle the gunners' platform on the top of the hull but sadly I had no single bar railings. I kept looking at my stock of Albion Alloys' 0.2mm brass rod and wondered if it would take soldering. In the end, with no other solutions leaping to mind, I decided to give it a go. I made myself a jig for the railings which mirrored the one that I made for the handling frames. I also made a simple jig for holding the railings at the correct height while the CA holding the uprights at each end of the railings to the hull set and cured. I then went and added the extra uprights needed and very carefully,soldered all the brass to brass joins. I still need to go round the railings with a micro-file and fibreglass pen to clean them up a bit.

 

 

 

 

One job that I need to tackle and to which I am not looking forward is sorting out the ladders that allow access from the gondolas to the hull. I should have marked out the openings in the hull much earlier in the build but forgot and am now faced with the  tricky task of cutting them out without damaging either the gondolas or outriggers.   Still, lesson learned and I won't be making the same mistake with the next kit I build.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

[Fritag]

Always enjoy watching a Martian construction (a sentence that makes no sense at all out of context) and this is certainly no exception 

[Fishbed]

7 hours ago, Martian said:

I have spent the last few days making all the handling frames for both kits and getting the tips of my tentacles burned. When will I learn that you cannot pick up a soldering iron in the same way as one would pick up a pen?

 

Unusually for me, no comment on the tingling tentacles, but more a question on what type of soldering iron do you use for these small bits?

 

Tim

[Martian]

3 hours ago, Fishbed said:

Unusually for me, no comment on the tingling tentacles, but more a question on what type of soldering iron do you use for these small bits?

 

Tim

I can't remember the name off the top of my head but it has a variable temperature control and is designed for hobby work. the types you can buy in the shops are designed for electrical work and don't get to the higher temperatures needed for the type of brass worrying we get up to. I got mine from an outfit called Hobby Holidays. @Heather Kay recommended them to me and they were very helpful, establishing exactly what I was trying to do before laying out the options for me and sorting out a complete package, power unit, iron tips, and types of flux and solder. If you are in the market, they can be reached here: https://www.hobbyholidays.co.uk/index.php  do phone them up though as they will get stuff that they do not normally stock if that is what you need. Prices are quite reasonable; I paid under £250 for a complete package and that was all top of the line stuff.

 

Give me a bell if you need any more information.

 

Martian 👽

[Martian]

@Fishbed Tim the unit I have is an XY-Tronic LF-1700, it is not listed on the HH website but they can get it for you if it turns out to be what you need.

 

Helpful of Mars 👽

[AdrianMF]

Super work on the brass bits! There’s a certain satisfaction in making jigs and turning out a set of identical parts.

 

It must have been a surreal experience to be sitting out there on the top of a Zeppelin at night in the gunner’s station.

 

… which makes me wonder, why on top, when my sketchy understanding of Zeppelin ops suggests that they flew/floated higher than the ceilings of the fighters sent up against them (with upwards-pointing guns to boot).

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

[Fishbed]

3 hours ago, Martian said:

@Fishbed Tim the unit I have is an XY-Tronic LF-1700, it is not listed on the HH website but they can get it for you if it turns out to be what you need.

 

Helpful of Mars 👽

Thanks martin, I'll have a browse.............................

[Martian]

4 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Super work on the brass bits! There’s a certain satisfaction in making jigs and turning out a set of identical parts.

 

It must have been a surreal experience to be sitting out there on the top of a Zeppelin at night in the gunner’s station.

 

… which makes me wonder, why on top, when my sketchy understanding of Zeppelin ops suggests that they flew/floated higher than the ceilings of the fighters sent up against them (with upwards-pointing guns to boot).

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

Thanks Adrian. The jigs will be doubly useful as I have another three of these kits to build and am poised to order another one. Despite all the extra work I have put in on the Takom kits, I like them a lot and now that I am finding solutions to the problems thrown up by this genre of model, future builds should be a lot easier.

 

Good point about the gunners' position on top of the hull. It could be that the Zeppelins did not always operate at their service ceiling in order to make navigation and bomb aiming a bit easier. We do have accounts of even the BE 2c getting above the Zepps on occasion so probably that is the reason. 

 

Martian 👽

[Neil Lambess]

On 08/04/2022 at 19:36, AdrianMF said:

 

 

… which makes me wonder, why on top, when my sketchy understanding of Zeppelin ops suggests that they flew/floated higher than the ceilings of the fighters sent up against them (with upwards-pointing guns to boot).

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

To fend off the Martian saucers silly !😉

[Martian]

7 hours ago, Neil Lambess said:

To fend off the Martian saucers silly !😉

Excellent! I thought this thread had gone a bit too sensible recently.

 

Martian 👽

[LorenSharp]

13 hours ago, Neil Lambess said:

To fend off the Martian saucers silly !😉

Ahhh, There's good news tonight. Now the thread is back to normal.

[Martian]

13 hours ago, Neil Lambess said:

To fend off the Martian saucers silly !😉

Or did you mean "To fend off the silly Martian saucers"?

 

Curious of Mars 👽

[Pete in Lincs]

Like this one, for instance?

[philp]

8 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Like this one, for instance?

Ah, the sedan.  I prefer the coupe.

[Martian]

7 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Like this one, for instance?

I mean exactly like that one! Very cool. Please arrange delivery of one to Martian Towers forthwith!

 

In other more serious news; does anyone know if @general melchettis OK? I was watching one of those police reality tv shows last night and that particular episode was focused on the Lincolnshire Constabulary. One part of the show focused on the cops dealing with a load of drunk and disorderly people in the centre of Lincoln. I could have sworn that I caught a glimpse of an inebriated member of the Imperial General Staff, replete with regimental kilt, being bundled into the back of a police van, shouting "It was Captain Slackbladder wot done it, honest Guv!" What it was that the General was supposed to have done, the programme did not say.

 

Concerned of Mars 👽

[corsaircorp]

Hello Dear Alien....

At least, I found your thread...And 21 pages to catch up....

For once the poor General tried the now famous Rocket fuel....

The result was a complete disaster....

I'm baffled by the details you added to this.... Well.... bag of gas....

Congratulations Martian !!

Sincerely.

CC