Project Prussian Airship (Built 2003?)

From the moment I first laid eyes on a game of Victorian Science Fiction (GASLIGHT) I knew that I wanted Prussians as my main force and they would ride to battle in a fabulous Airship!

My dreams however usually take quite a bit of doing to translate down to the wargame table! So for about a year I thought about and gathered pieces for my project. I thought about many different ways to construct the main fuselage none of them very satisfactory. I then made one of my occasional trips to Historicon the great historical gaming convention in Lancaster Pennsylvania were I noticed some interesting “Zeppelins” used in a 144 scale WWI air battle game. I was informed that the “Zeps” were in fact part of a Lego toy set. I thought that that would be great basis for my Prussian Airship and it would save a lot of construction time as well.

Original as it was designed to be a toy as well as the container for storage

Boy! were they hard to find! but I finally located a couple (my son demanded one to play with) and one went to the workbench ready area.

The “seam” would have to go!

While looking great the “Lego” airship comes with a lot of problems for the scratch builder or converter. There are for me 5 main issues and a host of others.

  1.  First it is made of that type of plastic that almost nothing sticks to!
  2. It has a large area at the bottom that must be covered up or filled in to make it believable.
  3. The back screws off (to allow Lego storage) and does not align that well, for me this seam destroyed the illusion of a real airship and made it look toyish.
  4. I also felt that left in its present configuration with just paint and a “gondola” of sorts would not give the proper Prussian 1870s look. It looked way to modern, 1930ish. I also did not want to just have another converted “Lego Airship”
  5. How to support the final finished weight of the ship in a manner that did not detract from its appearance and would be workable on a gaming table.

I had seen various methods over the years on supporting flying pieces on the game table. I decided the main thing was to keep the ship from falling over and having to be repaired all the time but still look good. I would have to go one of two ways multiple legs (hate it, looks buggy) or one tough, heavy, support!

The first step was to create the receiver for the base support. Brass tube fixed in place with “kwick set” JB weld did the trick. Make sure the tube is perfectly aligned 90 degrees to the model or the ship will not be level on the table.

I went for the heavy support 3/8s dowel rod down to a lead base like we used for the old Mustangs and Messerschmidt’s flying game, in fact I used part of an old set up from that game. I wanted it to be removable for storage so I built into the body a receiving brass tube for the wooden dowel rod. This was a bit of a project and where I learned that not much sticks to this plastic.

  1. I drilled 3/8s hole and cut a length of brass tube to fit.
  2. A bulkhead was built inside ship and glued in place with “JB Weld” epoxy and drilled to receive other end of brass tube.
  3. Tube inserted and glued with JB Weld, also aligned and plumbed (so ship is level)

This setup gave me a very balanced a stable platform that would defeat most wargame klutzes and I would be able to disguise it sufficiently later.

Always pay attention to the type of plastic you will bell working with to make sure you use compatible glues, primers, paints, and other materials.

You can see that in this picture the entire surface was also sanded to help in getting paint and epoxy to stick. At this point I did nothing but look at the model for several days formulating ideas. I jotted down ideas as they came to me on a pad of paper. One morning while out for breakfast  and working my way though a stack of pancakes I drew the ship out with the ideas incorporated. Sketching out your ideas before hand has is a great way to see what works, what doesn’t, and help develop your designs before putting all that work in on the actual project. I soon had a working drawing of where I wanted to go with my airship.

I used heavy duty filler from the auto industry to make sure it would stick and last! Not pretty but works. I laid it on thick in one coat.

 

After all the internal work and sanding was done I lined up and glued the tail section in place again using JB kwick weld and to try and cover up the large annoying seam where the two body parts joined. Fiberglass was one thought but I opted to try “Bondo” used in car repair instead. This proved to be quite a task with much filing and sanding before even acceptable results were obtained. The bondo barely sticks and the fit on the two halves was such that I would have had to layer a bondo 3/4 inches down the side to get it near perfect, so we went to Plan-B “its a Wargame piece, not fine art” patched it up as good as time permitted and  hoped that it would not be that noticeable in the finished project. Lots of sanding and re applying Bondo and it was acceptable.

This piece could not have worked better! I can stress how important a well stocked bits box is when scratch building and customizing!

At this point I had the basic foundation for the project done and had sketched out enough ideas that I felt it was time to start doing the custom bits. I wanted to change the overall appearance of “my” Lego conversion as much as possible so that would be the next step. The new “prow” of the airship was made from pointy funnel shaped bit that had been kicked around my workbench for at least 5 years. I think I got it in a doctor’s office. I was going to use it for some sort of Wahammer 40K thing.

I never ended up playing 40K but glad kept the part! It was perfect for the prow of the ship and helped to alter the look wonderfully. Looking at my pre-production sketch of the airship I was also worried that the large gondola made the Airship look too wide in the center and out of proportion. I wanted to lengthen the ship as much as possible to help this. The “Prow” alone added 2.5 inches, more would come later by extending the tail section. The entire model was given a coat of primer gray automotive paint at this time to help blend and see the “whole picture”.

Measure twice cut once” is an old saying many people including my dad used to say all the time. It means take time to measure, cut, fit, pieces together “before” committing to final assembly!

Get the big stuff done first!

I then went into heavy construction with sheet polystyrene to build the base for the under ship deck platform and sub floor. This structure covered the blimps unfinished section where the original Lego gondola attached. I also decided to make the sub floor detachable so that I could place figures in it with out a lot of poking

Deck section with gun emplacement installed.

around and it made the detailing much easier. In my original concept of the way the ship works I was thinking on how they would seal up the area for protection from hostile fire or weather. I toyed with shutters like the gun ports on old ships but then came up with the concept of the entire lower section being able to raise up to meet and seal with the top section. This would done by electric motors and winches located inside the Airship proper. The ship would then be operated by instruments and a secondary control center inside. The bottom was constructed and a sliding pin system was built to hold the two sections together. (yes I like to work out the reality of how models work or could have worked even if they don’t “really” have the ability on the table. Many times this will give you ideas for modeling on the project!)

The four upright girders insert into the section on the bottom of the blimp seen in a picture above. The brass tubes will have removable steel pins to hold it in place.

At one point I toyed with having the bottom slide up into the airship until only the gun platform would be somewhat open. I discarded this as impractical for gaming and just too much work since I had already sealed the ship halves. Also at this point I decided on two more modifications. One was to build a winch that could lower a small gondola through the main   platform floor for observation and the dropping or picking up of passengers and equipment. The other was to cover the bottom deck with ultra thin steel basing material so that my magnetically based figures would remain exactly on their stations instead of flopping around when the ship was moved.

Work on the tail section helped to change the original look and make it believable as a “Prussian ” Airship!

I then started add the other basic components (without finishing details) at this time to get a feel for the overall look and balance of the Airship. Twin electric motors with props, steam boiler stacks, air intake stacks, ect. Once  most of the “heavy construction had been completed I added the rudder extensions. This extend the ship another inch or so and helped to get rid of the stock “Lego” look. A tough glue job and probably should have been “pinned” but will see.

The fun part of Victorian Science Fiction and the Gaslight rule system is that you are not limited by Historical facts. There is a overall theme and look to the period and to blend in you should try and follow what “might have been possible” but there is a huge area for stretching the facts and creating things that did not exist but might have given certain “tweaks and leaps” in technology of the time. A sort of Industrial revolution on steroids!

Ship controls add much to the scene! The girders hide the black painted dowel rod that supports the model. Stairs were added to show that there was an interior to the ship. The winch for the gondola is seen in the rear. Its these type of little details that while not necessary for game play, get the oohs and ahhs at conventions and are for me fun to do!

At this point I started to work on the main gondola section of the airship. I wanted enough detail to give a rich look to the area without being to cluttered to allow a fair amount of  figures room to move about. I had been collecting controls and gathering ideas for this section for over a year so it came together fairly quickly. I had several controls from the “Airships that Float and Fly” line from the London War room and built some other pieces like the ships wheel and “flying gondola” winch and chain setup. The ships wheel is made from polystyrene and another Warhammer bit from the parts box. Some of the control levers were mounted on the ceiling of the gondola area instead of the floor for a more unusual look. That top mounting also seemed more sensible since the controls were operating equipment located in the upper section of the Airship. A set of stairs was added to the deck that lead up into the main internal area of the ship. At this point I decided that the main gondola was just right and any more detail would just clutter the area without much more visual impact. After all it is a “wargaming piece”

flying gondola made from a 3/4 inch PVC pipe cap, a bit of brass rod, and chain from the bits drawer!

The “Flying Gondola” was an idea that I came up with while working out how the ship would take on or off passengers or equipment while out on a mission were landing or getting close enough to the ground for rope ladders would be too dangerous. It consist of a “steel” bucket that is lowered through the rear of the main gondola floor by means of a large mechanical winch. The winch was built from a Warhammer ork vehicle and the gondola was a 3/4 in PVC pipe fitting. The hook and gondola hook carrying frame were hand soldiered out of brass.

Gondola shown in the stored position.

I did not do the inside of the blimp but did work out the physical layout and how it works so as to be able to developed “stats” and capabilities for gaming purposes.

The Airship has a carrying capacity of 20 people and 3500 lbs or 1590 kilos. This breaks down into 8 man crew, 10 man “German Luftmarine” squad, and few miscellaneous passengers usually scientist or expedition leaders heading up the ships mission. The ship can forego the Luftmarine’s for more cargo/passengers and cables maybe rigged to the bottom of the ship to lift and transport cargo/vehicles that will not fit into the hold.

You might ask how this Airship can carry such a large load given its size. Well that comes from the fact that the Prussian most closely guarded secret is the discovery and development of the element “Zeelium” a gas 10 times lighter than Helium! It is also not flammable.his space saving “Zeelium” gas allows for the majority of the inside of the airship to be used for engines, boilers, pumps, living area, and cargo. The gas is held is a layer about 1 foot thick at the outside of the airships skin. Two internal steam boilers provide power to turn the electric turbines generating electric current for the electric motors powering the ships propellers and all other apparatus on the airship.

The ship has almost all the details added. Will I now screw it all up with a bad paint job?

At this point I felt that the blimp was ready for paint. This was the real scary part for me as the colors and design would have a huge impact on the look and feel of the finished project. I needed colors that would both be pleasing and have the look of a Prussian Victorian era Airship.

Well after much debate (mostly with myself) I settled on some earth tones as opposed to the normal grays found on Zeppelins. I felt this was more in line with a Victorian period airship in the Colonial area of operations. I wanted to ship to have a Victorian feel and not look like a machine set to deal destruction. My feeling was that this Airship was sent to help administer the new colony, as well as explore and that any enforcement of those policies was secondary to the airships primary purpose.  The airships primary role was sort the same as a steamships role would be on a river.  It’s one advantage was that it would not be locked onto traveling only on navigable rivers.  But be free to roam the countryside as needed. A couple of sessions with the airbrush and some detailing brushes and the basic paint was laid down.

I was a pretty happy camper at this point, although my wife thought I was crazy!

The twin electric motors were made from blocks of wood cut to shape and detailed. The spinning prop effect done with a Dremel tool and sand paper.

The airship would however be able can fully capable of carrying troops (up to 12 additionalfigures) and weapons to any point that they were needed for enforcement of the colonies policies. The front observation / weapons gondola would be capable of carrying several different types of weapons, its main weapon, would be a Gatling gun.  The airship is also capable of carrying several hundred pounds of primitive bombs.  Although not very accurate these can be used to great effect on native villages and concentrations of troops.  Its main defense is the fact that is hundreds of feet in the air and the weapons of the period are for the most part to useless against it.

Now one of the biggest challenges of the entire project had to be tackled. The ship needed a name, several insignia, and recognition symbols applied to the exterior. To do this I had two choices, first to hand paint everything on, or second use decals.  I felt that hand painting posed some enormous problems.  First, a fairly good  painter but the preciseness needed to do lettering and the insignia in this scale would be nearly impossible and extremely time-consuming.  Using decals sounded like a great way to go except for one thing, nobody produces a set of decals for a Victorian science-fiction Prussian airship in 28 mm!

The name I gave the ship was the “Himmel Konig” which means “Sky King” an Easter egg to my youth and a favorite TV show.

Well as usual I jump in with both feet and this was no exception. I had long wanted to learn how to make my own decals and if I was ever going do it this would be a time.  Well long story short, after considerable investment in time and money and a steep learning curve I succeeded in being able to produce my own decals for this airship! I felt good about completely producing my own decals since I sometimes feel that not painting your own insignia or heraldry on your miniatures is sort of cheating, but since I did paint / create them on the computer and then transfer them to a decal I felt the entire process was still mine. I drew the Iron Cross’s, imperial ensign, and Navel “Jack” from research in my own sources as well as internet info. I used “Corel 7” as my drawing / paint program. It is a feature packed program not recommended for the average user but if you are willing to take the time and trouble to learn it is very powerful! There is quite a bit of joy in producing your own decals “just the way I want them” and being able to size them to exactly my needs was great! The down side is that my investment of over $1000 dollars (Alps thermal wax printer capable of printing WHITE!) makes the 10 decals you see here about $100 a piece! and a lot of time! The upside is that I have used this printer for many projects over the years.

To the rear of the ship you see the twin boiler stacks with removable smoke. These were airbrushed cotton bandage material glued to a hidden wire. This is a trick that I would like to say I invented 30 years ago, at least locally. I was tired of seeing “round, white, cotton balls used to represent everything from a civil war musket fire to a blast from a German Jag Panther!

Being a collector of military uniforms for over 20 years I have a huge reference library on uniforms as well as a lot of original pieces.  I have several original “Waldorf-Astoria” cigarette card albums from the 1890s to 1900 with hundreds of watercolor pictures of period German uniforms and colonial scenes.  This this really helped in the painting of the crew and development of the insignia that would be appropriate for the airship in the Victorian era. With the application of the decals, some final detailing and what not the airship was deemed ready for service.

Corporal Gustav keeps watch to the rear of the ship! The pins with little balls on them can be pulled to detach the lower platform.

The rear area of the gondolas platform is where Corporal Gunter stands watch. Gist of the left of his head you can see what looks like a lever with a ball on the end of it, it is in fact one of the brass rods that slide in to a receiver. When this brass pin is pulled along with the second pin opposite it will allow the gondola to drop down for access to the platform. You can also see the recently added deck leads and ropes around the edge of this platform.

Kapitan Adolphus Tetgetoff taking the airship out on its maiden patrol! Corporal Hans mans the Gatling gun! A Navel ensign graces the front of the gunners position.

Here we see the forward observation / weapons platform currently manned by Corporal Proast under the direction of Captain Heinrich von Schnell’s eagle eye. The insignia on the front of the gun platform is an actual naval jack from the German Colonial service. This was one of the decals produced by me. The ship’s pilot has a great view from this position and can easily receive orders from the Captain or lookout on the observation platform. The figures I believe are from Brigade games and are very nice although very large 28mm. The Gatling gun comes with them.

 

The next picture shows airships rear area with one of the large powerful electric motors used to turn props and move the ship. You can also see the huge copper cables coming out of their insulators and going into the motors. The twin stacks for the exhaust of the internal steam boilers are also visible.  Since the rules and Gaslight provide that a ships engines may be running are not I wanted to be able to remove the smoke coming out of the stacks whenever I needed to.  This would represent a failed to sustain role. The last picture was taken at the HMGS convention, Fall Inn where I ran a Gaslight game. unfortunately I only had time during the game to take one decent picture so hopefully Phil Vivreito got some more and better pictures and will post them to the Gaslight Yahoo group’s page. The picture shows a later stage of the game where the airship has just dropped a group of Luft Marines on some Arab slavers trying to defend one of the games objective areas.

The guys in the picture are part of our “Dogs of War” game club and HMGS Pacific Southwest members, Chris Schnell, Tim Daun, Chris V., and David Dandridge.

The Airship makes it’s debut at a Local HMGS convention! The four guys looking on are some of my long time gaming buddy’s and a finer group is hard to find!

 

 

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