zoomar
08-12-2006, 04:54 PM
I just stumbled onto this site and glad I did. Since a child (I am now in my mid-fifties) I have been fascinated with rigid airships. As a youth I built hundreds of plastic models (planes and ships, mostly) and tried my skill at balsa and plank-on frame kits as well. I was always disappointed that so few rigid airships were featured by plastic kit manufacturers. I still model on an intermittant basis. I remember the old Hawk/Testors Graf Zeppelin vacuform, which I never tried, and an almost as old Frog 1/400 R100, which for many years was the only model kit rigid airship I ever actually owned. Then came the old AMT Hindenburg and Akron/Macon at 1/500 scale. I built both (despite the fact that AMT ruined both of them by covering the hulls with massively out-of scale fabric impressions. Then I found the two 1/720 Revell HIndenburg/Graf Zeppelin II kits, which were very nice and fit well with my collection of 1/700 warships.
Then, several years ago, I was in Europe visiting my son and made the pilgrimage we all must make to Freidrichschafen and the Zeppelin Museum. It was in this context, I discovered - and bought- a half-dozen paper card models. I had never worked in this medium before and am quite an amateur, but my study is now graced with a Papmobil 1/200 Los Angeles, Schreiber-Bogen 1/200 L-13 and Hindenburg, and a 1/400 Macon I later ordered from papermodels inc. Several kits I bought in Germany are still unopened. The L-13 is by far the best, quite accurate in outline and coloration (not silver but with slightly varying strips of tan), fairly easy for an amateur to assemble, small enough to be manageable and well supported by its internal cardboard bulkheads, and with nicely detailed control and engine cars. I particularly like the way the Schreiber-Bogen L-13 and Hindenburg acheive the curved nose contours without using sized cone construction. To me the Hindenburg was somewhat disappointing, however, It was almost too big to construct easily, I found that the hull joints fit poorly, creating a rough look to the finished model, and way too much effort was spent on internal details (engine car interiors, passenger accomodations) which were virtually invisible once the model was finished. By at almost 48 inches in length it sure looks pretty impressive hanging up there...and by golly it's a zeppelin!
I have always wondered why more zeppelin kits using balsa frame and tissue were not made. Until I found this site, I was unaware any had ever been made. This is a fairly easy (if tedious) construction system and could be made to closely replicate the actual ring and longitudinal stringer construction of each airship modelled.
Anyway, Glad I discovered you guys
Then, several years ago, I was in Europe visiting my son and made the pilgrimage we all must make to Freidrichschafen and the Zeppelin Museum. It was in this context, I discovered - and bought- a half-dozen paper card models. I had never worked in this medium before and am quite an amateur, but my study is now graced with a Papmobil 1/200 Los Angeles, Schreiber-Bogen 1/200 L-13 and Hindenburg, and a 1/400 Macon I later ordered from papermodels inc. Several kits I bought in Germany are still unopened. The L-13 is by far the best, quite accurate in outline and coloration (not silver but with slightly varying strips of tan), fairly easy for an amateur to assemble, small enough to be manageable and well supported by its internal cardboard bulkheads, and with nicely detailed control and engine cars. I particularly like the way the Schreiber-Bogen L-13 and Hindenburg acheive the curved nose contours without using sized cone construction. To me the Hindenburg was somewhat disappointing, however, It was almost too big to construct easily, I found that the hull joints fit poorly, creating a rough look to the finished model, and way too much effort was spent on internal details (engine car interiors, passenger accomodations) which were virtually invisible once the model was finished. By at almost 48 inches in length it sure looks pretty impressive hanging up there...and by golly it's a zeppelin!
I have always wondered why more zeppelin kits using balsa frame and tissue were not made. Until I found this site, I was unaware any had ever been made. This is a fairly easy (if tedious) construction system and could be made to closely replicate the actual ring and longitudinal stringer construction of each airship modelled.
Anyway, Glad I discovered you guys