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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Argonor on 10 January 2007, 07:56:54 PM
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I got an idea the other day, just before falling to sleep:
A pulpish construction consisting of two Zeppelin bodies with a platform between them to hold a few airplanes. Perhaps as the mobile base for some pirates... (I imagine the US Rocket Corps having to free some hostages from there).
It would need a catapult to see the planes off, and of course a catching device to stop landing ones.
Now I just have to find the right kind of bottles for this... any suggestions?
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Check out this link.
http://www.rattrap-productions.com/PulpHeroes/Gallery/Construction/Airship.html
:wink:
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Oh, my, that's huge!
I am thinking of a piece that might also appear over a gaming table, though, so I'll have to keep it a bit smaller. Maybe I can build the Zeppelin bodies from plastic piping of some sort (we use different sizes for drains and the likes..)..
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Depending on how heavy you want it to be, you could probably get PVC pipe that could be used for your zeppelin portion. It can come in many different diameters up to 24" (62cm).
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When I last visited Denmark, I didn´t visit any grocery stores or supermarkets, so I´m unsure what kind of bottles are available there.
I once built a Zeppelin for Crimson skies using full-cardboard construction, but for bottles, I´d suggest either the PET Bottles 1.5 Litres for Mirinda Orange-flavour lemonade or the 2-litre Nestlé Aquarel.
Again, with a pinch of salt, because you might get different bottle designs abroad.
Generally, many one-way bottles have good, Zeppelin-usable shapes. If it is absolutely not possible to get decent-shaped bottles, I could send you a handful of bottles via mail, but due to size (weight would be less important, since I´d empty them beforehand), I´m afraid that would cost at least 9,-€ for Postage and Packing... really, last resort... or you pay the guys in Hamburg a visit and check with a supermarket on the way. :lol:
Really, I don´t want to be rude, but I can´t really believe that a) you don´t have any supermarkets in Denmark and b) those that exist don´t stock suitably-shaped bottles... ;) :)
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Bottles are the big problem, the supermarket I shop in has a house brand that comes in very simple bottles, it takes three to get you a basic ballon and costs about $2.50 (I don't recommend drinking the stuff though)
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Really, I don´t want to be rude, but I can´t really believe that a) you don´t have any supermarkets in Denmark and b) those that exist don´t stock suitably-shaped bottles... ;) :)
Oh, we do have supermarkets, even Aldi and Lidl :wink: , but Denmark has a 'Pfand'-system (can't remember the English word, so I use the German) and most large bottles are 'brand'-bottles (like, for example, Coca-Cola), and have peculiar shapes/protruding rims and the like.
I'll be looking around for some fruit-limonade bottles, I think... they are generally smoother... or else go for the PVC-tubes from the local hardware store.
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Bottles are the big problem, ....... (I don't recommend drinking the stuff though)
Exactly; my oldest daughter would probaly want to drink the contents and then a) get overly active (sugar-shock) b) develop some kind of allergy due to artificial colour or flavour...
MUST solve this, though. 2007 is now hereby declared official 'Pulp Year' on Funen!
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MUST solve this, though. 2007 is now hereby declared official 'Pulp Year' on Funen!
Is this a warning? ;)
I once rented an old cottage in a wood near Glamsbjerg, very Gothic feeling. I think Funen would be an ideal hideout for mad scientists, maybe the notorious Captain Nemo had a hideout near one of your old harbour towns? ;)
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Glamsbjerg is only some 20-odd km. from where I currently live (about 5 km. west of Ringe). Did you visit the Terrarium? Creepy!
I think the old dock in Svendborg (now officially a windmill-factory) might be a base for some evil mastermind planning to take over the world.... maybe those windmills are really something else.... :D
It's a promise, not a threat, though. I shall stake at least 5 pulp games this year, the first one is my next project (have to paint some 30-odd minis and finish some terrain, but hopefully I'll get there during February).
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And maybe Helnaes isn't just a name but a hint on an extraplanar door? :o And Fünen is ruled by the Polser-Connection in reality.
I' getting silly, sorry :mrgreen:
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Did you guys know about the USS Macon? (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/z-types/zrs5-m.htm)
The US Navy had an airship which had a few small fighters on board. It's an absolutely amazing airship. It even had a mini-airship called the "spy basket" which was connected to the main ship by a tether.
Again proving that while pulp is weird, sometimes history is even weirder! :lol: [/url]
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The "Macon" is a classic! I was given the Time-Life Book "The Airships" as a kid (some twenty years ago), in which the Akron and Macon had a multi-page spread feature, and when "Crimson Skies" first came out in 1997/98, I was overjoyed to see that they took this concept and applied it wholesale to a setting!
It also brought back fond memories of the superb and classic Mickey Mouse newspaper storyline by Floyd Gottfredson in which Mickey, as an intrepid mail pilot ("Come storm, come snow", etc.), thwarts the plans of an air pirate gang led by Peg-Leg Pete and operating from a 900-ft long airship! (Not to be confused with "Micky and the Air Pirates", though!)
Of course, a Zepp with internal hangars isn´t as visually attractive as one sporting a landing pad on twin hulls...
Finally, if you really can´t get hold of suitable bottles, why don´t you have a look at the Aerial Platforms from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, one of my favourite films? Those are, in effect, flat landing pads held aloft by giant propeller gondolas (and I assume some uplift-providing gas reservoirs hidden inside the structure).
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Finally, if you really can´t get hold of suitable bottles, why don´t you have a look at the Aerial Platforms from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, one of my favourite films? Those are, in effect, flat landing pads held aloft by giant propeller gondolas (and I assume some uplift-providing gas reservoirs hidden inside the structure).
And definitely easier to model and store...
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The Zeppelin in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had a Bi-plane attached underneath.
:)
I think a Double-Airship aircraft carrier is a great idea Argonor. (Especially if it's a base for Artizan's Airship Pirates!) I look forward to seeing WIP photos!
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The one advantage of having the hangar inside of the airship is that you can get rid of the landing gear on your fighters!
The one disadvantage of having the hangar inside of the airship is that there are no landing gear on your fighters!
When you understand this paradox, you will have achieved pulp Zen.
A small resin pulp between-the-wars fighter would be pretty fun. It'd be a biplane with an enclosed cockpit, and not much bigger than a GW Rhino, ideally. Then depending on the paint job, you could have an fighter from an Air Pirate band, a Zeppelin Jagdgeschwader Staffel, or a US Navy squadron!
Hey Rich, are you listening to me? (Of course not. Why should now be any different.)
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(http://glennhcurtiss.com/19f2902c0.jpg)
It would need a "sky-hook" like this Sparrowhawk! :mrgreen:
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The Zeppelin in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had a Bi-plane attached underneath.
:)
Yes, but that´s bullshit, or Pulp artistic freedom, if you want to be polite... German Zeps never carried aircraft, but several ocean liners did to drop off the mail at their port of destination a day in advance of the liner´s arrival.
A small resin pulp between-the-wars fighter would be pretty fun. It'd be a biplane with an enclosed cockpit, and not much bigger than a GW Rhino, ideally. Then depending on the paint job, you could have an fighter from an Air Pirate band, a Zeppelin Jagdgeschwader Staffel, or a US Navy squadron!
Something like that (plane on top) would be really cute:
(http://www.sullivanet.com/pirateisland/loot/3planes.jpg)
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Something like that (plane on top) would be really cute:
Exactly! Stubby wings, big fat engine... What's not to love? Small enough to fit on a flight stand (and be cheap to make) or not take up much space on a 60cm^2 table (and be cheap to make), definitely pulp (and cheap to make) and cheap to make.
Alright, I don't love the tiny cockpit and the pontoons. Other than that, it's pretty cute. And it would need the skyhook, but I can scratchbuild that.
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That plane looks a little like a Gee Bee. Model kist of them are easy to find and could be modified to be less racing and more combat.
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Alright, I don't love the tiny cockpit and the pontoons. Other than that, it's pretty cute. And it would need the skyhook, but I can scratchbuild that.
The cockpit is open-topped, with just a small windshield, but due to the black colour and poor picture quality, you can´t really see that...
If you wish to search for it, those are the pirate planes from the Disney Animated TV Series "TaleSpin", which featured "The Jungle Book"´s Baloo in a pulpish aviator-adventure series... with cute nazi-communist pigs.
Here´s some more pics of the pirate planes:
http://talespinsourcepage.i8.com/pirate-treatise.htm
And a very nice one of Don Karnage, the pirate captain´s plane:
(http://talespinsourcepage.i8.com/images/airpirates/pirate-tactics/pirate-tactics02.jpg)
You might also consider the design of the "Iron Vulture", wicked base-ship of the pirates:
(http://talespinsourcepage.i8.com/images/airpirates/pirate-tactics/pirate-tactics09.jpg)
Alright, the beak is downright stupid, but the bulging hull and landing pad...
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Ah yes, TaleSpin. I should have recognized it!
I seriously want one of these mini-fighters now.
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TaleSpin or 'Higher for Hire' is rather pulpy, actually. We have a Disney show on TV every Friday 19-20, also featuring that under the name 'Luftens Helte' (Air Heroes/Helden der Luft).
The beak on that airship opens to 'swallow' other airborne objects (just like in that old 007-film). Cheasy like H..., but maybe worth considering...
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The Zeppelin in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had a Bi-plane attached underneath.
:)
Yes, but that´s bullshit, or Pulp artistic freedom, if you want to be polite... German Zeps never carried aircraft, but several ocean liners did to drop off the mail at their port of destination a day in advance of the liner´s arrival.
I am very happy with "Pulp artistic freedom" to be honest! :wink:
I'm not playing a historical reinactment as I don't think Airship Pirates ever really eaisted!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Yeah, I should have used some "irony" smilies... just wanted to avoid any confusion. You wouldn´t believe how often I heard people refer to that movie as it "proves" that Zeppelins carried auxiliary aircraft...
Was cool as hell, nonetheless...
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You wouldn´t believe how often I heard people refer to that movie as it "proves" that Zeppelins carried auxiliary aircraft...
Good grief! Really? :D Do the same people think that the Ark is in a warehouse in the US? :lol:
Was cool as hell, nonetheless...
:mrgreen:
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It isn'T??? :mrgreen:
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You wouldn't belive what lies hidden in the US... I think the Grail is buried under the Obelisk in D.C.? :lol:
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You wouldn't belive what lies hidden in the US... I think the Grail is buried under the Obelisk in D.C.? :lol:
Close. It's under the White House. The Ark is under the Washington Monument and the other Templar artifacts are burie ****NO CARRIER****
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The Ark is under the Washington Monument and the other Templar artifacts are burie ****NO CARRIER****
Hello? Hello Pete? :lol:
Anyway, the Ark is here:
(http://www.castawayarts.com.au/catalog/stock/acc21.jpg)
(From Castaway Arts (http://www.castawayarts.com.au/catalog/catalog_main.php?cmd=groupload&group=17) in Australia)
Ahem, back on topic, I've found some nice photos of Sparrowhawks from the Macon on a US Navy Aircraft site (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/z-types/zrs5-m2.htm):
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8679/h77428au8.jpg)
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3169/g441979ez7.jpg)
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Don't forget that there was a Russian bomber in the interwar period that could carry a couple of fighters and drop them to act as escorts.
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IIRC the Americans tried that as well, but after WW2.
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This is my solution: the "75CL class" with hook-on fighter plane:
http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/afriboria_air.htm
Rudi
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Is that a sardines can??? So simple, so easy, so cheap to get... Brilliant stuff, lot's of great inspiration.
Note to self: Buy limonade and sardines..... :)
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Is that a sardines can??? So simple, so easy, so cheap to get... Brilliant stuff, lot's of great inspiration.
Note to self: Buy limonade and sardines..... :)
Yes, it's a sardines can with a victorian look (...). One can also use it upside down as I did as a base for the armoured deck citadel of the "Charles Martell" ironclad (the light grey part of the superstructure):
http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/afriboria_ships.htm
The balloon part of the 75CL class airships is NOT an empty limonade bottle, but a HARD plastic "champagne bottle" ("Celebrations "Sparkling Mix") (with the top sawn off) sold by Masterfoods filled with sweets (Mars, Bounty etc) - see this pic:
http://www.suessware.de/Sonderangebote/Celebrations-Sparkling-Mix::683.html
To be able to get the sweets out, the bottom screws off, which is very handy for glueing attachements from the inside.
Rudi
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I realized they weren't limonade bottles :wink:
I just want a 'cigar'-look to my airship, when time comes, and I think, maybe some 2L-bottles may be worth a try.... I must find some, that do not require a lot of re-shaping, though - I'm a very impatient modeler....