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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Coronasan on February 25, 2014, 06:34:04 PM

Title: How to make an airship?
Post by: Coronasan on February 25, 2014, 06:34:04 PM

I want to make a steampunk airship with a suspended crew cabin sort of thing.

Although I am quite happy to make the suspended cabin out of foamcard and plasticard, I am not sure about the best way to go about the airship.

There are fine examples of work on these pages, a couple of which are below.

I think this was made by Admiral Benbow, what is the airship made of?
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/2/93_15_12_08_3_01_51_4.jpg)

This was made by Bullshott, looks like a rugby ball to me...
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2810934885_99a9ee7053.jpg?v=0)

This is by Thorwin, a classic shape
(http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=55737.0;attach=12848;image)

Is it work starting with a plastic 2 litre bottle? If so, what is the best way to cover it? One idea I have is to glue wire in lines down the length of a 2 litre bottle, then cover it with fabric. Painting it with thinned down PVA should then give it some strength and pick out the wire to look like ridges. I can make cones for either end to make it look less like a drinks bottle!

What do you think, picking the brains of you lot may inspire me even more.

Title: Re: How to make an airship?
Post by: Connectamabob on February 26, 2014, 12:41:12 PM

I'd do it the old-school way: draw a silhouette outline of the shape I want, then use that to cut a bunch of half-profiles out of card that I can glue radially around a dowel or tube, then skin with paper mache or PVA cloth. Gets you the ribbed look, and you can do any shape you want.

That, or buy a big floral foam egg, and sand/carve it down using a negative profile cut from heavy card as a guide. Actually, that's probably better than the method above: less fuss/work overall, and probably more durable in the end.

I wouldn't use a plastic bottle myself as they have a distinctive shape of their own that's hard to disguise. The above methods would let me dictate the design as freely as I wished instead, and wouldn't be hard to execute.

Title: Re: How to make an airship?
Post by: uti long smile on February 26, 2014, 01:31:16 PM

Here's one that I commissioned from Black Knight Studios.

(http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj278/pez47/Reach%20for%20the%20sky/zep3014.jpg) (http://s274.photobucket.com/user/pez47/media/Reach%20for%20the%20sky/zep3014.jpg.html)

There are more pics in these folders, but the balloon is from an old Lego kit:

http://s274.photobucket.com/user/pez47/library/Reach%20for%20the%20sky/Construction%20pics

http://s274.photobucket.com/user/pez47/library/Reach%20for%20the%20sky

http://s274.photobucket.com/user/pez47/library/Battle%20Boards/Zeppelin%20Attack

Title: Re: How to make an airship?
Post by: Finn on February 26, 2014, 09:27:46 PM

I will be following this with interest as i am thinking of of doing the same sort of steampunk/pulp airship sort of thing. My usual approach to model projects is to bash two toys together really hard and see what turns out, so i have just purchased a star wars rebel transporter to use for the balloon part. I don,t have the picture to hand, but i am sure you know which toy i mean.