BSC 2025 McMordain's Pirate Skyboat

[Spinal Tap]

This is going to look fantastic when painted.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

This looks brilliant 

[snitcythedog]

Spectacular.

[McMordain]

It's done. I could add a lot more detail, but it should be a gaming piece not a display model. Also it's 2:30 AM and I need to sleep.
I will make better pics tomorrow.

[Codsticker]

That looks absolutely amazing.

[snitcythedog]

Outstanding work.

[Lost Egg]

You deserve a good sleep McMordain, it's looking great. The rigging really ties it all together. Nice use of a plastic pennant too.

[McMordain]

Thanks all, I'm glad you like it 

I worked from 4:00 pm till 2:00 am to finish it. Started with tiding up the bow and stern then did the anchor bits.
In the end I went with plastic rods for balloon anchors as I couldn't find my ship rope thread... it was better this way probably.

The idea was to do a piston like system with an axis at both end. This allows a lot of flexibility positioning the supports.

So I cut a bunch of rods, tubes and strips to size. I was pressed for time, so I used my mitre cutter to cut the tubes, but it can't cut the 3-4mm tubes straight. Also I used my power drill and a 2mm drill bit to drill holes into a 5 mm wide plastic strip (I only have a drill press for the big guy). The results were a bit uneven but fast. These were the sides of the axis sockets and was cut at 5 mm intervals. The bottom of the sockets got a 1mm hole for a brass nail, which serves to pin the ends to the ship and the balloon.

I put together one anchor to test the concept and it worked. The only thing I forgot was the fact that by closing the end of the tubes the air couldn't escape when I put in the rods. I couldn't understand why suddenly the rods didn't fit, and started to grind the ends with sandpaper... I was really frustrated by this, then I realized my mistake about the fourth piston, and started to drill small holes at the bottom to let the trapped air out. Solved the problem instantly

Also with the test piece done it become apparent that I don't need six anchor per side. Half of that looked alright and I added only one to the stern instead of two.




What left was adding the engine pod support, the nuts and bolts where it was needed, the Lewis gun mounts and some detail bits I put aside (the pennant, antenna, harpoon etc). I also quickly made some cleats vaguely remembering how they look. The result looks the part but not very good at it's job 


With all the stuff added to it the whole thing was quit wobbly on the stand so I spent the last 30 minutes to make it secure enough.
Here are all the parts ready for primming:



and some better pics of the details



I forgot to add the anchor hook to the ship for the done pics last time. Tying the thread to the cleat is tricky. Fortunately I only have to do it once more, after painting 





I'm quite pleased with the end result. There is only one thing that bothers me. I completely forgot to add some kind of horizontal stabilizer/elevator...

About the painting. I primed the various parts today, but I'm not sure what colors to use. Also I'm not very good at painting vehicles, so don't expect much.

[Burgundavia]

The work is staggering. Good luck with the painting!

[McMordain]

I'm happy to report that painting is underway. The result may even look decent 
I decided on a paint scheme and I used our clubs very basic airbrush. It was donated by a member and I have it for safekeeping, because we don't have a club room at the moment. It really helps with painting the bigger flat surfaces.

[Codsticker]

I'm happy to report that painting is underway. The result may even look decent 
I decided on a paint scheme and I used our clubs very basic airbrush. It was donated by a member and I have it for safekeeping, because we don't have a club room at the moment. It really helps with painting the bigger flat surfaces.

Airbrush is a great idea. I think where you will really find it useful is on the curved surface of the balloon as you can get a nice natural looking shadow.

[HerbertTarkel]

Airbrush is a great idea. I think where you will really find it useful is on the curved surface of the balloon as you can get a nice natural looking shadow.

Airbrushes can make life better for so many things! I have a small collection of them, and have actually worn two out along the way. Literally wore them out.

Once you get the hang of them, shading and highlights are so worth it. Flat surfaces without brushstrokes … delightful!

[McMordain]

Airbrush is a great idea. I think where you will really find it useful is on the curved surface of the balloon as you can get a nice natural looking shadow.

Well, I'm not sure if I should paint the balloon. I don't know how the textile and underlying cardboard would react to the paint. Also I don't really know what color to paint it.

[snitcythedog]

That is well cool.

[McMordain]

Sent in the pic, though with some caveats. See here