And ask them about those awful engines made of that polythene type plastic.
I did…no response back. I will ask again. Thanks for the reminder.
No problem! I hope they retool them in the not too distant future along with the gondola which also looks innacurate [at least that looks like normal inection plastic though so should be easier to paint and glue].
Looks like a perfect opportunity for the cottage industries to come-up with a resin up-date set for the zep.
I don’t think it would be worth it in this case. The engines would be too fragile for a start and I think that these awful polythene type engines could affect sales of these airship kits [as airships are more of a niche market] and I hope Lindberg see sense and retool them in proper injection styrene.
So you think that potential lack of sales would prevent someone from coming up with better engines.Bummer!
I think the statement ‘lack of sales’ is limiting both the kit and any potential aftermarket ideas for it. These airship kits are being sold worldwide, just as with many other subjects, what may not be popular here may infact have a large following elsewhere.
An example is Gundam…though somewhat popular here, in Japan it is an obsession.
There are many kits that beg for aftermarket accessories…yet no one took the risk to venture forth. Even unpopular kits eventually end up being prized possessions.
Got word back from Mr Petite at Hawk about the engines. The specification called for the whole model to be molded in styrene. He will closely monitor the next production run.
I made the suggestion that he put a hint to Eduard for a PE set as well as look to include a aircraft for comparison purposes…DC-3/Ju52? Wouldn’t some brass be sweet for the gondolas!
Gerald, is that your built Zeppelin? Looks great.
Can you tell me what you painted it with and how you varied the panels?
A good friend and first class modeler Roger Witt did it for me as a favor, I needed it for use as a promotional display and I was strapped for time. Here’s what he told me…
Having just finished assembling a 1/245th Graf Zeppelin I needed some way to break up the huge all aluminum surface area. There needed to be some darker panels and a little highlighting for the ribs. My first test was to mask and spray several panels black, white or dark grey. Then I over sprayed everything with SNJ Aluminum. It worked but far too many coats to tone down the contrast. Rather than spray the panels with Dark Aluminum or tinting the regular Aluminum I used SNJ Decal Sealer, SMCLR. It has the same base and finish as the Aluminum only no pigment. I would fill my airbrush cup about half full of sealer and add a drop or two of black (I used Floquil). By this time the entire airship was finished in SNJ Aluminum. I went back and masked the panels I wanted darker and then overspayed them with the doctored SMCLR. It was a very subtle change. You need to pull up a section of tape so that you can actually see the difference. Some panels got more passes than others. A couple of panels were oversprayed with SMCLR and a drop or two of white. As usual a couple of panels were too different so I simple oversprayed them with a light coat of Aluminum. When I was happy with the panels I placed vertical strips around the fuselage to represent internal ribs. I then sprayed as narrow a strip of SMCLR and black as I could manage along the aft edge of the tape. Removing the tape left a nice, straight subtle line. This is better that free handing and more accurate than simply spraying here and there. I also masked the stationary part of the fins and sprayed the hinge lines giving the control surfaces some depth. The passenger gondola and engine nacelles were sprayed with SNJ Dark Aluminum for contrast. There are many ways to achieve these results but I happen to like the SMCLR with toning added. It can be very subtle or dramatic and is quite easy to control. The final finish has sheen and texture as the Aluminum so the model has a very convincing overall appearance.
Hope that explains it clear enough. The SMCLR is the "Decal Sealer’ listed on my site.
My modeling buddy down the street just purchased one of these. I can’t wait to check it out… before, during and after the build.
Keeping the engines together was the most difficult part when I built mine. I never could eliminate all the seams.
Thanks for that Hawkeye! That’s great if that’s the case. One thing though…how will we know which is the next production run I wonder?