Gondolas (x 2);

Both gondolas are 22mm long and also open with a windscreen at the front and partway down each side, so the kit parts must be shortened and the upper section cut away. Each is suspended from the hull by short lengths of rod with diagonal braces from same and each also has a ladder up to an access hatch in the underside of the hull (these can come from 1/350th etch-brass ship accessories). The motors - see accompanying Photograph 2 - were fitted at the rear of each gondola - one in front and two in the rear gondola - and these can be fabricated from plasticard and rod ( 5mm long and 3mm high in this scale).

Image of a Maybach 180hp motor.

The three Maybach motors.

Gondolas modified from kit parts with engines mounted.

Gondolas comverted from kit parts complete with motors and crew.

Dorsal Fin:

The triangular fin on top of the hull is 44mm long and 15mm high at the end and needs to be cut from plasticard and detailed with strip/rod. It extends 5mm past the end of the hull.

Horizontal Fins/Elevators (x 2);

These are 75mm long and 16mm wide overall and can be cut from the kit parts. These finish flush with the end of the hull.

Rudders (x 6);

The rudders from plasticard, three per side, are each 10mm high x 5mm wide and are fixed to a framework aft of the of the horizontal fins/elevators. This framework around these is shown in the accompanying computer generated illustrations and some attempt should be made to replicate it in thin rod, although probably not every single piece, if only for one's sanity!

Revised tail fins, elevators and rudders.

Revised tail fins, elevators and rudders b.

Colour Scheme/Markings;

This is an area of many unknowns. Some of the photographs of LZ.VI taken pre-war show no markings at all. However it is probable that in August it carried "Z.VI" in large black letters on both sides of the nose and a black/white "cross pattee" on each side of the hull at about mid-length. Colours are even more uncertain - descriptions of early Zeppelins quote the hull variously as cream, light grey, silver grey or off-white, or even combinations thereof. The general consensus in references is that this was the result of varying heights and lighting conditions when the doped fabric covering of the hull was viewed from the ground. However recent discussions in cyberspace (quite often a mine of misinformation) aver that the linen covering, applied in vertical panels, was initially a pale cream, but over time weathered to anything from off-white to a pale tan and this indeed is what Takom's painting instructions show. The gondolas, being metal, presumably had a painted finish, although bare aluminium is a possibility, certainly on early airships.

The Crew;

Airships generally had crews of fifteen to twenty, not counting several hundred men required to handle the ship on the ground. Eduard and White Ensign produce 1/350th scale etch-brass naval figures, L'Arsenal have resin items and BNA Modelworld sell 3D printed items. All seem to be either of WW2 or current-day periods and heavily favouring crew for aircraft carriers. However some individual items would are suitable for the Great War.

Completed Model;

Three images of Ley's completed Zeppelin model.

Use the index button to return to the main issue 38/3 index.