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Thanks very much for looking in, Warboss! It really is good to have back here on Dakka.

Some good work tonight.

1) The Weapons and Battery Gondolas are receiving their first coat of primer, preparatory to getting their base coat:



2) All the navigation and cabin lights are wired except for the Bridge (the tail section has to stay off until those are installed). This pic shows three of the four 2-cell coin battery boxes (pushing 6 volts, each) installed and waiting for the Battery Gondola to hide them (I even remembered to label them so I can replace batteries in the correct one without playing Hide and Seek with them all until I stumble on the correct one):




And the top plate is now permanently installed:



I've hit it with its first base coat color since this photo. The plate isn't glued in place- the magnets are plenty strong enough to hold it and it makes it easier to take it off if I have to replace one of the cabin LEDs. I will add indexing strips so it is easier to pop it back into place without measuring or eyeballing it a million times.

I hope to make great strides towards finishing the wepps gondola tomorrow so I can at least test fit it and see what everything looks like with blinky lights, cabin lights and gun muzzles staring out the ports.

Thank you for looking in, more follows soonest.

Great stuff. Have you started thinking of scenarios, where you could actually play a game with it? would you suspend it over the battlefield somehow?

Hi PaddyMick!

Yes, there are a couple of rules sets that I think can work- one written specifically for airship combat:

Skies of Sordane by Sordane Publishing is for airship campaigns and ship to ship combat. I backed their kickstarters and they offer 3d printable airships of a variety of types and factions, ship maps for on-board hand to hand combat/boarding ops and rules for ship to ship engagement. This is probably the best bet, although the ratio of ship size per their rules to armament might place the Kittyhawk at a serious disadvantage.

Aether Studios offer (as their name might imply) 'cloud-based' 3d printable terrain and miniatures and I think they have a rules set as well; if not the folks who game their miniatures have probably developed or adapted something.

Pike & Shotte include a small section on ship actions in the Napoleonic period that might could be adapated.

Age of Sail definitely offers rules sets for sailing ship to ship action, not sure if they do boardings or how one might adapt the rules for aerial combat, where elevation over one's opponent is definitely an advantage.

To be honest, I've thought about how to game the zeppelin in a match and against a variety of enemies: another capital warship, a fleet of smaller corsair-type ships, etc. Just not sure who I can find to game against!

More follows soonest.


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Lots of little project work, all adding up to big components getting finished:

1) This is the battery gondola, fashioned from a Cobalt Keep sorting tray- I love the hexagonal shape to provide some contrast to all the circles and curves that form most of the rest of the zep:



Those are Pinewood Derby racer rub on decals and seeing the pic like this makes me think I'm going to seam the edges with rivets. Why have 'em if you ain't gonna use 'em? Not sure what the numbers mean- the Nekomimi seem to have a thing for putting numbers on stuff; wait 'til you see the final engine pods!

2) The wepps control console is well along now:



The red painted back backs are first aid kits lacking only their white crosses and some wash to dull the shine down a scooch.

3) This is the doodadage ('Murican for 'Gubbinage') to be added to the interior of the wepps gondola:



4) And signage to likewise add to the interior:



5) and the wepps gondola itself is now basecoated and ready for painting:



Might add some rivets where the greenstuff work is, maybe not. Definitely not along the sides with all the window ports and interesting angles. Like the M3A3(?) Grant tank of WWII, cast top turret, welded and riveted main hull!

Thank you for looking in, more follows soonest.

I love the "We heart chemical weapons" sign! Dark humor is best humor. I'm so happy to see you making good progress on this project, 'Cat! And thank you again for the warm return welcome. I've missed Dakka and I am glad to be back.

Thank you for dropping in, Warboss and the kind words. It's great to have you back.

The signage in the wepps gondola is good- but wait 'til you see the decalage for the hull, stabilizers and engine pods I have in mind (if it works)!

As the title says, big steps and little 'uns.

A little 'un: Added the white crosses to the first aid kits. They look terrible up close (and I used magnification to draw them!) but at a range of 18 inches or greater they look fine to the Mark I Eyeball, so I'm probably not messing with them anymore:



A big 'un: The battery gondola is done: all decals added (love those Pinewood Derby rub on decals, if the surface is smooth enough and sturdy enough for them), the gaps covered that would otherwise have shown when the square-edged gondola is fitted against the round-edged hull and the magnets installed with the strongest substance known to Nekomimi-kind: greenstuff:



A middlin' 'un: I used diluted Aileen's Tacky Glue to fasten down the deck sole; here the paint bottles, books and boxes are applying an even pressure to keep it from curling. Once the glue sets, it's time to add some trim (to hide a multitude of sins), paint the doodage that's already installed, add more, add the signs and paint the bunting on the bow-end:



Tomorrow is going to be a short evening- got a late in the afternoon/early evening work thing, so trying to get some more painting time in tonight on the wepps console so I have something to show you tomorrow.

And, withal, Run DMC is singing You Talk Too Much on the boom box and life is good.

Thank all y'all for dropping in. More follows soonest.




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Extra points if anyone- especially our British friends- can identify the source of this post's title.

Looking good bud, love the little first aid kits.

Thanks very much, Cam! The gondola, with the exception of the big guns, is a large, white space- it needed filling with something so I went through a lot of my bits to try to find 'logical' things to tuck in. When I served aboard USCGC Duane, we had a kit very similar inside the turreted 5" 38 calibre.

Tonight, every step forward was won at hard price.

First up, I'm done with the weapons console- except maybe for re-tracing the alcohol marker designs on the 'translucent screen':





The 'console' stand is made from two leftover bumpers from Bronekorps tank kits (one wasn't actually left over, when I go to make that kit, I'm going to have to fabricate a new front bumper). Those keypads in the second picture are track cleats from the Polish tankette kit that became one of the Panzer Pixie scout cars.

Next up is the battery gondola. Despite my best efforts, the battery boxes with the switches would not fit in the gondola itself, partly too tight a fit and partly the effect of the very powerful magnets that hold the gondola to the hull. So I wired little plastic tags to each box, identifying which light set it powered (to make it easier to replace the right battery) taped the boxes together, inverted them and stuck them up in the hull- problem solved:



And with gondola attached:



I'll add a piece of trim in front and back to hide the gap and act as an alignment guide for putting the gondola back in place. I also want to scratchbuild bomb racks to fasten on the underside, because- bombs.

Lastly, the JB Weld failed to hold one of the magnets that hold the top plate to the hull, so am re-attaching that with Greenstuff. I'd hoped to give a photo tonight with the guns sticky tacked in place, the red battle stations lights on and everything attached, but maybe tomorrow. The tail section is re-attached and just waiting for its alignment markers to be added to help put everything back together easily.

Still at the point of adding all the bits and bobs and signage to the weapons gondola, perhaps we'll get that finished up tomorrow.

Thank you for looking in, more follows soonest.

Tonight I actually got to really work on finishing off the weapons gondola: got a lot of the little bits inside painted, started hanging signage, and got the first coat of the bunting done:



The guns here are just loose, but it gives an idea of the look:



The new magnet arrangement works pretty well, although I may need to add some trim to help with alignment and blocking light from inside the cabin, as you can see in these illuminated shots:





I'll get a good interior shot when the interior is done (or least, more doner than it is now). The one thing I don't like is having to pull the battery gondola off to get at the switches for all the lights- it's a right pain to do both, and then get the darn gondola back on. So I think what I'll have to do is drill holes for the micro-switches I have, mount them permanently so they can be accessed from outside the box, and wire them into the circuits for the different light circuits. This still lets met pull the box when batteries need changing, but makes routine 'lighting off' much more easy. And shouldn't be too hard to manage. And I can still hang bomb racks to hide the switches, so- bonus!

More follows soonest.

That red glow is an awesome effect! Great progress!

Thanks, Warboss. Two 5mm red LEDs in the ceiling. The photo shows a lot of what looks like white light, but is reflected light off the very pale interior. I'm not going to worry about it too much, I like it the way it is too.

I do have to re-rig the switches though- just too hard to manipulate the way things are now.

Almost done with this phase and then on to the bridge.

More follows soonest.

Fantastic work!

Thanks much for looking in, MeatShield! More follows as soon as I can get some time in!

Beautiful work Meer! I like the little instrument panel. That green button, did you install an LED or paint OSL on it?

Thanks Syro! The green button is painted, and I wasn't actually trying for OSL this time, this is my latest attempt to do a radar-type screen using fluorescent paint and adding 'swirls' in flat black. However it appears, I'm happy with the outcome! I know it's hard to interpret without something in view to give it scale: the console is about 3 inches by 3 inches.

I'm actually back in the saddle modeling this week- last week was a wash due to (slight) frustration at having to re-do the switches in the battery gondola (don't get me wrong, it needs to be done and I even thought of an improvement that will protect the connections to the battery boxes and their miniscule Lilliputian wires) and having to help move my company's wood and metal working shop, but mostly having to help move the shop which made for some long days.

Tonight I soldered up the switches that I will fit through the bottom of the battery gondola, so that you don't have to remove it except to change batteries, you'll be able to turn everything on and off from outside:



To follow-through, I need to solder lead wires onto the battery boxes, which I can then fit into In-Sure Push-in wires connectors, which will undoubtedly be more secure than the electrical tape I have wrapped around them now.

Then back on track to finishing the weapons gondola and starting the bridge. Paint a few crew members and this project is done!

Some less-than-optimal news: Resin Munitorum, the makers of all the Nekomimi Winterguard figures I've been doing up for more than two years now, has closed down their website- hopefully only temporarily. I know it's a tough economic situation everywhere just now, and figure manufactures- especially on-demand resin printers- have a pretty thin margin, but I'm still bummed. The Winterguard are the first army-level focus I've had since I first started painting Rogue Trader in 1986. By that I mean that I was selecting models with an eye towards a total, balanced force- with the occasional 'for fun' piece added in. Everything else I've done has been selected on a 'per piece' consideration, ie: what do I feel like painting next? When you don't game, there is no incentive to producing balanced army or group sets. Hopefully they're merely on hiatus; if anyone hears anything, please let me know.

I have enough figures left to keep me busy for awhile, and overall they should let me field a well-balanced army up to around 2000 points. I'll have to go armor-heavy, rather than scads of infantry, of course, but for the lightly built Nekomimi catgirls, maybe that's more realistic strategy anyways.

So, back on track, hopefully some more to show tomorrow, thank you for looking in.

So close! Just a slightly longer day and I might could've got the battery problem sorted out. Oh well, hopefully tomorrow.

I finished undoing all the gobs of electrical tape that fastened all my connections and soldered them (turns out, you can fit a soldering iron, solder spool, two hands, a headlamp and three squirrels inside a 6 inch diameter piece of stove pipe) and fitted shrink tubing over them- both to isolate each circuit to avoid shorts and to take some of the strain of getting yanked on off the soldered joint. Then stuffed everything except the new micro-switches up into the pipe:



The plan now is to take the tail section off when the batteries need to be changed.

And to make the switches accessible from the outside, first cut a hole in the bottom of the battery gondola:



And glued the four micro-switches together and added a 'tie-bar' to the unused third pole:



I had a devil of a time gluing the switches together and as you can see, they aren't very even, meaning they don't fit in my carefully measured and clumsily cut hole. So tomorrow, I need to enlarge the hole, stick the switches through and add a flange so they stay in place. Then the job should be done.

More follows soonest.

As Paula Abdul (paraphrased) says: I take one step forward, I take two steps back....

The step forward: I'm about done with what I'm going to do to improve the User Interface (UI) with this stupid battery gondola. I tried a number of different approaches: internal flanges, external flanges, magnets glued to the switches, what finally worked is the simplest (naturally) and most inelegant solution (also naturally)- moveable latches to hold the switch-block up:

Latches open:



Latches closed:



Box fething installed:



The whole thing will get some paint and rivets and I'm still wanting to hang some bombs or missiles underneath, but at the moment I'm happy it a) works and b) looks somewhat streamlined.


Step backward number 1: The guns sit too high in the gondola ports so I'm replacing the beautifully painted Gothic based with something lower profile. You don't see them with the gondola installed anyway, but I'll know. Can't be helped.


Step backward number 2: Whilst fighting with the freakin' battery box, I knocked the weapons gondola off the little table and several pieces flew off. So some repair needs to be done and then back on track to get this project wrapped up.


It's no worries really- every step backward is a chance to reassess and maybe change something for the better (like taking all the electrical tape connections for the wiring apart and soldering them properly with longer lead lines). So long as the Perfect does not become the enemy of the Good (eg: switch latches) then all is well. The hobby is for fun, yes?

Thank you for looking in. I really hope to have all new things to show soon, not rework of previously displayed items.

More follows soonest.

Sorry it was a pain to get to, but I like the look of your solution with the manual latches holding switches. And I enjoy hearing about your process solving these things.Keep up the good work Meer

Ok... so i don't get online that often in the last 2 weeks and miss what feels like 10 updates on your airship and am now confronted by basically gondola attempt 2... and am now wittnessing electrical cableing... What have i missed and how did you do that all in this short ammount of time.

Thanks Syro- the trick now is to think how I'm going to cover up or camouflage those latches!

You haven't missed much, Not Online!!! The lighting is all wired, but I had to go back in and use the soldering iron inside the pipe that makes the hull- I just didn't like the electrical tape holding connections together.

The battery gondola (the small, hexagonal one at the back) is now essentially done: originally I had hoped/planned that the coin cell battery boxes would fit in the gondola itself. They didn't, not well, and the tiny switches on them were too small to manipulate easily. So I moved the boxes up into the hull, soldered on new leads and wired (bigger) microswitches that now stick out the bottom of the gondola and are easy to turn on and off. There is a separate switch for the portside blinking red running lights, starboard green blinking running lights, red battle lights in the weapons gondola and blue night operations lights in the bridge. I tried a bunch of different ways to hold the switches where they are supposed to be, and the latches you see are the only one I found that worked. I still want to hang bombs or missiles under there, if for no other reason than to hide the latches. To change batteries, you remove the three screws that hold the tail section on to access the battery boxes.

Attempt 2 on the wepps gondola is really a continuation on attempt 1: I knocked it off the table working on the battery gondola and now have to repair the breakage I did and then continue on. The one modification here is to lower the plasma cannon and GAU-8's: the guns scrape the top of the ports on their original mountings. I'm fabricating a lower 'plinth' for them that will still let them traverse about 100 degrees left to right.

Once finished (and it should really be at the 'glue crap on' stage) there remains only the bridge, the crew figures and the decals to the hull.

I must admit- I think the lighted up mode for the zepp is pretty cool; I'm waiting to include a short video until everything is complete and then post some good pics and the video to show how the lights look in a dark or semi-dark room.

Thank everyone for looking in and for your comments- it's very nice to know that people are following your work and taking an interest.

More follows soonest.

Almost done with what I'm going to do to the weapons gondola; the two things that remain are to add a couple of Aero-Pixies as gunners at the console and I'm still debating if and how to add a wash to the outside hull generally and to the bunting specifically: the colors are just too bright and I'm not to sure how to tone everything down without ruining it.

As you scroll through, please keep that thought in mind and please give me your suggestions as to:

a) Leave it alone, bright colors are fine or
b) Tone it down, and here's how (your suggestions)

The Doc Oc Mechanic is from an early Archon kickstarter; I included her as she is very close in size to the Aero-Pixies and gives an idea of scale and size. Frankly, she looks like she belongs there, but she is actually promised to Bob's Air Delivery Service vignette which languishes unfinished but ever hopeful of completion. I may knock that otu next and be done with it. The problem is, I want to add LEDs and it's pretty far along to do that without a ton of rework. But, where there is a will, there is a way.

In no particular order, here is the wepps gondola:























The green behind the Scarab Imperial Sigil is actual greenstuff, used for two reasons: one, I broke the darn thing trying to curve it to fit the curve of the gondola hull and had to repair it and two, it was the best self-leveling adhesive to stick the scarab to the hull and be sure it would stay. The scarab itself is a piece of costume jewelry from Michael's and cost about three dollars.

So, next steps are to was or not to wash the wepps gondola and the bridge and the crew. The bridge is easily the most difficult section for me, because a lot of it is clear plastic and leaves no room to hide mistakes with trim or paint. I have some ideas I'm anxious to try out, so that should help me keep the momentum going. Also tomorrow or Monday I'll add a shot of the gondola fitted onto the hull.

I do look forward to all y'all's advice on whether to wash the blinding white hull and bunting and if so, how.

More follows soonest.

Yes, weather the hull. Keep a paper towel handy and wipe off the excess wash. Also, add minute texture to the exterior if possible. A thin layer of white glue spread with your fingers until mostly dry will add a layer of uneven coat that will give your washes and/or powders something to adhere to without just looking like dirty splotches of paint every where. I recommend doing an image search for peeling paint in your chosen color (white) to give you an idea of where the rust starts to break through and how dirt and grime accumulate on machines.

Thank you for the advice, Warboss- and I'm going to attempt something along the lines of what you've suggested. I especially like the trick of using white glue to add some texture to the otherwise very smooth hull. Something I'm also going to do is rivet this crate up- that'll for sure give wash something to collect around.

Here are two shots of the wepps gondola in place on the hull:





Seeing the pics, I'm tempted to pull the mounting plate for the gondola off and find a way to have the gondola mount directly to the hull; this would give a slightly slimmer profile- it's a bit chunky as is. We'll see.

Thanks all for looking in, more follows soonest.

Wow, this thing is CHONK. Stunning work so far. For me, personally, I don't feel like a gigantic zeppelin needs to be sleek. But don't let my opinion influence your decision. Do what feels correct to you.

Great progress. Didn't realise you were doing some of the interior as well you madman! guns look great

Wow Meer_Cat that thing rocks! Really great project!

Good evening everyone. Before I announce a triumphant return, let's see if I can get more than two posts in a row, eh?

Warboss, Paddy, Olthannon, thank you for looking in and your kind words. I really appreciate the encouragement that all y'all in the Dakka community provide and that encouragement is a large part of my determination to get back into this project and finish it up, and [proceed on to others.

By way of explanation, 'in real life' doesn't really convey the depth of commitments elsewhere I've had that have prevented anything other than work for some time. I've had to travel quite a lot and the weather the last few weeks hasn't helped that aspect any! Another complication was having to shift my schedule around for calling my elderly mother each day: she's on the West Coast of the US, and I'm (usually) on the East. I used to call last thing in the evening my time, but that became too late for me and almost too early for her. The new best time is very good for both of us, but is also right smack in the middle of what used to be prime modeling time. This was a no brainer in terms of what was more important to do, but has taken some getting used to in terms of fitting everything in I'd like to do.

So, toujours en avant as my French cousins say. For today, a smidgen of progress to report for a substantial investment of time. Largely because geometry was involved:



You can see in the photo that I've epoxied a doo-dad that came from the bottom of a mixing bottle to the nose assembly of the zepp, this will be the bridge. There won't be anything in that protuberance, it's just to break up the otherwise hemispherical face of the bridge. I was having extreme difficulty measuring where the center of the hemisphere was, so I finally just put the level on it and moved the whole thing around until it read level in three directions (left-right, up-down, diagonally). Drew a line around the rim with a fine point marker and slapped some glue on it.

Also, I've cut the pieces that will form the deck and aft bulkhead, and the paper cut out that will cover the bridge plexiglass where the nose cone is attached. Finally, (not pictured) I horsed around with the clerestory of the weapons gondola and decided it's just to thick and not salvageable, so off it came. I'm going to fit magnets so that the gondola fits directly against the hull and trim in to hide the gap- a much neater profile in all respects.

Warboss made a remark a bit ago about how 'chonky' this beast is (wait until you see the size comparison photo I'm going to take with a Nekomimi Aero Pixie in front of an old school Predator, in front of a Leman Russ, in front of a Baneblade, in front of a Stormblade, in front of the Kitty!) and it reminded me that every vessel in history- plus most armored vehicles- and the Kitty is both- have nicknames. So, Chonky Kitty it is. My own Coast Guard cutter USCGC Duane back in the day was known as the Dirty D both because we didn't fight fair and because her air duct systems were so full of dust in 1978 that she was forbidden to put to sea until she had been drydocked, overhauled and cleaned and recertified as 'not a flaming hazard to shipping'.

Tasks remaining are to re-attach the weapons gondola, complete the bridge, paint what doo-dads remaining need it, attach the aerial anchors and apply the decals. I really hope to stay motivated and work against this list steadily.

Again, many thanks for dropping in and all your encouragement. More follows soonest.

I'm just happy to have you back. 'Cat. Make progress and time as you can.

Moving right along- a little here, a little there, pretty soon you're talking real progress!

I've glued in the bridge deck plate:



And sorted through my junk boxes for the gubbins to make the navigator and helm positions at the forward control console:



That white piece of foam board in the back is the aft bulkhead. I've got a blue LED 'running light' that will come through the bulkhead to illuminate the bridge, and magnets will attach to the back of the bulkhead to fasten everything to the pipe cover that closes off the front of the hull.

I'm actually at the point of having to pick out Nekomimi bits to make the captain, helmscat, navigator and probably an armed bridge guard- you know: a Red Shirt.

Oh, and the lower half of all that transparent plastic gets painted hull color; I'm thinking of leaving two downward looking viewing ports, one on either side of the centerline.

More follows (hopefully) soonest.

A wee bit more tonight:

Primed the bridge and gunnery crews:



Cut out the pieces for the bridge console (navigation and helm):



Assembled and primed the bridge console and started painting the quad 40's (the third one is the bow chin gun):



Thanks for looking in, it is greatly appreciated. More follows soonest.