Mike West and I have been working (mostly Mike) on a civil war recon balloon kit. The purpose of the kit is to market it separately as a stand alone kit and together with the Flagship Models CSS Teaser kit. The CSS Teaser started life as a tug and was purchased by the Confederacy and converted to a gun boat. While serving in this capacity, she was chosen to double as a recon balloon transport. For those who do not know, this small contribution gave the little ship the honor of possibly being the first US A/C carrier. I realize the Custis was the first
purpose built A/C carrier, but the Teaser was probably the first US ship to carry an A/C as far as my research can verify. If someone can provide proof otherwise, please let me know. The Teaser was also the first purpose built mine (torpedo) layer/sweeper.
Anyway, I have been asked to post the progress on the little balloon kit. This may be a small kit, (each square you see is one inch) but it is fraught with design challenges. How does one make a balloon kit that looks real with such fragile support lines attaching the basket to the envelope? How would one show the delicate netting keeping the envelope from shooting into the air? I have posted those questions here and on other sites seeking advice and opinions. Mike West of Lone Star Models replied and we have been working together on the project since.
For weight savings I decided to go with a vac form design since the plan is to have the balloon supported by a series of thin brass wires attached to the basket. I was able to cobble together some CAD drawings of a typical civil war era recon balloon. Lacking any actual plans, I relied on the photographs and lithographs of recon balloons that are available. My balloon is of the "round" variety as opposed to the "teardrop" design of the likes of the Intrepid. No real reason why I went with the round design. I just liked it better.
Below are the master pattern and basket, a resin half mold for the vac form process, and a assembled prototype of the vac formed halves. Above that you will see the netting I have chosen for the balloon. This is where some experimenting is still needed. I want to add the netting to the resin half male, then create a "female" mold and see just how well the netting detail come out. If it looks good, I'll proceed with production. If not, then I'll design photo etch netting for the balloon.
Below that is the pattern for the Teaser to give you an idea of scale. Together this should be a really cool kit. More to come.
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