Author Topic: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale  (Read 15675 times)

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
  • Moderator
  • *
  • Hulk smash, Brian bash
The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« on: January 19, 2012, 04:09:16 AM »
The airship frenzy took hold in Germany just before World War I. One of the great innovators of that age is all but forgotten today. Baron Bernhardt von Blimpen was a former Lt. Col. in the Untergrund Uhlans who retired to Ulm. There he became fascinated by aerodynamics. The Baron Bernhardt von Blimpen was a blunt man and so his approach to aerodynamics was blunt as well. After seeing Count von Zeppelin's L 4 1/2 "Zinkenzee" crash on Lake Constance due to a hydrogen leak, the Baron knew he could do better.

The First World War greatly accelerated airship development and gave the Baron von Blimpen the break he needed for his unique design to take flight. His BL (Blimpen Luftschiffe) 1 & 2 were paper projects only but unfortunately, were eaten by his dog, Schweinhund. The Baron's BL3 made it past the dog only to be accidentally used to sop up spilled coffee at the Idflieg R&D bureau. Fortunately, the BL4 was much more successful. The generals at Idflieg were impressed with the BL4's enormous bomb bay and how the gondola was done away with, flight stations being enclosed inside the envelope itself. Armed with four auto-cannon turrets in dorsal and ventral positions and window-mounted light machine guns, the airship seemed well set to meet any opposition. Its eight engines provided a top speed of 106 m.p.h. and a long range. Accepted immediately after trials in May, 1917, the BL4 was immediately assigned a mission to bomb Great Britain.

Continued...









Brian da Basher

« Last Edit: January 19, 2012, 08:55:23 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
  • Moderator
  • *
  • Hulk smash, Brian bash
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2012, 04:11:11 AM »
Now known as the Von Blimpen Großbritannien Bombenangriffluftschiff, the BL4 left Germany on the night of May 20, 1917 with the Baron himself in command. The mission started according to plan, but just off the coast of Ol' Blighty, the Von Blimpen Großbritannien Bombenangriffluftschiff was set upon by flocks of seagulls whose insistent pecking caused the ship to leak precious hydrogen. All ballast was tossed overboard with little result so finally the Baron ordered "Bombs Away!" and the great ship's cavernous bomb bay opened and the bombs dropped offshore not far from Clacton-on-Sea.

The BL4 made it safely back home, but deflated completely upon landing and the airship never flew again. However, jettisoning the bombs near Clacton-on-Sea caused one of the greatest fish kills ever and the Kaiser awarded the Baron and crew of the BL4 the Fachmännischer Fischmörder Order of Merit. The Baron died in his sleep on Nov. 10, 1918 and all that remains of his legacy are this desk model of his Von Blimpen Großbritannien Bombenangriffluftschiff and numerous fakes of the Fachmännischer Fischmörder Order of Merit which features a leaping fish being menaced by an airship.







« Last Edit: January 19, 2012, 04:26:37 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
  • Administrator - Yep, I'm the one to blame for this place.
  • Whiffing Demi-God!
    • Beyond the Sprues
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2012, 04:13:45 AM »
Has a distinct Sperm Whale look.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Doom!

  • Slayer of pixels and plastic!
  • Glad to be here!
    • Doom Island 2
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2012, 04:15:41 AM »
Has a distinct Sperm Whale look.
I'll bet a good Harpooning would have a similar effect.  :o     Looks Great BDB!!! Really like the look. :)
 
Doom!
Jeff G.

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
  • Moderator
  • *
  • Hulk smash, Brian bash
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2012, 04:18:10 AM »
This project has been in the planning stages for a while, but only took about two weeks to build. The base kit is the Hobby Boss Song Class sub kit which should look like this:



Oops.

I added the teeny-weeny engines and props from two Revell Hindenburg kits and new fins and rudders cut from card stock. The gun turrets were left-over from a 1/144 B-29 kit and decals were from my spares except for the crosses which were from a sheet for a 1/72 Fokker D.VII.

Here's some final shots of the Von Blimpen Großbritannien Bombenangriffluftschiff BL4 as she flies off into the mists of forgotten almost-history.







Brian da Basher

Offline Dr. YoKai

  • Was in High School when mastadons roamed the plains...
  • A notorious curmudgeon who is partial to...hemp!
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2012, 05:06:52 AM »
 Splendid build, Brian! I like the blunt nosed Cachalot look.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

  • Unaffiliated Independent Subversive...and the last person to go for a trip on a Mexicana dH Comet 4
  • Global Moderator
  • His stash is able to be seen from space...
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2012, 05:14:55 AM »
Hard to believe that used to be a submarine model.  Certainly does have the looks of a Sperm Whale at first glance. 

With all of those engines getting donated from a pair of Hindenburg kits I now wonder what you have in store for the Zeppelin kits. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline nebnoswal

  • Live fast, die young, in a great pair of shorts!
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2012, 05:46:27 AM »
Has a distinct Sperm Whale look.
I'll bet a good Harpooning would have a similar effect.  :o     Looks Great BDB!!! Really like the look. :)

Nice stuff, revenge of the sea gulls.  Maybe Sea Shepard should look into thise to haunt the Japanese whaling fleet  ;)

Offline Frank3k

  • Excession
  • Global Moderator
  • Formerly Frank2056. New upgrade!
    • My new webpage
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2012, 05:54:41 AM »
That's a whale of a blimp, Brian! It looks suitably huge and menacing

...just off the coast of Ol' Blighty, the Von Blimpen Großbritannien Bombenangriffluftschiff was set upon by flocks of seagulls...


this video is the first thing that came to mind

Offline taiidantomcat

  • Plastic Origamist...and not too shabby with the painting either!
  • Full Member
  • Stylishly late...because he was reading comics
Re: The Baron von Blimpe story - a deflating tale
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2012, 07:21:39 AM »
That is wonderful BdB!!  :-* 
"They know you can do anything, So the question is, what don't you do?"

-David Fincher

Offline Alvis 3.1

  • Self acknowledged "Bad Influence"…but probably less attractive than Pink
  • The high priest of whiffing
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2012, 11:23:28 AM »
Wow! Great and truly hilarious backstory, incredibly lateral useage of a model, fantastic paint job, believable design, and a fitting end to the story that explains why it's not been heard of by the rest of the world. I give it 9 out of 10! Not only does it look like a Sperm whale, it looks like the Sperm whale from "Hitchikers Guide".  Awesome to the awesomemost!

Oh, and it's German too! Double points!

Alvis 3.1
« Last Edit: January 19, 2012, 11:34:23 AM by Alvis 3.1 »

Offline Daryl J.

  • Assures us he rarely uses model glue in dentistry
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2012, 02:54:43 PM »
BdB,
Your creativity and originality never cease to amaze.   :icon_alabanza:
kwyxdxLg5T

Offline jcf

  • Global Moderator
  • Turn that Gila-copter down!
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2012, 04:04:57 PM »
... and Sub-Lieutenant Ahab, RNAS would forever regret that eighth pint of scrumpie which
left him unable to pilot his Aerial Harpoon Torpedo equipped Shorts 184 against the Hun.

 ;)

Great piece of work Brian.
“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
more scared of how complicated shit
actually is than they ever are about
whatever’s supposed to be behind the
conspiracy.”
-The Peripheral, William Gibson 2014

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

  • Unaffiliated Independent Subversive...and the last person to go for a trip on a Mexicana dH Comet 4
  • Global Moderator
  • His stash is able to be seen from space...
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2012, 06:45:52 PM »
... and Sub-Lieutenant Ahab, RNAS would forever regret that eighth pint of scrumpie which
left him unable to pilot his Aerial Harpoon Torpedo equipped Shorts 184 against the Hun.


Sounds to me like this would have been an ideal mission for the Farley Fruitbat. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline apophenia

  • Perversely enjoys removing backgrounds.
  • Patterns? What patterns?
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2012, 09:29:08 AM »
Simply brilliant Brian! Are we going to be seeing any Hindenburg-shaped, gas-filled submarines in future?
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline sotoolslinger

  • A World Champion Blackbelt in Putty-Foo…the man means business (just look at his photo!)
  • Look at the banner and you will see his work.
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2012, 10:04:29 AM »
Your hilarious backstories are one of the  highlights of the site and of course the build is beyond cool. Love the shape.

Offline Weaver

  • Skyhawk stealer and violator of Panthers, with designs on a Cougar and a Tiger too
  • Chaos Engineer & Evangelistic Agnostic
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2012, 08:50:48 PM »
That's an excellent job Brian - nice one!  ;D
"I have described nothing but what I saw myself, or learned from others" - Thucydides

"I've jazzed mine up a bit" - Spike Milligan

"I'm a general specialist," - Harry Purvis in Tales from the White Hart by Arthur C. Clarke

Twitter: @hws5mp
Minds.com: @HaroldWeaverSmith

Offline Tophe

  • He sees things in double...
  • twin-boom & asymmetric fan
    • my models
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #17 on: January 21, 2012, 12:13:24 AM »
Impressive!

Offline Maverick

  • Suffers from 'Fat Fingers' and accidentally locks his own thread...
  • Holding Pattern
  • *
  • The profile machine!
    • My Photobucket Thread
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2012, 06:45:47 AM »
Certainly looks the part and a great story to boot.

Regards,

John
Regards,

John

Offline Tophe

  • He sees things in double...
  • twin-boom & asymmetric fan
    • my models
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #19 on: January 21, 2012, 10:57:05 AM »
Transforming a submarine into an airship is so crazy it is very delicious, thanks! and congratulations, both for the ideas and for the ability to make it just right!
Well it is not like a "normal" airship is, but our mind finds the answer immediately: that is besause it is so huge, something new had to be invented at that time! Success, designer and manufacturer as well!

Offline JP Vieira

  • The Challenge Master!!!
    • What-If World
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #20 on: January 21, 2012, 05:48:11 PM »
I love the idea and construction: good work!

Offline sequoiaranger

  • Gone but not forgotten. He already has a team of angels working up his bench in the sky!
  • Holding Pattern
  • *
  • E Pluribus Unum (modeling style)
Blimp'n Blimey!
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2012, 08:42:25 AM »
Quite a whif, there, Brian!

How immoderate for a moderator!
My mind is like a compost heap--fertile AND rotten!

Offline finsrin

  • The Dr Frankenstein of the modelling world...when not hiding from SBA
  • Finds part glues it on, finds part glues it on....
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2012, 09:56:55 AM »
After all the comments above whatz left to say.  Totally rad and way cool !
You have a guestimate scale for this whale of a blimp ?
Bill

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

  • Unaffiliated Independent Subversive...and the last person to go for a trip on a Mexicana dH Comet 4
  • Global Moderator
  • His stash is able to be seen from space...
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2012, 12:31:59 PM »
Brian will be receiving a package containing more submarine hulls in the next few days so this trend can be continued :^)
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Tophe

  • He sees things in double...
  • twin-boom & asymmetric fan
    • my models
Re: The Baron von Blimpen story - a deflating tale
« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2012, 01:11:38 PM »
Jeffry, this is encouraging craziness... but I clap my hands too! ;)