March 30, 2025
Sometimes left-over parts drive a project. I had some large wire wheels off a broken wheelchair I bought at the swap meet (because I liked the wheels). I had a few Heroclix Lex Luthors I got at the Heroclix shop a few years ago for fifty cents each (because I liked the chairs), and I had a great looking crucifix that someone had left in the drawer of a utility box I bought at the swap meet (I was unaware of the crucifix and other pieces of jewelry until I got the box home). The podium was left over from the repurposed My Little Pony steam vehicle I finished a week ago. The other day I was looking at the wheels and the podium and decided I needed a traveling ministry. The structure (frame and decking) is scratch built from Evergreen plastic. I’m not sure who makes the figure (I have had it a long time). The truck is an Atlantis the Lost Empire truck I repurposed several years ago.
Next on my list was painting the Playmobil balloon/airbag for my sixth scratch-built airship. This will be the last of the scratch-built airships (at least for now) though I am going to do a couple of the Games Workshop airships that I bought several years ago but never got around to working on.
For years I have been looking for Mega Bloks’ Empress at the swap meet with no luck. If you have ever seen the Mega Bloks’ Empress on eBay you will know that the asking price is very high. Last week I was looking online for something completely unrelated to the Empress, and the Mega Bloks’ Empress nonetheless appeared, and one of them was exactly what I was looking for… no masts, minimal damage, and an asking price of $29.95 plus $8 shipping. I bought it, and it came yesterday. For my purposes the only missing piece was a broken railing. I decided to try and remake the railing section, and I’m very happy with the outcome. Once the ship is put together (mostly new decking to cover the Lego-style posts) and painted, I don’t think my replacement railing will be noticeable. I also added orient-style buttons over the ends of the cannon barrels… I think it makes for a much more interesting look.
Several years ago I purchased the Games Workshop Arkanaut Frigate. At that time I never thought I would be able to create my own airships. This week I decided it was time to put it together and paint it. Because I don’t like the crew that came with it, I crewed mine with figures from the Crew of the Hesperus by Artizan Designs. The figure in the crow’s nest underwent a significant modification (removed a rifle and add a sextant; cut the body off at the waist so it would sit properly in the crow’s nest).
I ended the week building the Games Workshop Arkanaut Ironclad. It is the bigger of the two airships and required more base support to lift it as high above the bases as I wanted it and at a level compatible with the other airships. The big problem with lifting the two Games Workshop airships is that their hulls would not accept two support posts while the repurposed toy airship had plenty of space for two support posts. The Ironclad and her replacement crew (Crew of the Hesperus by Artizan Designs) remain to be painted.
March 23, 2025
Several years ago, I found a broken toy at the swap meet that looked like it might have repurposing potential. I think I paid a dollar for it. I stored it away and forgot about it, but this past week I found it again while looking for something else. I looked it up and discovered (to my great surprise) that it was a My Little Pony toy (the picture posted here is off eBay… mine was far from new). I moved and modified the driver’s seat to make room for a lot of Pegasus Chemical Plant construction set pieces and to make the seat more size compatible for 28mm figures. The figure in the driver’s seat is a 28mm Eureka Miniatures’ piece with some modifications.
Throughout the week (even while working on the My Little Pony toy), I devoted a great deal of attention to another airship. This one is built around a Disney pirate ship that I believe was originally a Disney Park toy, but I got this one at the swap meet for a couple of dollars (two or three). This airship will be unique among my fleet in that beneath the hull I have attached an enclosed command center gondola with a rear facing gun mount that I found in a pile of broken toys at the swap meet. I will be using another Playmobil balloon/gasbag to provide both lift and propulsion. The hull is painted and the balloon/gasbag will be finished soon.
March 16, 2025
This week the workbench was completely dedicated to building two significantly modified Sci Fi versions of the Wright Brothers' airplanes. The guns are removable.
March 9, 2025
This is my fifth Victorian Sci Fi airship. I’m sure the manufacturer was making a rough copy of the Black Pearl but didn’t want licensing complications so called it a toy pirate ship… which it is. It is smaller than my previous airship builds so I think of it as the airship version of a Flower Class Corvette. The big trick with this one was making it look compatible with 28mm figures. To do that, I added a lot of pieces for distraction and raised the railing with pieces I think add a steampunk feel. The figure sitting at the controls is a 28mm figure…actually the upper body of a 28mm figure and the lower body and legs of a plastic O-scale figure. It will have two masts with helo blades (one shown here; the other will be set further forward). The one shown here is not glued on (just set in place). Both will be attached after painting is complete to make painting easier.
Tuesday is 30% off day for seniors at Savers thrift store. I try to get there every Tuesday and yesterday was no exception. My great find for that visit was a 1/25 scale 1927 Model TT Ford Cherry Picker-Construction Truck (still in the box) by The Yorkshire Co. While the 1/25 scale diecast truck was obviously too big for my 28mm figures, the plastic cherry picker unit looked like it would work just fine with 28mm and since the truck was diecast and the cherry picker unit was plastic, I was sure I could remove the cherry picker and set it on the rear of an Atlantis the Lost Empire water carrier truck I had previously repurposed as a flatbed. The ladder on the side of the cherry picker is large so I will keep my eyes open for a replacement at Savers and the swap meet.
As this week comes to an end, I completed the work on my fourth and fifth Victorian Sci Fi airships. That gives me a fleet of five, and I’m pretty sure the fleet will continue to grow over time; they’re fun to build and paint. The last two I completed are the ones shown nearest the camera in these pictures… both have mast-mounted chopper blades for lift.
I closed out the week repurposing a D. Y. Toy (Dah Yang Toy Industrial Co.) Wright Brothers plane for use with my airships. To do this I removed a lot of the D. Y. Toy parts and replaced them with parts from a Monogram model I got at Savers thrift store and parts taken from the Pegasus Chemical Plant construction set plus some odds and ends (got to use odds and ends). There's still a lot of work to do, but I thought I'd share the work in progress. I am sure that in the process of the repurposing I have offended both the Wright Brothers and the laws of aerodynamics but, so far, it's coming together, and I’m having fun.
March 2, 2025
This is my third Victoria Sci Fi airship and my second based on the highly modified hull of the Mario Bros Bowser airship. On the first one I did, I retained the Bowser mast-mounted helo blades, but this one will have the Playmobil airship balloon.
I ended the week working on my third airship based on the Bowser airship. As the week ended, the basic form of the ship had been realized, but it is still a work in progress with lots of detail work remaining including the attachment of the mast-mounted propellers, the stern props, the stern cabin windows, and railing. When those are done, I need to make the poles that will offer the ship the illusion of flight. When the construction work is done, the painting will begin.
