Lego's Air Zeppelin

The set contains a number of items that will be of little use, but the 14"-long (35cm.), 4"-wide (10cm.) dirigible body is marvelous and can be used as is with the oversized Lego-block gondola, or with a scratchbuilt gondola and engine-nacelles of foamcore and card. The patches and cheesy decorations do not come on the model, but are separately-included stickers that can be discarded (though I rather like the cheerful shark-mouth).

Disadvantages:

• The bottom of the hull is flattened (dished, actually) to allow more headroom for the gondola.
• The hull has the teardrop shape of the WWI and later zeppelins, not the cylindrical-with-ogival-ends form of the good Count's early airships.

Advantages:

• The rib ridges (the hard part of building zeppelins) are already molded in.
• The size is just right, and the body is blow-molded plastic - light enough to be conveniently supported on rods or wires without being unstable or damaging itself or something else if it falls.
• The tail section twists off. A detachable gondola and supports could nestle inside the hull for compact storage, or a homemade slide-out floor might be put inside, and figures arranged within the body to represent their positions in the gondola. This would allow the airship to carry a reasonable number of figures, rather than the fairly small number that would actually fit in the model gondola (though a separate gondola floor-plan is more convenient).
• If you don't use the block-gondola, it has a great shape for a far-eastern sailing or rowed vessel.

If you have the need for an easily-built airship, the Major General suggests that you could do far worse than this product.

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