 Zeppelin
Volume 1
By R. L. Rimell
Albatros Publications, ©2006
ISBN 1-902207-87-4
Softbound, 84 Pages
Available from Albatros
for £25
When it comes to large bombers during World War 1, none
come even close to the Zeppelins. Made forever famous at Lakehurst, New
Jersey, the zeppelin actually had decades of use before that fateful accident.
This new special volume from the folks at Albatros Publications sheds
some light on these earlier zeppelin models, specifically the P Class
and Q Class Zeppelins.
This book begins with a very fascinating anecdote regarding
the final mission of the L15. This airship went on its final mission over
London on March 31, 1916. I won't ruin the good story, but I will say
that reading this introduction will grab a hold of you and not let go.
After reading that anecdote, I managed to read the rest of the book nonstop
afterwards, even though it was two in the morning. By the end, I had learned
quite a bit about these zeppelins, both from a design point of view, and
operationally.
Like other titles put out by Albatros, this book is a
wonderful blend of text, photos, and drawings. Unlike most of the other
titles, though, the latter in this book are NOT in 1/72. For some reason,
the publisher did not want to have an eight-foot foldout section. Seriously,
though, the drawings are done in two scales, 1/350 for the main drawings
and 1/96 for the details. These will be quite good for those wanting to
scratchbuild one of these large ships. The photos are of an incredible
quality, and include several photos of LZ107, the only documented zeppelin
that was camouflaged.
For those who are interested in zeppelins, this is a
book well worth having. However, do not hesitate, as only 1000 of these
books will be produced. As a special for the summer, Albatros
Publications will send these post-free until September 30, 2006, so
visit their website right away to secure your copy. My thanks to Albatros
Publications for the review copy.
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