Thaddeus Lowe and the Atlantic
Thaddeus Lowe and John LaMountain both carried out reconnaissance activities for the Union army during the war. On September 24th 1861, Lowe ascended to more than 1000 feet near Arlington Virginia, across the Potomac from Washington DC and began telegraphing intelligence on the Confederate troops located at Falls Church, Virginia more than three miles away. Union guns were aimed and fired accurately at the Confederate troops without actually being able to see them-a first in the history of warfare.
Great job, both on the baloon figure and the info!!!
ReplyDeleteAeronauts rule!
ReplyDeleteGreat model - I always meant to make one of these for my own Civil forces but never got around to it. Nice to see your figures in action too.
ReplyDeleteIan
Looks really good, what is it made of?
ReplyDeleteThe historical informaiton was very interesting as well :-)
I would love to see a tutorial or some work in project pictures on one of your scratch builds...
ReplyDeleteAnother great piece!
Wow, will it ever get cooler than this? Awesome work!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! Love old Thaddeus in the gondola - looking like he's writing down intel. It reminds me of the balloon scene from "Mysterious Island" - Great work. Regards, Dean
ReplyDeleteThat really is a very original and very cool piece. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWow that's sweet. Ditto the above -- would love to know how you made it.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteI made this starting with 2 balloons, one was blown up for the main part, the second balloon was cut in half and glued to the bottom of the first balloon to give it that teardrop look. Then, tore off strips of newspaper dipped in combination of glue and water and covered the balloon. I used a white plastic garbage bag over the balloon. The net came from a dollar store, It held 4 wiffle balls, that worked good because its got stretch to it.
The miniature in the basket is a battlefield artist in 28mm from a company in England. I just made a tripod for it so it looks like it up in the air.
That is awsome, how did I not notice this sooner!
ReplyDeleteReally, really superb (and very interesting) captain, What a collection you have.
ReplyDeleteKeep em coming!!!
Cheers
Paul
Thanks for the description, Captain. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteNicely done! I would, however, politely suggest a different title for this project: "John La Mountain and the Atlantic" as it was his personal balloon . . . that and the two Aeronauts didn't really get along or play nice with each other. La Mountain would never have allowed Lowe in his basket and Lowe would rather be caught dead.
ReplyDeleteAs the Civil War Balloon Guy I say Huzzah to you Sir! Well done!
Your Humble Servant,
Kevin Knapp / Thaddeus Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History
https://www.facebook.com/civilwarballoons/
For education / awareness: The balloon envelope's "teardrop look" is that of a partially inflated balloon which is more pronounced when aloft with the added weight of passengers in the basket below it. A fully inflated balloon is round like a ball. The only photograph of a fully inflated Federal Balloon we have is that of the "Constitution" at Gaines Mill https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lta-balloons-usa-civil-war-lowe-thaddeus-sobieski-constantine-constitution-gaines
ReplyDeleteYour Humble Servant,
Kevin Knapp / Thaddeus Lowe, Aeronaut
Civil War Balloon Corps Living History
https://www.facebook.com/civilwarballoons/