To most people, the image conjured when thinking of an airship is that of a cigar-like balloon. This is due in part to Ferdinand von Zeppelin's work in aeronautics. Zeppelin wasn't the first: Henri Giffard built a balloon airship in 1852, and quite a few others followed in his stead.

While adding an engine to a shaped balloon seems like an ideal way of lighter than air transportation, it isn't the only method thought up. Luis Senarens, author of the Frank Reade series, wrote of helicopter airships, a concept that wasn't lost on Jules Vernes. Others would use ornithopters (vehicles that flap their wings like birds) or imaginary anti-gravity fuels to scour the skies.

Robur's Albatross was a helicopter airship, like those of the Reade clan, while Luftkapitain Mors flew a zeppelin.

The airships also appeared in a short VSF comic I drew "L'A�ronef contre la Prusse", which was published in the "Plan B #2". Unfortunately, only VSF fans in Quebec and Ontario can hope to find a copy, but once I've done enough stories I will bring out a compilation.

The dirigeables are made mostly from cardboard. The cabins are 6.5" long by 2" wide by 3" high, and can carry about a dozen figures. The engines are a combination of plastic frames, cardboard, paper, and wotnot. The balloons are built from two cardboard pillboxes connected by a lot of bamboo skewers. A plastic adhesive sheet was used to cover it all, and cardboard cones were used for the tips. Both balloons are 3" in diametre, but one is about 10" long while the other is almost a full foot in length. The dirigeables rest on plastic disposable campagne glasses.

The aeronef is built from an old, broken GI Joe vehicle that I've had since I was a kid. It's around 8.5" in length and 2" in width. It can hold about seven or eight figures. The bottom has been filled up with weights to offset the weight of the figures, and also has two clumsy slots for the pole/block elevated base I cooked up (a big clumsy chunk of wood).

At the game I ran at Cangames 2004, there was an airship on every side. Everyone just loves to soar above the rest (and rain death from above...).