Googl's "special search" celebrating the first hot air balloons got me to thinking - always a dangerous thing - about making one in N scale. http://images.google.com/images?ndsp=20&um=1&hl=en&q=first+hot+air+balloon&start=0&sa=N How would you make one in N scale? Cloth? Paper mache? Foam? Any ideas?
The Galveston County Model RR Club has one on their NTRAK layout. They use a loop of mono filament line suspended between two wheels from each end of the layout, kind of like an old cloths line but motor driven. Suspended below the line they have a hot air balloon and Super Man. They pass each other somewhere in the middle.
Years ago I found some plastic bulb which I think originally held some kind of candy. It was the perfect size and shape for an N-Scale hot air balloon. It went into one of my “parts boxes” and I haven’t seen it since. I’ve never found another one like it. It seems to me one of the Euro companies produced an N-Scale hot air balloon back in the early ‘90s. I was going to get one but they came in a set with a bunch of other stuff I didn’t want and I wasn’t willing to pay the exurbanite price just for the balloon.
SOme time ago BLW offered some balloons - I've got several on my layout - they even have N scale folks in the basket. Toots
The NM N Scale Railrunners, I think, have a module or two with hot air balloons. Not unusual as Albuquerque hosts the Balloon Fiesta every October, and it is the largest such affair in the world. We have all sorts of hot air balloon stuff here, especially Xmas ornaments, which might be just right for N scale. I know I've seen a hot air balloon that rises and falls along a monofiliament line somewhere.
Not all hot air balloons are the same . Eveready Bunny , Darth Vader head , and this thing are some examples http://utubelaughter.blogspot.com/2007/07/condom-shaped-hot-air-balloon.html . All you need is a basket hung beneath in a realistic way .
I've flown in the Running Shoe, the Saguaro Cactus, and in the Allied Moving Van. The shapes are great fun, although sometimes challenging to fill. Especially that cactus! You won't see too many balloons over metro areas. Mostly suburban or countryside, because of launch and landing considerations. Cool idea for a layout, and true scale doesn't really matter.
Since I'm about four miles from the International Balloon Park, they often land in my backyard. Albuquerque is one of the few urban areas where balloons are not just permitted but encouraged. However, landing sites are disappearing as the city/county grows. The "Albuquerque Box" is renowned worldwide. On Fall early mornings, cool air off the mountains streams close to the ground to the west, while warmer air at higher altitudes streams to the east. With a little skill, it's possible to take off, ascend and travel to the east, then descend and travel to the west. Balloons often land near the same spot from which they took off. The box breaks down in mid-morning, so the prevailing winds carry the later balloons. I have literally thousands of balloons pictures--none of them uploaded to the Web. I'll see what I have, and upload one.
They fly over the house. We talk to the pilots: When the "box" breaks down, they land all over the neighborhood. They give us a bottle of champagne for landing in the back yard. We drink it right there: Sorry, don't have any special shapes uploaded. These are some of the hugest balloons ever made.
Very clever. I live in the (once beautiful and bucolic horse and farm) county of Bucks, PA. While it is now sorely populated with overgrowth of subprime mortgage holders losing their homes everyday, a cheery overflight of the also, "once often" hot air balloon transverses the sky. Now there's just not as many farm fields to land in so they head to NJ where the taxes are so high- no one bothered to buy up the open farmlands there in the SW corner of the state to over build. Mark (w/apologies for the soapboxing)
The same thing is happening here in wide-open Albuquerque. The city/county is negotiating to buy landing spots. When I built my house in North Albuquerque Acres in 1992, you could see it (with eagle eyes) from I-25 four miles to the west, Paseo del Norte from I-25 to the mountains to the north (direct distance 1 mile), and Tramway where it turned west. Now you can't see it from the next block. Growth happens. In my case it's been much to my financial benefit, as I took a big risk in 1992 and stayed put.
Steve, Not that I know of. I lot of the souvenir-type shops turn over yearly (or faster), and the long-established jewelry shops and galleries are pretty old-fashioned. Old Town is the place to look, but I haven't been down there to shop for a few years. Old Town Albuquerque has a web site with the galleries, etc. You might start there. I imagine that 80% of sales are at booths at the week-long balloon fiesta. When you have 100-200K people on a field lined with booths, merchandise moves very fast!
Several New Mexico Rail RunNers members have Hot Air Balloons on their home layouts, I don't know of any on our club modules. We do have a Crop Duster on our Milagro module. It is the second airplane, as someone stole the first one at a Show we were doing. Charlie Baker has a balloon suspended on his nice home layout, and several others painted on the skyboard. He might be able to tell you where he got his balloon. He reads Train Board all the time. Buzz Lenander
You live in a pretty nice city there Pete. I was just there for the NMRA Convention enjoyed every minute and the weather
