Cardington Airship Mast 1:700 & 1:600 scale

Cardington in Bedfordshire, England was to become one of the World's finestt airship facilities. But with the economic depression of the post Great War years, the Airship station was temporarily closed in 1921 after the completion of the R38. However, it was reopened in 1924 following the British government's announcement of the start of the Imperial Airship Service and the placing of contracts for the R101 and R100 to be built. For communications, a wireless station and  control tower were built on the site and this huge airship mast was erected in 1926. At 202 feet (61.6 mtrs) high and 70 feet (21.3 mtrs) in diameter at the base, the tower was the first ever cantilever mooring mast to be built. It was demolished in 1943 to provide materials to help the WWII effort. The R100 flew from this mast on her successful round trip to Montreal, Canada in July and August of 1930.

The R101 flew her tests flights from the mast and then cast off from here on her final voyage on October 1st the same year. Similar masts were built in Ismailia in Egypt, Karachi in northwestern India and at Saint Hubert Airfield, Montreal.

The model separates into two parts to allow for painting the inside of the tower, the stairway and lift-shaft .  Simply trim off the two "U" shaped sprues from the base to enable the central part to be removed. Sometimes loose powder may clog the join between the two parts  - insert the tip of a penknife blade or similar in the polygonal slot between them and gently lever the central section free. Note the index mark on the bottom of the base showing the correct relative position of the two parts.

SCALE: This model is available in either 1/700th scale OR 1/600th scale. Please check your choice in the top right corner of this page.