Alexander S Sweatman
Rankin Park, New South Wales, Australia
Using a Mark.I Models 1/720 scale K-Type blimp built box stock, Alexander’s diorama depicts the events of July 18, 1943, when a Navy K-74 blimp was shot down over the Straits of Florida — the only airship lost to enemy action during World War II — by a Type VIIC U-boat, U-134. He built a U-134 from a HobbyBoss 1/700 scale kit upgraded with photo-etched metal parts from a Flyhawk U-boat kit. Both models feature Tamiya acrylic finishes. Alexander weathered the U-boat with Vallejo pigments and a gray wash. The depth charge explosions/splashes were created by covering pieces of foam with Vallejo acrylic snow. Alexander modeled the water with architectural sheet painted in varying shades of blue.