Price: $5.00 USD
The Grosse Louis
A Victorian Science-Fiction Balloon
The Grosse Louis was designed and constructed in response to the tragic loss of the renowned explorer Hugues Baschet and his friend Professor Théophile Picard during their daring attempt to explore the interior of French Congo by balloon. Launched June 23rd, 1899, from Brazzaville on the Congo River, their free balloon drifted Northeast over the jungle and disappeared. This left Henri Félix de Lamothe, the Govenor of the Colony and the directors of the Société Commerciale Coloniale de la Mamberé-Sangha holding the bag for the cost of the lost balloon, with nothing to show for it. So, they did as governments have always done. They threw more money at the problem.
February 10th of 1901 saw the first flight of Le Grosse Louis, a daring new rigid dirigible powered by an experimental liquid paraffin engine rated at 75 horsepower. The new balloon was a success, making many exploration flights over the jungles of central Africa.
Reviresco's kit of this amazing colonial wonder weapon in 1:64th scale is over 20 inches long, and has room for seven 28mm figures in its large basket. The easy-to-build downloadable kit consists of six sheets plus instructions. The balloon's crew consisting of four French Senegalese Tirailleurs, one officer and an engineer, plus cast-metal wheels and accessories, are available from Reviresco.
