I am Gino Hart, and I am an artist. The "HINDENBURG!" project was shelved in 2014 because at that time I wasn't a famous artist, and the construction of the "TINTANIC" took precedence as that was a much-much BIGGER project. I thought it would be so easy to construct a HINDENBURG - nay.. fiddling with broomsticks and hula hoops proved only one thing - I was fabulous at building traffic cones...
The "HINDENBURG!" had been pre-booked for a launch debut a year in advance - following the retirement of "TINTANIC", and I was beginning to think I should just give the money back and accept humiliating failure. The last thing any artist wants to say to Mr. Client is "sorry I couldn't do it".
I had known of a fabulous 1-meter HINDENBURG airship model framework which exists in Germany, but I never thought would ever see it in South Africa - and I didn't - well not that particular one. I was making my way to mail off a parcel in Randburg when I happened to see the tail end of one of these sticking out of a hobby shop window display, and I rushed in to find out more. It turned out that this particular design was manufactured around the corner from "TINTANIC" at her last port of call and the company KRAFT produced them commercially as 1 meter framework model kits.
With the 1-meter framework in hand I got a better understanding of the HINDENBURG design, but it also brought home the immensely complicated shapes required to fashion a large-scale replica which would be flawless. I felt there was only one thing I could do... call up the artist or company and ask for a bigger one.
The "HINDENBURG!" had been pre-booked for a launch debut a year in advance - following the retirement of "TINTANIC", and I was beginning to think I should just give the money back and accept humiliating failure. The last thing any artist wants to say to Mr. Client is "sorry I couldn't do it".
I had known of a fabulous 1-meter HINDENBURG airship model framework which exists in Germany, but I never thought would ever see it in South Africa - and I didn't - well not that particular one. I was making my way to mail off a parcel in Randburg when I happened to see the tail end of one of these sticking out of a hobby shop window display, and I rushed in to find out more. It turned out that this particular design was manufactured around the corner from "TINTANIC" at her last port of call and the company KRAFT produced them commercially as 1 meter framework model kits.
With the 1-meter framework in hand I got a better understanding of the HINDENBURG design, but it also brought home the immensely complicated shapes required to fashion a large-scale replica which would be flawless. I felt there was only one thing I could do... call up the artist or company and ask for a bigger one.
The conversation with Mr. David Kessel from KRAFT was unusual - it must have sounded delusional. I had a telephone conference with him while he was on holiday, and I explained to him who I was and what I was trying to accomplish with the "HINDENBURG!" project. I asked if there was any chance that he could possibly enlarge the 1-meter KRAFT model framework to meet my scale requirements - and he just laughed and said, "well how big do you want it?" to which I replied "4-meters"...
It just so happened that KRAFT had created a monstrous 4.2 meters *(13 ft.) upscale version as a COVID project to promote their 1-meter KRAFT model kit. A series of in person meetings took place later down the line and KRAFT released the impressive HINDENBURG framework to me to further detail and then create a travelling EXHIBITION around it. The upgrade of the bare 4.2-meter framework to a complete airship took 9 months and as with the case of "TINTANIC" construction - it took much longer than anticipated to create the completed "HINDENBURG!".
It just so happened that KRAFT had created a monstrous 4.2 meters *(13 ft.) upscale version as a COVID project to promote their 1-meter KRAFT model kit. A series of in person meetings took place later down the line and KRAFT released the impressive HINDENBURG framework to me to further detail and then create a travelling EXHIBITION around it. The upgrade of the bare 4.2-meter framework to a complete airship took 9 months and as with the case of "TINTANIC" construction - it took much longer than anticipated to create the completed "HINDENBURG!".
Additional cabinets were constructed for the floor displays which would hold real World War II artifacts and replicas and I also wanted to be creative with the way the information and historical context was transferred to the audience. I wanted the "HINDENBURG!" exhibit to feature the content via a digitally advanced platform of scanning QR CODES to have the information displayed on the visitor's smartphone screen and sharable with any other device - very technologically advanced.
Delivering the completed "HINDENBURG!" on time for the debut proved a challenge in itself. This dang thing just can't land on time... just like the real HINDENBURG. We were still adding the engines when we arrived for the first show, and the debut - despite opening late - was a thrilling success.
Delivering the completed "HINDENBURG!" on time for the debut proved a challenge in itself. This dang thing just can't land on time... just like the real HINDENBURG. We were still adding the engines when we arrived for the first show, and the debut - despite opening late - was a thrilling success.
As an artist, the lure of the HINDENBURG was irresistible because it's a story that not everyone is familiar with. Although not as famous as its counterpart TITANIC - the story has all the elements of a disaster recipe that one would expect. It's not just eight minutes of balling blow torch flame on screen, it has touching moments and drama, and peppered with dazzling heroes and notorious villains. There is a mystery about the famous Zeppelin that makes you take a moment and think - what would you have done if you were there?
"HINDENBURG!" THE HUMANITY is a show about our humanity towards each other, it's about the mystery of the human condition - and the greatness of German engineering - nothing else.
"HINDENBURG!" THE HUMANITY is a show about our humanity towards each other, it's about the mystery of the human condition - and the greatness of German engineering - nothing else.