A French Revolutionary balloon

First, an apology is due as I haven't posted for some time about our beloved period.

but I wasn't idle this period as a long time wish came true: adding a balloon to the French Revolutionary army.

The ready product is here; hovering about the great defenders of the revolutionary ideas! The pictures are taken at home and are not the best!

As always I tried to use things at hand to make the balloon; so some pictures how I made it:

First I took an styreen ball of 15cm diamter and a net from mandarins. A small basket was made by a friend (in fact it is crochet - is that the correct word?) and connect the basket with some strings to the netting.

 
Of course the balloon needs to hang in the air so I had to make a hook which in fact is a plastic rod for closing and  openings curtains which with a candleflame was bent.

And of course it need a stand which was made of leftover plastic sheet, a piece of wood in which I drilled a hole as wide as the rod was, plaster etc

And at last making the terrain of the stand:

Et voila, a balloon is ready

On the terrain and in the balloon basket, Victrix 1804-1812 artillerymen in various poses; maybe not totally correct for this period but the possibility to change armpositions was very usefull.