Thanks for the comments, everybody! I just got back from the in-laws and will finish this beast this week!

A cloth texture is a relatively easy thing to do, I do a canvas texture in Photoshop which (if scaled correctly) approximates the cloth covering of the airship. As for color, it will be an aluminum-like silvery finish. A few color photos of the airship "Hindenburg" exist which give a better idea of what it will look like.

I redid the control car before I left and it already looks 1000 times better. As for the rest of it, it's coming along! Again, more pix to follow! :-)