# Seaview length extension



## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

My Seaview has been sitting half built for a good year or so since I got the original kit release. There was much talk of someone putting out an extension kit to extend the length of the hull to give it the leaner look of the 17-foot miniature (I know there is debate about whether the proportions of the 8.5 and 17 foot miniatures are actually that different but I would like a leaner look for my Seaview). When the GK makers got short on cash and postponed the extender "plug" I actually (and stupidly) provided them a Seaview kit to use to make the plug master with the proviso that they give me one of the plug kits when they were ready. To make a long story short, that never happened and I'm out the price of the kit--for which I have no one to blame but myself; their company basically broke up and they are on to other projects.

I only mention this to underscore my EXTREME motivation to find a way to extend the Seaview hull an inch and a half or so without costing me an arm, a leg, and another Seaview. It seemed like there might be more than one person working on a plug like this ages ago but since my original plan fell through I haven't heard a thing. Is anyone working on anything like this, OR does anyone have a good plan for doing this extension without a kit? The way the Seaview is reinforced with "bulkheads" on the inside it would seem like it wouldn't be that hard to do, but with the kit's size I don't want to do something that's going to be structurally weak. I know at least one guy did this himself--I have no ability to do casting or anything so it's either using PVC pipe (which I REALLY don't want to do) or cutting down a second kit for the extension...just wondering if there are any brilliant ideas out there.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Good Morning,Mr.Bond.................I just bumped my thread on the Seaview where I made a plug using just the kit parts,no second kit.Send me a PM with an e-mail address and I'll send you the pixs that I took down.It is pretty straight foward.Alex


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## Bwain no more (May 18, 2005)

If anyone is planning on doing surgery on their Seaview, but is concerned about possibly screwing the kit parts up, I bought a few damaged Seaview kits from Frank from the first release (by damaged, I mean the boxes were damaged, but the bagged parts are perfect). These were half off retail; if you'd like one at my cost plus shipping, please email me at [email protected]. I'm pretty sure I have two of these on hand. Frank is great at getting these less than perfect kits out to BUILDERS; I have a few Frankenstein kits (1/8 AND "Monster Scenes") Captain Action and Iron Man as well. :thumbsup:
Tom


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## Gary K (Aug 26, 2002)

jbond said:


> My Seaview has been sitting half built for a good year or so since I got the original kit release. There was much talk of someone putting out an extension kit to extend the length of the hull to give it the leaner look of the 17-foot miniature (I know there is debate about whether the proportions of the 8.5 and 17 foot miniatures are actually that different but I would like a leaner look for my Seaview).


Jeff,

If you want to replicate the look of the 17-footer, you don't need to do anything, since the Moebius kit was based on measurements of the 17-footer that were made while it was residing in Dave Merriman's back yard. At 1/128 scale the 8-window Seaview would be an inch shorter. The shape of the manta fins & the Flying Sub hangar needs revision, but that's another story.

For those of you who don't know the history of the miniatures, both the original 8.5' & 17' models were slightly shorter than the Flying Sub versions. When the miniatures were revised for the 2nd season of VTTBOTS, they were decapitated and the bows were remodeled. New castings of the bows were made and were grafted onto the hulls. The new bows were slightly longer than the originals (slightly over 2.5" in the case of the 8.5' model). If you compare screen caps of the 8-window and FS Seaviews you can see that the tip of the 8-window Seaview's upper deck (which was unchanged) is noticeably closer to the front end of the sub.

Gary


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

That all may be true,but to me the Moebius Sub just looks better with the plug


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

It was probably the lenses used in certain shots--it's obviously a subtle difference and this is just my taste, but I do want to extend it a little. Maybe it's even the shape of the manta fins that adds to the effect--the 1/350 Seaview looks absolutely perfect and has the right leanness to my eyes.


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## Gary K (Aug 26, 2002)

jbond said:


> It was probably the lenses used in certain shots--it's obviously a subtle difference and this is just my taste, but I do want to extend it a little. Maybe it's even the shape of the manta fins that adds to the effect--the 1/350 Seaview looks absolutely perfect and has the right leanness to my eyes.


Actually, the 1/350 Seaview was simply downsized from the 1/128 kit, and I made a few corrections, such as a recontoured hangar bay area and redesigned propulsion tubes. I think the "leanness" of the 1/350 kit is an illusion that can be attributed to the fact that I designed a corrected sail for the model. The sail on the 1/128 kit is 3/16" too tall & its leading edge is too vertical (it should be 55.8-degrees), which may make the body appear too short, even though it isn't. 

Gary


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

Interesting! I'm going to continue with this nutty experiment but maybe I'll play with the sail too, although it's basically built already...I promise to keep my second 1/128 Seaview unlengthened...


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## WEAPON X (Mar 5, 2006)

Whoa!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

If you had to lengthen the big kit, it is not hard to do. Build the hull and saw it in half at the point you want the extension. Then epoxy a section of plastic or metal tube inside, or even wood. Just something the same as the inner diameter as the hull. Fit won't have to be perfect... just something that will allow you to space out the hull for the extended length you want. You can probably fill in here and there with some scraps of plastic and CA glue, then apply a nice layer of epoxy putty over the outside. Something like Aves, Milliput, etc. Then just sand smooth. You could actually laminate together some bass or balsa wood and cut an inner diameter plug that matched the contours of the hull better than just a tube.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Gary K said:


> Actually, the 1/350 Seaview was simply downsized from the 1/128 kit, and I made a few corrections, such as a recontoured hangar bay area and redesigned propulsion tubes. I think the "leanness" of the 1/350 kit is an illusion that can be attributed to the fact that I designed a corrected sail for the model. The sail on the 1/128 kit is 3/16" too tall & its leading edge is too vertical (it should be 55.8-degrees), which may make the body appear too short, even though it isn't.
> 
> Gary


I thought something was odd about the sail, but I just assumed it was the difference between looking at a 40-some year old TV show and a current model kit. I recall you mentioning you had corrected the (fairly glaring) issues with the propulsion tubes but I hadn't heard about the rest of this, when they made the 1/350.

So, any chance for a future re-release you might get a shot at porting those fixes back to the large kit? The revised tooling, along with maybe some other bonus goodies are a sure way to get folks excited about a re-pop. Esp. since it seems rather dim for the 8-window to ever surface...

See what i did there? Surface? Submarine? HA!

sorry....


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## Gary K (Aug 26, 2002)

Steve H said:


> So, any chance for a future re-release you might get a shot at porting those fixes back to the large kit? The revised tooling, along with maybe some other bonus goodies are a sure way to get folks excited about a re-pop. Esp. since it seems rather dim for the 8-window to ever surface...


You should address those questions to Frank, since he's the guy who controls the purse strings. Retooling the propulsion tubes - and possibly the sail and underside of the manta fins - would be an expensive proposition, and sales of a revised re-pop might not justify the expense (esp. in bad economic times). Seems to me this would be an excellent opportunity for an enterprising aftermarket guy.



Steve H said:


> See what i did there? Surface? Submarine? HA!
> 
> sorry....


Very punny... I'm sorry, too. 

Gary


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## Moebius (Mar 15, 2007)

Retooling the propulsion tubes is most likely out of the question. I think it's a little more complicated than just relocating, there would be so much more involved I just don't see doing it. But hey, 2011 is coming you just never know what we'll ask Gary to slap together for us....


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Well, it's a shame, 20/20 hindsight of course, that the Seaview tooling wasn't designed a bit more modular, but that would have been more money, more parts, more risk of something going out of alignment (just like the real one!), and likely structural integrity issues for those wanting to put R/C equipment in the hull...

So Gary suggests some enterprising folk (no, no, this isn't a Star Trek kit Gary!) think up some aftermarket fixes eh? Hmmm, like certain 'professional multi media' kits made by a certain company? Hmmm? 

But would just new Propulsion Tubes do the job? Doesn't the aft hull need some resculpting? And I assume nothing but an entire new nose fixes the FS bay issue. 

Still, it could be worse. Oh, so so worse. 

(Sez the guy who's seen a number of the Japanese Seaview kits from the '60s and wonders just what drugs they were on...)


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