# A tail of 2 Seaviews



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I've had the old Polar Lights Seaview for a long time. I also had an aftermarket new nose and flying sub that I bought with it.

I went down to look for it, I found the kit, but the nose/FS seams long gone.

I wanted to build the TV version so I picked up the newer Moebius small Seaview. That came and looks very nice. But it does not have a 
small FS or any interior. ParaGrafix came to the rescue on both.

Now I'm thinking why not build both Seaviews! They are small so they won't take up much shelf space.



















It's already very apparent that the Moebius kit has a better shape and
looks to be a much better kit. No surprise as the PL kit is just a 
repop of the old Aurora kit from the '60s.

I've just started both. I have the upper hull halves glued.










I'm thinking I might put a LED in the front of the Moebius kit to 
show off Paul's great work on the PE set. At some point I'll have to decide if I want to build the full FS bay or just pose the mini FS
with the Seaview.

I guess I'll have to re-watch a few VTTBOTS episodes to reacquaint
myself with the colors. 

The last time I built a Seaview Bell bottom pants were in style. Both builds look straight forward, but does anyone have any ideas/tips?

Thanks
Mark


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

I built the Polar Lights Seaview kit myself awhile back. I also got the Paragrafix PE and a resin Flying Sub to go along with it. I of course had to light it up. I weathered her to make her look like she'd been at sea for awhile.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Trekkriffic said:


> I built the Polar Lights Seaview kit myself awhile back. I also got the Paragrafix PE and a resin Flying Sub to go along with it. I of course had to light it up. I weathered her to make her look like she'd been at sea for awhile.


Any photos? I would love to see it. I don't remember a build thread on it.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

mach7 said:


> Any photos? I would love to see it. I don't remember a build thread on it.


Here's one photo:










And here's a link to the Photobucket album:

Seaview by Steve J | Photobucket

It has finished picks on the first two pages and five more pages of in-progress pics.

I had a lot of fun with the photo-etch crewmen:


















I even scratched a spiral staircase:


















And here are a couple of pics of my 8 window Seaview:


















It's lit with GOW bulbs. I built it before I learned about LED's.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Nice!

What color is the Moebius seaview? Gull grey?

The PL Seaview looks to be blue/grey?


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

On Hulu, I watched the first and second seasons of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

The first season used the 8 window sub. Low and behold the Aurora Seaview made a few appearances!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

mach7 said:


> Nice!
> 
> What color is the Moebius seaview? Gull grey?
> 
> The PL Seaview looks to be blue/grey?


The Moebius sub I believe was painted Light Ghost Grey on top and Flat White with a touch of Light Ghost Grey on the underside. 

The PL Seaview was painted Intermediate Blue and Flat White mixed with a touch of Intermediate Blue on the underside. 

I went with the darker color for the 8 window sub because that's how it looked to me when it broke the surface in the arctic in the opening movie scene. Now I'm thinking it should be a lighter, more neutral grey, so I may do a repaint at some point.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

charonjr said:


> On Hulu, I watched the first and second seasons of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
> 
> The first season used the 8 window sub. Low and behold the Aurora Seaview made a few appearances!


You saw the Aurora Seaview model in the TV series? Really? First I've heard of that.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Trekkriffic said:


> You saw the Aurora Seaview model in the TV series? Really? First I've heard of that.


I was kind of under the impression they didn't manage to get the kit out until sometime in the second season, hence the sad 'flying sub outline' carved into the keel plate. 

Mind, I'm pretty sure there was a small Seaview filming miniature that looked a heck of a lot like the Aurora kit (and hence a bit off-model to the larger miniatures  ) .


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

charonjr said:


> The first season used the 8 window sub. Low and behold the Aurora Seaview made a few appearances!


Which episodes?

Doug


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I started sanding the other day. The PL Seaview needed a lot to fix the seams. 

The Moebius SV needed just a quick cleanup, But the sail once glued together is way
too thin to fit over the raised locator on the decking. I'm having to shave the locator to get
the sail to fit.

The shape of the PL kit is way off!


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm almost done construction on the PL kit. 
I'm still cleaning up the seams. I'll wash it soon and put on
a coat of primer to see whats what.










I've cut out the flyingsub door on the Moebius kit. so far cleaning the
seams in this kit is easier, it seems like a well engineered kit.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I started on the Paragrfix PE set.


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

This is a great thread for those of us who haven't built these kits! Thanks for posting!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Steve H said:


> I was kind of under the impression they didn't manage to get the kit out until sometime in the second season, hence the sad 'flying sub outline' carved into the keel plate.  .


I think the original, long box, black plastic, kit did not have the outline but that was added along with some other surface detail for the 1970s big box issue that included a base and was molded in green and grey plastic.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Trekkriffic,

Did you have to grind out any of the forward upper hull to get the PE FS bay and observation room?
Mine seems to be about 1/8 inch too tall. I mounted the Flying Sub bay inside the hull instead of flush
with the outer hull and it looks like yours is that way also. The Instructions indicate it should be that way.

Thanks

Mark


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

djnick66 said:


> I think the original, long box, black plastic, kit did not have the outline but that was added along with some other surface detail for the 1970s big box issue that included a base and was molded in green and grey plastic.


Um, I don't think there was any change to the kit other than swapping out the original narrow base for the base used in the Sealab kit. I'm sure someone can confirm or deny this (Gary K, wanna take a break from the Enterprise for a moment?  ). 

I can 100% affirm that the narrow box kit I bought and built in the '60s (and really, who can forget the smell of that Aurora styrene? To this day I recall it fondly.) had the faux Flying Sub outline on the keel part because that very shape was what filled the space between the manta fins. 

Man that was a pig of a kit. I tried to build it with Ambroid 'airplane glue' (for balsa wood models) because the hardware store I bought the kit from had no idea about styrene plastic. I learned. I learned. And I had to pry dried Ambroid off the parts. 

... you know, think, just for a moment, about that paragraph. Unpack all that. I was a wee tyke back in the mid '60s but I could walk to the local hardware store, look at their selection of Aurora kits, and buy one with pocket change. That is series of actions that is 100% impossible today. 

I love much about today. I also hate much.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Steve H said:


> Um, I don't think there was any change to the kit other than swapping out the original narrow base for the base used in the Sealab kit. I'm sure someone can confirm or deny this (Gary K, wanna take a break from the Enterprise for a moment?  ).
> 
> I can 100% affirm that the narrow box kit I bought and built in the '60s (and really, who can forget the smell of that Aurora styrene? To this day I recall it fondly.) had the faux Flying Sub outline on the keel part because that very shape was what filled the space between the manta fins.


That's correct. I built several of the original-issue Aurora Seaviews and they all had that engraved Flying Sub-shaped outline on the underside of the bow.

For God knows what reason, Aurora added thick, out-of-scale panel lines (hull welds?) to the 1975 reissue. Never mind that the filming miniatures had smooth hulls, just like real nuclear submarines.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

scotpens said:


> That's correct. I built several of the original-issue Aurora Seaviews and they all had that engraved Flying Sub-shaped outline on the underside of the bow.
> 
> For God knows what reason, Aurora added thick, out-of-scale panel lines (hull welds?) to the 1975 reissue. Never mind that the filming miniatures had smooth hulls, just like real nuclear submarines.


Thank you. Panel lines?! 

I never, ever saw that. Was the reissue with the Sealab base (better, the base of the Sealab kit, re purposed) done before the panel line nonsense?

'75 was the growing of my obsession with armor. And the occasional Japanese 'play model' that was imported by a company called 'Paramount' (not affiliated with the movie studio). I always wanted that Imai 'King Shark' submarine(!) tank but could never find one.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

mach7 said:


> Trekkriffic,
> 
> Did you have to grind out any of the forward upper hull to get the PE FS bay and observation room?
> Mine seems to be about 1/8 inch too tall. I mounted the Flying Sub bay inside the hull instead of flush
> ...


I wouldn't have needed to grind away any plastic from the inner hull above the control room to get it to fit because I actually mounted the flying sub bay inside the lower hull opening as you can see in this picture:










So I think the control room would have fit fine if not for some of the mods I had to make for adding LED's to a ceiling I constructed over the back of the control room. So I actually did end up doing some grinding:



















I also had to create clearance for the gear and spindle mechanism I constructed at the rear of the control room for the fishing line to flying sub launch and retrieval system; an idea I later abandoned: 










So, if not for these modifications, I think there would have been just enough clearance without needing to grind away at the kit plastic.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Wow! that FS launching system would have been cool!

I have re positioned the curved beams and tried some other things but it still 
won't fit. I guess I'll get out the dremel.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

mach7 said:


> Wow! that FS launching system would have been cool!
> 
> I have re positioned the curved beams and tried some other things but it still
> won't fit. I guess I'll get out the dremel.


Have you tried repositioning the control room to move it back a little or is it glued to the flying sub bay already?


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

No, it's not glued yet. I could do that and build an extended floor, but that wont be an issue.

I'm kind of leaning to grinding a bit. It seems that the problem area is the cross beam that the curved girders
attach to. Its not flush with the sides.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I've been away from the Seaviews for a while.

I got a coat of primer on the PL Seaview. 










Some more filling.










I've ground into the Moebius Seaview top, but it still does not fit. :-(


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

This is fascinating.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Thanks.

I should get the stock PL kit done soon. 
The Moebius kit will be a little longer. I have to figure out how
to get everything to fit.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm still working on this in between other projects.

I've dermeled out the top of the hull but the observation lounge still will not fit.
I've tried a few other things with no luck so...

I'm disassembling the observation lounge and I'm going to try and cut some pieces down.










It fits like this, now to add the cross beam/girders. I've cut off about 1mm off the cross beam
support. Maybe that will help.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Very cool.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

After over a year I decided to just finish these up. I'm not really proud of either of them. It's not my best work, but I figured I'd
just do the minimum to get them on my Irwin Allen shelf. 

Overall the PL/Aurora kit is terrible. The fit is bad, the shape is bad, the detail is bad, but I love it for nostalgia.

The Moebius kit is a much better shape and the detail is better. Some of the fit is not great. The sail top was way too big, the sail would not fit well on the deck, mostly the forward hull bottom does not fit at all. That could be because I mounted the flying sub bay
on top of the lower hull, it should be recessed into it. This caused much fit issues that required many rebuilds. So that one is
probably on me.

The mini flying sub looks great! Nice job Paragrafix!














































I'll have to find some photos of the finished PL kit. Sorry.

Anyway, I just wanted to finally close out this thread.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for the closure and the excellent pix of an EXCELLENT build!!


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Very nice build! Thanks for sharing. I have been so tempted by the big Seaview but I just don't know where I would put it!


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Fozzie,
I got the big Seaview at the last founders day sale, but like you I have
no idea where I to put it when I build it.


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