# 350th Seaview:My build so far.



## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

This is a great little kit.
My only gripes: it needs an interior, a sub bay and a Flying Sub...lol
For the interior and the sub bay there is only one game in town. ParaGrafix. Paul has done a nice P/E set that has an interior, sub bay, limberholes,
antennas and crew figures.
To fit the FS bay, you need to cut out the bay door. (it took about 5 minutes to score around the door with the back of an X-Acto knife)
.
















It fits very nicely if you take your time and carefully sand the door opening to fit.
The control room is a hoot. take your time with detail painting, (leave it flat untill you are done with all the detailing) it folds together and assembles into a pretty cool little jem.








The fit of the upper hull to the pressure hull is very nice. (I installed the upper hull to minimize any slight gaps)


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Steve,
Looks great so far! How in the world do you paint the interior when it is so freakin' small?
Looks very cool!

MMM


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks!...Teensy weensie brushes....lol..and some colored decal paper..
I shot the PE with a thin coat of white primer. Then I masked off the areas to stay white, and painted the blue deck. I masked that off and then painted the collision doors silver. The wood grain is brown decal and some paint. the maps and screens are blue decal cut to fit.








The P/Ehas nice detail molded in, you just have to be careful.








It's tiny, but the kit really needs an interior.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I really like what you have done with this kit. I think I am going to hold off for a bit- somebody has got to produce a little Flying Sub to go with this scale. The Interior bay I can scratch up OK- not too hung up on a nose interior right now but if there is ever a hatch or landing bay in a kit I want to open it up.

There is a dramatic difference in the Moebius and Aurora subs in that photo- like night and day....

.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks, Richard. One of the differences is my skill level, I was just sticking stuff together when I built the PL Sub.
It was a fun build, but the moebius Seaview is a very elegant looking kit.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

That's looking very sharp Steve! Fantastic painting in the observation lounge ... and the chart table is amazing.

I can't wait to see it complete!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks! here a shot of the Stbd. side.








Painting little bitty guys and the stand today..


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Did you use CA or solder to glue in the girders ?


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I know at that magnification it looks like giant blobs of solder..lol
I used a thick CA(the finished kit needs to be able to travel)
If I was building it for my collection, white glue would have been enough...the girders fit nicely into the frame.
This stuff is tiny, but cool.








After a near fatal fall for my big Flying Sub, ALL my builds are getting weighted stands;








Then I just cut out a base cover from sheet:









Steve


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Ok, I got the primer on the main hull( needs a little more filler) clear parts are coated with Future. and I got some crew starting to show up.








here's what I decided to do with the stand:









The really is a fun kit to build!..please don't let 'em pile up dust in the closet.
You can have a great looking Seaview on your shelf in a few evenings.

And I guess I'm gonna be the guy to do the emergency surfacing dio...lol

Steve


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Looking good, Steve!


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm lovin' it!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thank you guys so much! My heart/skills are on my sleeve when it comes to bases and things like that. 

Thanks again, you two. 

This kit is a hoot. it's easy to "Zoom" around the room...lol

Steve


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## hedorah59 (Nov 24, 2008)

Thanks for posting all the in progress pics, Steve - My LCS finally got one in for me, though it will be a bit before I can start it.


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## Edge (Sep 5, 2003)

Very cool progress. Just wondering where the giant hand and penny came from?


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks Guys! I'm having lots of fun with this one.I was washing the hull before painting, and I remembered washing the big Seaview...in the shower...this one's lots easier to work on...lol

More pics tonight

Steve


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

steve123 said:


> Thanks Guys! I'm having lots of fun with this one.I was washing the hull before painting, and I remembered washing the big Seaview...in the shower...this one's lots easier to work on...lol
> 
> More pics tonight
> 
> Steve


Taking a shower with a model- now that is serious love...

.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

TMI man TMI...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I feel 'kinda bad for any guy that dosen't have a Big Seaview...

Steve


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

steve123 said:


> I feel 'kinda bad for any guy that dosen't have a Big Seaview...
> 
> Steve


That's OK- I have a girlfriend who is also fun in the shower...


.


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## oshkosh619 (Feb 24, 2009)

Richard Baker said:


> That's OK- I have a girlfriend who is also fun in the shower...
> 
> 
> .


ROFLMAO.... oh man, the innuendoes that come to mind like.... "Take her down, Lee", "Dive! Dive!" .... gives a whole new meaning to "blowing ballast" :thumbsup::wave:


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

"Fire one torpedo"?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Emergency Blow!!!

.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

"Periscope up, sir -- WAY up!!"


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Kinda wandering off topic aren't we!?


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Moving right along....

I'm working on the sail now, the top dosen't fit as well as the big seaview's I goofed when assembling due to not checking( I glued the port and starboard sides together and left the top for later). If I'd have checked fit,I would have been able to put a piece of sprue inside the sail to expand it just a touch. 








it's not a big thing at all, just annoying that I missed it.

Steve


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Do you think it was a unique problem with this particualr kit or just the way it was designed?
It would seem odd that you would need to distort a piece just to get it to assemble properly...

.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

The walls of the sail are thin,and as I tried to sand the little bit of filler I was using, they would flex and I couldn't sand the excess away.Just now I stuck a piece of sprue in there to give the sides some rigidity. It might just be my copy, but the sail top was an RCH bigger on one side than the sail itself. remember the top of the big Seaview sail and how well it fit?..(I used a little white glue to seal the tiny gap it had).I think it might just be the thinness of the sail sides. The sprue seems to have done the trick, as soon as it dries and I dress the seam I'll shoot another pic(notice also there are two tiny shallow sink marks in the sail) I'm sure they were almost unavoidable due to the way the top of the sail is molded.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Its not uncommon for parts to not fit perfectly (oddly). On the kit instructions you can see it doesnt fit too well


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I agree. it's up to us the builder to fix any little troubles and to use our skills to make as nice a model as we can.

I don't want this to get all blown out of proportion either. This is a wonderful little kit. The majority of seams look like this:








I'm just picky, I like the finished model to be the best I can make it. Most builders won't even mess with fixing the sail.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Just about all dialed in:


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## john_trek (Apr 13, 2000)

steve123 said:


> It might just be my copy, but the sail top was an RCH bigger on one side than the sail itself.


Wow. Deja vu. Just yesterday I returned from an extended trip up to the mountains, where I was working on the family summer cabin. It was as a young lad, apprenticing to the carpenter we hired to do the interior finish work, that I learned the importance of adding or subtracting an RCH from a measurement in order to get the perfect fit. 

In all the years since then I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone else use that term.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I used to do interior finish work ...lots of RCHs..lol

The kit has lots of detail,it just needs a little love to bring it out.








Oh, make sure you remove the part #s from inside the prop nacelles,(yes they do show)
Today was spent annealing the brass and installing it.








I heated the brass with a torch untill it changed color, it was cool watching it, like a storm front moving in..
The PE lays down nicely after annealing and rolling out with a section of bar stock.









Steve


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

I get the CH, but what does the R stand for?

It may be a regional variant I'm not aware of


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Red. I'm guessing they're even thinner than blonde or brunnette.

Steve - That's looking great!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I wasn't sure how I felt about the PE limber holes, but after getting them on and painted, they look great! the holes are nice and crisp.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Did you notice tiny bumps along the hull top edge next to the missile doors? I thought they were the little hand holds as molded on the large kit, but they were very faint and sort of disappeared on the right side compared to the left... so I sanded them off. Was odd...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

No, Now that's wierd...Unless I sanded 'em off when I sealed the deck...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

This kit is a hoot, Paul's PE set helps guys like me to get great results with minimal skills.







I need to adjust some of the crew's posture...lol
I found the best way to trim the little stubs, from the PE is to use cuticle scissors:









Using the PE hatches meant I didn't need to worry about saving the kit's hatches when I was fixing the sail.


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Are you painting the limber holes the different shade of grey?


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Sorry, PE is short for photo etch. Paragrafix's web address is:
http://www.paragrafix.biz/

It's thin highly detailed brass that modelers use to add complex or fine added detail to their models.

Steve


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Antimattter; why did you change your question? (what is"PE" and do they have a website?)
...anyway the inside of the limber holes will be black..a little wash will take care of that.


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

steve123 said:


> This kit is a hoot, Paul's PE set helps guys like me to get great results with minimal skills.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, it appears that crew has been drinking on duty!


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Or, as Steve Martin used to say ... They got small


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

It was an easy fix...I bent 'dey 'lil feet.

Steve


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

See? All bedder now...I took a little future and applied it to the deck to hide the "fogging" that superglue can do.








Again, I didn't need much filler to blend the engine nacelles to the main hull. I apply the putty, then take a cotton swab dipped in alcohol and wipe the excess away.








I did need to re do the horizontal fin seams. I sanded a bit too rigorously and broke both seams open..DOH!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I do think sanding and blending the pods and fins really helps. Good to see you back on board with your kit!


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

steve123 said:


> I used to do interior finish work ...lots of RCHs..lol
> 
> The kit has lots of detail,it just needs a little love to bring it out.
> 
> ...


Why did you heat the PE?


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

steve123 said:


> Antimattter; why did you change your question? (what is"PE" and do they have a website?)
> ...anyway the inside of the limber holes will be black..a little wash will take care of that.


I changed it about 2 minutes after I posted. I figured out what PE was and I ordered it yesterday for the 1/350. Do you plan on painting the limber hole sheet a darker shade of grey?


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I heated the large limber hole panels (it's called annealing) to soften the brass. that allows you to get a very nice fit to the sub's hull. You only need to do this to pieces that are not laying down or conforming to the kit. I'll use a black wash to accent the holes.
When you heat the brass, you will notice the metal change color slightly...not carbon build up but a subtle rainbow effect. 
Paul, you need to make PE to fit the various F-100 Super Saber kits, Finally a way to get that burnt metal look!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I used the TSDS decals for the inside prop baffle vents. You can apply the decal after the model is built and painted. Then stick the prop in last. 

The molding inside the engine nacelles is poor in both the 1/128 and 1/350 kits. I don't know why they molded the part number inside the open, visible ends?!?! One of those WTF kind of moments I guess. Why not put it BEHIND the baffle plate where you can't see it!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I know! it was a bear to sand in there too...
I don't remember the big one having nasty nacelles..but it's been almost a year.

Henry's decs are great, a little micro set and they lay right down and stick like glue. With a little coaxing they lay down over ANY detail I've set them on.

BTW I'm going to Caboose Hobbies today, and I'll let everybody know what # MV lens to get for the 3 spots

Steve


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I've been wondering how to replace the Nav. lights on the sail that I sanded off. I'm going to match up a micro drill bit with the same diameter fiber optic strand. paint the ends of the strand green and red and slide the fiber optic into the holes in the sail.








If you apply heat carefully (I used a micro torch) you can flare the ends of the FO without damage, Now if I counter sink the holes I drilled in the sail, the nav lights will fit flush with the surface.









It's 22 degrees and snowing here in Denver today...the paint is drying a might slowly..


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I posted a pic on my build of the actual miniature and you can see the lights stick out quite a bit.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

This is from my big Seaview build and I like this look.









Steve


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Very slick way of replacing the lights. The buildup's looking super.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Finally got to Caboose. The part # is 128 it's the smallest one They had. It's 0.128" or 3.3 MM. I'll post a pic tonight. They had 3 different pt.#s for the same lens!..I got a bunch, they make great Aircraft landing lights too!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Those look about like the ones I use for 1/35 Sherman head lights.

MV Lenses are AWESOME. I don't think I have any for my sub at the moment. You are lucky!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

This is what it looks like in the hull. I think it was worth the drive to grab a few of these!








The way I installed Paul's interior was to white glue the control room to the top of the installed FS bay.








Then when I had the lower bow put in place(loosely) I used a shish-kebab skewer to gently nudge the control room as far forward as it would go. When I was satisfied with the fit. I used super glue to lock the part in place. I need to mention that I left off the caddillac fins to I could get at the inside of the sub. The tape is to prevent any white paint from getting inside the hull of the sub(Murphy's Law)








Here is a shot of the bow with interior installed but not glued together.







you can see there is alot going on in the control room.
This is a shot of the unputtied lower bow glued in place...pretty nice fit.








Steve


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Dave I bought extra if you want some...


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Do you or anyone have the Comet Miniatures white metal Flying Sub? It might be about the right scale for the 1/350 Seaview. I had the Comet Spindrift and it was about 1 1/4" long and 3/4" wide.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I just took measurements off my 1:128 FS1 and, scaling it down to 1:350 I get:

Length: 1.17"
Width: 1.19"

Those are so close as to be the same (plus I did a quick measurement so that part might be off).

The length seems pretty good for the Comet - though it must look awefully skinny at 3/4" wide.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The measurements I give are for the SPINDRIFT... scroll back up...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I didn't know Comet did an FS,.. that would be cool.
No new pics yet...this kit is stunning when nearing completion.

I love the way Seaview looks, and this smaller version it seems to be easier to admire the beauty of the design. Not to mention making it easier to ZOOM around...lol

This this is crying out for a lighting kit...C'mon guys..
AND a Flying Sub...


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

My only real disappointment is the lack of Flying Sub... I can live with the lack of interior because you can't really see it/much... and its something easy to make yourself or make from a photo etch set. Considering the cost ($30) which is sort of steep, a FS would be cool. Revell AG came out with an awesome new 1/350 U-Boat which is a nice $7... Goes well with the Seaview since they are both 1/350.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

djnick66 said:


> The measurements I give are for the SPINDRIFT... scroll back up...


Ah. Skimmed the note too fast.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

steve123 said:


> This this is crying out for a lighting kit...C'mon guys..


I did my little P'L movie Seaview with one led... A couple of years back when I first gotinto lighting.  So it should be fairly straight forward to do the new Moebius kit :thumbsup:


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

AJ that looks very nice!

I can't wait to show you guys pics of the sub with the two tone all done.(I used a soft mask) The color demarcation line between the grey and the white looks just like a shark. or, manta ray... If this sub were lit, it would stop traffic. As it is, we just have to use MV lenses and our imaginations.
here is a shot of the paint:








This is my version of the soft mask: You paint away from the color demarkation line.









Back to work...


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Alec - Great dio idea! Well done mate.

Steve - That soft edge painting looks neat - a nice change and looks a bit more "real".


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks Paul. 

Steve that is the little one?? You've done a mans job sir :thumbsup:

Cheers

Alec.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Lookin really good! Its cool to see all the variations people put into these...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks Guys! Yup It's the little one.
Dave, You were right in the ammount of putty you were using, some of my seams are ghosting back..."Shrinkage Jerry, Shrinkage"


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

LOL yeah I hate it when that happens. Usually two or three putty applications are best, and its good to wait a week or two between them even! Most model putties shrink with time... and you want to let it do all the shrinking BEFORE you paint. Although I am lazy so its usually one or two quick applications...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I'd get a great looking seam, then about an hour after the paint hit it...it slooowwwly came back. I only ran into this a little on my Big Seaview, but I also spent months on it...lots more curing time. I'm becoming a big fan of using cyano to fill seams, but it's like changing horses in mid river...


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The problem I have had with CA glue as a filler is that it as it cures it gets much harder than the surrounding plastic. Unless you can attend to the seam/glue all in one fairly quick sitting, it can make things worse. You will actually sand the kit plastic down around the hard CA glue.

I try to use a strong solvent or glue like Tenax or MEK to get the best bond possible first. You can also dissolve some sprue clippings in MEK and make a plastic paste that when dry, sands and works pretty much like the rest of the kit...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Why MV lenses? This is why.















Sorry, these pics are a bit slapdash.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

Many of us Brass Steam engine guys ALSO swear by them.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Looks great- all you need now is a docked Flying Sub....


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks! I do need some of those little subs!

Man, talk about a hungry carpet monster! He is pissed at me because he didn't get to eat those teeny weenie taillights...I don't know how i got them on without him getting one or both...they are tiny!
Once I got the hull painted the way I wanted it, I sprayed the whole sub with a semi gloss/matte clearcoat.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice work, I really like your choice for the base too !


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The tail lights are frighteningly small... I worked with mine inside a big kit box lid so if anything fell off it wouldn't get very far.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I was sure I was gonna lose 'em both...lol


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Steve,
This project really turned out great!:thumbsup:

I love looking at your two Seaviews like that...almost like "Father and Son"!
Thanks for sharing your build with us!

MMM


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

lol the little one is like a Seaview tadpole


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

Well you guys drive me batty, I need to have at least one of those little ones, after all I got four big ones.
:tongue:

I love the shots of the two together....SWEET.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Great build Steve! Super detail. One of the poppyseed-sized details on the sail flew out of my tweezer into oblivion. I replaced it with one carved from a toothpick. I was careful not to drink coffee before handling the taillights!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks guys! it's a hoot to see them together

It's weird, I hate using tweezers...I lose more stuff that way than with my big 'ole fingers.


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## junglelord (Mar 6, 2007)

Enter my fantasy world where I bet in the world of Irwin Allen, that Admiral Nelson, had a smaller scale Seaview sub made for testing purpose, as it was such a radical departure from the military designs, before having the full scale one built. Thats my story and I am sticking too it. Therefore both subs were fully functional and what you are displaying is not two versions of one model, but one model of each version.
:thumbsup:
Did anybody get that?
:freak:


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Works for me! You saw the mini sub and the bell "docking' with XSSRN Seaview?


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## HabuHunter32 (Aug 22, 2009)

Love the Seaview and mini-me..errr mini seaview! Great job on both!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks again, I am really happy with how she came out.


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