# Wilco Proteus Progress Pictures



## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Yes, its true.

I STILL haven't finished it!! You'd think that as much as I gush about the Proteus in general and the Wilco Proteus kit in particular, I'd have built a dozen so far. But alas, having a two and 3/4 year old around takes up a lot of my time!

However, here are some pics of where I am with this now. I hope you enjoy them and I also hope that others out there building or having built this kit will share their work with us too.




























All in all, quite a canoe! Harper Goff was quite "da man" when it came to designing sci fi subs!

Cheers!

Huzz


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

*Interior Pics*

And two interior pics that for some reason the system won't let me add to the first post:



















Huzz


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking very good! Like I always say, take your time, enjoy it. 

Any thoughts on how you are going to display?


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Huzz,
You 'da man! I just finished a 1/4 Screamin' Flash Gordon in time for WonderFest and I've been itching to get started on the Proteus or my Icarus. Keep up the good work!

Rob


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

Sweet job so far Huzz!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Thanks guys!

Lloyd, I have scratch made a cradle like the one in the beginning of the show where the Proteus sits on the miniaturizer. My plan is to use a jpeg image of the miniaturizer's surface and place that between a couple of sheets of glass or lexan, cut in circles to replicate the miniaturizer. Then, the Proteus will sit on the cradle on the miniaturizer.

Sarge has my cradle right now and is making resin copies of it for future kits. 

Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Lookin' good, Dave! And as the father of a three year old and fifteenth month old, I understand of which you speak!

Your "support beams" look great, I was amused last time I watched the FV to notice neither support brace is actually attached to anything!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

That's pretty funny Phil!

I tried to position my support beams as if they are supporting the front window framing against the water pressure from all that fluid outside the ship.

Now what supports Raquel? 

Ha! :tongue: 
Huzz


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

Dave Hussey said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> Lloyd, I have scratch made a cradle like the one in the beginning of the show where the Proteus sits on the miniaturizer. My plan is to use a jpeg image of the miniaturizer's surface and place that between a couple of sheets of glass or lexan, cut in circles to replicate the miniaturizer. Then, the Proteus will sit on the cradle on the miniaturizer.
> 
> ...


Have you got any good screen grabs of the miniaturizers's surface that you would share with us? Anybody thought of a lighted accessory of this for the kit?


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

I never realized before how much that interior looks just like the insides of a real sub! 

Great work!


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## podmonger (Apr 30, 2005)

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/ProteusMockupExterior.htm

It looks as if the surface could be mocked up pretty easily, hexagons and all that.

Steve


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Heiki - I've just sent you a note. Or was it a private message?

Anyway, the local glass shop tells me that a piece of 1/4 inch glass cut in a circle, 12 inches in diameter, would cost only ten bucks!

Huzz


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Here is an old shot of my scratch-built cradle that was taken before I painted the Proteus' hull:










Huzz


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## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

Here's a thought. Use a CAD program for the miniaturizer pattern. I did this quickly with Turbocad. It can output a jpeg which you can print to photo quality.


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## ccbor (May 27, 2003)

Huss 

Hey, I finally get to see her in all of her glory.Nice pics. keep us informed as to the progress. 

Rob


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Here is a screen capture.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Dave Hussey said:


> That's pretty funny Phil!
> 
> I tried to position my support beams as if they are supporting the front window framing against the water pressure from all that fluid outside the ship.
> 
> ...


You can see what I mean in this picture, it's more obvious in the DVD:










Or in this picture!:


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Doods - let me see if I can source a miniaturizer pattern for you. I may know where there is such a file but I'd first need to find out if the author wants to share it with a larger group.

Huzz


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## JeffG (May 10, 2004)

"My hands are trapped...I can't move my hands! Get me out! GET ME OUT!!" Good stuff.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> Your "support beams" look great, I was amused last time I watched the FV to notice neither support brace is actually attached to anything!


In Cloudster.com's detail photos of the Proteus interior, there do indeed appear to be gaps between the support beams and the structures they're supposed to be attached to. I believe this is because the duplicate interior set (which was separate from the full-size mockup) was built in "wild" or moveable sections to allow for camera positioning. During the "shrinking" sequence, there is a shot from inside the sub as the miniaturization-room wall recedes into the distance. Notice anything odd about that shot? The support beams (which would have obscured the view) are missing altogether!


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

veedubb67 said:


> Huzz,
> You 'da man! I just finished a 1/4 Screamin' Flash Gordon in time for WonderFest and I've been itching to get started on the Proteus or my Icarus. Keep up the good work!
> 
> Rob


Just got back from WF last night. Got lots of nice toys including the Wilco Proteus that I got from CultTVman. BTW, Rob your Flash looked great. Excellent job done!

Rogue
:thumbsup:


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

There was no separate interior set of the Proteus. The interior was built into the exterior and sections of the exterior were pulled away as wild units to film different angles of the interior. One of the very few, if not "only" times this was done for a Hollywood sci-fi vehicle.

Phil


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

There was in fact one separate interior set, that was the airlock which was capable of being flooded. That one was not part of the overall mockup/set.


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## lonfan (Feb 11, 2001)

veedubb67 said:


> Huzz,
> You 'da man! I just finished a 1/4 Screamin' Flash Gordon in time for WonderFest and I've been itching to get started on the Proteus or my Icarus. Keep up the good work!
> 
> Rob


Hey Rob- I was reading about your Flash Gordon I have a Question for Ya' the Only Good Shots I found of Buster Crabbe as Flash (which I think the Screamin' Kit is supposed to be) all the Pics If In color (and they look to be Retouched or Colorized) seem to portray a Green or Sometimes Blue Shirt. What did you go with? I started with Various Blues but then Covered it over with various Shades of Green But Now I'm not so sure which to go with. You have a Pic? Thanks 
JOHN/LONFAN


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

heiki said:


> Have you got any good screen grabs of the miniaturizers's surface that you would share with us? Anybody thought of a lighted accessory of this for the kit?


I built a miniaturizer file in Illustrator for my Lunar Proteus. I'm happy to share it with anyone who's interested.

The base does not, as yet, light up -- but it would be a simple matter to rig up a simple internal lighting system.

Additional pix can be found at...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=20502091406&page=1&sort_order=0


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Thanks very much for that Carson!!

Huzz


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

Carson Dyle said:


> I built a miniaturizer file in Illustrator for my Lunar Proteus. I'm happy to share it with anyone who's interested.
> 
> The base does not, as yet, light up -- but it would be a simple matter to rig up a simple internal lighting system.
> 
> ...


 Well I'm interested in your Illustrator file or a JPG. Is it possible to scale it up for 8x11 paper? I have access to a laser printer and will see how it looks on transperancy as well as bright-white photo paper.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Heiki,

I have Carson's original Illustrator file; its 2.91 Mb in size. Shoot me a private message with your email address and I'll send it to you on Thursday (I'll be taking a sanity day off tomorrow), unless of course Carson sends the file to you first. The Illustrator file has a lot more detail than Carson's jpg file above.

The Illustrator file can be opened and read with Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free at Adobe's site. A buddy of mine is a graphic artist; I'll be asking her about printing the file to the size I need (12 inches in diameter). Once I have the answer to that I'll let ya know!

Perhaps a local print or graphics shop could print it for a reasonable price if the size you need is bigger than what you can fit on 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

Huzz


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

I'll have to ask those of you who contacted me about getting the Miniaturizer file to be patient. Don't ask me how, but while preparing to send it I somehow managed to delete the damn thing. 

 

Huzz, if you wouldn't mind forwarding the file back to me, it'lll save me the time of having to re-build it from scratch.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Hi Carson,

Of course! I'd be happy to do that!

Only thing is, its on my PC at the office and I won't be back there until Thursday morning. But if you can wait until then, I will send it back to you first thing in the morning!

Cheers!
Huzz


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Thursday's fine. Much oblidged.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Really fine bases! I like the base also,for the Voyager. Just like the cartoon.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

X15-A2 said:


> There was no separate interior set of the Proteus. The interior was built into the exterior and sections of the exterior were pulled away as wild units to film different angles of the interior. One of the very few, if not "only" times this was done for a Hollywood sci-fi vehicle... There was in fact one separate interior set, that was the airlock which was capable of being flooded. That one was not part of the overall mockup/set.Phil


My information must have been inaccurate. I defer to your superior knowledge. After all, YOU DA MAN!


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## Martin Dressler (Jan 9, 2005)

Carson, great job on the Lunar Proteus. I know from experience how hard that kit is to build, and you did an amazing job.

Veering slightly OT here, but refering to the link you posted: which Seaview kit is that pictured amongst the additional shots of the Proteus? Is it an MiM kit? Just curious.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Thanks, Martin.

The Seaview kit was manufactured by renowned Seaview devotee ************* about fifteen years ago, and he did a fantastic job. 

Paul posted a message on this site about eight months ago regarding his plans to offer a fully finished replica of the "refit" Seaview as seen in the TV series, but I'm not holding my breath.

Additional info can be found here:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=88094&highlight=Lubliner+Seaview


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

lonfan said:


> Hey Rob- I was reading about your Flash Gordon I have a Question for Ya' the Only Good Shots I found of Buster Crabbe as Flash (which I think the Screamin' Kit is supposed to be) all the Pics If In color (and they look to be Retouched or Colorized) seem to portray a Green or Sometimes Blue Shirt. What did you go with? I started with Various Blues but then Covered it over with various Shades of Green But Now I'm not so sure which to go with. You have a Pic? Thanks
> JOHN/LONFAN


LONFAN - I had the same problem finding color pictures of Buster Crabbe as Flash, so I went with a metallic green shirt. It's actually a green/gold "flip-flop" paint over a black basecoat. The color is very similar to Kirk's green tunic on Star Trek. The pants were tan painted over with Comart transparent ocre. The leather parts were just brown over a black basecoat, several washes and drybrushed the studs with copper. First time painting a kit this big, but it turned out pretty good - took an Award of Merit at Wonderfest.


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

RogueJ said:


> Just got back from WF last night. Got lots of nice toys including the Wilco Proteus that I got from CultTVman. BTW, Rob your Flash looked great. Excellent job done!
> 
> Rogue
> :thumbsup:


Thanks Rogue. This was my first WonderFest and the competition was amazing! I'm so inspired after seeing all of that talent in one room!


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

*That is looking sooooo cool!!! Nice work* :thumbsup:


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## Wbnemo1 (Aug 22, 1999)

doing protues owners a favor....making up a cad drawing of this base for all to play with, just felt generous this morning, been working on the drawing for about 2 hours now,not sure how accurate it is, as i just used the photo aqbove as a guide, the dia is 12" this is just the face plate, if that's what it's called....with all the polygons......... if interested let me know
William

maybe i'll vist the laser cutter today to see how it does, could be cool


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

A real shrinkage machine? Excellent! Cool! Keep us posted!!

But I wonder what George Kastanza would think of it! 

Huzz


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## ccbor (May 27, 2003)

"I was in the pool!"


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

Wbnemo1 said:


> doing protues owners a favor....making up a cad drawing of this base for all to play with, just felt generous this morning, been working on the drawing for about 2 hours now,not sure how accurate it is, as i just used the photo aqbove as a guide, the dia is 12" this is just the face plate, if that's what it's called....with all the polygons......... if interested let me know
> William
> 
> maybe i'll vist the laser cutter today to see how it does, could be cool


Yes, still interested.......


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

Dave Hussey said:


> A real shrinkage machine? Excellent! Cool! Keep us posted!!
> 
> But I wonder what George Kastanza would think of it!
> 
> Huzz


Dave,

Tried to send you an email. Got the following message;
Sorry, I wasn't able to establish an SMTP connection. (#4.4.1)

Despite repeated attempts, this message could not be delivered.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

hi Heiki,

I just sent you a private message and an email through HobbyTalk. Its got my direct email address, use that to send me a message!

Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I hesitate to post this in the same place as Dave's terrific work, this is a 8" solid resin British garage kit that shows how nice the Wilco version is. Even though the resin and poor casting used on this kit made it a colossal PITA, I'm getting kind of fond of it as it nears completetion. Here she is after applying the decals, special thanks to the Sarge for providing me with the markings. I still have to do the non-skid "steps" and intake grills in flat black after she gets another coat of gloss to seal the decals. It'll be a good warm-up for my Wilco.

And more thanks to Dave, Carson, Dave M., and everybody else that shared _Proteus_ stuff.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looks go to me. :thumbsup:


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Hey - any Proteus is welcome here, especially one that's lovingly built like this one! 

And I see that the folks who made this model actually did a very good job on the shape and angle of the upper cabin windows, plus they included the small round hatch or fitting details on the sides of the hull just under the forward planes. I think that those details are not even found on the Lunar model of the Proteus. If I recall correctly, Carson Dyle added that detail himself to his model.

Very nice work!! :thumbsup: 
Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

The main problem with this kit was the resin and (I'm guessing)how it was poured. Though the hull was one piece, it seemed like the resin was added in layers, and the layers were trying to seperate, causing thin cracks that ran all the way fore and aft along the sides. One of you resin heads can probably elaborate. The resin was full of bubbles, I think about 95% of the flat surfaces were replaced with Bondo and/or CA. About a dozen times I thought I was thru, I would sand just a _little_ more, and a void or patch of bubbles would suddenly appear!. I've been sanding and filling on it for over a year and almost threw it out several times, especially after my Wilco arrived.

But as I said, now that the end is in sight, she has a certain stubby wide-beam charm, kinda like this gal I used to know!


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Although they are hard to see because of the way the mockup was usually lit, those little round "hatches" were all over the ship. They actually look like circular speaker grills and were probably made of rubber so they would conform to any part of the mockup they were applied to. I believe that they were used to cover openings where the bolts holding the various "wild" sections of the set together could be accessed. Trivia...


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> I hesitate to post this in the same place as Dave's terrific work, this is a 8" solid resin British garage kit that shows how nice the Wilco version is.


Unfortunately, that resin kit (based on the Delux Vacuform Proteus from the 80's), in addition to being of exceedingly poor quality, is so dimensionally and proportionally inaccurate as to be a virtual caricature. In that respect, it reminds me of the Palmer car kits (remember those?) Frankly, I wouldn't waste my money -- I'm ordering a Wilco Proteus this week. Of course, the Lunar Models 16-incher is my Holy Grail — if I can ever afford the sonofabitch!


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## JeffG (May 10, 2004)

Looking really good. This is definitely one of sci-fi's best ships and from a great film too. Older films like this or "The Bedford Incident" relied so much on writing and acting that they could pull off a two hour film in a claustraphobic environment and still have more tension and drama than many of todays megabudget, multiple location adventures that often collapse under their own weight! Good work, I've gotta get this kit.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

scotpens said:


> Unfortunately, that resin kit (based on the Delux Vacuform Proteus from the 80's), in addition to being of exceedingly poor quality, is so dimensionally and proportionally inaccurate as to be a virtual caricature. In that respect, it reminds me of the Palmer car kits (remember those?) Frankly, I wouldn't waste my money -- I'm ordering a Wilco Proteus this week. Of course, the Lunar Models 16-incher is my Holy Grail — if I can ever afford the sonofabitch!


Wilco wan't an option when I bought it, it wasn't even rumoured back then. And it was better than the SFMA vacu-form kit I attempted before that,anybody that can produce anything displayable from that kit is a far better modeler than I. When you get the Wilco, make sure you get one with the improved crew Dave resculpted! 

I've read a few times this was a recast off either the smaller Lunar kit or the SFMA, I've never seen the Lunar but it doesn't appear to be based on the SFMA to me, the proportions aren't even close. I've also read it was an original sculpt, I dunno which is correct.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

In addition to the re-worked Cora Peterson figure, the other crew figures that come with Wilco's Proteus are pretty good right out of the box in my view. Here are my plans for them.

The Wilco's seated *Captain Owens* figure sits nicely in the control chair, although I trimmed his backside a bit so he sits back in the seat nicely. His arms are nicely positioned too, unlike those of the Lunar Models version where the Captain seems to be trying to air out his armpits. Must've forgot to wear deoderant and my, does it get hot in this little sub! 

There is a figure of a slender standing man with one arm extended and sleeves rolled up. I interpreted that to be *Agent Grant*. The only thing I'm going to do with him is add some filler to the forearms so the sleeves are rolled down. I may position him so he is standing with the raised arm holding one of the support girders.

Of the two remaining figures, I assumed that the taller one with the slight beer gut would be *Dr. Duval*. There's not much to be done with him.

The last male figure will be the nefarious *Dr. Michaels*. I've begun some mods to him to make him look a bit more like Donald Pleasance. I chopped him in half to shorten him, removed some material and re-glued him (Mr. Pleasance was not a tall man) and I've trimmed the hair to give him the brush cut almost shaved head look of the movie.

I think my final figure placement will be Owens in the driver's seat, Duval and Ms. Peterson on the right side of the cabin in front of the chart rack; and Grant and Michaels on the opposite side.

As an alternative, you could scratch build a miniaturizer base with a 12 inch circle of glass and Carson's file, sit the sub on it, prop up a 1/48 scale ladder to the sub and position the crew as they are walking up to board the sub. You could place Grant's raised arm on the ladder too.

Huzz


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## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

scotpens said:


> Unfortunately, that resin kit (based on the Delux Vacuform Proteus from the 80's), in addition to being of exceedingly poor quality, is so dimensionally and proportionally inaccurate as to be a virtual caricature. In that respect, it reminds me of the Palmer car kits (remember those?) Frankly, I wouldn't waste my money -- I'm ordering a Wilco Proteus this week. Of course, the Lunar Models 16-incher is my Holy Grail — if I can ever afford the sonofabitch!


I have both the Lunar 16 inch kit and the interior to go with it. I've thought of selling it since putting it together would cause insanity. Besides, the Wilco kit is easier to assemble.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

I'm sure that resin kit is a recast of Lunar's 10" vacuform kit; they offered a resin version of it themselves with one of the "hemonauts" swimming outside attached to the snorkel and its line, and landing legs I think.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> I've read a few times this was a recast off either the smaller Lunar kit or the SFMA, I've never seen the Lunar but it doesn't appear to be based on the SFMA to me, the proportions aren't even close. I've also read it was an original sculpt, I dunno which is correct.


Mike Evans bought the old SFMA patterns when he owned Lunar. Your British re-pop, the SFMA vacu-kit, Lunar's 8" resin kit and Lunar's 8" vacu-kit all originated from the same (SFMA) pattern. 

If the proportions look off to you it's because whoever cast your re-pop did a terrible job; a poor re-pop of a pattern that wasn't very accurate to begin with.

So far as I know, there are five commercially available models of the Proteus:

1) The 8" SFMA/Lunar kits (all from the same pattern).

2) The 16" Lunar kit.

3) The Wilco kit.

4) Rick Tesky's 32" fibreglass "kit" (see pix on Iverson's site)

5) Comet Miniatures' 1 1/2" kit (originated as a white metal kit, but these days it's more commonly found in resin).

There was also a Japanese kit produced in the late 60's, but I've forgotten the manufacturer (Bandai?). In any case, it is extremely rare, and not what I'd call "commercially available."


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I exchanged emails with Rick Tesky last year about his Proteus model. If memory serves me correctly, the price of his kit is somewhere around the price of both the Lunar hull and interior kits together. Tesky's kit doesn't come with an interior to my knowledge but I think its realy intended as an R/C model. I can't say how accurate it is, but it certainly looks pretty good from the few pictures that I have seen.

Huzz


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

The Tesky kit is not cheap, nor does ot come with an interior or any detail parts (e.g. hatches, vents, snorkel, etc.). It is however very accurate, having been patterned off the studio blueprints (courtesy of yours truly).

But you're right Dave, Rick is really into R/C which is why he tends to work in a larger scale. I picked up one of his Flying Sub kits, and with the help of the Merriman/ Iverson tutorial video I'm slowly but surely slogging my way through the filing/sanding/puttying stage. I've never worked with fiberglass before, and it's been an education...


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Carson Dyle said:


> Mike Evans bought the old SFMA patterns when he owned Lunar. Your British re-pop, the SFMA vacu-kit, Lunar's 8" resin kit and Lunar's 8" vacu-kit all originated from the same (SFMA) pattern...There was also a Japanese kit produced in the late 60's, but I've forgotten the manufacturer (Bandai?). In any case, it is extremely rare, and not what I'd call "commercially available."


I believe the kit you're thinking of was made by a company called Marusan. IIRC, it was really more of an unassembled toy than a model, having wheels (!) and a battery-powered motor. It may have served as the raw material for the SFMA vacuform kit and its derivatives, since it was the same size and had the same way-wrong proportions.


Dave Hussey said:


> The Wilco's seated *Captain Owens* figure sits nicely in the control chair, although I trimmed his backside a bit so he sits back in the seat nicely. His arms are nicely positioned too, unlike those of the Lunar Models version where the Captain seems to be trying to air out his armpits. Must've forgot to wear deodorant and my, does it get hot in this little sub!


Eeew, gross!
Must've gotten hot indeed, especially if, like Cora, the rest of the crew were all wearing their scuba wetsuits UNDER their coveralls!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

My folks have a cottage on a lake about an hour outside of town. Lately I've been thinking that Tesky's Proteus model decked out in R/C would be an excellent toy for that venue.

If I can ever scrape together the bucks!

Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Here's how mine turned out Dave. I used Carson's hex file for the base of display case. I replaced the kit dome with a new one cut out of blisterpack. It was a crappy kit, but it came out decent and is a good warm up for the Wilco!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Now that's nice! It really looks good - far better than I expected based on your initial comments about the model.

It may be a "crappy" kit as you say, but in the final analysis you have clearly brought out its best points. Excellent work!! I like the display case too. Is that something you made up or is it a car display case?

If you can do that with this kit, I can't wait to see what you'll do with the Wilco!

Huzz :thumbsup:


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

It's a el-cheapo Michaels 1/24 car case. Keeps the dust off though!


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## john guard (Dec 31, 2001)

DAVE OR PHILLIP!!!!!

can you tell me exactly how you painted the exteriors??
i have the worst luck with white paint!

please detail!!!!!!!!


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I used Duplicolor white primer, a LOT of sanding between coats, and about 6 light coats of Future!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I primed my Wilco with automotive Duplicolor grey scratch filling primer in a spray can. You should be able to find Duplicolor stuff in a good hardware store. I then applied a lot of light coats of white, specifically Duplicolor Wimbledon White, also in a spray can. 

It takes a lot of coats to cover the grey primer, and they have to be light coats to avoid runs. The nice thing about these automotive spray paints is that they dry hard and they dry fast; the model should be ready for re-painting in about 45 minutes. So in one evening, if you start at 6:00 PM you can actually get 4 or 5 light coats on the model. Just take your time, apply a light coat, come back in 45 minutes, apply another light one, no sweat! Before you know it, its looking great.

I took a couple of evenings to do mine. First night, the bottom of the hull. Next night, the top and edges. If you get a run, LET IT DRY COMPLETELY and simply SAND IT SMOOTH. Rinse away the dust with water. Let it dry and then repaint. This paint sands well when its dry so even if you have a disaster with a bad run somewhere, just keep cool and fix the spot. I had a bad run on mine and I fixed it and I can't see where it was now.

If I were going to re-do this, I would use the Duplicolor white primer. that would reduce the number of coats of paint needed to cover the primer.

TIP - if you are ever using these paints on a styrene model, be sure to use a *scratch filling* primer to protect the plastic. These primers have a lot of solids that will protect the plastic from the chemicals in the paint. I don't know if the white primer is a scratch filling kind. Its fine to use on a resin kit like the Wilco Proteus or Phil's Proteus above, but I'd insist on a scratch filling primer on a plastic model.

Huzz


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## john guard (Dec 31, 2001)

i am now starting my Wilco Proteus! i can use all the tips and custom work tricks from you guys! i have built the Wilco Icarus and am putting the finishing touches on a Resin/styrene Voyager (cartoon) it seems i am building models that require white finishes. i was not too happy with my results. i think i'm not patient enough!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Go for it!

And let's see some pics of that Icarus!! I bet it rocks!

Huzz


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## john guard (Dec 31, 2001)

i will post some pic's of my icarus and what i have done on my Voyager so far tonight but.................



DONT LAUGH!!
i'm not very confident of my skills but i do my best and enjoy making models alot!


hey Dave! how many things did you custom make on your Proteus?


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

john guard said:


> it seems i am building models that require white finishes. i was not too happy with my results. i think i'm not patient enough!


I feel your pain, at one time on my table I had the Proteus, a 2001 space pod, a new style Viper, a 1/12 lunar astronaut, a UFO interceptor,a space 1999 eagle, and a 2001 Pan Am clipper, I got real sick of white.

The import Proteus was so rough surfaced I didn't even try to use gloss paint. A great item for a gloss _paint_ finish is a LMG polishing kit, the cloths and sponges are pretty easy to use, and if you follow the detailed instructions carefully you'll end up with a really nice shine.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

John - confident? Neither am I, but I build for fun just like you. If you enjoy what you do and like the model when done, you've hit the bullseye!

There are lots of guys here who can surpass me in skill level with their eyes closed and can build museum quality stuff. That's great, but I'm in this for fun! And if I can manage to learn a bit from those experts along the way, well that's cool but I won't worry about it if that doesn't happen.

Let's see them pics!!
Huzz
Oh, on my Proteus, I scratch built:


The cabin strutural beams,
the strutural beams on the dive chamber,
the ladder behind Cora,
Cora's hair and er, forward acessories  ,
the doodad above Grant's radio station,
the handle and lever on the dive chamber door,
supports for the dash,
foot rungs on the dive chamber,
and a cradle for the sub. Sarge has it right now and should be casting resin copies of it in the next week or so, unless he gets deployed away from home for a couple of weeks, which I think happens from time to time without warning, in his line of work.
Also, Gary Wheat sent me some stuff to make a snorkel, although I haven't started that yet.


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## john guard (Dec 31, 2001)

i would like to make the beams! any tips?


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## john guard (Dec 31, 2001)

*Icarus and Voyager!*

my pics!
Voyager need to be finished with additional painting, windshield and top bubble.
wings have been rebuilt from sheet stryene, bubble and windshield were formed from plastic heatshunk over wood molds. Icarus is all resin except for windhshields and hibernation bunks.


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

John,

Very cool "Voyager" & "Icarus". Those are keep'ers!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

John - I love those pictures! That's the Brisfx resin Voyager isn't it? I recall all the discussion on correcting the wings a while back - the final results look perfect to me.

What color did you use on the exterior of your Icarus? It looks like a light grey in the pictures. The model looks great too.

Concerning building the struts for your Proteus, I started with the ones on the dive chamber. They are simpler so its easier to get in the groove by cutting your teeth on them first. I made them from 1/8 inch ABS plastic I-beam that you can get from WWW.Oakridgehobbies.com. I began by cutting the vertical piece and cutting the edge where it meets the dive chamber on the correct sharp angle so that the strut pokes up at say, 10 to 15 degrees off vertical. Then I cut a short piece for the horizontal strut to the dive chamber. I glued them together with thick CA and accelerator. 

The hollowed out parts were made by driling a series of very small holes and trimming the inside edges smooth with a sharp pointy hobby knife. TIP - lay the assembled strut on a cardboard box like the one your electric drill came in. Drill the hole and let the drill run through the box. That way the strut won't spin on the drill bit and break. You can see the dive chamber struts here: 

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/proteus09.jpg

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/proteus21.jpg

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/proteus11.jpg


The two front struts are a little harder to make. Each consists of three bits: (#1) a long horizontal piece that runs from the top of the chart rack to the front window frame; (#2) a piece that runs from the desk to part #1, and (#3) a piece that runs up from #1 to just in between the top windows and the pilot bubble. 

Part #1 should look like it touches the big front window frame just behind the *inside* corner where two top and bottom *outside* windows meet. Part #2 should be almost vertical from the desk. Part #3 mounts on part #1 just above where Part #2 is. Angle Part #3 back towards the stern of the ship. 

If you look at the pictures that follow, you'll see that Part #1 is really two parts on an angle. I decided to simplify that and make it all one continuous length of strut.

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/proteus27.jpg

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/Proteus/proteus28.jpg

Huzz


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