# Moebius Mini Sub, Flying Sub, and Diving Bell finished!



## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

I finished these up last week and since I sealed the Flying Sub hanger on my Seaview I decided to display these along side my Seaview in their own case. I ordered the case and plaque from the same source I used for my Seaview stand and thought I would show them off.

I still need to rig some lights for the Flying Sub but other than that I’m calling these done.

The kits are really little gems by themselves and make a great display. I used all Tamiya paints and masking products for these and the interior for the Flying Sub is from ParaGrafix.

Jim


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Jim, Those look FANTASTIC! 

The painting is superb. A really nice finish on all of them. You've convinced me to build my minisub when I can get to the Seaview build - I never thought it could come out looking so good.

Did you seriously paint the stripes on the minisub? You have a far steadier hand than I!

And the FS-1 interior looks great. I love the bow shot where the girders show up. That sells it right there.

I'm sure you probably mention it in your Seaview thread, but where did you order the case from?


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Great job on all of them, Jim. :thumbsup:

Sean


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Paulbo said:


> Jim, Those look FANTASTIC!
> 
> The painting is superb. A really nice finish on all of them. You've convinced me to build my minisub when I can get to the Seaview build - I never thought it could come out looking so good.
> 
> ...


Thanks a bunch Paul / Sean!

Yes, all paint, no decals and I did do the line work on the Mini Sub by hand.  The Mini Sub really is a fun little piece.

I love that little interior of yours Paul really makes that Flying Sub pop when you look in that front window and see the details.

I get my cases and stands from Specialty Plastics, http://www.casesforcollectibles.com/. Great service good prices and they can work from vector art for custom work like the uprights for my Seaview stand. The plaques I get from another guy.

Jim


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Very Nice!..I love your paint work... Very nice job. _and you have the same gloves I wear when eating kechup popsickles...lol_I saved one little crew member from the control room, gotta work on him.

Steve


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## Steve CultTVman Iverson (Jan 1, 1970)

Very nice work. Love it!

Steve


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Very nice set! I like how you display them. I really like your paint jobs.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

gojira61 said:


> ... like the uprights for my Seaview stand
> Jim


I just took a quick look and didn't find your Seaview thread. Did you design a custom stand or base the design on Martin McLaughlin's? Do you have a link to your Seaview? I'd really like to take a look-see.

(That reminds me, I never reposted Martin's design when I rebuilt my website. Gotta remember to do that.)


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

*About to Build...*

Can you please share your flying sub exterior colors and techniques? They look great and I'm just starting the big 1/32 sub in a few days. I'm completely panicked because it's been so long since I painted like this!! If possible, a quickie step-by-step would really help an old nerd like me!!
Kinley:wave:


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## Tim Nolan (Jul 9, 2008)

Man, that's just clean as a whistle! Beautiful work! Those cases you have for your builds are awesome!


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Paulbo said:


> I just took a quick look and didn't find your Seaview thread. Did you design a custom stand or base the design on Martin McLaughlin's? Do you have a link to your Seaview? I'd really like to take a look-see.
> 
> (That reminds me, I never reposted Martin's design when I rebuilt my website. Gotta remember to do that.)


Hey Paul, here's the stand, it's pretty basic but I like to keep it simple and clean.


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

kdaracal said:


> Can you please share your flying sub exterior colors and techniques? They look great and I'm just starting the big 1/32 sub in a few days. I'm completely panicked because it's been so long since I painted like this!! If possible, a quickie step-by-step would really help an old nerd like me!!
> Kinley:wave:


Hey Kinley

Probably 95% of what your seeing including the interior of the Flying Sub was all Tamiya rattle can with a lot of Tamiya tape. There were a few exterior details on the Flying Sub painted by brush and as far as the interior goes just the seats and figures were brush painted. The most hand brush work done went into the Diving Bell.

On the Mini Sub the hull lines, window trim and propeller were the only parts that were brush painted.

The exterior of the Flying Sub and the Diving Bell when all finished got a wash of a darker yellow and the interior of the Flying Sub got a wash of black to pick up some of the panel lines.

I guess the best advise I can give is to take time and care taping off everything, light colors first, darker colors over the light, and everything got a coat of Tamiya primer, either white or the gray depending on the color I was going to shoot. I used to work in the toy industry painting prototypes and I learned that the more prep time you put in the paint job the better the results. I can tell you I spent way more time taping than I did painting. 

Here’s the colors that were used for the most part, with a few bottle colors along the way like gloss red, gun metal, flat Aluminum, flat white, and gloss black.

*The Flying Sub Hull*

Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow
Tamiya TS-15 Blue
Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum

*The Flying Sub Interior*

Tamiya AS-19 Intermediate Blue
Tamiya TS-42 Light Gun Metal
Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum

*Mini Sub*

Tamiya TS-49 Bright Red
Tamiya TS- 17 Gloss Aluminum

*Diving Bell*

Tamiya TS-16 Yellow
Tamiya TS-15 Blue


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Thanks for all the great comments guys, I appreciate it.


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

steve123 said:


> _and you have the same gloves I wear when eating kechup popsickles_


:lol:


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

gojira61 said:


> Hey Paul, here's the stand, it's pretty basic but I like to keep it simple and clean.


I really like that. "Simple and clean" really puts attention on the model, not the stand.

The contrast between the clear and the shiney black is very nice. (He says storing the general design away in the back of his mind for future reference.)


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Great work and displaying!


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## Vindi (Mar 20, 2009)

gojira,

When you say "they got a wash..." what exactly does that mean. I'm just getting back into building and want to get some good techniques down for painting.

Thanks,

Vindi


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

*Thanks for the painting tips!*

Thanks for the painting tips. Awesome work and thanks again!
Kinley


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Vindi said:


> gojira,
> 
> When you say "they got a wash..." what exactly does that mean. I'm just getting back into building and want to get some good techniques down for painting.
> 
> ...


You create a “wash” by thinning your paint down to a point it becomes a bit transparent. In the case of the Flying Sub and Diving Bell you can see the darker yellow color around the edges of the blue on both that I applied with a brush and then wiped back a bit with a clean cloth.

The original Flying Sub model had this sort of shading that had been done with an airbrush but I didn’t take it as far as the original models had it.

Jim


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

kdaracal said:


> Thanks for the painting tips. Awesome work and thanks again!
> Kinley


Your welcome!


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## GForceSS (Feb 2, 2009)

Beautiful displays!! The FS Bell and MS look really nice sitting together. MP


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## Vindi (Mar 20, 2009)

gojira61 said:


> You create a “wash” by thinning your paint down to a point it becomes a bit transparent. In the case of the Flying Sub and Diving Bell you can see the darker yellow color around the edges of the blue on both that I applied with a brush and then wiped back a bit with a clean cloth.
> 
> The original Flying Sub model had this sort of shading that had been done with an airbrush but I didn’t take it as far as the original models had it.
> 
> Jim


Ahhh...I see. Is that what made the 'lines' on the mini-sub more visible? 

And this is done after the main coat?

What a great way to show detail. I think I'm going to have to practice on some of my older cheap models before I try it on my dedicated builds.

Vindi


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## Sometimer (Mar 31, 2009)

Great job on the mini's.
Thanks for posting tips.

Jim


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Vindi said:


> Ahhh...I see. Is that what made the 'lines' on the mini-sub more visible?
> 
> And this is done after the main coat?
> 
> ...


Yes, done after the main coat has dried. In my case I used Tamiya spray synthetic lacquer as my base color and did the wash with Tamiya acrylic as it will not bite into the lacquer but does stay in place nicely.

Jim


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Sometimer said:


> Great job on the mini's.
> Thanks for posting tips.
> 
> Jim


Thanks Jim and your welcome. 

Love the work your doing on the underwater labs! :thumbsup:


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

:woohoo: They are simply superb!!! Superb I say :thumbsup: 

I am truely impressed with the depth and finish of them. Makes mine look pale in comparison... And your right about the little pe kit Paul does.:thumbsup: I just can't sing its praises enough. :thumbsup: Can't wait to see what he does with the big one.

Cheers,

Alec. :wave:


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## j2man (Jun 18, 1999)

Beautiful work. That diving bell looks a little like the Jupiter 2's reaction chamber doesn't it?


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

AJ-1701 said:


> :woohoo: They are simply superb!!! Superb I say :thumbsup:
> 
> I am truely impressed with the depth and finish of them. Makes mine look pale in comparison... And your right about the little pe kit Paul does.:thumbsup: I just can't sing its praises enough. :thumbsup: Can't wait to see what he does with the big one.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much Alec!


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

j2man said:


> Beautiful work. That diving bell looks a little like the Jupiter 2's reaction chamber doesn't it?


Thanks!

Funny how those Irwin Allen props made their rounds back then.


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

j2man said:


> Beautiful work. That diving bell looks a little like the Jupiter 2's reaction chamber doesn't it?


 
WOW! What an amazing coincidence! It even kinda resembles Zalto's ship, too!


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## awhittle (Oct 30, 2009)

*Mini FS paint scheme*

Hi Jim,
Awesome models. I'm working on my own mini Flying Sub and wonder what the bottom of your's looks like. 

And having built the mini sub and Diving bell I'm not sure what to be more impressed by. Your models themselves, or your photography.
Those things are so dang tiny my aging eyes needed a magnifyer more often than not. And I dropped one of the mini sub headlights on the floor twice! Nothing short of a miracle that I found it again.
Alan


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Thanks Alan!

I never took a shot of the bottom but I went with the blue stripes, silver hatch and the bottom ring the same yellow as the hull as opposed to the blue up top.

Same here, I dropped one of the headlights myself and thought I would never find it.

One of these days I'll finish the Seaview, close but not there yet. 

Jim


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## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

Really beautiful gojira61. Can I ask where you found the Pilot figures? I have been looking for some for my mini FS, but haven't found any. 

David.


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

Thanks David!

The figures are a couple of the seated ones from the Seaview just carefully painted to look like they have the jackets and ties on.


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Digging up this old thread, because I wish to build my 1/128 Flying Sub with Paulbo's photo etch interior. 

It's useless. The damn PHOTOS ARE GONE! I have NO idea what anyone's _talking about!_ Drat! So...I guess I gotta start a _new thread_... 

Doug


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