# 1/128 Seaview modification, lazy style



## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

I'm no *************, and I'm sure he and I would differ on this issue but the only major problem I have with the big Moebius Seaview is the contour of the bottom of the hull where the Flying Sub hatch is. My understanding is that the Seaview was in development originally at Playing Mantis and then they went under, Frank Winspur then started up Moebius and took over the project, but most of the kit had been developed and correcting the bow underside contour would have raised the tooling costs too much.
I've wanted to tackle correcting the issue for quite a while and actually got started a couple of years ago and quickly gave up. But this weekend I went back and realized what I needed to do was install the Flying Sub berth, which gave me an anchor for the sheet plastic edge that I needed to build something that wouldn't fall apart. I carved off the curved areas on either side of the FS berth, put a thick piece of sheet plastic on the inside of the hull, then layered more sheet plastic into the carved out area with the straight edge meeting a piece of 1/8 plastic tubing I put on either side of the berth. Then I drilled holes for the lower searchlights and filled and sanded the area.
I've also wanted to extend the length of the big Seaview to match the proportions of the 17 foot miniature. Since I got the new Seaview with the revised bow window tooling I now had an extra Seaview lying around so I cut a 1 1/2 inch section off the front half of the hull and added that to the front of the new model's front half. I'm also working on reducing the height of the window section of the Flying Sub to make that look a bit more like the miniature. Progress shown below--are we really limited to 500k for photo posts? I'm stupid about those things...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/albums/72157673099771665


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

JeffBond said:


> the only major problem I have with the big Moebius Seaview is the contour of the bottom of the hull where the Flying Sub hatch is.
> I carved off the curved areas on either side of the FS berth, put a thick piece of sheet plastic on the inside of the hull, then layered more sheet plastic into the carved out area with the straight edge meeting a piece of 1/8 plastic tubing I put on either side of the berth. Then I drilled holes for the lower searchlights and filled and sanded the area.
> Since I got the new Seaview with the revised bow window tooling I now had an extra Seaview lying around


Hi Jeff,

Nice job on the nose bottom on the sides of the FS rolling doors.

I'm not that well acquainted with the belly side of the nose, so I'm having trouble determining how this revised area differs from the original. Can you elaborate on the changes you made to the contour? A Before and After would help.

Also, I notice that you did the 8-window as well, and it looks like the Gary Kerr modified version which I'm working on. Did you do any additional changes to the nose or mantas?

Thanks for any info,

Tom


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## voyagefan** (Dec 19, 1999)

*1/128 Seaview Modification*

Jeff,
Your large Moebius Seaview is looking great. The modifications went well and revised nose section is much cleaner without having
to putty up that area. Subtoair revised the bottom of the nose section too and you can look up his thread from a couple of years ago.
I built the smaller version and a close friend of mine built this version. With a clean paint job , your Seaview will come out super.
Please continue to post your progress photos!


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Jeff, I think I see what you did, but I want to make sure. You used the FS bay part to help align the plastic sheet then built it up in the carved out area. Turned out nice! Is the plastic tubing then meant to represent the edge of the doors, or rather the area where you'll build up the edges?


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

The tubing can act as the edge of the doors--I have some corrugated plastic sheet that will act as the doors proper, and I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to make them removable; otherwise I'll make the bay either permanently open or closed. I'll be adding photos as I go along.


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

JeffBond said:


> I'm no *************, and I'm sure he and I would differ on this issue but the only major problem I have with the big Moebius Seaview is the contour of the bottom of the hull where the Flying Sub hatch is.


Right now, Paul L. is my source for things Seaview, and his attention to detail is unmatched. But Jeff, that is _really_ good work! I love that model. I don 't have the tools or the time right now to tackle a mod like that. You really _nailed it_ Jeff! I just went and looked at some file pix I have. I never would have noticed that!

I am still trying to see which Hero is the 17 footer. It was the eight footer in _Leviathan_. Not sure about the one in _Deadly Creature Below_. It looks like the eight...I still have a bunch of blank pages in my Seaview Info Folder. 

I used to sculpt. Old School. Ball clay and plaster of Paris molds. Then RTV and resin. Time consuming but effective. I made small stuff. 6-cyl motor blocks, heads and oil pan, HO scale truck bodies, I never did get to the point where I was very proficient. 

But the Seaview is _one big honkin'_ model! To modify the hull contour and shape is (to me) a major undertaking. The smaller 1:350, I think, is more my speed. I've never sculpted the big stuff. Ya just need templates. And plenty of photos! Every angle! Doable. Cut your templates from Evergreen styrene sheet plastic. But...I digress...

Jeff, you used the plastic that was already in the kit, right? Built up in layers? Again, great job! :thumbsup:

Doug


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Nice work. I did something similar for my 1/350 Seaview build:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r259/Trekriffic/Seaview/045F.jpg

I used thin strips of magnetic vinyl sheet, the kind used for making magnetic business cards, to frame the sides of bay then used matching strips on the edges of the doors. It worked really well to hold the doors in place.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

That's a great idea! Where did you get the magnetic strips?

Radiohugger, the 17 footer was mainly used for the surface shots and the Flying Sub launch shots; otherwise all the shots of the Seaview operating underwater should be the 8-foot version.


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## Radiodugger (Sep 27, 2011)

Thank you Jeff! By the way, it's Radio _*D*ugger_, but you can call me Doug! 

Doug


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

JeffBond said:


> That's a great idea! Where did you get the magnetic strips?


They had magnetic business cards at my local TAP Plastics. You need something thin like that so the doors will sit flush inside the opening.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

taneal1 said:


> . . . I'm not that well acquainted with the belly side of the nose, so I'm having trouble determining how this revised area differs from the original. Can you elaborate on the changes you made to the contour?


On the filming miniatures, the shape of the Flying Sub bay doors is a simple cylindrical curve. The original issue of the Moebius _Seaview_ has a compound curve there (it curves from front to back as well as from side to side). Which is not only inaccurate -- those roll-away doors couldn't possibly work if they had a compound curve.


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

scotpens said:


> On the filming miniatures, the shape of the Flying Sub bay doors is a simple cylindrical curve. The original issue of the Moebius _Seaview_ has a compound curve there (it curves from front to back as well as from side to side). Which is not only inaccurate -- those roll-away doors couldn't possibly work if they had a compound curve.


Scotpens,

Thanks for the explanation. However, I was referring to the replaced area on either side of the FS bay doors which contain the spotlights. Are these areas also compound curves when they should be cylindrical?

Tom


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

The replaced areas are flattened--on the kit as released they curve upward into a little hill, just like the areas in front of and behind the hatch: this photo probably shows the original look best:

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/sl_seaview_0039.jpg


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

JeffBond said:


> The replaced areas are flattened--on the kit as released they curve upward into a little hill, just like the areas in front of and behind the hatch: this photo probably shows the original look best:
> 
> http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/sl_seaview_0039.jpg


Nice work. I just noticed that you must have had to trim the port and starboard walls of the FS bay to match the flattened area as well. 

Or did you have to trim all 4 walls?


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

JeffBond said:


> The replaced areas are flattened--on the kit as released they curve upward into a little hill, just like the areas in front of and behind the hatch: this photo probably shows the original look best:
> 
> http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/sl_seaview_0039.jpg


JeffBond,

Thanks! That jpg defines the change perfectly. I have the 8-window that I am more or less working on at the moment, but I certainly do intend to make a 4-window as well. Any info I can pick up now I will save for later.

The quality of your work is exemplary!

Tom


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

Only the areas on either side of the FS hatch are changed; you can see that clearly in the images where the piece hasn't been painted yet. The unaltered lower hull piece is gray and the modified areas are white.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

Okay, this is finished apart from a few paint touch-ups. I painted it Tamiya RAF Ocean Gray which gives it something like the brown/green/gray look of the surface 17-foot miniature (the dark color also helps accent the lighting effects). Also painted the bottom a very light green and provided contour shading with weathering pastels.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/albums/72157673099771665


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Very nice work! I like those colors.

I also note with wry amusement your Leiji Matsumoto design tour boat. 

Question. I see you have a red LED in the bay where the radar antenna retracts, is that just a choice or was there evidence in an episode or the movie for that?

I know it would be common to light the control area with red lights, and the flying bridge would have red light for night, but I didn't think the antenna storage bay had a light.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

The red antenna light is strictly non-canon.  I just thought it would be cool to highlight the antennae and since the light is sunken in that bay it doesn't leap out at you.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

JeffBond said:


> Okay, this is finished apart from a few paint touch-ups. I painted it Tamiya RAF Ocean Gray which gives it something like the brown/green/gray look of the surface 17-foot miniature (the dark color also helps accent the lighting effects). Also painted the bottom a very light green and provided contour shading with weathering pastels.
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/albums/72157673099771665


WOW! That is some amazing work there!!! Thanks for showing it off so completely! The detail is off the hook.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Not lazy at all!! Love this build.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

This *SO* makes me wanna get a 1/128 eight window to do, seeing what's possible here. Hmmm.. take over the living room for another 2 or 3 months though.... nah, I want to stay married to my Wife.


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

Chrisisall said:


> This *SO* makes me wanna get a 1/128 eight window to do, seeing what's possible here. Hmmm.. take over the living room for another 2 or 3 months though.... nah, I want to stay married to my Wife.


Chris,

My 1/128th 8-window has been boxed up in the closet for the last 3+ years because I don't have the time to work on it. 

IMO it is much more accurate than the 1/350th that required the complete nose replacement. For example, unlike the 1/350th, the nose at the "knuckle" is only very slightly wider than the Fox drawings. And it ALREADY has 8 windows! Even if you choose to model the 4', 8', or 17' specifically, any manta asymmetry issues on the filming miniatures requires some adjustment based on your own personal preferences. For most folks, only slight or no manta adjustment at all may suit them just fine.

IMO, never having seen the actual miniatures in person, a flattening of the "sides" of the nose just above the mantas, to achieve the trapezoidal cross-section of the Fox drawings, and a similar flattening of the "front" of the nose in the area around the two center windows in the lower row would result in a fine-looking Seaview without the need to sculpt an entirely new nose. And it would leave the windows more or less unaffected.

I doubled the thickness of the nose in those areas by laminating styrene strips to the inside of the hull. I had just begun sanding when I decided I had to pack the sub up and put it away. Obviously, I can't say whether the results would have been acceptable or not, but if you or someone else were to try this method, I could finally see the results. At the very least I believe it would be a noticeable improvement...

Now that you have the experience from constructing an entirely new nose, I'd REALLY like to hear your assessment of the 1/128th 8-window as to accuracy. You could of course purchase the kit while this is fresh in your mind without doing any actual building until the wife decompresses... :grin2:

Tom


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

taneal1 said:


> Now that you have the experience from constructing an entirely new nose, I'd REALLY like to hear your assessment of the 1/128th 8-window as to accuracy.


Paul's correct- it's a tad too bulbous. Even my finished 1/350 has a tiny bit too much of a curve if you study it closely.


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

Chrisisall said:


> Even my finished 1/350 has a tiny bit too much of a curve if you study it closely.


Are you referring to this in profile view?

Do you think the 1/128th 8-window requires the corrections I mentioned?

Tom


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

taneal1 said:


> Are you referring to this in profile view?


No, from a dead on forward view.


taneal1 said:


> Do you think the 1/128th 8-window requires the corrections I mentioned?


Honestly, the sheer size of the model is impressive, but the number of things that need correcting on it make it kind my worst modeling nightmare. Mostly, I'd have to trash the nose completely and then I'd be back to how TF to make the windows... only on THAT scale! At least on the 1/350 painting them one can _get away with_, but at 1/128 it would just look super cheap. I guess fixing the 1/128 is _do-able_, but you'd need a LOT of time, a BIG workspace, and the experience to mould & cast resin parts as needed (I do not possess the first two).

You know when you look at a model and feel "Wow, THAT'S *IT*!" 
Well the that's not the 1/128, it's just pretty cool is all.


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

Chrisisall said:


> No, from a dead on forward view.
> 
> Honestly, the sheer size of the model is impressive, but the number of things that need correcting on it make it kind my worst modeling nightmare. Mostly, I'd have to trash the nose completely and then I'd be back to how TF to make the windows... only on THAT scale! At least on the 1/350 painting them one can _get away with_, but at 1/128 it would just look super cheap. I guess fixing the 1/128 is _do-able_, but you'd need a LOT of time, a BIG workspace, and the experience to mould & cast resin parts as needed (I do not possess the first two).
> 
> ...


Chris, 

Thanks for the appraisal. So you don't think that flattening the sides of the nose just aft of the windows, and flattening the bow in the area of the center two windows in the lower row would be much of an improvement?

Those were the only specific improvement to the nose that I had planneds, and of course doing so wouldn't produce a "flawless" model, but having done that, I though it would be easier to discern any additional issues. Doing it the way I planned would leave me with windows intact, which I agree in this scale are necessary.

Are there any additional changes to the nose you could suggest that I could do without replacing the nose in its entirety? I *WILL* make the changes that I outlined, but it won't be any time soon, so I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for suggestions...

Tom


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

taneal1 said:


> So you don't think that flattening the sides of the nose just aft of the windows, and flattening the bow in the area of the center two windows in the lower row would be much of an improvement?


IMHO, either you accept it as is (which is pretty good) or you desire the real look of the Seaview in which case simply flattening the sides & stuff just won't do it. It's a BIG kit, and cheating shows a lot. My little 1/350 ain't perfect, but at that scale I can get away with some crap. The 1/128 four window may be pretty accurate (I don't know- not my interest) but they messed up on the eight window (sorry Moebius).
In the end it's all about what you will be happy looking at.


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

Chrisisall said:


> IMHO, either you accept it as is (which is pretty good) or you desire the real look of the Seaview in which case simply flattening the sides & stuff just won't do it. It's a BIG kit, and cheating shows a lot. My little 1/350 ain't perfect, but at that scale I can get away with some crap. The 1/128 four window may be pretty accurate (I don't know- not my interest) but they messed up on the eight window (sorry Moebius).
> In the end it's all about what you will be happy looking at.


Okay Chris,

Thanks for you input.

Tom


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

JeffBond said:


> Okay, this is finished apart from a few paint touch-ups. I painted it Tamiya RAF Ocean Gray which gives it something like the brown/green/gray look of the surface 17-foot miniature (the dark color also helps accent the lighting effects). Also painted the bottom a very light green and provided contour shading with weathering pastels.
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/albums/72157673099771665


Okay, and we've hijacked this thread enough- look at JeffBond's amazing & incredible work!


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## taneal1 (Jul 27, 2014)

Chrisisall said:


> Okay, and we've hijacked this thread enough- look at JeffBond's amazing & incredible work!


OOOOOOOOOOOppppssss!

Sorry Jeff,

I thought I was replying to your 1/350th thread...

Tom


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/albums/72157673099771665

Awesome.


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