sunken submarine

That is a very interesting idea for an underwater diorama. I would experiment with a small scale sub to start with. I would make a plexi small box and make the ocean bottom from as an example, Durham's water putty. This stuff dries rock hard and has a natural sandy color and texture, you may need to color it to taste. The sub would then be embedded into the mix to settle it down on bottom. For water you can use the clear resin used on table tops but don't know if it will generate too much heat while curing which can distort and melt the plexi and sub. Maybe someone that has experience using this resin can chime in.

i also wanted to make the sub look like its been there a while to that means lots of rust and growth and sediment, not sure how i can do the sediment

Maybe this could help with some visual ideas. I found this a while ago.

www.youtube.com/watch

awsome that looks so cool, thanks

Great idea, tetraodon. I don't think I would actually encase the model in anything. It should be convincing enough that it's underwater when it's full of barnacles, rust and surrounded by sediment. Maybe suspend a fish or two in the growth near the sub.

i was planning on not encasing it, but using a combo of light and shape to make it look underwater, trying to figure out how to simulate sediment, i can use baking soda and such for rust and small foam bits for stuff growing on the sub

I have to admit that this one gets me a little bit nervous. I lived on the USS Bluefish for 4 years and the thought of going down wasn't too far from of any one of us. I still think about the Thresher and Scorpion sitting on the bottom, as well as the old Diesel Boat guys. Good luck with this undertaking. I know it will be difficlut.                             Bob

That sounds like a nice idea. Finding a Balao is a little limited though, and beware there's a few Gatos out there that just got reboxed and renumbered. Or go with Gato, lots of those.

You are correct in that you definitely don't want to try pouring in the water. Way too many problems. Also gets expensive quickly.

Look forward to seeing your progress. A good subject.

And true Bob, it's sad to think of that eternal patrol where folks disappear.

i bought the revell kit of the uss lionfish and thats what gave me the idea, and i appologise if this brings up any negative feelings, i wanted to make something you dont see everyday, and thanks for the time you put in on the uss bluefish. finding referances for this is hard

By all means I'm glad that you are doing this build. I know that it will be a technical challange and I'm curious as to how it can be done. There was one thing that the guys on the Bluefish told me that still rings true. " You can take the Nuke out of the Plant but you can't take the Plant out of the Nuke" . This explains my curiosity. Keep us updated.                 Bob Henry EM1(SS)