A Nutty Idea

Hi Jim ;

 I have that very LEGO kit ! 

  I modified it though . Now the crane moves easily up and down the pier on little wheel sets . I did a Non - LEGO thing though . I took that hull and cut it in half . I then took another and cut the bow and stern off and inserted that large center piece ,  into that space on the other one .

  Using the" LEGO " Plates to re-create the Deckhouse and deck hardware . That way I had everything in scale sort - of . One plate equals one third of a LEGO block in heighth . I converted the re-assembled hull into a MEGA -Tanker for my room . The Pier is longer and thanks to you I'll have to have a Dry-Dock now ! LOL.LOL.   T.B.

Oh Yeah!  Keep it going.

  I was concerned that some of the folks might not follow our "mind-set" in the earlier posts so here are a few early trials on another Revell kit.

Narrowed.

Some ideas:

What-if.   (Upside down and Bow and Stern reversed.)

Some "ideas" taped on.

How'bout that "caterpillar" engine in the hull recess? (It's a green marker)

And one Lego pic in keeping with the spirit of the Thread.  It's reversed, just like my Sub above.

I will be sending you another "Document", made during the Winter Doldrums.  It's based on the Revell Snap-tite Nautilus kit too.

    Jim.

Looking at it ;

 have you considered taking the " Window " and putting it behind a door ? You know , like a torpedo Tube Door ? For the Steam - Punk version it will become the container for the steam engine and the flotation chemical . Plus the four bladed stick prop out back . Below will be a gondola reminiscent of an upside down Volkswagen Bus !

 Now the other thing is take two , Cut them just right and make it longer . Even longer still with framing and sheet in the gap . Long enough that you can squeeze the ends and create the very neat Hunley ! Also a quarter of it makes a neat racing Hull Capsule for a " Star Wars" type Water-Borne Pod Racer . Shall I continue ?

I'm not laughing. I am smiling, Ear-to-ear. We think alike.

 Gosh, I bought a "Lot" of 3 of'em a couple of months back and I have the one I  just narrowed the hull on and I still have 1 un-built somewhere in the stash.

A space ship looms in the Future for sure.

Might make a nice Interplanetary Refueling Tanker. It's wide enough.  

And Thank you for reviewing my small wip "test".

   Jim.

Psst...  I have another write up on a re-evaluation of the kit.

You are right, there's plenty of possibilities for this nutty model. 

Hmmm, Grandkids and Movies ;

 Gotta love them . I got your W.I.P. ! Hey , stop that  "I'm Chicken " stuff ! That is great !

 Promise not to laugh ? I have even bought a fourth to turn it into a"Steam-Punk Airship "

  Also this unit is great for a different type of "Space Vessel ."

TB,

  It is a fabulous model to play with.

Try making the Stern the Bow. Those "window" depressions no longer will imped forward movement. And then turn it upside down. All of a sudden it starts to look a bit like the USS Holland  (Okay, wishful thinking : You need to narrow the hull A LOT lot and sand the hull smoth and add a fairwater and reshape the bow and stern.  Fortunatly it would only need a simpler propeller setup).

   The best part is you can make it any scale you want.  It will work as a 1/48 Holland type sub or as a 1/200 20,000 leagues make believe sub which could scale out to 178 feet long- like the Disney/ Julkes Verne 20,000 leagues sub, depending  a bit on how big you make the Ram.

I will PM you in prep to send you my original proposed WIP.

(I have no guts to post it)

I am in Virginia today with my grandkids.  It would take awhile for me to access my WIP data in Philly.  I will send it when I can.

  Gonna watch all the Star Wars.  The second oldest won every movie in a raffle including Rogue 1 and Last Jedi.   I can sleep when I get home.

    Jim.

Nino ;

   I just re - read this post to see if I could add anything new . I have that very Submarine . One difference though . All the interior stuff have been replaced with scratch - Built plastic and brass components .

 What a great cheap venue for detailing experiments . I went and bought two more to experiment with .

Oy Vay !

 Now that's a proof of what we always say . Keep an eye out for constructive / destructive cats at night .

TB,

     My wife has a great sense of Humor (She has to.).  Late last night she saw my "drydock" and not knowing what it was supposed to be and knowing I played with it, made the appropriate comments. I saw it this morning on my way to the post office and grabbed some pics before they " ...tear down this wall".

My "drydock" has been re-purposed.

     Jim.

Okay, just for fun...

 Last Christmas the Grandkids were over and wanted to "build a wall". (Too much tv?).

 They built it and I found it on a shelf and did the natural thing, added to it.  And then...

I had to put a model in it. And then... I remembered your "Nutty idea".  And then...                

well, here we are, dry-docked at last.

Ran out of Legos. 

      The model is the Revell Snap-tite Nautilus. I added some left-over stuff.     It is not finished. I am not doing a dry-dock Diorama. My granddaughter just wants the ship.  A lot of touch-up is still needed. The figures were just for scale. 

      It's a nice kit and since it's fictitious, you can do anything you want with it.  And yes, the wires go to internal lighting.

     If I get another kit, I plan to completly reverse the plan.  The Stern will become the Bow and the bottom will become the deck.  The resulting profile seems to look more believable. 

     Nino

Hi ;

 Oh you are on the right track . Now remember  for smaller scale you use what LEGO calls plates . These are a third the height of the regular brick .Then you cover the studs with the flat 1x2, 1x3 etc tiles .This covers the studs . OR , Cut the visible studs off with a sprue cutter and glue .010 strips on to cover what you've done .

 As far as paint sticking . Sand lightly with 320 grit WET after gluing , or wash with lacquer thinner ! .

     Well, I am a Rattle-Can sort-a Guy since I'm inexperienced with Airbrush.  Krylon and Rustoleum are easy for me to get . 

     Looks like Legos could be used at various scales based on some Pics I broused. Maybe 1/144 or larger might work.Some of these Drydocks show really large wall sections.

Here's a few...

     http://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FullSizeRender33.jpg

https://defencyclopedia.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/wpid-091019-n-2638r-002.jpg

http://www.crandalldrydock.com/Crandall%20pix/halifax_floating.jpg

One Man's Legos could be another Mans inexpensive Floating Drydock Diorama

Hi Jim !

   Hey here's an idea . LEGOS take paint well  Especially Krylon Or Rustoleum Brand . Build a drydock Dio . It can be small or large . Remember ! According to " Rulers of the World " They work out to 1/20 scale ! That's large !  By The Way I got a " Rulers of the World " comparison chart because of the Rail-Road Museum .  T.B.

Tanker - Builder

Hi ;

 Listen , I found out something this past week . C.A. Affects LEGO like regular Tamiya liquid glue affects styrene ! This means that we as modelers can catch some at flea markets and do this .

 Say you have a large ship .You don't want to use the flimsy stand supplied to build that ship . Well , build a cradle of assorted LEGOS . You can Tailor it to fit the hull and Bingo ! there you go . Oh, It works for Armor and Aircraft too .

 Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees .I've been doing this for years with cars !

 The beautiful part . Once put together you have to build new , if the ship or armor , or plane and car is grossly different . You will still have the base rigs for everything else . It takes two pair of pliers to pull them apart once glued , and you'll likely suffer irrepairable damage to the bricks . So just build new , Label them and put them in a drawer , for when you need them .      T.B.

 

      I cleaned up my basement after the Grandkids were over and sorted all the un-built Legos into the proper boxes. Looks like there are a few hundred that Don't Belong... So, I appropriated a few and will experiment. First thing to try is what do I have to do to get paint to really stick. These Logos are very Glossy. Guess I could sand a few hundred down but then I'll never get to my Stash.  Another thing is to determine what scale model ship will look appropriate either Mounted on some Legos or in a Diorama using Legos. What a dilema...

   A neat Idea for something completly different.  It may not be Museum quality but when I broached the idea to my oldest Grandson, He glowed! (He loves Legos!)

     Jim.

Jim;

 Funny you should mention that ! I actually never thought of that ! Hmmmm , I guess I'll have to see what I can do .Thanks . T.B.