Karl,

I remember seeing those same blueprints when I was a kid and tried to build a balsa wood version, but gave up ( I did make one out of LEGO's later). Hey, I too bought mine in the late nineties and it too sat in a box until last year. I'd done some preliminary work on the electronics and some sanding on the hull but that was about it. The squid is made by Safari Ltd. and they produce ALL kinds of vinyl/plastic animal toys/sculptures. I believe you can still order it online. It turns out to be a perfect scale! Let us know when you start your build and be sure to post pictures as well. Have fun!

Fantastic build, I attempted to scratch build the Nautilus model when Tom Scherman had his in the issue of Scale Ship Modeler way back in the 70's using that issues blue print of the Nautilus I had it enlarged to 1/4 inch scale and attempted a balsa wood model but with lack of any information at that time I never finished it.

in the 90's I finally bought this same 31" model and it is now resting still in the box. but with very limited shelf space to display it I am looking to re model the house and may finally have room for this and other submarines and ships, BTW would you happen to know who makes the sqiud ? and if it's available to purchase on line ? will come in handy when I build my Nautilus, and thank you for sharing photos of such a fine work of art.   Karl

I would not be concerned with a vinyl squid that comes with the Pegasus kit. Model companies normally make sure the type of vinyl they use in their parts is compatible with their styrene plastic kit. Car and tank kits have included vinyl tires and tracks for decades without problems. The only modern exception is older Trumpeter wheeled military vehicles. Many of them included rubber tires that melted the plastic after prolonged contact.

I only mentioned it because he said the squid was a toy and not made to be used with plastic model kits so the type of vinyl might be detrimental to the finished model. But if it doesn't touch, it shouldn't be an issue.

Hmm, interesting comments.  IIRC the Pegasus Hobbies version has a vinyl squid that the finished model rests in.  The consensus here is that I should find some other way to display the kit when finished?  

Gene Beaird,

Pearland, Texas

Rob,

Thanks. Your concerns were something I took into consideration when the display was being fomulated. The squid, by optical illusion, does not touch the main part of the boat at all. The only real contact is the lowest long tentacle barely touching the lower blade on the bottom of the hull for placement. I used good 'ole enamel paints on the squid- the first application of the scales was to let it soak into the rubber for a few days then came back and repainted the scales again- crazy! Using a blowdryer set to cool/warm, I dried it and let set for a few weeks between applications without touching it at all. Then it was gently rolled on wax paper to remove anything that did not settle.  It's been over a year now and the paints have shown no sign of degradation that I can see (of course I don't play with the squid- LOL).

The scale is 1/69:   31" in length, 5 1/2" wide, 6.25" tall -keel to top of the wheelhouse

An amazing build, I love the squid but would worry about long term contact with the finished model. Vinyl often does not react well with paints and can be hazardous to the finished kit.

What the approximate scale of this vessel? It looks really big.

It definitely needed the squid. Somehow it looked uncompleted.

Thanks! No better accolade than from Nemo ( Captain, not the clownfish)

Capt Nemo approves!

That is gorgeous!

Thank y'all for the comments. Its sure nice to be welcomed back into the modeling community once again after a long hiatus.

   Great Job   

Thanks Gamera !

Its a big wad of cash no doubt. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang kit is up there in the clouds as well but nowhere near what this runs!

Wow, a lot of cash but that's a museum quality model! Well worth the money you put into her.

Thanks to you all for the comments. The question asked about the price is this- yes & yes. Being a hollow resin kit (about 1/4" thick), it is heavy and can be modified for R/C use if you want to go there. When I bought this at the time, it was well worth it to me. I'd been looking for something like this since I was 8 yrs. old and now that I had developed my modeling & electronic skills, everything came together perfectly. The kit itself is about $400.00 or so not including shipping. Throw in the extra electronics, model supplies, wood base (stain, varnish), and your own worth of time and effort, figure another couple of hundred at least. Finished versions sell for about $1500.00 or so, with or without the extras. It has been so far THE most expensive thing I've built and probably the last !

The squid is a definite plus 

Wow, that's really something. Nice work to say the least. The addition of the 'pus/squid was genius.

Seems you catch on to photography techniques rather quickly, too.

Exceptional workmanship, creative display with squid a plus!

       Was the kit expensive and was it worth the price?  I wish a plastic manufacturer would offer even a 12" model of the Disney Nautilus. Once again, great job.

The term "mood lighting" comes to mind. It was a dark stormy night....

Here's a couple of lighting studies I did messing around with the camera. Interesting how lighting affects the look of the boat & squid. Had some fun with this.

Really nice build

Thanks. I'll see what I can do about the pictures. Actually had been thinking about re-doing them with overhead lighting, etc. and a non-busy background.

Wow, neat!  Do you have any pics of the bridge before you put it into the hull?

Beautiful work on a screen classic!!!! If it would not be too much to ask, could you please take more photos with better lighting and a plain background to really show off this beauty!!!

Oh wow, that's beautiful! Just an all around fantastic job!