Moebius Seaview 1:350 scale WIP

Hmm, all this room. I envision the Seaview in a diorama both above and below the waterline showing the full scale of Maxie the giant squid. A tentacle of such magnitude suggests a creature of great length, surpassing even perhaps, in scale, the length of the new bench. I've got some other great ideas I'll pass along soon!

Maxie, the original.   

Greg

 

 

Bakster

..at a Bakster snail pace.

 

 

Ehhh, squid pace.

 

Bakster

..at a Bakster snail pace.

Ehhh, squid pace.

Greg

Good for you, Steve! Your new work area looks great!

 

littletimmy

 

 

Bakster

Any bets how long it will stay this clean? Lol.

 

 

I got $5 that say's ..... it's already "messed up" !

That's a nice , B I G  area to work on stuff ..... Hmmmmm ? Are you prepairing to get something big ?

Thinking about getting that Type IX sub arn't you.

                                          B U S T E D ! ! ! 

 

That is also funny about the 1X. You know... I do believe I have the space for it now. Hmm.

Good for you, Steve! Your new work area looks great!

Bakster

Any bets how long it will stay this clean? Lol.

I got $5 that say's ..... it's already "messed up" !

That's a nice , B I G  area to work on stuff ..... Hmmmmm ? Are you prepairing to get something big ?

Thinking about getting that Type IX sub arn't you.

                                          B U S T E D ! ! ! 

Off topic: Because I said that I would, I am.

Bakster

I'll post a picture when I am done with the mods. I wish that I had imaged the current cluster before I had started cleaning. I thought about taking one, but I thought, nah, what for. Imagine a door sized table completely covered with stuff, except for maybe a foot square. Rediculous.

Here is my new dungeon, pretty much complete. A new bench, lighting, shelving, and I even got a portable tool box made out of a napkin/condiment holder. For the latter, I have a small bench upstairs too, and I never have the tools that I need. They'd be at one bench or other. Now, I can bring the whole caboodle with me. It even spins! Wee doggies.

A better workbench willed into existence. Now, if I can just will this project done, and into a new one. 

Any bets how long it will stay this clean? Lol.

CapnMac82

Gotta love the squid tentacle.

Not only the tentacle, but the antomically correct one.  The decapodian cephlapods use their two longer tentacles specifically for capturing prey.  The remaining eight are for propulsion, or for manipulating prey to the mouth (in squids they are refered to as "arms" rather than tentacles, as they have a mix of hooks and suction cups, this is utter contrast to the octopedians).

Apparently, there's a bit of reshuffle among the maritime scientists, and the posistion of the Giant Squid may be demoted from the discovery of the Collosal Squid, which, at 18m would leave the 10-12m Giant Squid as a runner up.  However, a collosal squid may be more of a lavendaer color, than a red.

 

Thanks again...

Gotta love the squid tentacle.

Not only the tentacle, but the antomically correct one.  The decapodian cephlapods use their two longer tentacles specifically for capturing prey.  The remaining eight are for propulsion, or for manipulating prey to the mouth (in squids they are refered to as "arms" rather than tentacles, as they have a mix of hooks and suction cups, this is utter contrast to the octopedians).

Apparently, there's a bit of reshuffle among the maritime scientists, and the posistion of the Giant Squid may be demoted from the discovery of the Collosal Squid, which, at 18m would leave the 10-12m Giant Squid as a runner up.  However, a collosal squid may be more of a lavendaer color, than a red.

Bakster

Hey Greg... this is awesome info! Thanks for rambling because I am gonna run with it. I will see if my local Hobbytown has them in stock. If not, I will order them on-line. I think it's worth the effort because I like their color offering. Also, those dropper bottles RULE! Lol.

 

If any of my ideas help you, that'll be thanks enough, Stevie.

Hey Greg... this is awesome info! Thanks for rambling because I am gonna run with it. I will see if my local Hobbytown has them in stock. If not, I will order them on-line. I think it's worth the effort because I like their color offering. Also, those dropper bottles RULE! Lol.

Hodakamax

LOL! This is great! I always like to be a bad influence. What a monster! Yikes!

Thanks for naming it Maxie,---- I think.    Awesome job!

Maxie

 

Thanks for the kudos. Good to hear that I didn't muck it up.

BTW, I tore another page out of the book of Max. I used hot glue to secure the sub to its base. The stuff seems to really hold. I remembered you using it on your space shuttle.

Bakster

 

 

Greg

Indeed!!! And Maxie the squid is cool. I'm impressed.

Post a pic of the flow enhancer you used with the Vallejo if you feel like it. I'm curious about it because you shouldn't have much of a dry tip issue with Model Air. (if you are using the right stuff with it, anyway)

 

 

 

 

Hey Greg, thank you sir.

 

I used Winsor and Newton brand. 

 

Thanks for letting me know, and that's why I asked and why you have dry tip.

Windsor and Newton won't work. Liquitex won't work. Only Vallejo's own "Airbrush Flow Improver" will work. Both of the aformentioned, in hindsight, probably made my dry tip worse.

Click here for a link. The stuff is available in a bunch of sizes, this one shown is the smaller dropper bottle. And for the Amazon haters here, by posting a link to Amazon I do so because it is convenient for me to find/search for. Not that I am suggesting Steve has to buy it there.

And one more thing, you mentioned you thinned your Vallejo with water. I'm not sold on that idea. Doing so with Vallejo Model Color when brush painting works like a charm and is recommended by Vallejo.

My results airbrushing Model Air and even Model Color have been much better using Vallejo's own airbrush thinner.

And when a forum member made me aware of the then new Flow Improver (linked above), along with the airbrush thinner, dry tip is, for all practical purposes, gone.

Sorry rambling post, Steve. Sunday AM, drinking coffee and all that.

LOL! This is great! I always like to be a bad influence. What a monster! Yikes!

Thanks for naming it Maxie,---- I think.    Awesome job!

Maxie

Greg

Indeed!!! And Maxie the squid is cool. I'm impressed.

Post a pic of the flow enhancer you used with the Vallejo if you feel like it. I'm curious about it because you shouldn't have much of a dry tip issue with Model Air. (if you are using the right stuff with it, anyway)

 

I used Winsor and Newton brand. 

littletimmy

You know, if you would keep the "Reactor" hach CLOSED,.... stuff like this wouldn't happen !

Is that what I did? Oh boy. Nelson is gonna be really mad.

Yeah a full squid was not in the plan. Too much work, and I doubt that I would like the look of it.

Thanks man. I appreciate your opinion.

steve5

this just gets better and better steve , keep it coming , this is great stuff .

steve5

 

You know, if you would keep the "Reactor" hach CLOSED,.... stuff like this wouldn't happen !

I love it !  I was expecting a full blown Squid to be "pulling" the Seaview under. The "hint" of IMPENDING DOOM is just right .

steve5

this just gets better and better steve , keep it coming , this is great stuff .

steve5

 

Indeed!!! And Maxie the squid is cool. I'm impressed.

Post a pic of the flow enhancer you used with the Vallejo if you feel like it. I'm curious about it because you shouldn't have much of a dry tip issue with Model Air. (if you are using the right stuff with it, anyway)

this just gets better and better steve , keep it coming , this is great stuff .

steve5

Well, meet Maxie, the squid. She is a pre-flood behemoth that survived the ages. Being of old age, a bit senile, she attacks anything that moves. Thus, this is the life of the Seaview crew.

For those that are interested in her creation... read on.

I searched out a number of options to create her; I settled on something called Apoxie Sculpt. It is a two part epoxy that dries solid. 

Once mixed together the epoxy is very tacky. I let the stuff set for about an hour before creating its basic shape. I then positioned the form onto the sub, and let it set for another hour to two. 

Below: I made final adjustments after the epoxy became firm enough. Final finishing needed to be done off of the model, thus the reason for the plastic barrier. The barrier kept it from bonding to the sub.

Once dried, it was sanded for final paint. 

Below: I made the suckers by rolling out a thin roll, (bottom right), and then lop off a bunch of small pieces. These then are rolled into small spheres, and a toothpick is used to create the depressions. Once cured, I glued them on using white glue.

Below: I won't get into the paint colors used, unless someone wants to know. The final layer is Testors Glosscote. The color layers are Vallejo Model Air paint.

A few comments:

Apoxie Sculpt is good stuff. It dries hard, it sands really really well, you can even drill it. I drilled a hole for the handle and the material that came out was a fine powder. This stuff dries through and through. TIP: Wear disposable gloves when kneading the two parts together. It is pretty gooey, and it will turn your hands black with it. It is very tacky in its early stages. For this reason, it is best to let the material cure a bit before sculpting. The only negative I have with this stuff is that it is a bit pricey. I hope it has a long shelf life. 

This was my first time using Vallejo AB paint. I used flow enhancer, and I had thinned the paint using water. It lays on well, but I did have a lot of issues with dry-tip. It was frustrating.

Well--now that Maxie is done, I can move onto finishing the waves nearest the sub.

Later.

littletimmy

I could use some help ....... or a stick of Dynamite !

 Buddy... we could knock that out in no time. 

CapnMac82

In my perfect world, I'd have 25" x 50" work tables on casters; probably three.

That's a perfect world, and, sadly, ours is imperfect.

Sigh.

Work table on casters is cool, though--need accees, just roll the cahir to the other side rather than haul the model about the desk.  Only thing better is adjustable height for rigging things.

 

I'll post a picture when I am done with the mods. I wish that I had imaged the current cluster before I had started cleaning. I thought about taking one, but I thought, nah, what for. Imagine a door sized table completely covered with stuff, except for maybe a foot square. Rediculous.

Hey Max, forget the eyes. You will see why I say that when I post the update.

Bakster

I've set out to clean the basement.

When you are done there.......

I could use some help ....... or a stick of Dynamite !

In my perfect world, I'd have 25" x 50" work tables on casters; probably three.

That's a perfect world, and, sadly, ours is imperfect.

Sigh.

Work table on casters is cool, though--need accees, just roll the cahir to the other side rather than haul the model about the desk.  Only thing better is adjustable height for rigging things.

Whoa! Cleaning ot the basement! Always a big step in life, could even happen twice. Sounds cool, the plan, organization, always good. I should take notes. Keep me posted! The squid has me interested, looking forward to that! Glass duck eyes? I've looked everywhere. They are here somewhere. I think I put them somewhere easy to find. Just yakkin', carry on!

Maxie

CapnMac82

Doesn't sound so bad, not when compared to Houston drivers

CapnMac82

BTW (and to be on-topic for a change]) the bayous were the color of equal parts black, blue, and sepia India Ink.  The ocean was a milled aluminum color, and the Ship channel a rather unpleasant gray-green-brown hue.  But, it was overcast and trying to rain.  No sign of squid regardless of dimension--unless they were Cheshire cat color.

My two cents: This brings up a good point. The color of water varies drastically. It can depend on where you are in the world, water depth, lighting, and environmental conditions. The deep blue that I started with exists somewhere in this world at any given time. I live near Lake Michigan. Depending on the lighting and water condition, it can give the appearance of a very deep blue. If you get on this same water at the same time, angled in a different direction of the sun, the water changes to a green. I guess my point is--there is no true right color. It can be a myriad of greens, blues, blacks, and maybe more. Deep subject. Blub blub blub.  

Maxie the squid progresses in her evolution. She has been primed, and the first layer of color is applied. With luck--I might have her done by this weekend. I will post an update when I can.

Btw... something lit a fire under my (beep). It is probably the crummy Spring we are having that made me do the unthinkable. I've set out to clean the basement. Wow! 20+ years of "things" that barely moved since arriving there. Along with that, I am doing a major revamp of the workbench. The bench that I used is a hollow core door mounted to some bench legs. The door is old, warped, and a major magnet for clutter. It is too big, and it eats up too much space. So--I am replacing it with a folding table that I will modify. I have also added some shelving to the wall behind the bench. This will get things like paint jars off of the bench, and stored. My goal is to create an open environment conducive to scale modeling. As it was, it was a place that I really preferred not to go. Oh--I almost forgot. I ordered an LED lightstrip that will hang from above the bench. Poor lighting was another major problem.

And that's the fact jack. 

Venomous serpents and insects?  Doesn't sound so bad, not when compared to Houston drivers o_O.

Gila monster is a type of monitor, the "venom" is an anti-coagulent, this so prey exsanguinates.  Ratterls and coarals?  Fairly predictable, and will stay away from people most times.  Black widows are not nice, but brown recluse bites are very nasty. 

And, all of that still safer than Houston drivers, what with 3-4 lane change exits, total anarchy as to speed and direction (drove 609 miles this weekend, and H-town is a full magnitude scarier than DFW, which is right at the margins of sanity).  By extremely fortuitious timing, I was 45 minutes ahead of the Barbara Bush motorcade as they drove out of Houston.

BTW (and to be on-topic for a change]) the bayous were the color of equal parts black, blue, and sepia India Ink.  The ocean was a milled aluminum color, and the Ship channel a rather unpleasant gray-green-brown hue.  But, it was overcast and trying to rain.  No sign of squid regardless of dimension--unless they were Cheshire cat color.

Shrimps  crabs were tasty, though.