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Nemo's Nautilus is done!


ScottsGT

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Thought I'd start a new thread since the other's title had nothing to do with what I was working on.  But so others can see, I'll repost a few of the photos before completion.

This is the 31" kit from Masterpiece Models I picked up off eBay during one of their 15% off sales.  MM also plays with the price on this kit quite a bit.  They list if anywhere from $169 all the way up to $199 + $25 to ship it.  If your timing is right, you can get one at a good price.  I watched this kit for about 2 years and finally pulled the trigger.  Needless to say, it was a "Bench clearing" purchase that I jumped on as soon as it arrived.   Ever since I have been building models, I have wanted to have this sub on my shelf since it is one of the few movies I remember watching with the whole family as a kid.   Hope you enjoy.

 

This is it just mocked up on my clutter free bench.

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Here's the sub standard resin struts included and my scratch built replacements.

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Of course porthole window openings were too large for the provided clear parts, so I had to fill them in with Evergreen stock.

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Scratch built bubble frames.  Resin parts were horrible!  Out of symmetry and didn't fit all the way to the edges. No excuses for a kit that cost as much as this one did.  But it was the only game in town.

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Silver base and pre-shading of the rivet lines.

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Enough, on to the finished product!

 

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The rear window I had to redesign.  Basically filed off all the detail on the kit at this spot, glued on the piece of clear plastic, taped up the center and applied rivets with wood glue.

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Some close up detail of the finish.  This is done with Modern Masters Reactive Metallic Iron paint.  It's an artists paint that goes on black and you spray on an acid activator and you can sit and watch it rust as it dries.  I had to get the mix just right because out of the bottle it is really thick.  I learned this technique from the RCSubguy on YouTube.  His video is a few years old and MM has changed the formula since then.  He mixed vinegar with the paint to thin it and then applied.  New formula will not mix with vinegar.  I had to thin it with water first, apply, let dry and them spray on the activator.  Re-apply as needed in light areas and even sometimes I had to take steel wool and remove some.   Lots of dry brushing back over rivet details with rust colored paint since the rivets stood out bright silver after.  Also applied chalk pastels to highlight areas.  My clear coat made it all go away and I had to reapply. 

 

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Edited by ScottsGT
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1 hour ago, Gene said:

Very nice work on that large 2K Nautilus!  Must have taken buckets of paint!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

Actually not that bad.  One can of Rustoleum for $6 and the tiny bit used for preshading.  Now the rust paint and activator, it was $30 through Amazon. But I have enough paint left over to do 10 more of these. Activator, not so much since it was a hit and miss thing.  Once I activated it, new topcoats actually reactivated, but I sprayed or brushed on another coat just to make sure.

 

It will add a new texture to my 1/18 diecast car mods I like doing. 

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5 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Thanks!  It's the only kit I have completed this year. :(  Now I can get back on those two Revell P-51's that are ready for paint. 

 

Don't feel like the lone ranger, I'm just now wrapping up my first finished model for the year too.

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This is really fantastic!  That rusty effect you have there is spot on.

 

And thanks for that first photo of your work space; it really helps give a sense of scale and you can appreciate the size of the sub.

 

Big enough to be impressive, not so massive as to be impossible to display.

 

Very nice work!

 

:yahoo:
 

 

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ScottsGT:  Have you seen this video of a submersible R/C Nautilus?  Has a pretty nice finish on it for being an R/C vehicle.  It's neat to see it dive and cruise around underwater in this guy's swimming pool! 

 

I think you'll get a kick out of this.

 

 

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2 hours ago, ringleheim said:

ScottsGT:  Have you seen this video of a submersible R/C Nautilus?  Has a pretty nice finish on it for being an R/C vehicle.  It's neat to see it dive and cruise around underwater in this guy's swimming pool! 

 

I think you'll get a kick out of this.

 

 

Yea, that's the guy that I watched to learn how to do the finish.   He builds and sells the internals to make these RC. 

 

 

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