Project Lemondrop...Moebius Flying Sub 1/32 scale

[mrchester]

With the new model, I decided to get the stand "stuff" worked out first. Holes for the locator pin and connector plugs would be easier to deal with first. I didn't work out the electronics until I was half way through with Lemondrop ( which was a little dicey at times). Since I want Aqua Foil to be simular to Lemon Drop, I wanted to put the locator and connector holes to be in the same place. I was able to place the locator pin in the same place. After I placed the hole (in the lower hull) and the pin (in the stand) I was able to set the two up and prepare to mark the hull for the connector holes. However, when I placed a flashlight underneath, I found that if I placed the two square conduits on the front the stand upright instead of the rear (like I did on Lemon Drop), I would miss the rear door completely. Stand modifications next.

 

[mrchester]

Now for a minor side note. I have what I call an unfair advantage when it comes to my hobby stuff ( both now and back in my High Powered Rocketry days). Having a Machine shop at my disposal comes in handy for many things. Modifications to these Flying Sub stands are no exception. The picture below shows our shops biggest piece of equipment. A 42" Bullard Vertical Turret lathe. 13,000 pounds of cast iron and 'I can hurt you very easily' (and not even think about it). Colossus (as I like to call it) is a veteran ( it once belonged to the Air Force) and comes in handy for cutting big circles and centering rings. The square in the center of the table is 12"x 12"... just for reference. What the hell... here's that Werewolf one more time.

 

[mrchester]

Sorry for the delay. In wanting to have this base to be simular to the first, I needed to turn another porthole frame(s) and clear disc, with a couple of bulkhead plates. I purchased a piece of 1/4" clear acrylic (for about $15.00) from McMaster-Carr. For the bulkheads, I had a couple of pieces of Garolite let over from my High Powered rocket kit manufacturing days (Google Fat Cat Rockets... those are my creations). I stacked (and clamped) the plates on the VTL and carefully cut the plates to 12" diameters.

 

[mrchester]

Using the piece of grey PVC tubing that I had left over from the previous project, I duplicated the outer parts of Lemondrop's stand. I then layed out, drilled, and tapped the holes for the Allen socket head screws that hold the base together. After which, I set the lower ring up on my Horizontal Boring Mill to cut the slot for the battery drawer and drill the holes for the power buttons. Sorry, no pictures of the turning process.

 

[mrchester]

I cut the proper slots in the clear disc for the central cruciform pillar and drilled the holes for the power wires to pass through. This makes the base of the stand technically a kit and I'll get that finished when I get the pillar modified.
On another note, I took some time to set up my back drop and shoot some pictures of some of my work(s) from the past few years. Enjoy.

 

[mrchester]

Before painting the central pillar, I need to add the conduits for the wiring. I like before, I used square brass tubing that is cut to length. However, I mounted the tube to the front side of the cruciform as opposed to the rea (like I did with Lemondrop). I also remove the top disc and its cross member (they were tightly fitted) and then masked off the front area of the pillar. I did the same as I did with the stand before. It was then painted Flat Black.

 

[mrchester]

While working the stand, I started the floor. I was happy with results that I got with the previous floor. This time I took pictures. The clear plastic theat moebius used is a bit more forgiving that clear plastics from other kits. However, it can chip or fissure if you are not careful. Using a 3/32" drill, I drilled a bunch of holes around the four hexagons in the floor. After finishing the pattern, I placed the running drill bit in the closest hole in a line of holes then carefully pulled the floor panel toward me. This 'connected the dots' on each side of the area to be removed. I set the panel piece aside and applied masking to the topside of the floor panel. I then filled in the hole with Marine epoxy. Allow time to cure fully.

 

[mrchester]

Once cured thoroughly, I primed and flat sanded the blank floor. To get the hexagon placement, I used a vinyl sticker that I has purchased from TSDS. Part of an "Easy" floor coloring kit for the Flying Sub. The upper floor sticker was defective so I kept the other half for this purpose (which I used on Lemondrop). After tracing the hexes, I did the 'drill a bunch of holes' thing again. I then creatively removed the hexes (leaving enough for finishing with a file).

 

[mrchester]

I carefully cut apart the hexes and dressed them to the proper sizes. I traced the outside of each one for a reference for how much material was to be filed out of the corresponding holes. Starting with the center hatch, I used a double-cut and a mill ******* cut file to true up the hole. After a lot of trial and error I had the hole to the right size. Since the hatch is going to be closed for this model, I had to cut a pair of notches for the 'hinges' cast in the door. This took about an hour... and there were three more holes to do. Eventually, the other three were finished. Since the outer panels are not identical to each other, I fitted each panel to its own respective hole. To make things easier to keep straight for assembly, I placed each panel in its own marked bag.

 

[mrchester]

After several failed attempts to color (and re-prime) the floor, success was achieved. I had the same issues with the other floor ( bad weather and being overzealous with the paint can) but using the 'dis-assembled' panel approach, makes corrections easy. Since the floor in the Aqua-sub is never seen in "City Beneath the Sea", its color can be left to the modeler's discretion. Since I plan to do the wall panels in shades of Grey ( instead of the shades of Si

 

[mrchester]

After several failed attempts to color (and re-prime) the floor, success was achieved. I had the same issues with the other floor ( bad weather and being overzealous with the paint can) but using the 'dis-assembled' panel approach, makes corrections easy. Since the floor in the Aqua-sub is never seen in "City Beneath the Sea", its color can be left to the modeler's discretion. Since I plan to do the wall panels in shades of Grey ( instead of the shades of Silver that Irwin allen seemed to REALLY like) with insets that are Red. The structural frames are Red, also. Fishing through the supply of paints that I've acquired over the years, I came across a can of Rustoleum's Fire Orange satin. Comparing the top to the top from Tamiya's Italian Red made for what I think is a pleasing combination. I will stick to yellow for the outer hex tiles and will do the center panel like I did for Lemondrop ( hatch closed for this model). The big panel will get several coats of Clear Flat and polished smooth.

 

[mrchester]

I'm sorry that I've been away, but I have been progressing nicely. I am happy with the floor and decided on what to do about the center panel. Since the theoretical operating date of the Aqua-foils is about 60 years after the Flying Sub was campaigned, I would assume that certain thing would be slightly different (namely the dual reactors). And since we do not see the floor, I opted for a ring as aopposed to a hexagon for the back of the center panel. I turned off a thin ring from a PVC coupler (parting it off with and Exacto knife actually made it dish). This was painted Tamiya Italian Red and when dry it was located in the center of the underside of the panel. I then layed four coats of Dull-cote over it. Pictures show panels before final sizing.

 

[mrchester]

While working the floor, I also started the interior walls. After acquiring a second reactor wall (Thanks Frank and the fine folks at Moebius) I started prepping the panels for the photo etched replacements from Paragraphx. This included painting the backs of the panels black. There were some minor upgrades to the FS-1 interior panels, but after some consideration, I opted to keep with the F's-1 package. The decals from TSDS for the Aqua-foil are good if you do not use them with the Paragraphx photo etched parts... to holes do not line up with the decals. The other main difference is that there is a lot of red... the panel inserts and the structural frame to start with. One final thing, with two reactor walls, there is a shortage of plot-etched parts for both panels. So I prepped only one lower sub panel on each wall and drilled out the lights in the other sub panels. For the forward panel corner boxes, I opened up the mount sides as wide as possible ( I had to do this after I assembled and painted the ones for Lemondrop... not fun).

 

[mrchester]

The sets from the the movie also has a lot of silver... watch Lost In Space for proof of Irwin Allen's love of silver. I Opted for something a little less garish. The reactor walls are Medium Ghost Grey with Smoke Grey inserts. The front panels are Dark Aircraft Grey (for the front section), Medium Ghost Grey with Italian Red for the insert, for the main portion. The rear wall(s) got the same treatment (see photo). Oh yeah, I had to mask off the photo-etched parts (on the forward panels) to leave a lighter color for the decals to be applied to (awkward diction).

 

[mrchester]

Once I got everything painted, I stuck everything together to see how it all looked. Also, I started to work on the front control console. This included the removal of the light panel on top of the center monitor (See photo).

 

[mrchester]

I continued doing some body work on the outer hulls. This kit has some extra molding issues compared to Lemondrop.

 

[mrchester]

I worked on the back bulkhead , door, and engine exhausts so I could have a finished component to set aside (didn't want to save this for last like before). I drilled holes in the exhaust cups for red flickering LEDs. Since the color scheme is in "Play it by ear" mode, I opted to do the rear panel in silver but took a cue from the movie's interior set. I painted the door Red and the hand wheel silver. This looks really good and has a nice contrast. I gave the finished assembly a test fit...looks good.

 

[joberg]

Beautiful build/tuto:cool (how did I miss all of that...must be old age) Just a minus: I thought the jacket of the admiral was a bit too shiny (satin finish would've added a more realistic look...my two cents). Keep on building, it's looking great!!

 

[mrchester]

Thanks for the kind words Joubert... I would have to agree on the jackets. I'll keep that in mind for the third model that I've got planned for next year. I was lucky to find a set of the landing gear from Moebius on Ebay and would like to do a 'dry land' version of this.

 

[mrchester]

I have been working the lights for the panels and the floor. I inserted the hatch and floor panels (white glue is used for this). The floor will get six bulbs, three on the outside and three mounted in the docking collar insert. The collar is creatively shaved down to help light pass under the panels. Other random pictures here also.