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

Thanks a bunch Blade90. I want to address the wardrobe next. The kit part has three doors, but the wardrobe has varied throughout its TV history. I found a page of another build whose interior I took a que from (that is the first picture and is NOT my work). Two of the doors are removed and it is an open closet. The clothes bar was easy to do but the tanks and the wetsuits....not so much (the wetsuits especially). There is also a thin mattress on top of the wardrobe and from what the series showed is that it is Black vinyl. I wanted to put in a light in the open space to go with the light that is shown in the lighting kit. The first attempt for this used strip LEDS.
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mrchester, The reference to the mentioned "that is the first picture and is NOT my work" is actually from yours truly '2011 commissioned project! I am the proud owner of that participial 1/32 scale Moebius Models Bad-Ass Beastie, XFS-38 Searay / Flying Sub FS2. ~B. Greene
 
Okay folks time out. Greetings Again Blade90. Before I started this project, I found that picture and saved it to my reference materials. As the project went on, I kept looking at that picture until I got my wardrobe far enough along that I was happy with what I came up with. I take my hat off to you for the actual clothing hanging in your wardrobe (well executed)..I had to bail on that (hence the suitcases). Due to time restraints, I waived the man in the rack, also. However, I am rather proud of the opened floor panel in my Sub. Now here's that Werewolf again.
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I did glue the front frame to the bottom hull. I thought it would be easier to fit and finish the seam on the top hull in the final assembly process. I did work out the stretch mark issues and did paint the blue stripes (and the grey highlights on the front). Mind you the hardest part of the stripes was the transition from the body (twisting 90 degrees) to the tail or fin. To highlight the hatch doors, I used Black chalk that was ground up and brushed into the door grooves. To add some detail, I used paper towel dampened with Windex to streak the the black from the hatches. A coat of flat clear sealed it in... this was the beginning of the weathering process.
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Things may seem a little disorganized and they were. There were several things going on at once and it was the case during the final steps before final assembly. Up front, I managed to damage a front window during the first painting attempt, so I opted to remove the windows from the frames. They were drilled out and filed down to just the frames. I would replace the panels with 0.005" clear film. I primed and painted the frames Dark Aircraft Grey. While I was removing things, I opted to take out the molded headlight covers. I made new bezels and cages from aluminum. They were prepped and painted Stainless Steel color. Cages seen to right in picture below (in Primer). I filed off the backs of the front grill inserts. The grills were painted silver. Once dried, I replaced the backs with black plastic (got nice demarcation lines).
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The rear bulkhead is a seperate assembly that consists of the bulkhead plate, pressure door, and the twin exhausts (which are made from provided nozzle and cover cup). I drilled a hole in each cup for a red LED bulb. I painted the insides Black and the nozzles and bulkhead Silver. Both the inside and outside pressure doors were done in Metallic Grey. I my continuing efforts to "Not Blind Spectators " with external LEDs, I made a pair of defusers from clear film. I sprayed the films with Flat Lacquer, then marked and cut them out. Then they were assembled (the third picture has the left side with lens and right without). Last picture is how it looks when done... Picture from the future.
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There were a couple other items to take care of, mainly a light to be mounted inside to help light the cabin. This was mounted above the flight console above the front windows...thanks to Moebius' engineers for creating a cavity here for a light. Once assembled the wires and back of the light is hidden. I also got the headlight cans mounted and I would simply glue in the cage covers in the final assembly. The picture shows cage friction fitted for test.
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I got to the point where it was time for final interior assembly. It took some doing to get the three components (floor package, access tunnel, and the rear bulkhead) and all of the wires onto the lower hull. Once everything was secured (and glue cured) I noticed undesired seams at the floor/wall panel joints. Also between the dash console/walls. To cure this, I cut some moldings from 0.030" square styrene. After painting them in their appropriate colors, they were carefully installed using white glue. I had to be extremely careful since I had to navigate through the tight interior. Pictures next.
 
First four pictures are the moldings that were added (photo 2 is at bottom of wall right, photo 3 is at hatch wall left, photo 4 is end of dash panel). I also got to do some final tweaking of the internal lights. The above mentioned interior light ended up having to big of a spread pattern, so I added shields to it and other offenders. They were added after receiving the proper paint (no pictures of placement).
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got everything secured and all of the dust blown out. I used Testors glue to put the hulls together. After it cured I used either thick CA or, in some areas, that light activated liquid plastic (called Bondic) that is ion TV. The second item sets in seconds and files rather nicely. After a bit of file work and paint paint touch up, Lemondrop was ready for finish weathering. Afraid there are no photos of this part ( because time was running out for the model show that I was going to enter this in), so here are some random pictures.
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For the Weathering, I went back to the ground black chalk. I dampened a paper towel with Windex and dipped it in the chalk. Using my knowledge of my youth at local grass airport, I was aiming for the effect of an aircraft that periodically gets wet and dirty. So, I ran the dirty towel over the model, in the pattern like a an aircraft of this shape would (awkward diction,,, I know). Using Windex means that mistakes can be easily removed ... mostly. I was going for a slightly dirty look and to look like the Admiral took it through a major forest fire.
For the top hole I opted for a view window. I turned a ring from aluminum that fit nicely into the shoulder in the top. I tacked a piece of 0.005" clear film to the ring and left it loose for removal later.
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Since I was doing a window on the top, I needed to figure out how to display the top docking collar. Since I dressed both sides of it, I opted for a stand that has it on its side. I turned a ring from aluminum that had a groove for the outer diameter of the collar to set in. I then cut the ring in half and mounted it to a 2" diameter disc. This all can be set on the main stand base and be judged with the rest of the model.
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Its showtime! Modelpalooza 2016 in Orlando is here. I will say that I had an off year last year, but I was feeling real good about my one entry for the show. After putting it on the table, I made a beeline to the Moebius table to have my yearly chat ( and show purchases) with Frank Windspur. I have usually built a Moebius kit in the off time and feel it necessary to let him know how great his product is. I have built at least one of each of their 'Voyage' models and think they are well executed. Frank got a chuckle when I showed him a picture of the floor modifications that I made. Keep asking for the 'Rubber Suit Monster" expansion kits for the Flying Sub and Seaview kits... one can only hope. Show ends and I pulled a silver medal (which I am completely happy with, I know where the flaws are). My only beef is that when the judges scores got posted online, I see that my model didn't get judged for decals. Hello...the interior is full of them. Okay, rant over.
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I loved watching this show on Saturday nights until my cable company found out we were getting the channel when it wasn't' supposed to be offered in our area. This kit is looking really good.
 
Thanks WesR... Voyage is now on at 4 AM on MeTV... your better off with the DVD's.
Overall Moebius' Flying Sub kit is a wonderful build and has a good offering of suplimentary add-on kits. I can say that Moebius knocked this out of the park by offering this well executed kit. I liked this so much, that I want to do it again. However, I want to do the version from 'City Beneath the Sea' (which there are actually decals for that version available), with the theoretical paint scheme that is out on the web.
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I think I forgot to pay off what happened to my rubber suit monster. With the interior vinyet set the way it was, a big monster on the flight deck wouldn't work with the calm setting of closing the hatch to return to Seaview. I had planned to put him in the access tube with the bulkhead door partially closed (I wanted to go for the "They don't know there's a monster onboard" scenario). However, he was too stocky. I shorten his legs and removed his fin mohawk but it just didn't look right. I was a little disappointed about that. Heres some pictures.
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I'm going to move on to FS-1's white cousin... the Aquafoil 1 from City Beneath the Sea. Even though Irwin Allen used the yellow flying sub(s) for the miniature shots, the actual sets indicate that it is intended to be white. The interior is the same set except for the fact that the bunk/wardrobe is replaced with a second reactor wall and the bulge on the top of the dash is missing and there is no ladder to access the top hatch. Red is the main color this time...the structure frames, inserts of the panels , and the rear bulkhead door all have it. The other color seems to be grey or silver. No scenes showing the floor, so that's still to be decided. Here's some screen grabs.
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I have most of the goodies to run this build. Thanks to Moebius ( Frank and the crew are the best) for the extra reactor wall and insert. And I opted for the Aquafoil 1 decal set from TSDS. The interior stuff has two sets of decals for the twin reactor walls and different layout for the rear panel.
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Now for a minor side trip. On the weekend of Modelpalooza, I discovered that my big 4 window Seaview's interior lights had failed.The notion of cutting open this model to locate the possible bad connection was not appealing. However, it seems that the model gods were smiling on me today. As I started poking around my, I found that I had a defective (brand new) battery. I'll take that as a win,,, here's some pictures.
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To continue with acquisitions, My stand from David Holderbaum came in. He is a professional model builder and seems to like "Voyage" models. The stand is the same affair as the one for Lemondrop, however, David made it a bit more generic. This works for me, since 'City Beneath the Sea' has a different look/style than 'Voyage' ( I'm invoking awkward diction for this one). Here's David's address: http://www.iann.net/models/david_holderbaum/moebius_flying_sub_stand_2/moebius_flying_sub_v2_001.htm
If you poke around enough you'll find some of his model work. My favorite is the 39" Seaview with launched Flying Sub going to a Sealab... all in a big fish tank.
Check the message to the shippers for the stand. Back in my High Powered Rocketry days, the problem was shipping large diameter cardboard body tubes without them getting damaged. The main component vendor would scrawl the following on the 60" long boxes... 'Fragile, Do Not Drop Or Throw'. It worked for the most part however, there were some cases where it seems that the shippers considered that a challenge ( not a request).
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Okay, I'm back... I'll get to the stand modifications shorty. Starting the second flying sub (Aqua Foil), I thought of a few ways to make this second build run a little smoother. When you dry fit the walls, floor and docking collar into the lower hull, you can clearly see the whats going on. I'm not sure the point I'm trying to make, but it looks neat. Also, I started working the upper hull by giving it the now standard coat(s) of etching primer.
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