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Pegasus' Nautilus - Kit review and build

88K views 110 replies 41 participants last post by  GKvfx 
#1 ·
Thanks to Larry over at Pegasus, I have a production kit of their new Greg deSantis Nautilus kit to review and build. An original design based on Jules Vernes' "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", this version of the Nautilus retains the overall "sea monster" look as well as the "ironclad" details that were a distinct feature of U.S. Civil War naval vessels of the period.

So here's the first bit - a quick in-box review of the parts -

The box art artist is not credited, but it features quite a nice painting of the Nautilus in the clutches of the giant squid (which will make up the display base for the kit):


Inside, the box is crammed full of Victorian submarine goodness:


You get a total of 8 gray sprues of styrene plastic (one sprue is doubled up for parts), a sprue of clear styrene, a base and a baggie of vinyl parts for the squid.



Also included are a set of die-cut maskes for the salon windows......


.....and a fret of photo-etch brass for parts like the steps, railings, and support rods:


As I mentioned in my sneak peek of the test shot parts, the detail on this kit is nothing short of phenomenal. I was impressed with Pegasus's 2005 Martian War Machine, but this kit kicks it up about three notches. These shots should speak for themselves -





The detail is crisp and sharp, and the mold seam lines are virtually non-existant. The sprue attach points are very small, which should make clipping them and cleaning them up a simple process.

Part of the reason for this is the fact that Trumpeter did the tooling and production on this kit. Yes, that Trumpeter. Larry was very excited when he first told me that they had agreed to take on the task. Larry has had a long relationship with the Trumpeter engineers and management, and due to the intricate detail in Greg deSantis' design, Larry felt he needed Trumpter to do the tooling for this kit to make sure all that detail made it into your hands. (Trumpeter doesn't usually take on outside work - so don't get used to this.....)

This kit has been meticulously thought out. There's a full salon inside the sub, complete with books and a desk and a globe and an organ. And, it looks like you will actually be able to see in there because the clear parts are actually clear. (For all the guys trying to figure out the wheelhouse - there isn't an interior for you to see. While you can stick a light in there, there's nothing actually in there. Hmmm.....Paulbo....?)

I've been looking forward to this kit for a while now and will be doing a quick build up here in the next couple of weeks. (I haven't decided whether I will light this first one, but I will have some LED's on hand to check clearances.)

Stay tuned. This is a weatherers dream.......

Gene
 
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#3 ·
PART 1 - the Squid base -
I know you would probably think I would start with the sub, but the base looked really cool and I thought I would do a quick test fit of the parts since I didn't have to make any decisions about LEDs and batteries and paint.

As you can see in my initial post, the squid is comprised of 11 parts + a base and a nameplate.

The body is a solid chunk of vinyl that features a good amount of detail that was designed by Pegasus' own Scott Willis to resemble the squid in Greg deSantis' initial rendering of the Nautilus -



At first glance, the instructions seem a little vague when it comes to placing all the various arms and feelers on the main body. That doesn't really matter because Pegasus has ingeniously keyed each individual sucker/feeler/grabber arm so each one can only go in one socket, one way -


This little test fit took all of 5 minutes (literally) to assemble (and I needed no glue) -




I would recommend leaving some of the arms loose in order to paint the parts before final assembly.



More tomorrow.......

Gene
 
#7 ·
I've talked to a number of kit makers and the consensus of opinion is that the 1954 Disney/Goff Nautilus license is just to darn expensive to justify for an injection molded model kit. While a limited edition, pre-built/painted replica ala the MR offering (or was it Icons?) may allow you to charge more, and thus sell fewer units to recoup costs, the math just doesn't work for the model kits. They would have to sell far, far more of the Nautilus than any other model in their lineup in order to make it work. More than Star Wars and Star Trek and BSG........ With those titles, you can ammortize the cost of the license over a number of kits/long period of time. But to do it for a single item, with a limited sales window, is just cost prohibitive for most companies.

.....I love the fact it is in actual Styrene- I do not care for the ABS material.
I've built most of Pegasus' kits and have never had a problem with their materials. I've got a glue that works and paint that sticks. I do miss being able to grab a can of Tamiya Spray Primer and use it on the vinyl kits. But I attribute that to laziness on my part. The detail in the Kothoga and Dragonslayer vinyl kits makes up for it.

.....I also love the fact Pegasus is releasing kits for builders not just focused on the big movie and TV hits. I like to build things that do not have an onscreen canon to mimic but allow you just to have fun exploring the potentials..
Yeah, the Pegasus guys like their older licensed material (War of the Worlds, When Worlds Collide, etc), but they also like doing subjects that you can use as a jumping off point. That and the lower price point of some of their kits bring this back around to being what it was originally intended to be - a hobby (and fun).

I'll post more photos later today, but right now I have a bunch of parts with primer and paint just drying....... yep, waiting for the paint to dry.......

Gene
 
#6 ·
This sub reminds me of what Nemo would have built before the Disney one- getting the engineering worked out and systems tested.
I love the fact it is in actual Styrene- I do not care for the ABS material. I also love the fact Pegasus is releasing kits for builders not just focused on the big movie and TV hits. I like to build things that do not have an onscreen canon to mimic but allow you just to have fun exploring the potentials..
 
#9 ·
Funny you should say that about the squid. I've been trying to talk Larry into releasing it with some 1/72nd or 1/48th scale divers - going after a Harryhausen's Mysterious Island vibe.....

Larry had the the Tarzan kit with him, but wasn't drunk enough to leave THAT behind:p. It looked great.....

Gene
 
#12 ·
OK, here we start - sort of. The assembly begins with the interior, since you wind up building the hull of the ship around it. I was debating whether or not to light this review kit, but regardless of that, I had to start painting some of the parts before assembly. While the parts were still on the sprue, I shot them with a light coat of Tamiya Fine Primer. Since I was still debating the lighting issue, I decided to shoot the back side of the parts with some silver to act as a light blocking agent. If I do add lights, I didn't want the thing glowing.

Anybody that knows me knows that I don't like waiting for paint to dry. So after spraying the base coats this morning, I put the parts in my custom built drying room (aka: my bathroom with the space heater 'on') -




I'll go into the details on the weathering for the interior later.

Since a lot of people are interested in how to light the salon, here are a couple of images to get you thinking. The completed interior sits on some pins on the bottom hull piece.....


........ to which you add the sides and the top. This photo will give you an idea of the clearances between the roof of the salon and the top plate -


So, you can see there's plenty of room to install some lights and run wires. Haven't figured batteries and switches yet......

Gene
 
#17 ·
Before I get caught up in the day today, here is a sneak peak at the paintjob on the interior salon.

Couch (did Nemo get this thing at a brothel garage sale?) -


Organ wall -

.... the pipes are molded into the bulkhead, but there is a separate piece that makes up the organ that mounts on the floor.

Overall -

...... I wanted to go for a wood panelling effect with the ceiling. I still have to do the gold lines to give it a bit o' bling (Nemo-style).

I used Tamiya Spray paints for the base coats of color, and oils for the washes/weathering. I love how they blend and behave in recessed lines. But I don't like how long they take to dry. Still, for a mottled look or woodgrain, I haven't been able to achieve the same look with acyrilics. And enamels dissolve when I use turpenoid for washes. So, this stuff will just have to dry for the day before I go handling the parts any more. (Once they are dry, a light coat of Dullcoat seals them in.....)

I agree that fiber optics are probably the way to go, though if someone (*cough* Paulbo) were to offer an etched brass ceiling with holes already etched out for light to come through....

Gene
 
#23 ·
...I agree that fiber optics are probably the way to go, though if someone (*cough* Paulbo) were to offer an etched brass ceiling with holes already etched out for light to come through...
Gene
Great minds think alike ... and so do ours :wave: Ceiling lighting panels were the first thing I designed.
 
#36 ·
Meanwhile, Gene is going blind painting the books on the bookshelves..... :)

Note to Paulbo - how about a stylized 'N' for the organ?

According to Larry, the ship is due in on Monday. So you are all close....

Gene

PS - more pics to follow soon.....
 
#40 ·
Meanwhile, Gene is going blind painting the books on the bookshelves..... :)
What, no titles on those books? :p

Note to Paulbo - how about a stylized 'N' for the organ?
Oh, I LOVE that idea! (He says adding it to the list of items to etch.)

According to Larry, the ship is due in on Monday. So you are all close....
Drat! Must work faster! Most pieces are designed, just some tweaks and a few minor pieces and I can get this set into production.
 
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