1/350 USS Nautilus SSN-571 The World's First Nuclear Submarine

[rwsmith14]

This will be a second entry into this build. This the Mikr Mir 1/350 Kit. They produce nice kits. I have several submarine models from them. For a small scale it has a lot of detail. Not too may pieces so my emphasis will be in the paint work to bring out the detail and make it look realistic.

[rwsmith14]

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. The vessel was the first submarine to complete a submerged transit to the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Sharing names with Captain Nemo's fictional submarine in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and named after another USS Nautilus (SS-168) that served with distinction in World War II, Nautilus was authorized in 1951 and launched in 1954. Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation, and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines.

Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a museum of submarine history in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel receives some 250,000 visitors a year.

[TheTroyster]

Awesome - finally something that is water base and something I have actually been inside!

[rwsmith14]

Put it together didn't take long to do. not a bad fit. some gaps in the Conning tower halves and top also a gap between the Photo etch topside deck and the hull. I filled with Mr. Hobby's Mr, dissolved putty. I buddy of mine raves about this stuff. The jury is still out for me. This has been the third or fourth time I used it. so far i'm not impressed







Mr. Dissolved putty cleans off with 91% alcohol but cleans up even better with Mr. Thinner on a cotton bud!! next up is primer with Vallejo Matt black primer



BTW the stand shown is from another kit

[HistoryRider]

Looks like fun!!!

By the way, see if you can find and listen to Bob Newhart's Cruise of the USS Codfish!! or video clip of Bill Dana acting as the XO of the Nautilus!

[rwsmith14]

Primed using Vallejo Black primer

[rwsmith14]

Painted the Hull with Vallejo Grey black and then various hues of dark grey. Decided to test out the new Tamiya tape for curves. when on and stretched pretty easy. I can see it working very well for more complex curves.




painted the upper hull Vallejo Barley grey

[rwsmith14]

Decide to do a seascape diorama. similar to this That I previously completed. http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... =47&t=9268
but, using a different method of making the "Sea"



Picture frame for the base. frame covered with tape for protection,



Using Pink dense foam board for thermal insulation. I measured the inside of the picture frame and marked and cut the foam to fit inside the frame



Cut a slot to "sit" the submarine inside. doesn't have yo be perfect right now.




I will be using these products to create the "SEA". in addition I will be using Paper, cotton balls, along with oil paints for color.



I will recreating this scene below.
On the morning of January 17, 1955, at 11 am EST, NAUTILUS' first Commanding Officer, Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson, ordered all lines cast off and signaled the memorable and historic message, "Underway On Nuclear Power." Over the next several years, NAUTILUS shattered all submerged speed and distance records.

[rwsmith14]

Started working on the seascape today.

I sculpted the sea with a lighter. you can make very natural ocean swells and undulations by holding your sea inverted over your head (before attaching the ship of course) and simply using a lighter at about 8-10 inches away. The heat causes the foam to recede in very predictable and controllable ways. Passing the lighter back and forth directionally produces very convincing swells and ocean rhythms.




** I'm in the process of repainting the Nautilus.

I I now tear up regular white 8 1/2 x 11 white paper. The pieces should not exceed about 2" across. Larger pieces will wrinkle. . I use acrylic clear gloss medium to glue these bits down all over the foam sculpt.

[Nige201980]

Great work the wave look brilliant.

[TommyKillander]

Very cool.... great tips on how to make a nautic dio, thanks !

And the build is coming along great as well

Cheers

[rwsmith14]

I'm remaking the seascape base. Once the varnish dried, on the first base, the paper seams on the pieces of paper used to cover the base were clearly visible. Plus I found out that I have no idea how to paint with Artist oil paints.

Started all over after experimenting with small blocks of the foam board. finally settled on:

step 1: using the lighter to make the waves and undulations
step 2: cutting out the area for your ship to sit in
step 3: sand the foam board smooth until all the ridges and bumps from using the lighter/ heat are smooth.
step 4: Use the varnish to cover the foam board to get a smooth surface

the images below are following steps 1-4 just waiting over night for the varnish to dry

.

Using acrylic paint ( mixing black, various blues, greens )experimenting to get the proper color for the sea.and one that I like.
Once dry I'll use gel medium and bits of cotton balls with varnish to form wave tops. Also will form the wake of the ship the same way.
then dry brush the tops of the waves with white and blues.. experimenting once again until i get the right combination.

below is one of the foam blocks I used. this one shows the above steps 1-4 and just combining the acrylic paints. I like the color. the color is actually more blue then the image suggest. it's the lighting I suppose.

[Danta2er]

This is great! Love the re-work on the water.

[martin57]

This is very interesting to read and some good tips , i have never done a seascape before , but i might just give it a go soon .
thanks

[rwsmith14]

Haven't done too much lately on this, as I'm working on the F-111F for the Homeland group build as well.

this is 1 of 2 seascapes I'm working on for this project. in the end I'll choose the one I like best. been trying different colors combinations. I'm working on that minty greenish blue color that you see.. try to get the illusion that it is moving down into the darkness of the seascape. This is the illusion i'm trying to achieve. ..getting there ... still have not started on the ships wake yet. after getting this part to my liking I'll start that.

most of the bluish green minty color you won't see in the end.

[Coen]

Totally cool work with that foam! The effect of that lighter was fantastic.
Nice colour depth with your surface too. There's wonderful 3d effects going on.

[rwsmith14]

That's what I'm going for Micheal hopefully when it gets glossed, it will magnify that 3D effect.

[rwsmith14]

Still playing with color combinations on my two seascapes. I'm varing the underlaying color that will be beneath the Artist acrylic blue/green sea. these colors will be visible after manipulating the acrylic blue/green while still wet. trying to get an illusion that this lighter colors are beneath the surface and sinking into the depths. the darker minty color is Bahama Sea from Kylon and the lighter minty color is Aqua also from Krylon spray cans

[TommyKillander]

Great thread, so much to learn here... keep up the good work!

Cheers

[patrickroos]

Beautiful seascape, agree the depth and 3d effect are amazing!!!

[rwsmith14]

On to seascape #3 ,#1 and 2 ..I tried so many different combos on them they had too much paint on them... but that was part of the plan.

on #3 and final.. I used the same procedure as described earlier. Primed it black then.... brushed on Artist acrylic paint, Phtalo Turquoise, which is the perfect color I wanted to achieve without mixing greens and blues and black together... I highlighted the wave crests with the air brush, a very light sea foam color, that i mixed. Also dried brushed the wave Troughs with black. The white globs are liquitex gel medium gloss, to simulate white caps, it will dry transparent. I will drybrush them, white, blue, green... i don't know right now .. we'll see.

I gave up and my 3D idea the way i was doing it.. just could not get the effect I was wanting. I'll revisited that in the future. instead I air brushed the effect. once glossed it will have the same effect... I hope !

the Sub is not permanently mounted, for a little kit of about 20-30 pieces, it was a real pain !! not happy with it but it.. is what it is.. still have work to do on her.





still have to coat my cotton especially near the bow with tiny touches of acrylic clear gloss medium to form a glassy net around the cotton. To do this, I will use a tiny brush and very small amounts of clear medium. 'l'lI gently touch the medium onto the surface of the cotton. just want to create a modest coating over 30% of the cotton. As things get a bit more covered, 'll then manipulate the goopy cotton into splash like shapes

[rwsmith14]

Installed the water effects: ships wake, bow explosion. .
Used regular cotton balls. make sure it has no seeds in it. I have no idea what cotton seeds look like, I can only assume mine did not have seeds. Some cotton balls are made of cotton, and some are made of Raylon. The Raylon balls are supposed to be way better to use than cotton. If you can find these, they're what you want. I could not find raylon cotton balls.

I can tell you get the good stuff, if there is such a thing, as good cotton and cheap cotton. Gently pull the cotton apart to a spider web .. . lay some gel medium varnish down as glue. lay the cotton on it and spread some more varnish. the more varnish you use the darker the cotton gets.

this is the first time i"m trying this and I can say that..... less is more ! ...to gain a good effect.

have some touchups to do and some painting to where i removed excess cotton..

the seascape has 1 coat of Liquitex Gloss varnish on it.. I plan to lay down multiple coats all together.




still have to coat my cotton especially near the bow with tiny touches of acrylic clear gloss medium to form a glassy net around the cotton. To do this, I will use a tiny brush and very small amounts of clear medium. 'l'lI gently touch the medium onto the surface of the cotton. just want to create a modest coating over 30% of the cotton. As things get a bit more covered, 'll then manipulate the goopy cotton into splash like shapes

[rwsmith14]

Completed !! Final reveal here:

http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 90&t=14122

[Homerlovesbeer]

Beautiful job! Thanks for the WIP thread