Jeff's Abyss- the SeaQuest Transport

[jssel]

Here is my selection. Never watched the show but the kits looked cool.




Found it at a contest/convention last year for a song. Box has seen better days.



The innards were sealed in poly until last night.




Looks straight forward enough. My LMS has mesh to replace the clear plastic cargo bay.

Hope I don't flounder on this one.

[Dirkpitt289]

Very cool choice. I was a huge fan of the shows first season and would love to find this kit along with the stinger

[MerlinJones]

This is a great kit and replacing the mesh is one of those must-do's, just 'cos it's relatively easy to do and looks so much better than the clear stuff, painted.

Regards,
Bruce

[jssel]

With the weekend to ponder this build, I will move it into hyperdrive and get going.

Step one..The power unit.



Step two..The cargo bay. To me this is the issue with the kit. To simplifiy construction the cargo bay was moulded solid. In TV reality, it was a heavy duty mesh.



Really does not look too realistic in my opinion. The solution was found on my weekend road trip at a Hobby Lobby store.

Carrying a spare kit piece with me to compare, I found that this aluminum mesh just the ticket. and you get a whole buck for cheap witht e 40% off coupon.



Problem mostly solved, it is onward and downward into the abyss. I hope there is nothing staring back at me.

[jssel]

Work continued on the cargo bay. I cut out the center section of the floor and re-braced the bottom with 1/8 stock. Over that the mesh was super glued in place. To my eye, a much better solution than a solid bay.



Here is the rest of the cargo bay walls with the mesh replacement pieces next to them.




Jumping ahead a little, dry fitting will help me understand the construction further on.



The crew "orb" is really detailed nice. I should have planned on lighting it up. But than I never would get this thing done.

[MerlinJones]

That mesh is a great find.
You'll have a truly ace model by the end of it.

Note that the scale is good for figures and you don't need anything fancy for a DSV crewman, if you fancied that route.

Regards,
Bruce

[Dirkpitt289]

That is a stunning build so far,that mesh is going to make a world of difference in the final product.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Great find and work with the mesh !!!

[philp]

Looking good so far. I had this kit once and thought about modifying it to be a space tug instead of undersea. Basically just slightly different engine pods.

[jssel]

A little more work and the cargo bay is completed. More test fitting to secure it unto the ship's frame will be needed. Overall, it was a great excercise in multi-media building and one of the few times I enjoy using my noggin to overcome a modeling problem.

With the "rake" in place, I will not screen in the top.




Now back to the instruction sheet and the build.

[MerlinJones]

Inspiring stuff. I'll definitely get some of that mesh when I do miine.

Regards,
Bruce

[JamesPerrin]

So this basically a subaqua shopping trolley, right?

[jssel]

You have that right James. And I do not think it was designed for deep water stuff either.

Thanks for the comments.

[jssel]

Last evening, work commenced on the operator orb(I made that name up). Like Brews Death Star, I had good fit most of the way around. But as you can see, I needed the "heavy iron" to hold it together while the glue set up. Next set of pictures will include a scale reference.



Clamp off this morning and the files will come out to clean things up. Nice little cockpit, though. Not much is seen when the glass in in place.

[Dirkpitt289]

It may be a silly kit but I want one. I was such a huge fan of the show.