Post by alexb on Aug 19, 2019 18:40:12 GMT
I pulled this one from the dusty abyss. It was originally a post-apoc river patrol boat based on Tamiya's Pibber kit. I was really in to the wole post-apoc thing back then and this was built as part of an End of Days Campaign over on Armorama. After I moved away from the post-apoc stuff, I had decided to rebuild it as a dive boat. This re-build was started several years ago and I'll apologize in advance for the picture quality.
There was a lot of stop & go progress on this one. The biggest hold-ups centered on making decisions on the controls (center console vs. keeping the original) and deck layout (engine compartments). I did a lot of trial and error buildups and changes. You'll see some marker lines...these were proposed cuts that I backed away from.
The boat was broken down. Weapons and figures were put to the side.
The idea has generally been to move the cabin forward to give the vessel more deck room. The .50 cal turret sits in a ring with a raised edge. I cut the ring out so I'd have a flat surface to cover. Styrene sheeting was cut to shape. Over the years, the position of the cabin has changed. So the cover cutout was a waste of styrene until I decided on the position. Currently the cover piece is too short and there's a cm gap. I'll cut a new, larger piece later.
This is a dive boat and those usually have opened transoms to allow the divers to enter/exit the water easier. So I cut it. I'll be adding a platform extension with ladder to the rear.
Being dark green, it was hard to see the boat I wanted. I decided to go ahead and paint the hull white. I also went ahead and painted the below-waterline dark blue. It's just a but easier to see the shape/profile in white and compare it to real boats.
One of the roadblocks to this build was whether to keep the kit's controls or change over to a center console. The Pibber is a bit too large for a center console and a bit small for a typical chart style dive boat. Plus, most dive boats are inboard motor driven. Outboard motors would clutter the rear. Most dive boats with outboards are pontoon designs and divers enter/exit the water from the front. I would ultimately go with the original configuration.
The original kit piece has a molded-on cloth flap covering...storage or maintenance access...I don't know but it looks like poo, so I had tried to do something with it. One attempt was to make a louvered door. That's why the flap area is painted black. It looked a bit over-scaled, but I think I can do better.
So we're now in the present...the work from now on was done over the weekend.
So I decided to use the opening. I cut it open and scratched a boxed shelved interior. It'll just be fitted to the back of the piece.
The deck had been cut, recut, re-recut, etc. as configurations changed and changed and changed. I ended up removing the raised engine compartments. It opens up the deck area. The first issue is filling the floor in. The second issue is deck flooring isn't the same height. I played around and kept the rear deck floor the same height. There is a sight step-up where the cabin threshold should be. The sides will be storage and each have a rack for air tanks. Bench seats will be placed along each side...for seating purposes.
Cabin front on hull. It's not cemented yet. I need to work on the painting and some details before doing that. I still need to add the compartment door.
Anyway, it's coming along. I really had to pin down a few decisions and just go with it. Looking ahead, I've got plans for a couple of crew. I've got a couple of divers fro one of the old DML Seal figure sets. These are not in the water. I do have some diver figures in the water from the old Revell UDT Boat kit...I bought the kit for the figures. They look pretty good and can be improved a bit.
What I'd like to do is build a scene where the boat is anchored. You will actually be able to see the divers diving on something below. That idea has a lot of things to work through
The side idea would be to use the seal figures as commercial divers. I'd use the helmets from Meng's Bomb Squad as the basis for Kirby Morgan style dive helmets. Maybe use the UDT Boat as the hull for a salvage boat. I really don't have a use for it.
So you'd have two builds with one showing recreational diving and the other showing commercial diving....but I'm getting way ahead of myself.
There was a lot of stop & go progress on this one. The biggest hold-ups centered on making decisions on the controls (center console vs. keeping the original) and deck layout (engine compartments). I did a lot of trial and error buildups and changes. You'll see some marker lines...these were proposed cuts that I backed away from.
The boat was broken down. Weapons and figures were put to the side.
The idea has generally been to move the cabin forward to give the vessel more deck room. The .50 cal turret sits in a ring with a raised edge. I cut the ring out so I'd have a flat surface to cover. Styrene sheeting was cut to shape. Over the years, the position of the cabin has changed. So the cover cutout was a waste of styrene until I decided on the position. Currently the cover piece is too short and there's a cm gap. I'll cut a new, larger piece later.
This is a dive boat and those usually have opened transoms to allow the divers to enter/exit the water easier. So I cut it. I'll be adding a platform extension with ladder to the rear.
Being dark green, it was hard to see the boat I wanted. I decided to go ahead and paint the hull white. I also went ahead and painted the below-waterline dark blue. It's just a but easier to see the shape/profile in white and compare it to real boats.
One of the roadblocks to this build was whether to keep the kit's controls or change over to a center console. The Pibber is a bit too large for a center console and a bit small for a typical chart style dive boat. Plus, most dive boats are inboard motor driven. Outboard motors would clutter the rear. Most dive boats with outboards are pontoon designs and divers enter/exit the water from the front. I would ultimately go with the original configuration.
The original kit piece has a molded-on cloth flap covering...storage or maintenance access...I don't know but it looks like poo, so I had tried to do something with it. One attempt was to make a louvered door. That's why the flap area is painted black. It looked a bit over-scaled, but I think I can do better.
So we're now in the present...the work from now on was done over the weekend.
So I decided to use the opening. I cut it open and scratched a boxed shelved interior. It'll just be fitted to the back of the piece.
The deck had been cut, recut, re-recut, etc. as configurations changed and changed and changed. I ended up removing the raised engine compartments. It opens up the deck area. The first issue is filling the floor in. The second issue is deck flooring isn't the same height. I played around and kept the rear deck floor the same height. There is a sight step-up where the cabin threshold should be. The sides will be storage and each have a rack for air tanks. Bench seats will be placed along each side...for seating purposes.
Cabin front on hull. It's not cemented yet. I need to work on the painting and some details before doing that. I still need to add the compartment door.
Anyway, it's coming along. I really had to pin down a few decisions and just go with it. Looking ahead, I've got plans for a couple of crew. I've got a couple of divers fro one of the old DML Seal figure sets. These are not in the water. I do have some diver figures in the water from the old Revell UDT Boat kit...I bought the kit for the figures. They look pretty good and can be improved a bit.
What I'd like to do is build a scene where the boat is anchored. You will actually be able to see the divers diving on something below. That idea has a lot of things to work through
The side idea would be to use the seal figures as commercial divers. I'd use the helmets from Meng's Bomb Squad as the basis for Kirby Morgan style dive helmets. Maybe use the UDT Boat as the hull for a salvage boat. I really don't have a use for it.
So you'd have two builds with one showing recreational diving and the other showing commercial diving....but I'm getting way ahead of myself.
