Moebius

Kit Number: MOE808

1/350 Seaview with TSDS Decal set TSDS-350SEAVIEW TSDS Interior kit TSDS-350SVINT Monkey Works Flying Sub MW-FS1

Reviewed by  Andrew Stanicek, IPMS# 43237

MSRP: Seaview $29.95 Website: www.moebiusmodels.com MSRP: Decal Set $11.29 Website: www.tsdsinc.com MSRP: Interior $8.29 Website: www.tsdsinc.com MSRP: Flying Sub $10.95 Website: www.starshipmodeler.com Moebius has done it again with a wonderful little offering of their 1:350 scale Seaview submarine from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". I really enjoyed building this little kit. While the directions claim that it is a skill level 3 kit for the advanced modeler, I would say that just about anyone with some basic glue kit building under their belt would be able to assemble this into a very respectable looking display model. When I started this build, I began with my usual research on line, looking for photos of the original filming miniature, and screen shoots from the TV series and movie. I found myself on the forums of starshipmodeler.net, where I met two individuals who were working on aftermarket sets for this model. Ed Holt of Monkey Works sent me a couple of his beautifully cast resin Flying Subs, and Henry Prentiss of TSDS sent me a set of decals and a really cool "cut and fold" interior kit to dress up the inside of those large view windows in the nose of the boat.

First, the design of the kit is very well thought out, and it goes together with almost NO visible seam lines or need for putty. The four piece main hull goes together very easily, and the top is capped with a detailed strip of missile doors that hides pretty much all of the only visible seams on the model. Right away I noticed the one item that I do NOT like about this kit - the stand. It pretty much stinks. I guess it's supposed to look like some kind of coral or under water rock structure or something, but I don't like it. So that's not getting used as intended. A quick trip through the aquarium supply aisle at the local pet store produced a nice, cheap, OK looking plastic coral that I worked into a new stand with a little bit of heat and bending to a more artistic shape. I then sprayed it a base coat of dark purple, followed with some orange and transparent red, and finished off with a dusting of white. I did use the bottom piece of the kit's display stand to add some texture to my sandy bottom of the display, and just filled in the holes with styrene and putty before applying my sand/white glue mixture. This was allowed to thoroughly dry, and then airbrushed with a sandy brown/yellow and accented with a transparent blue.

The model itself goes together very well. I cut and assembled the TSDS interior kit, and attached it inside the hull with contact cement. I did have to trim a bit off of the front end of the interior kit in order for it to fit with my launch bay installed. This was scratch built from sheet stock as I intended to hold the little resin Flying Sub from Monkey Works in the nose of the sub. They did a great job on this little gem. It is beautifully cast and finely detailed. The tail fins are extremely thin, but there are no bubbles or imperfections anywhere on the piece. Once I painted it, I decided that it would be a shame to hide it up under the nose, so I went ahead and attached it to another piece of my "coral" display stand with CA. After assembling the rest of the Seaview, I went to work with my airbrush, applying several shades of gray as a base color, and then weathered it with my Tamiya weathering pastels. If you haven't tried these yet, you must - they're addictive! I sealed everything up with a good gloss coat, and then applied the TSDS detail decals. These really add just the right amount of detail to this model and give the end result a really nice "pop". I then sealed the decals with second coat of clear, and went back to the airbrush to add the subtle water refraction pattern with some white. I'm not 100% satisfied with the result of that technique, but I don't think it takes away from the overall display either.

In conclusion, I would recommend this model to anyone who is interested in the subject. It goes together very nicely, and doesn't take up a ton of shelf space. Moebius did a great job on this one. If you want to take it a little farther, you'll really want to check out the aftermarket parts that are available from www.starshipmodeler.com and www.tsdsinc.com Thank you to Moebius for supplying a great kit, and to TSDS and Monkey Works for supplying the aftermarket detail goodies.