The Nautilus Submarine by Pegasus Hobbies

Here is another nice kit by Pegasus Hobbies (http://pegasushobbies.net/catalog/Models-Sci-fi-Kits/c107_47/p2/%239120-1/144-The-Nautilus-Submarine-Kit/product_info.html) . I've purchased a number of different kits from this outfit and yet to have been disappointed. This particular kit is not related in any way to the Disney film "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" (1954) but it is a nice representation of Victorian 'steam punk' as it were.

The kit goes together well and there are a few differnet manufacturer additions you can install if you like. One is a detail kit for the bridge section of the ship and some exterior details from ParaGrafix ( http://www.paragrafix.biz/product_detail.asp?MainCat=Photoetch&SubCat=blank&PPartNum=PGX173). I ended up buying this add on but wished I hadn't. The bridge detail, though very nice, is all but invisible inside the model and, frankly, wasn't worth the effort to install it. The exterior control 'rods' I guess you'd call them along with the iron stairs on the upper regions of the ship look nice but due to the scale of the ship (1/144), they are pratically invisible. You can also buy an LED lighting kit for this ship but I ended up installing my own LEDS and hiding the pwoer suppy (9 volt battery) in the base which I made thicker with balsa foam. I carved a trench in one of the octopus' tenticles to run the wires up into the ship and hid the on/off switch in the back of the base.

The worst part of this build was painting the two large multi-pane side windows. There must have been at least 20 panes PER window. Pegasus provides a nice sheet of sticky back paper masks for EACH window put placing them requires patience and a steady hand, things I can lack at times. My version came out okay but I messed up the side not facing the front. If I were to try building this kit again, I think I'd use Elemer's glue as the masking medium. I got this tip from Steve Smith's YouTube 'Hobby Loft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjLYj9n2kkU). Just paint the Elemer's where you don't want the paint to be (use a tooth pick for tiny panes) and once fully dry, paint the mullins using as little paint as possible. Once the paint dries, you can flick off the Elemer's with a toothpick. Don't use a pin because you might scratch the plastic. The picture above is the box art of this kit. 

The photos below show my lit and unlit versions.