The Seaview from Moebius Models – review by George Belknap
The fourth kit from Moebius Models is a doozy. A 39 inch long replica of the Seaview. Pretty gutsy move from Frank Winspur. None of the big model companies would have tackled this subject. This had to be something of a massive undertaking for such a young company. God bless them, I hope they make a nice little profit from this kit.
Once you stop staring at the Chris White (photo 1) artwork on the box and actually open it you’ll see a sea of gray styrene plastic. The first thing that grabs you is the size of the four hull pieces. In case you hadn’t heard yet, this thing is big. There has been a lot of concern about how well the hull would fit together. Not a problem. The seams are very tight. That’s not to say you won’t have to fill and sand them it just that it won’t take much effort. Moebius certainly went out of their way to make sure that everything fit properly. Once the hull is together you can really appreciate the size of this kit. I’ve shown it’s size compared to the Monsters In Motion 24 inch Seaview and the Aurora/PL Seaview (photos 2 and 3). Moebius even molded on the handrails along the missile hatches. These were originally on the 17 foot model from the show.
The overall length of the hull is actually a little shorter than the dimensions of the 17 footer. Maybe I’m not anal enough but I don’t consider this a problem. I always thought the 17 footer was a little too stretched. Considering the inconsistancies of the various TV models, this is a very acceptable compromise. The hull on this kit has a more balanced look than the TV model. In any event the build up is a remarkable reproduction of this famous vessel.
The various sprue (photo 4) contain the parts for the interior, Flying Sub bay and exterior pieces. The two different noses allow you to replicate either the 17 foot or 8 foot version of the Seaview. There are also two different pieces (photo 5) for the missile hatches. The 17 foot had more hatches than the 8 foot model, hence the two different pieces
The interior pieces (photos 6 and 7) have a lot of little detail to represent the observation lounge and the ship’s control room. The periscope island is also included with the kit. Here’s where those episodes on DVD are really going to pay off. Once painted up the lounge and control room should be pretty impressive. However to really see them you’re going to have to light up the ship. Actually that should be mandatory as a model this size reall needs to be lit. I’ve already been testing LEDs to see where they will best fit. The kit also includes some scale figures to populate the interior. Helps to keep it from looking like a ghost ship.
While talking about the size of this model it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller pieces. The spiral staircase (photo 8) itself is a little jewel of engineering. Look at it. They actually molded it with open spaces between the steps. If you know anything about engineering molds then you’ll realize what little beauty is this piece. The radar dish (photo 9) could have been handled better as a photo-etched piece. Still, for an injection molded piece this ain’t bad.
on to part 2
