Proteus by Moebius Models

[Trekkriffic]

Wait - WHAT? You have Babe Ruth driving the Proteus?!?!!!

Look at that profile photo... Look at it... You know what they say, once you see it ....

Duuuuude! I think that’s it! What I need to do to make it look less more like the actor!

The nose! I need to narrow it!




Pilot - Capt. Bill Owens by Steve J, on Flickr

Pilot - Capt. Bill Owens by Steve J, on Flickr

[bucketfoot-al]

Wait - WHAT? You have Babe Ruth driving the Proteus?!?!!!

Look at that profile photo... Look at it... You know what they say, once you see it ....

Duuuuude! I think that’s it! What I need to do to make it look less more like the actor!

The nose! I need to narrow it!

You're welcome.

[Squidy53]

Who's Babe Ruth? Just kidding.

[tay666]

Oh, and kudos on the insane micro engineering you're putting into this. I never cease being amazed by the scale at which you work, and the results that you were able to create!

Well done!

So much this!

[Trekkriffic]

So I had planned on working on the microscope but I just kept looking at Babe Ruth and couldn’t resist so I ended up spending, like, 4 hours working on thinning the nose as well as the cheeks and neck and brushing with enamels. While not a dead ringer (yet) for the actor he immediately looks younger and no longer has a Ruthian nose. I can almost see the next step. Once the flesh enamel dries I’ll seal with Dullcote and try shading and highlights using Prismacolor pencils.

[bucketfoot-al]

[Trekkriffic]

Modeling along...

Pilot’s control dashboard painted and decaled before attachment to support ring.
I had some leftover gauge decals from the kit decal sheet since I used the Paragrafix photo-etch backlit film for the control panel on the black wall instead. The leftover decals luckily were the right size to fit the dashboard:


Proteus WIP-158 by Steve J, on Flickr

Since the above image was taken, I reworked the head of the pilot, thinning the face overall and narrowing the nose.
Someone commented on my last pilot profile image that Babe Ruth was piloting the sub and it helped me determine why it was I had not been quite satisfied with the figure up to point. I had gotten too close to the work to see what it needed to look more like the live actor in the film.
He is repainted now and I believe it iI have improved the figure.

Anyway...

Laser rifle…
After reworking the tip and forward extension of the barrel I primed the shaft with gloss black enamel.
Next will get a coat of metallic silver:


Proteus WIP-159 by Steve J, on Flickr

Since the above image was taken I have reworked the rifle yet again and made some nice improvements

The laser rifle was chopped apart in the front and reorganized to match the look in the film, more or less.
I used a tiny pearlescent glass bead for the tip.
The final two coats will be MM Pontiac Engine Blue Metallic.brushed on.
I bought a bottle of it seven or so years ago for just this build and I kept it sealed this whole time.
When I finally unscrewed the cap the paint was as fresh as a new bottle.
Thank god for a good factory seal.
Raquel is catching a nap on the couch prior to getting her makeup and paint applied.


Proteus WIP-160 by Steve J, on Flickr

Pilot dashboard painted and decaled (repurposed or hand made from leftovers) then glued to the cockpit ring.
Will get a flat coat then selective gloss coat on the dials.


Proteus WIP-161 by Steve J, on Flickr

Thermostat or something looking like an intercom or transistor radio (?) for the forward inner lab wall above the sink.
This one got some silver foil treatment :


Proteus WIP-162 by Steve J, on Flickr

Lab microscope screencap expanded:


Screencap - Microscope by Steve J, on Flickr

Gemologist binocular microscope with 360 degree swiveling head:


Gemologist Microscope by Steve J, on Flickr

Matches microscope seen in the film. Perfect for me to use as a guide for making a reaaaaally tiny one for the lab in my sub:

Pilot Capt. Bill Owens screencap I used for reference:


Pilot - Capt. Bill Owens by Steve J, on Flickr

Have a few more new images in the camera.

Lots to follow but she's reaching critical mass soon.
Coming together quick aside from a few things like the reworking the rest of the figures which will add weeks to the build.

Guess I should tell Stephen Boyd to look at that flashing red light on the reactor control panel soon...

[bucketfoot-al]

[tay666]

[Trekkriffic]

Well after only about 6-8 hours of work I finished my microscope that you almost need a microscope to get a good look at…


Proteus WIP-170 by Steve J, on Flickr


Proteus WIP-177 by Steve J, on Flickr

Cora gives it a whirl…


Proteus WIP-181 by Steve J, on Flickr


Proteus WIP-180 by Steve J, on Flickr


Proteus WIP-178 by Steve J, on Flickr

I give it a thumbs up I think!


Proteus WIP-173 by Steve J, on Flickr

[overspray]

Very impressive! The irony of making something so small that makes things bigger.....

[bucketfoot-al]

[tay666]

Wow!
That came out great!

[Trekkriffic]

Very impressive! The irony of making something so small that makes things bigger.....

[Trekkriffic]

[Trekkriffic]

Wow!
That came out great!

Thanks! I’m happy with it. It will look good under the leftmost lamp in this photo…


Proteus WIP-162 by Steve J, on Flickr

I have to put the scope on the long countertop since the shorter one to the left over the 2-door cabinet is molded too shallow and short in the kit part. Images from the movie seem to indicate the director must have used a shortened version of the scope in the movie.
Perhaps they removed the round base and neck at the bottom so it would fit. You can see just the binocular head and it’s neck seeming to end level with the countertop where Cora is resting her hand…


Microscope Screencap by Steve J, on Flickr

I went ahead with making the complete scope since the shorter countertop was also too shallow to accommodate even the shortened base.
I also wanted a way to light the scope from above and the long counter was the logical choice. Serendipity struck when I had drilled a pair of holes for the LED’s before deciding to make the scope so it works out well for viewing it thru the rear windows.

[Squidy53]

All these Lilliputian machinations brings a smile to my dial.

[Trekkriffic]

All these Lilliputian machinations brings a smile to my dial.

[Trekkriffic]

Time for an update. If you guys like small stuff wait 'til you see this tiny LED strip I had to solder for Captain Bill Owen's pilot bubble.
The only thing tougher to solder, in my opinion, is magnet wire.

Here we go guys...
Starting off with some micro detail painting.

i masked around the silver laser focusing crystals (?) on the base using liquid mask. after drying I removed the mask using double sided Gorilla tape which is much stickier than regular scotch tape:


Proteus WIP-163 by Steve J, on Flickr

Laser and target test fitting, The laser was painted silver followed by an two coats of Pontiac Engine Blue enamel.
Not perfect but I think it looks much more like what was seen in the movie now:


Proteus WIP-164 by Steve J, on Flickr


Proteus WIP-165 by Steve J, on Flickr

Test fit of lab sink and starboard cabinet wall sub-assemblies.
Under cabinet lighting looks great using 3 millimeter diffused flat top LEDs.
No such lights were shown in the movie but I took some artistic license and added them anyway as i wanted some illumination in the back to show off my scratch made sink faucet and microscope:


Proteus WIP-166 by Steve J, on Flickr

Light test of lab cabinet wall was a success. I also added a small LED to the right of the sinks over the centrifuge:


Proteus WIP-167 by Steve J, on Flickr

Test fit of lab port wall, couch, and forward wall. So basically all the lab subassemblies:


Proteus WIP-169 by Steve J, on Flickr

Aft wall of main cabin with handles added to control panel. Looks good. I used I used brass wire bent to make the U-shape then brushed them with silver after gluing with CA:


Proteus WIP-170 by Steve J, on Flickr

One SMD LED lights the whole panel:


Proteus WIP-171 by Steve J, on Flickr

Changing gears...

I decided to uber detail the Paragrafix photo-tech brass rudder vanes (which replaced the kit provided vanes) using thin plastic sheet cut to a width of .020 inches per the Paragrafix instructions.
Care had to be taken to get them to fit properly as to their individual lengths and angles:


Proteus WIP-172 by Steve J, on Flickr

After cladding the vanes in thin styrene strips to thicken them (more like what was seen in the film) and gluing on the riveted frames I sprayed with a coat of Duplicolor primer:


Proteus WIP-173 by Steve J, on Flickr

That's all for now as we are nearing our one hour limit to complete this mission.
I kid but only slightly. My lovely wife is bugging me to finish this build so I can assist in packing as we will, hopefully, be moving to a retirement community across town in a fee months and she wants me spending my time on the move preparations.
Real life getting in the way of modeling once again!
Sheesh!

[tay666]

Amazing attention to detail.

Good luck on the move.