Completed » Fish Sub / Paddlewheel!

[FichtenFoo]

FWiW...for those that do the FaceBook, Michael has new "FichtenFoo" page, where he has around 150 photos of his finished projects....some new and shiny..some old and worn....but all worth looking at.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/FichtenFoo/112462068814700


M

Wow Marc, you work fast! LOL!

Added more progress on the build-up.

http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/tag/fish-shaped-submersible-build-up/

[Philip Smith]

Sidewheeler paddle turned out nice! Great SBS explaining your alternate circle cutting method.


Philip 

[FichtenFoo]

Thanks Phillip!

Progress and much gunk added:

http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/tag/fish-shaped-submersible-build-up/

[Malachi Constant]

Ooooooh ... great looking paddlewheel and wonderful composition on the diorama base.

Cheers,
Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

Wow!! That looks great! I love the ripples in the sand, very natural looking. And the speckled texture is great too -- until I read how you did it, I thought you used real sand. Also like all the growths and crud on the wheel.

[chester]

Wonderful work! I know this isn't discussed much here but I really like the look of the sides of the base.

[finescalerr]

This is troubling. The rest of us struggle with normal ground cover and you already have advanced to undersea representations.

Go stand in the corner.

Russ

[FichtenFoo]

Thanks guys! I'm pretty happy with the results so far myself. It's definitely better than the first time I tried an undersea scene years ago.

Russ: Thanks! It's interesting to model something that's usually not attempted like this and I've learned a lot in the process. I think that modeling different subjects such as this generally increases the modeling skillset as a whole since you need to come up with new solutions for the new problems. The reef crud for example was based on a prior moss tutorial I made years ago, but heavily modified for this piece. The TP for the ochre corals was something I never tried before. I've never had luck using the TP for tarps and such as others have, but for this it was perfect.

I'll get to try this again at some point with the next sub design so hopefully I can improve it even further.

Almost makes me want to have an underwater themed group build (something we do at my boards occasionally) where we can all bounce ideas off each other and learn some new tricks.

[RoughboyModelworks]

Michael, we're going to have to start calling you Robert Ballard... Have never seen an underwater scene modelled before... watching this come together is a real treat... great job.

Paul

[FichtenFoo]

Thanks! I've only seen one from a preview/promo scan of a book and it's pretty cool. I'll try to attach images of it.

EDIT: It' a well-done build, but it could had gone further IMO... there's only one type of plant, the rock I see looks like it's covered in moss, and there's no fish! Gotta have fish to really sell it. LOL!

[RoughboyModelworks]

Yeah I agree... it's a cool concept, but, at first glance, I don't get the sense that it's underwater...

Paul

[marc_reusser]

Ha!...thanks for those two pics...I have never seen that model in it's original "un-photoshopped" appearance.....very interesting.  If I recall, there was a guy that did quite a underwater dio of a diver diving on a sunken WW2 plane, and it was in a sealed glass box, filled with colored/tinted shampoo (if memory serves), to create the illusion/color of a pacific Island lagoon.


Marc

[FichtenFoo]

I actually started adding even more corals based on this video and feedback from an underwater archeology student who's been following the build and giving me feedback. There's a LOT of color to be had here... almost like an underwater flower bed... really amazing. (3:20 - 3:30 specifically)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbN161yBBGA&feature=player_embedded

[DaKra]

I like your version, its a fantasy piece, but still believable in its own way.  The rippled sand is great, and the subtle details are balanced and do not overwhelm.   Perfect.

The sunken Kriegsfischkutter boat is really nice, but all that clutter and a bicycle, too?  Speaking personally, the flak gun doesn't do anything for the model.  A fishing boat is an honorable vessel and does not need a flak gun to justify building a model of one!   Again just my personal reaction.   Its a very well made model. 

Dave

[JohnP]

Michael, please call the mother ship and go back to your home planet with its creatively advanced modeling civilization and its highly accelerated time warp.

How do you work so fast? Do these ideas form in your mind as a whole or do you just start and don't look back?

I'm serious with the questions. It may be something akin to when I go out with my 4x5 camera. Sometimes, I cannot see an image anywhere. Other times, they pop out at me and generally on the best ones I set the camera, don't have to move it, and I get what I envisioned. Your modeling work that way?

Thanks, John