Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Irwin Allen Model Buliding, the Peter Holton way (continued.)



Basic original model used to create a fiberglass mold from which the model is cast.      

bluebul_reversed.gif - 362 Bytes  Unfortunately, there are no photos of the actual mold to share with you at this time.  Suffice it to say that the mold was derived in fiberglass from the basic model seen at left.  So how does the casting come back from the factory?  Take a look below.  bluebul.gif_large_down.gif - 992 Bytes


Peter says:  The Spindrift arrived back to me molded in one piece.   The windows, doors and engine areas had to be ground out with a mini grinding wheel and some kind of access cut that would allow me to build out the interior.     Casting from the mold.

Access cut to allow building out of interior.
After looking at the model, I decided that the best way to gain access was to cut a panel in the side of it big enough to build out the interior.  This allowed me to get my hand inside to glue in bulkheads, consoles, etc.  I first started with the floor panels, then the rear bulkhead was glued in and the side cabin windows bulked out to meet the inner cabin walls. 

interior seating in construction stage.     Next, I built all the cabin seats and painted and glued them into the cabin.  Next on the list was to fix the front bulkhead.  This is the end of the cabin section and the start of the walkway section which leads into the cockpit.  I had an idea to cut instrument panels from magazines and glue them onto the walls of the cockpit area where the control panels are.  It worked great.

After all the interior was finished, I glued back the side panel which had earlier been cut to gain interior access.  Then I set about installing lighting after which came the prep work for painting the exterior of Spindrift.  Lots of sanding and primer filler, then at last the final color, more masking, then the off-white band which goes across the model.  The decals were then applied and the outside weathered down.

The windows were then glued in, then the grill areas which were painted a dirty steel color.  All that was left was to glue in the clear dome and to fix the antenna thing that lies just behind it.  Several things I forgot to mention:  The main hatch door opens and lighting includes cockpit and cabin lights as well as the search lights you don't see in the pilot episode, The Crash.   

That's about all.  Regards, Peter.

  

  

Finsihed model in outdoor



Main access door opens.   A heartfelt thank you to Peter Holton for providing this site with the many great photos seen here, and for taking the time to chronicle his experiences building the Spindrift, one of his most recent projects.   A pleased Peter Holton with his finished Spindrift model.

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