Reader Gallery
Ed Kimpel
Clifton, Idaho
A life-long fan of Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ed scratchbuilt a 1/72 scale Nautilus. The 31-inch hull is balsa and basswood over a frame and the gaps were filled with drywall spackling compound. He purchased the raker teeth, skiff, propeller, and speed screw from VulcaniaVolunteers.com, but Ed made details using brass wire, styrene sheet, and artist board. “I simulated deck gratings using Plastruct styrene siding cut and laid out in the proper patterns,” he says. “The thousands of rivets were created by applying droplets of Formula 560 Canopy glue with a toothpick.” The finish is Model Master Burnt Iron Metalizer over a coat of Krylon Ruddy Brown Primer, followed by several thin coats of Pledge Floor Gloss. “I wanted the sub to look new, so I did minimal weathering using MIG Rubble Dust & Gunmetal pigments,” he says.