Guppies - Upgrade Lionfish to Guppy

[mkeatingss]

OK, guys, here it is. Upgrade parts to modify Lionfish to a Guppy configuration. Portsmouth, EB, North Atlantic, even a Migraine, and Guppy IIIs.
<< http://ironbottomsound.tripod.com/ >>
Between these guys and Nautilus, Lionfish can be anything.

For those who like a smaller scaler, Yankee Model Works is working on a 1:350 diesel with Guppy modifications.

Now all of us cold war diesel boat types can start building our boats. LIFE IS GOOD!!!
Mike

[anonymous]

Mike,
I have several of

Mike,
I have several of these sails, some of which I reviewed for the SCR (see March issue). They are dimensionally correct, but a bit rough in finish. Mario Grima has worked to improve them, and they are reasonably good. I just received an EB Guppy sail from Nautilus Models, and it is extremely well done and crisp. Be advised that these will also be avilable soon for purchase.

Also, do you have any more photos of your conversion of the Lionfish kit to Amberjack with your "custom" full interior outfitting? I would love to see you write that up with photos for the SCR!

Best regards,
Tom

[gerwalk]

Mike,
I have several of

Mike,
I have several of these sails, some of which I reviewed for the SCR (see March issue). They are dimensionally correct, but a bit rough in finish. Mario Grima has worked to improve them, and they are reasonably good. I just received an EB Guppy sail from Nautilus Models, and it is extremely well done and crisp. Be advised that these will also be avilable soon for purchase.

Also, do you have any more photos of your conversion of the Lionfish kit to Amberjack with your "custom" full interior outfitting? I would love to see you write that up with photos for the SCR!

Best regards,
Tom

[color=#000000]I like the effort Mario Grimma put on those kits but I've always found them a little bit rough and pricey compared to the products offered by Nautilus Models.

Tom]

[rustysub]

Now I am speaking for

Now I am speaking for IBS , The price of the guppy sets are higher then a WWII set, there is more resin/rubber volume involved in making the guppy sets since sails are larger, not to mention the resin needed to make the parts that come with the sets. Also lots of the metal parts,some are hand made, not to mention the color ink for the illustrations. On some sets (Migraine III and Guppy III) Require extenders that are large in resin volume to that of the sails. Would you be willing the buy the sails set in parts instead of the entire set? Mario Grima (Iron Bottom sound)

http://ironbottomsound.tripod.com/

[mkeatingss]

Might I also point out

Might I also point out that the price also includes screws (props) and sonar domes, as well as the sail. Doesn't seem too pricey to me.
Mike K.

[anonymous]

Let me make a few

Let me make a few comments here, since I have several of Mario's sails (Iron Bottom) and just received the new EB Sail from Nautilus Models. First, Mario's sails are absolutely dimensionally dead-on. They match all my drawings. As Mike Keating mentioned, you not only get the sails and other parts (sonar domes, props, safety rails, full set of masts, etc.) you also get a very nice set of illustrated instructions with the kits. Mario has available a broad variety of sails (EB, Portsmouth step, high Atlantic, Guppy I). When I say "rough", we're talking about 10-15 minutes of sanding to get a good final fit with the deck & a few other minor items; nothing that turns into a major project. Mario's sails also have a slight "wavy" effect that looks to me very much like the stress deformation ("oil canning") one sees in close ups of the older Guppy boats. Painted carefully, the effect is quite realistic. Please note that Mario made some changes based on my original December SCR Review!! As for the price, I find it very much in line with other similar offerings. These sails are much larger than the standard fleet boat sails, and Mario uses a lot of resin to achieve his results. There is no question that a lot of careful research went into his work.

As mentioned above I also have one of Nautilus Models test shots. Right now, it is only available as an EB step sail and uses laser cutting on the masters for the hatches. However, I am in the process of checking one detail (not minor) on these kits that may or may not be "off". I need to get over to the Submarine Force Museum & Library to check some Guppy plans... More to come.

[gerwalk]

Oooops...seems like my comment made

[color=#000000]Oooops...seems like my comment made some waves. Sorry, I was not aware of all the material included in Mario's sets so my comment about the price is not longer valid, sorry...

As for roughness: I find the parts a little bit rough and some details look awkward and not very crisp. Maybe is the way the models depicted in the web site are painted that exaggerate them? Nothing that some sanding and simple reescribing cannot fix!
I'm posting a link to one of the photos just to illustrate what I'm saying:


BTW]

[rustysub]

On the 1st promtional is

On the 1st promtional is you use the payapal links only order 2 not 3 and email me the third choice. If you think the the models are rough , I strongly recommend visiting a museum guppy, And look at them closely, The panels stand out banged up, and are rough, They are not nice like jet fighters. I could have made my sails crisp and clean, but I wanted to put as much detail as possiable into them to create that effect of realism. If you want a crisp clean smooth desk top type model then this not the kit for you. Mario

[gerwalk]

If you think the the

If you think the the models are rough , I strongly recommend visiting a museum guppy, And look at them closely, The panels stand out banged up, and are rough, They are not nice like jet fighters. I could have made my sails crisp and clean, but I wanted to put as much detail as possiable into them to create that effect of realism. If you want a crisp clean smooth desk top type model then this not the kit for you. Mario

I've been in many sub museums and I know and understand your point. Maybe it's a scale problem or an effect from the photograph itself]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[rustysub]

Hi Gerwalk, Actually You do

Hi Gerwalk, Actually You do me favor, I listen to and everyone to see what you guys want. My style of modeling may differ from others and when I first started doing these sails about year ago I did not know how people would take to them, Most guppies to a lot of people who like submarines found them boring because they lack guns like in their WWII appearance. I feel that this is why they were so forgotten from the modeling realm. I noticed from visiting quite a few of them that they really were not ,their sails are actually quite an amazing structure, and to me each seams as an artwork of detail,panels revits piping, etc. This is why I jammed up as much detailing as I could on the sails. This was very difficult because of their small size. Others modeled before me in 1/350 scales and never did well with them. Now the thing is I figured on getting negative feedback on the boats, but I had none so far, on contrary they liked them, and strangly a lot clients who bought actually came a bought more sometimes of the same boats. I did change many of the original molds, and if you look at the gallery in IBS you will notice how they evolved, Some of the models on the gallery are obsolete, next some more new type boats are on drawing board and well coming out very shortly.

As for the current sails, they arriving to clients more cleaned on the bottom, the snorkel induction part which is a very complicated little piece is now being pre installed. What takes time in building the guppy is actually preparing the revell hull and picking which boat you want to do. The sail is the easiset part. Once the special pieces are attached and the sail is glued it makes for a stunning model. During the build up if any parts break or need replacement, no problem. Unward Guppies! Mario Grima for IBS

[gerwalk]

Well I have to retract

[color=#000000]Well I have to retract some things I said before]