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For the longest time I've
thought of building a practical r/c submarine based on the wonderful looking FLYING-SUBMARINE (FS-1), the futuristic exploration and liaison craft housed aboard the SEAVIEW submarine, featured in the
Irwin Allen TV show, Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea. Here you see, after several years of off-and-on work, the completed Rick Teskey Productions twenty-four inch wide FS-1 outfitted with my own
detailing package and internal control and propulsion devices, ready for a days underwater patrolling at the local r/c model boat clubs site here in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Rick reports that this model
represents the craft at 1/18 scale.
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I'm known in most circles
for my r/c submarine model work and on the occasional effects miniature assignment. This permitted a melding of my two favorite model-building activities, SF and submarine vehicles, all pulled into one,
yellow package when I received my GRP (fiberglass) FS-1 hull kit from Rick Teskey. Here I'm pulling the model out of the water for a battery change after a hair-raising half-hour of chasing the local
model boats around the clubs r/c boating site. Through a sometimes frustrating period of trial-and-error I eventually built into the model an effective means of propulsion and control – managing to do so
with out, in any way, detracting from the fidelity of the FS-1 prototype. I find nothing more distracting than a scale model r/c vehicle that possess control surfaces and/or motor installations
which depart from the form of the prototype - if I can't 'hide' the practical devices and features needed to propel and control such a model, then I won't build it!
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My granddaughter, Rose,
with my completed Rick Teskey FS-1 kit ready for a run at the lake. Later I'll provide you a complete brief on how I primed, painted, and gloss coated the model to achieve the finish you see here. The
FS-1 is built and operated pretty much like the other r/c submarines of my fleet: The hull is free-flooding,
i.e. only those items needing to be kept in a dry environment are housed within watertight enclosures – the majority of the vehicles volume is open to permit free-flooding and draining. This makes the task of sealing an easy mater, and also has the advantage of making the out-of-water model much lighter of weight than it would be if I were to make the entire envelop a watertight structure.
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Welcome to Room 101. Let me cinch down on those restraining straps for you … there ... comfy?
Let's begin.
Twentieth Century-Fox built several FS-1 miniatures for the Voyage TV show. I still have not been able to determine how many. A few of these
icons have been restored. Fans and professionals alike have worked over the years to find, preserve, and protect the surviving miniatures. These same people have also secured copies of the studio drawings. FS-1
information is out there. There are many people to thank for the current cache of FS-1 documentation, guys who have worked over the years to secure, protect, and pass on the information. Greg Jein, Phil Broad, Rick
Teskey, Richard Messman, Paul Lubliner, Shane Johnson, Rick Knorowski, Ron Gross, to name a few. All, in their time, Keepers Of The Flame.
This article represents my contribution, my pass-down of the torch. Hopefully this multi-part article will inspire others to take their turn
to build, write, and explore the possibilities of Mr. Creber's beautiful, yellow FLYING-SUBMARINE.
onto the next page
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