This is the next generation of the undersea craft that launched this blog. It is a highly maneuverable craft designed for exploring extreme depths in the ocean. It is just a little roomier than the first generation, but still designed for just one person.
What started it: I started thinking about the fact that this blog had only one entry in the “Underwater” tag. I decided to build another submarine, and that this one would somehow have pivoting propellers to make it easy to steer. I started with the twin prop housings, and built inward from there. This thing went through many revisions as it went along. The pilot’s compartment, which was the last part built, originally had a round window piece on the nose, and that was the pilot’s only view out of the ship. When it was finished, it looked too blunt to me – not sloping like I’d expect a deep sea explorer to look. So, I tore down the pilot’s compartment and started again. I thought about using the round window piece as the floor (which might show up as the third generation) and using the same sloping windshield that the first generation had as the roof. In order to make that work, I would have had to make the craft much taller than I wanted. So, I ended up with the present two windshield design.
I then had my craft built, but I faced my typical problem of uncoordinated colors. There were four spots of black on the upper part that especially bothered me. So, I began tearing apart bits here and there and coordinating colors. The black spots became a black stripe. The yellow arms holding the prop housings, the only yellow on the craft, were replaced by dark gray. The nose, which was solid grey except for the red windows, became solid red with a grey strip. Finally, the upper and rear roof pieces changed from dark grey to red.
What I like about it: This thing looks sharp, I think. It has lots of interesting angles. I think the rudders on the prop housings was a nice touch.
What I’m not so thrilled with: That nose still doesn’t look quite right to me. While the back has those interesting angles, the front is fairly flat. I wish the horizontal piece between the two windshields (which I added to make it look like bracing against the underwater pressure) would have lined up with the grey stripe. Now that I’m writing this, it occurs to me that the horizontal piece should have been red.
