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Re: Nautilus kit review

From: Bruce D Ranger <branger~at~iquest.net>
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 00:18:41 +0200 (IST)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>

At 04:10 PM 3/1/98 +0000, you wrote:
>The recently-issued "Nautilus Submarine" model kit (Revell Monogram)
>is not as bad as it first appears. In fact, the packaging and
>instructions are worse than the model.
>
>The submarine itself is based on the one used in the recent
>television adaptation (whichever one was the first to be broadcast--I
>forget), although there is nothing whatsoever on either the box or in
>the instructions to indicate this. On the other hand, the
>"story" which is synopsised in the instruction booklet is based not
>on the television movie but on an adaptation created for a "Crayola
>Kids Adventure", an animated video I have not yet seen (it features
>such novel innovations as Arronax's sister Beth and a solar-powered
>Nautilus). Unfortunately, without the accompanying video (and there
>is not a clue as to where it can be seen or purchased), the reader is
>left with a thoroughly misshapen view of the novel.
>
>The biographical information about Verne informs us that he "studied
>law, geology, engineering and astronomy" and that 20K was written "30
>years before a submarine was invented". We're told that at that time
>"even electricity was a mere laboratory curiosity" and that a league
>is equal to "3.5 miles".
>
>The kit itself is not quite as bad as it first looks, if one can put
>aside the inane instruction manual. While it makes
>for a rather chunky Nautilus (it looks more like a stubby ocarina than
>anything else), it is actually more faithful to Verne's description
>than any previous movie Nautilus. Forgiving the designer the
>obligatory Disneyesque sawteeth, he did give the ram the proper
>triangular shape. It is also the first movie Nautilus to have the
>retractable pilot house that was also a feature of the Verne
>original. All in all, it looks much more like an actual Victorian submersible
>than almost any other cinematic attempt to recreate the Nautilus.
>
>
The following model is available from Design Toscano

http://www.aaweb.com/fred/store/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=sub.ht
ml&ORDER_ID=199311248

The above URL shows a picture of the Nautilus and the squid.

BDRanger
Bruce D Ranger
Received on Mon 02 Mar 1998 - 00:18:54 IST

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