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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Shinkai (しんかい) 6500








Here are some images of Bandai's 1/48 scale Jamstec Shinkai 6500 Manned Research Submersible.

This is one of the best kits I have seen in a long time. The detail is amazing plus there are lots of moving parts and removable panels. It even comes with a lighting pack.
What I found interesting is the lack of glue that was required in assembling such a complex kit.
It also comes with one of the most complex display stands I've seen.
However this kit isn't cheap. It retails at around $100 CDN.

From Wikipedia"
The Shinkai 6500 (しんかい) is a manned research submersible that can dive up to a depth of 6,500 m. It was completed in 1990 and has the greatest depth range of any manned research vehicle in the world. The only manned expedition to have gone deeper was the dive of the Trieste bathyscaphe in 1960. However, the vessel could not navigate along the bottom of the sea bed. The Shinkai 6500 is owned and run by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and it is launched from the support vessel Yokosuka.
Two pilots and one researcher operate within a 73.5 mm thick titanium pressure hull with an internal diameter of 2.0 m. Buoyancy is provided by syntactic foam.
Three 14 cm methacrylate resin view ports are arranged at the front and on each side of the vehicle.

14 comments:

PPoller said...

Espectacular, enhorabuena

-Warren Zoell said...

Gracias PP OLLER.

Pablo J. Álvarez said...

This kit is a very interesting and different, I like it.

-Warren Zoell said...

It is different. Bandai makes excellent kits.

Pat Tillett said...

Very nice and very cool. I've never heard of this before.

Diego said...

Extraordinary. I had never seen this bathyscaphe

-Warren Zoell said...

Thanks Pat - I like it.

-Warren Zoell said...

Gracias Diego - gracioso que menciones el batiscafo. Tengo dos escala 1/72 modelos Viking batiscafo maquetas de resina que no se encuentran las mismas piezas de cada caja. He estado intentando durante el tiempo pasado, para llegar a la oficina de modelos Viking, pero hasta ahora se niegan a responder a mis mensajes de correo electrónico. Muy frustrante.

Manchu said...

Wow!!! NICE :)
I did not know this kit
Find display stand cool too
These vehicules are very interesting, unhappily, the manufacturers are not really interested....I should indeed see this kind of machine, lightly modified, exploring the atmosphere of Venus, like in Ben Bova's novel "Venus"

-Warren Zoell said...

I agree, I don't know why deep sea submersibles aren't a more popular subject. As for Ben Bova's novel "Venus" I see what you mean.
http://www.thehouseofoojah.com/media/ccp0/prodlg/venus-9781441775726-lg.jpg

said...

Hi Warren,that is very cool!
I have same but 1/72 Hasegawa....^^

-Warren Zoell said...

Thanks 翔

Ludo Weyden said...

Wow! I love it! I have never seen it before to, thanks for the share.

-Warren Zoell said...

Thanks Ludo - neither did I until a couple of weeks ago.