Pegasus Great White Shark Kit

WtShark

Active Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2025
Messages
75
I bought this kit years ago with the intention of getting back into modeling, (it didn't happen then and sat in the closet for years). It's on my bench now and I am moving along. This kit is.... different. First, it's molded out of a vinyl/plastic mixture, so not typical model material (styrene). I didn't know that when I bought it. Regular model glue won't work, neither will PVA so you'll need CA or epoxy.
The animal is nice and it was sculpted by an amazing artist. I am a bit of shark "fin-atic", and have been around them multiple times, including 2 trips to Guadalupe island and in a cage with these magnificent (and often misunderstood animals) many times. I have been obsessed with sharks since Jaws in 1975 and the shape of this shark is, well, off. The shark is based on a female and her body is too long and her head is too small. The closed mouth version looks more like a Mako than GW, giving the shark a strange bulbous shape. The open mouth version is better, (you get both options with this kit and I chose the open mouth, pictured) albeit still a bit too long, it's not as noticeable.
The scuba tank and diver are also off, but I understand the average person (not being a diver) won't notice this. I made some changes, removing the diver's fins (you don't wear fins in a cage, they just get in the way) and added some details to the tank, such as hoses and other missing items. The hoses were molded in, but they didn't look right so I removed them from the sculpt.
Of course, I'm being picky, and the overall kit is a nice build. Not a lot of pieces, I think the total count was around 30 or so.
One other issue (one that found to be most significant) the vinyl/plastic/rubber mixture is very flexible and doesn't sand easily. I really struggled trying to fill the seams. I tried Mr. Hobby Putty, Tamiya putty and when dry both flaked and fell off. I was finally able to get Milliput (fine, white) to stick and work, but once hard and when I tried to level/blend it into the material, again, the material doesn't sand well, more "pilling" up into little pieces and chunks, like you were trying to sand an old pink rubber eraser. Removing seams, they don't sand, tried using X-acto to slowly, carefully remove mold lines and flash. The black line in the top photo is black Sharpie, I was using it as a guide coat to see the mold line seam, trying to remove it. Ultimately, a mix of slicing, grinding with files and fine grit paper, along with Mr. Surfacer helped to hide some of the seams, but some will simply be visible at completion.
I am upgrading and adding details where able, this is a nice kit, I don't want to put anyone off, and I will admit it's my own lack of experience that is causing the working issues, I am hoping to have this finished up next week sometime. Need to add some more paint, details and final assembly.

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You're fine .
those 2 above are in FIGURES . either works .
That tracks- I didn't see the FIGURES, I'll have to explore a bit more, still learning the layout.
That paintjob on the shark is magnificent! I didn't think of using the gunmetal- kicking myself now as that's what I'd tried.
Oh well, as I say, I am learning new things every time I interact with another model builder. This forum is no exception-

Thanks!
 
A bit more work- I'm stuck until I receive the Vallejo Flesh color next week, all for the 1/4" of face showing on the diver. Until then, I'm waiting to move forward with the final details and assembly. If I had a bit more confidence (and skill), I could probably mix up a color for the diver's face, but not ready for that.

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It looks great (see what I did there) to me! I can imagine how hard vinyl is to work with, maybe you have to use heat to alter the surface? CA should adhere, but can see it coming loose if the surface flexes.

I had a vinyl/soft-plastic shark with my GI Joe scuba set back in the day. Wonder what those are worth on ebay these days....

They are asking $1,200 USD for this one!

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It looks great (see what I did there) to me! I had a vinyl/soft-plastic shark with my GI Joe scuba set back in the day. Wonder what those are worth on ebay these days.

YIKES!

I can imagine how hard vinyl is to work with, maybe you have to use heat to alter the surface? CA should adhere, but can see it coming loose if the surface flexes.
I had that exact shark as well! Some of those sets are VERY expensive. I did purchase the 8 Ropes of Danger Deep Sea Diver years ago. It's sitting somewhere in one of the stashes of "investments". No idea what it's worth now.
Yes, I really struggled with this stuff, heating it never occurred to me, what a great idea. The CA does seem to hold it, (so far). Filling the seams was tough and I can still see a few of them, but at least the biggest one (where the head attached to the body) is gone.
 
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Hello WtShark, and welcome to the forum.

I must say I am very impressed with the paint job you did on that Great White shark model, well done!
 
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Hello WtShark, and welcome to the forum.

I must say I am very impressed with the paint job you did on that Great White shark model, well done!
Thank you! I was very impressed with your paint job on yours as well, as I stated on your post. Did you struggle with sanding this material at all?
 
It looks great (see what I did there) to me! I can imagine how hard vinyl is to work with, maybe you have to use heat to alter the surface? CA should adhere, but can see it coming loose if the surface flexes.

I had a vinyl/soft-plastic shark with my GI Joe scuba set back in the day. Wonder what those are worth on ebay these days....

They are asking $1,200 USD for this one!

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I had this exact set! I remember that "sea glider" like it was yesterday!
 
Haha, had the 'pre-real hair' Joe, used baby powder to get him into his rubber wet suit, and drilled holes in his tanks so he'd sink to the bottom of the pool!
Ah, let's not forget about the standard hand (as pictured in the set above) then later, (1972-ish) the "Kung-fu grip" hands? Remember those?
 
The Shark is finished, glued to the base. Added a bit of white to the Great White Shark lettering on the base, but the rest of the letters (scientific name) are too small, and frankly I can't be bothered. The way I'll display this, you probably won't see the base anyway. Meh-

Still waiting on the flesh color for the final passes at the diver and then assembly of the cage and diver with his antiquated Gates camera housing.

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1972-ish) the "Kung-fu grip"
Haha, I was in high-school; Joe had graduated to the torture chamber of my little brother's attentions by then.
In the mid 60s, I did have a Johnny West and his horse, and that gun slinger had rubber hands that could grip, and put his finger on the trigger.
 
I could be misremembering, but the King-Fu grip version was a different (competing) brand, not "real" Gi Joe.

My biggest problem was little sister stealing him and making him go on dates with Barbie. Even at a young age we both knew Ken was a girly-man, wearing a sweater and clearly light in those loafers.
 
Thank you! I was very impressed with your paint job on yours as well, as I stated on your post. Did you struggle with sanding this material at all?
I found that the body which is made out of vinyl was a bit gummy to sand, unlike like styrene plastic which is easy to sand.
 
Welp, I'm calling this one done.
Once I got the diver's face painted up, it was time to assemble.
The kit supplied a short mount for the diver, essentially putting him in the back of the cage, I wanted it to look more realistic, with the camera outside to "get the shot". I made a longer rod from some leftover clear sprue, sanded it down and put a light coat of clear over it. I had a specific image in my head from watching a photographer once come very close to losing his 10k+ camera... included a photo of that near miss.

Once done, I mounted the diver's gear, as I mentioned in my previous posts, the tank and regulator were not even close to correct. Tough to mold, so I added the appropriate Octo, 2nd stage hose and a gauge cluster. Once he was geared up, I mounted him into the cage. The material is flexible, so thankfully, his arms rest on the lower bar of the opening, otherwise, he'd sag and the cage "bars" would flex. This will work.
I still have the alternate head (closed mouth option) and may sand/paint that, (trying the suggested heat on the seams/flash) and mount that next to my Quint display, we'll see.
That, I built with craft sticks and brass rod, using twine to wrap the railings, simulating Quint standing on the Orca's bow pulpit. Figure I could use milliput to get it to look more like Bruce and display it with that.

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