PT 109 by popeye the sailor - Dumas

[lmagna]

Nice choice in the color. If you ever RC her then Rustoleum is a tuff paint that will hold up pretty well. I have used it in several RC boats over the years.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Lou........thanks to those who hit the like button    I was a bit bummed about the dead rattler,  the darker color might have looked better,  but the lighter color will highlight added detail.  I still intend on trying to harvest whatever I can get out of that can.  not a lot of progress of late.....the admiral was adamant on the lawns getting their first mowing.  I agreed......they were beginning to get a bit shaggy     anyway...........

 

I did get 'round to assembling the .50 cals.......happy to report that enamels will stick to this type of plastic.   the base of the 20 mm and the .50s were sprayed too

 

I'll do some dry brushing.....some form of weathering.  I still have another set of .50 cals....in case something breaks.   the deck was marked off for the planking........but I switched gears.  to move forward,  the hull needs to be painted and hardware in place.   the hull was sanded to remove all the 'hairs' that the resin raised,  and to finish off blending in all the panel joints,  so they will be invisible after paint.  when ready.......and with a nice sunny day here finally.....the hull was brought out to the garage,  and the bottom paint was done.  first coat was laid down........allowed to dry for a couple of hours,  and then I gave it a lighter second coat.  that's when I got scared...........the second coat caused the first coat to become active again,  and it began to wrinkle around the stern area.  hoping it would settle down,  I left it to dry.  it did settle down,  but it left the appearance of wrinkled scarring.....faintly,  and enough to feel it.  does it cause a problem........in reality,  no.  to think of these boats in dry dock,  receiving a new coat of paint from time to time,  scrapping the hull and repaint might leave the hull surface in this condition.  I would imagine that the hull was not as smooth as a baby's bottom.  what I wasn't happy with,  was that a couple of the joints are still visible.....not by a lot...but not as I would have liked.

the hull and rudders

 

with the masking tape removed..........

I think I should have simply stayed with the chine for the bottom........I may change this

 

seen in these pictures is the panel joint visibility.......these are the worst ones.   we'll see what happens when the paint is fully cured.

[lmagna]

47 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

the admiral was adamant on the lawns getting their first mowing. 

You are only on your first!!!!!!!!!!! I have had to already mow twice and it is already too long again! I should do it today but it's raining. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

 

Nice looking work on the hull. Just as a note or two. I doubt hat very many PT boats ever saw and form of a drydock. If they got to that condition they were probably just stripped for parts and scrapped. Also I believe the under hull metal parts were bronze and left unpainted like the props.

Edited May 7, 2021 by lmagna

[Jim Lad]

She's really looking the goods, mate!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John......and of course those who hit the like button    the props I'm going to leave bronze Lou........most pictures I've seen,  have the tubes and rudders painted....so I went with that.  I had the red in my rattler collection....according to the cap,  it's supposed to be a flat,  but it appears to be a semi gloss.   it has been curing now for a few days.......I want to make sure that the bottom is fully dry,  before I move onto the upper paint.  the bottom has dulled down a bit.......I hope it goes more......I'm rather hesitant spraying a flat clear coat over all this,  given the results from the last time I did it.  

    given the fact that when the war was over,  most of the hardware was destroyed,  rather than brought back to the U.S.,  likely lends some truth to their upkeep during the war.  but for units that would never see any replacements,  some form of 'dry dock' might have taken place.  cannibalism was likely rampant as well,  since getting replacement parts was equally as hard.  they even scavenged aircraft armament to outfit these boats.  it makes no sense that there was no upkeep.......I'm sure some degree did occur   

[TOM G]

Don't use a lacquer based flat coat, on enamel base paint...... act's like paint stripper.   I use dead flat varnish it's water base........ and it is dead flat...... you can reduce it and use it in the airbrush.  

[popeye the sailor]

the stuff I used came from a rattle can.......I've never tried a varnish before.   does it give a hard finish?  

 

I'm sure some were wondering why I was on during the work week.......I'm usually a missing link    I wasn't feeling up to snuff,  so I stayed home,  since I had enough 'protected' time to use  {I can use it and it won't count against my matrix}.  so I called in and went back to bed......later on I sort of poked around.  the pull got to be too much........so I painted the upper part of the hull.   the weather being what it is,  I just laid a layer of newspaper over my seat and sprayed it........put a fan in the window to exhaust the smell {for the admiral}.

there are a couple small imperfections that I have to fix.......I'll just decant some paint and touch her up later.

 

one imperfection can be seen at the stern........I was a tad to high with the masking.  the other one is on the same side further up......surprisingly,  it's hard to see.......just a bit of over spray.  the masking must have pulled away on me  

...a slight refine of the bow.  after masking,  I gave a shot of red along the masking,  before I shot the green.  I feel better about the bow with the way she looks now    in using the resin,  I probably should have laid a primer coat first.  the red has definitely calmed down......the wrinkling {which I noticed on the bow as well} is over 90 % gone........I'd call it a win!    when I can give her the once over,  then the hardware can be installed......and then let playtime on deck begin!   only one of the many panel joints along the hull skin shows up....the others are either very faint or totally hidden.  it on the bottom,  so I can live with it.   my week end starts........I'll have more for you when I get back to her!

[Edwardkenway]

Looks good Denis🙂

[Canute]

Coming along nicely Denis. Hope you're feeling better, too.

[pwog]

She looks great! The paint looks great too!

[TOM G]

15 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

the stuff I used came from a rattle can.......I've never tried a varnish before.   does it give a hard finish?  

You will have to read about it, to see if it has the degree of hardness that you are looking for.

[popeye the sailor]

in my time working with wood,  varnish has been this 'soft' finish to me.   when I worked in a cabinet shop back in the '70s,  I worked with lacquer,  and haven't turned back since.   it is a hard durable finish that resists most minor dents and dings.  great for me,  since I probably manhandle my models more than most.  it still is something to look into......experiments are kind of my thing   

 

didn't get to the model as much as I wanted to yesterday......but while I was at my desk,  I did a bit more than pay attention to the computer   when I assembled the .50 cals,  I just centered everything,  using bits of brass to create a locator pin {there are holes molded into the parts}.   but after painting them and setting them in the carriage,  I noticed that they don't look as straight as they could be........they are good,  but I think they can be better.  even in the holes of the cooling shields.......you can see right through them....there is no evidence of a gun barrel    I have another set........and so,  the second attempt begins.   finding suitable diameter brass rod was not a problem,  lengths were cut and fitted,  and the cooling shields were added to the gun part.

....leaving enough to put the muzzles on

when they were assembled,  they were painted in Testor's Gunmetal,  rather than flat black.  I still will dry brush them lightly with flat steel afterwards and I painted the carriages and gun placement tubs in the Army green.  the props will remain in the bronze color,  but I lightly painted them with bronze to freshen them up,  and to paint the nut and ring in the back.

 

 

the comparison doesn't show too much of a difference.......other than the absence of daylight through the shield holes

 

 

which is which?  they look straighter........the cooling shields have a backbone.  the test is bittersweet though........because it's too bad I can't put them all on the model    {ohhhhh..........such an evil thought I am thinking  }

 

[Old Collingwood]

Some nice detail work going on there mate.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC........and thanks all for the likes    she's back in the saddle {so to speak}.......more soon.

[Kevin]

i can see an extra couple of gun mounts being added

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

i can see an extra couple of gun mounts being added

The question is though... to which model?   I have a feeling they will show up in a most unexpected model.

[Old Collingwood]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

The question is though... to which model?   I have a feeling they will show up in a most unexpected model.

I  bet it will be a "Rambo"  conversion.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

Mark knows me too well me thinks    I'm even willing to bet that he thinks I've been contemplating cloning this model    

 

sadly,  I can't add them to this model Kevin.......the only addition I can do is the 37 mm gun Kennedy had lashed to the bow,  in place of the life raft.  I'm still looking into it  

 

Rambo........you mean,  in addition to his chopper,  and and I do believe that there is another kit of the chopper and a Jeep.  Monogram put out the chopper model in 1:24 scale.......looks really cool.......but then again.....I thought the 'Airwolf' offering was cool too    but really......all the different ways these boats were outfitted,  one could go nutz with this subject alone     if I did.......I'd likely go along the lines of a assault vessel,  and not follow Kennedy's idea of playing chicken with a destroyer    {one has to think the outcome would not be good}.  

 

I got a little bit more done yesterday.......I had an important errand to accomplish........get some wheels for my princess   my granddaughter needs a bike,  so we got her a really cool Huffy.....even added a license plate that says 'girls rule'.  we'll be delivering it this afternoon,  so modeling might be scant again today {although I added the final half of 'panel' to the deck this morning}.   yesterday's bit shows the installation of the props and rudders...that was fun.  I ended up chopping out a segment of deck framing and altering the allen wrench,  just to tighten the set screws for the rudders.  sadly enough,  the props didn't receive this treatment,  due to the shafts being too short and not protruding out enough to add the lugs.......would have been cool to see that they spin.  from all this,  I give one small bit of advise........if you gonna sport twin screws,  but them as a set and not separately.  not only that,  when I painted the bottom,  the plastic strut appeared transparent,  as opposed to the metal one.......I had to give it a second coat as a touch up,  at the end of the initial coat.  I found a couple of thinner bottles to decant the hull paints in,  but I haven't done it yet.....I still need to.

in setting the rod to synchronize the rudders,  one got slightly bent........I had them propped on a piece of wood to hold them in place.  it wasn't hard to straighten it......no worries.

before the paint took place.........looking at the deck diagram,  I saw where those three vents go.  they are to be located on the bow......I decided to put them in place before the deck planking.

the deck marked off nicely @ 3 inches......I should add 1 1/2 inch marks too,  to add to the butt shifting.  apparently there is a laminated deck that can be purchased for this model.

on a different model note........I had mentioned that I ordered my first laminated deck for a model from BNA.  it took a while.......and I must say,  that this place has some very good service.  they let me know every step of the way where my order was.  when I knew that the package was near the U.S. shores,  I set up the tracking with USPS and they kept me informed as well.  I got the package the other day.......both of them chimed in!

I've never done one.....but looking at the kit....it will benefit from it    ohh...ohhhh.........the crystal ball has gone dark......I can't tell anymore.  the future is so fickle   once all that other stuff was done,  I could close up the deck on the PT boat.  the deck frame was put back in place, and the panel pieces were cemented in.......the starboard side was added this morning.  these pieces were slightly warped.......I could clamp the port side,  but for the last one,  I had to resort to outside pressures.......one of the rattle cans worked nicely.

I was hoping to get into the deck planking this week.........it should be fun when I do      thanks for look'in in and thanks for the likes......as always,  I really appreciate it!

 

 

[lmagna]

Just remember, the red side goes down.

 

Nice work, looking forward to your planking. 

[popeye the sailor]

she's in the slip Lou........ready for the topside stuff     onward and upward  

[mtaylor]

6 hours ago, lmagna said:

Just remember, the red side goes down.

 

Nice work, looking forward to your planking. 

Red side down?  That explains a lot on my builds.

[lmagna]

Looks like they did pretty much the same with the real thing.

[popeye the sailor]

neat!   ....a lot more framework than in the model........that's for sure     I have the bottom picture in my file......there are others in the Navsource website:

Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

 

so....I really wanted to get a good start on the planking this week........too much stuff got in the way.  the weather has gotten so much better,  but today looks like its gonna be a bit on the rainy side.  I'm glad I got the outside stuff done the first thing I did was mark off the halfway lines.......as mentioned,  3 inches was perfect for this deck,  1 1/2 being the halfway.   the bow light was fitted at the bow, by cutting into the margins where they meet.

   the planking I was going to use was a no go........too thin for the margins,  which would leave a ridge along the deck edges.  using the Revell model for guidance, I saw that I would need to thicken up the planking.

going through again........what I have here,  my only option is to use the mahogany planking.   it's old wood to be sure......as mentioned,  I got it from the other Nordkap kit I got for Christmas {and that was a few years ago}.   some is warped in one way or the other,  but I'll make it work.   there's roughly 44 strips here.......1.5X7X880 mm...should be more than enough.

the planking begins......

 

I will likely need to do some extra sanding.......story of my life......ohhhhh well   I started to use white glue,  but I found that to continue using it,  would bog the process down by having to weight the warped pieces until it dried.  CA will work much faster,  and will thwart the warpage issue.  the center line was about to reach where the helm structure will sit,  and I didn't like the way the planking was going to butt up to it.   so I laid down a pair of planks to act as a border for the front.

 

you can see why.......this stuff cuts like iron.  I bought one of those 'chop boards' from micro Mark,  but I'm not real happy with how it works.  the blade has dug a groove in the board and the cutter wobbles,  so a square cut is iffy at best.  I tightened the pivot bolt,  which stiffens the arm,  but the cutting action causes the blade to warp...the harder the wood,  the worse it is.  I see spot putty in my future.

   earlier,  I mentioned my thoughts about assembling the helm structure........to use those center deck fillers and assemble the helm on it,  as one would if they were building an R/C boat.  my bad though.......I failed to see it with all the dry fitting I did.  the structure is not square at the base,  so when it is in place,  I foresee a noticeable gap at the front along the sides.  I might be reading too much into it.......but I don't think I am 

we shall see.......

[popeye the sailor]

one thing I do notice Lou.........in the above picture you posted,  the hull on the right is side planked diagonally,  going aft to the stern........the one in the far left is being planked diagonally,  going left towards the bow.   I guess it didn't matter how they were planked.  it also looks as though it was framed differently too.

[lmagna]

50 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

in the above picture you posted,  the hull on the right is side planked diagonally,  going aft to the stern........the one in the far left is being planked diagonally,  going left towards the bow.

 

I am not a PT boat expert by any means, I don't even get to play one on TV, but what I think you are looking at is the layer by layer construction that was actually used in PT boat hull construction. PT boats were referred to as being built of plywood when in reality they were actually made of two diagonally layered 1 in thick mahogany planks, with a glue-impregnated layer of canvas in between. Everything was held together with bronze screws and copper rivets. So I think what you are seeing is the different layers of construction of the hull with the most "Finished" hull being the one on the far right.

Edited May 21, 2021 by lmagna

[popeye the sailor]

I think your right Lou.......I recall it was mentioned earlier in the log.  scatter brained me,  don'tcha know 

 

I went a little further with the planking after posting the last update.   I made some fair progress.

it can be seen along the bow edge,  that the planking is a little thicker { .5 mm} than the margins.   sanding will take care of that,  I'm sure    as I was lay'in plank,  I though about the shields that are connected to the helm structure.......I will need to make allowance for them as well.  this will add to the fancy cutting I'm doing along the bow,  and what I have already on the deck.  I drew them in on the platform.

the other hodge podge you see is the helm floor layout.......I'll show you what I have in mind for that soon.  the planking progressed further........

to trace out the shields,  I had to put the port side on the structure.  I will need to add the small area between the shields,  when I do the helm floor.  I will also have to fix the port side.......as mentioned,  this plywood that the parts were cut from,  did not fare well being die cut.  laser cutting is the best method......I'd put up with the char anytime!  

I forgot about the turret.....I drew that in as well.........

what's that your think'in..........posting on a Monday?!?!?!   I went into work Saturday,  and decided to take Monday and Tuesday off     hopefully,  I can get the deck completely planked,  with the additional time {barring interruptions,  of course}  

 

[Kevin]

good evening Dennis,

 

she is coming along a treat, i would however thought the planks would have been longer and in a three plank butt system at least

 

[popeye the sailor]

I've been planking off 'n on today.........need to take breaks to give my fingers some rest.   this stuff is hard to cut.......I've been using razor blades to trim it to proper lengths and the shapes I need to obtain.  it's no longer mahogany.........it's Ironwood!   the chopper is random at best,  in giving me a square cut.   I have made more progress.......I wanted to wait till I got both sides to the first torpedo mount.  but out of habit,  I did some light sanding to the bow area......for some reason,  I always feel the need to sand as I plank.....can never wait till I'm done.  

if I didn't wipe her down......you'd see the sanding dust.  later,  I will set up a small wood block with some sand paper,  and go over it some more......but it looks pretty good with what I've done so far.....

there's still a few high spots........the block will help in leveling it out    my thoughts that there would be some gaps around the structure.....I put too much concern into it.......it didn't come out too bad.  I don't have any dry fits.......I'll have to take a few to show you all.  working around the structure has been interesting at best........cutting and sanding the rounded edges

along the edges at the margins was another concern,  with this wood being harder to work with.   cutting the filler planks,  since they aren't a complete plank width....I'll have to come up with a way to rip them down.  just for chuckles,  I took a full strip and guided it freehand through the scroll saw.  it worked reasonably well........I'll have to make some form of fence to better guide them through.  I was able to fill in the port side and along the starboard side of the helm structure.

well....that's all I have for now.........back to the table I go.   

[popeye the sailor]

Hi Kevin    the shift is every other plank........to go with a three or four butt shift,  I would have had to quarter the spacings.  I'm just keeping it simple  

[Kevin]

it does look very good though