PT 109 by popeye the sailor - Dumas

[popeye the sailor]

3 was the magic number..........the model is 33 inches long.  divided by three gave me eleven sections,  which I later marked off the halfway in the middle.

thanks    I can't wait to see it with a coat of paint   

[popeye the sailor]

well........I nearly put my back out of whack.......but the deck is planked! I'll have at least one day to rest up before having to go back to work.  these days off thing is too damn short.........MAN!..........I can't wait! 

 

I'll have pictures and a break down in just a few.........gotta take Gibbs out and probably grill up the burgers........I'm like starv'in Marvin!  

[popeye the sailor]

OK........I'm back ........still a bit out of joint,  but a few more Advil and moving around,  I should be fine.   my thumb is throbbing too......a result of giving up on the chopper,  cutting and trimming by hand.  primitive I know.......but it works     anyway......once I got both sides of the bow covered,  I could then move back towards the stern.  there was a lot of obstacles to work around....a product of my own doing.  I made it back to the first torpedo brackets.

now to fill in on both sides of the mid ship,  and work around the first .50 cal turret and the shields.

haven't decided if I'm going to fill in around the brackets and stuff.   some of the butt joints show and some don't......I don't want them to be totally obvious,  but after the paint,  have them just noticeable.  when I sand,  I'll have to wipe the hull......and not blow on it {it will clean out the gaps if I do}.

   I mentioned that I would show the structure in place.  you'll see plenty of dry fits....I promise   

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

the port side shield worked out well.......it sits in the deck "well" pretty good.  with the deck planked on both sides of the helm,  I thought it was time to lay the floor in the helm area.  I have some of that corrugated siding used in model railroading....painted flat black,  it should look rather good.

the lines go straight........they don't look like that   I had forgotten about the second turret......so I drew the lines for that one. 

 

 

 

 the starboard side shield however......got a little messed up.  in one of the dry fits,  I saw that it fanned out further than what I marked off,  so I drew the new lines to follow......not a good thing to do   as a double whammy,  I seem to have lost track of the butt stagger....that was bad..........what was worse.  was I somehow was off on the planking,  resulting in a 3/16 gap......

I left the gap repair visible so you can see.  later I'll fill it in with filler and render it invisible.  I already filled in the small piece that I fitted in the shield well,  to correct that mistake.  the torpedo tube will hide some of it......and as we all know......paint hides sin 🚫 {so does filler}.

it gets better.........no more surprises.........thankfully!  I'll cue up the big finish   

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

this was a weird day........1st off.......I found an innuendo in the Rice Krispy jingle.........it occurs when they get to the Crackle verse.  I looked it up on You Tube,  because the admiral couldn't remember it........I found the original one from the 50's.  Crackle sings his verse,  till he gets to the last line:

🎶 butt Crack {le}, makes the world go 'round 🎶     the things I think of while planking.........  

 

secondly,   if anyone tells you that an x actor isn't balanced........  there are very few times,  that it has fallen off the table,  and hasn't stuck blade first into the floor or carpet.  I tossed it on the table one time,  and it bounced....and stuck into a box I had on the table.   yep.......it rolled off the table today.........and stuck me in the first joint of my big toe!  I had to pull the darn thing out!!!  fresh blade too........

 

.......and it's really annoying when someone asks to do something,  you know they are NOT supposed to do.  I have a simple solution.  during the day today,  the admiral asked me to go out and start the lawn mower for her   I had a simple one word answer.........no!  

 

enough tomfoolery........Mark Twain must have though of that word / phrase........I shouldn't be mess'in 'round...this last bit is big!  so the mid ship section is done.  I used the day cabin to guide me through most of it......now the engine cover is involved.

the second turret is cased in as well.......the start of the second torpedo brackets has begun.  the center joint of the deck panels was flattened so the engine cover sat in place without wobbling.  I marked off it's placement and ran a plank,  casing it on both sides.

 

then,  it was just cut and fill.  filling in along the margins wasn't too bad......

cutting around the aft torpedo brackets was interesting......they had to stay full plank.  there are no more obstacles,  except 'round the backside of the brackets.  it got me thinking......was there a platform for the 20 mm gun?  there is one shown in the full layout diagram,  but there are no parts associated with it.  the platform should be as thick as the torpedo bracket bases,  so I went into the PT box and got out the cast off fillers for the bulkheads.  the turret and a {somewhat} square piece of wood was used to trace out the part.

the dimensions should be a bit bigger,  but this will do the trick.  it was cut out on the scroll saw and sanded to shape.  the planking on both side meet the stern margin now.

the day cabin and the engine cover,  along with the aft turret,  sit in place quite well.

 

I will need to make adjustments to the shields,  because of a gap with the helm flooring......I just moved it up 1/16........minor stuff.  my back was killing me,  but I made the push to get the planking done.  happy time!

 

 

it's a shame I can't get the shields to sit flush,  or this would look better than it does.

next will be sanding and painting.......    

 

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by popeye the sailor
loss for words

[Old Collingwood]

Looking really nice Denis  - sure is taking shape now.

 

OC.

[John Ruy]

Nice! 😎 I got to pull up a chair and watch this. 

[popeye the sailor]

...a HUGE thanks to all who have looked in!    the table I did this at is not a good fit........it's lower than the other two tables.  I think I'll repurpose it to do plastic modeling and leave the higher tables for my wood projects.   slumped over like that wasn't good for me,  although I'm much better now.  it's funny how I tend to sit with a plastic model,  but prefer to stand for wood ones.  that will be happening   

 

out of the 43 strips of {ironwood} mahogany,  I only used 20 of them.....I had very little waste.  I still have enough for 1 more deck.......likely for the Progress  I would say.    another project I should get back to eventually  

 

it's gonna be like pull'in teeth to do another order for aftermarket parts,  so I'll be forced to scratch build what I need.   my two aspects to focus on are the dead lights and the windows.  once the windows are dealt with,  along with the deck finish,  I'll be able to put all this together and go from there.

 

thanks for the kind comment OC........and welcome to you John.  I hope you find the log as entertaining as other folks say they are   

[Kevin]

the admiral caught me reading your log- NO she said - i hadnt said anything

[yvesvidal]

2 minutes ago, Kevin said:

the admiral caught me reading your log- NO she said - i hadnt said anything

 

Kevin, I feel for you. You are even censored and confined at home... It is hard to be British, right now.

 

Yves

[Kevin]

2 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

 

Kevin, I feel for you. You are even censored and confined at home... It is hard to be British, right now.

 

Yves

lol, dont feel sorry for me, she has a point and i have several projects on the go

[BigDad]

I’m new to web sight

i just started the pt-109. Did the first 3 steps. This is where it is confusing. I glued the 7 pieces to my board. Now where does S-4 go do I use it just for setting it up. Then get rid of it or cut it down to fit to frame 7. 
The instructions are terrible. 
thank you

Les

[CDW]

10 minutes ago, BigDad said:

I’m new to web sight

i just started the pt-109. Did the first 3 steps. This is where it is confusing. I glued the 7 pieces to my board. Now where does S-4 go do I use it just for setting it up. Then get rid of it or cut it down to fit to frame 7. 
The instructions are terrible. 
thank you

Les

 

 

Look at the first photos on page 2 of this build log. Popeye has good photos that show the S4 part locations.

[Jim Lad]

Catching up after my trip away. She's coming on very nicely Denis.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

Kevin.....I feel your pain....if your admiral knew how many projects I have on the go,  she wouldn't say much     in fact.....looking over the spare room this afternoon {more on this later},  she was very perplexed with how many kits I have in the closet.  believe me.....it was an "ah...ha" moment   just in that room alone,  I have five projects,  counting the 'skeleton' of what I've scratch built as the Danmark.  I'll explain more later.

 

yes Big Dad........S4 is the frame work for the deck where the structures go.   they are part of the thought I had concerning building the structures...if your planning to do R/C,  after you assemble the hull frame,  you may want to cut them out and base the structures off them.  then when you have all the electronics in the hull,  you can already have them as a removable section to access everything.  I didn't do that.......considering the deck sheer platform and the fact that I already started to assemble the structures...I left things as they were.  do be careful about trimming them as the instructions suggest,  since the instructions are misleading  

 

being an American visionary is far worse Yves.......the admiral {I believe} is catching on to just how many projects I have.........I'm not only censored......I'm shackled!  { she knows I can scratch build ,  so she's watching that too!}  several projects Kevin.......I wouldn't be in hot water if I had that many.......I think mine's up around 15.  with my last purchase of a wooden deck { I won't get into specifics},  the iron bank has folded her arms and won't give audience to any of my ideas.

 

thank you John.......I seem to be stymied for the moment,  but if I can make any progress,  I will post it  

 

and now for the reason why I say stymied........   I came home last evening,  to the admiral making points that the spare room is bigger than our bedroom.

    she wants to switch rooms    one thing I did tell her,  is that the Christmas stuff is not going into that room if we do.  I came home this evening to find the dinner table stacked with old paperwork.......tax stuff,  and assorted mumbo jumbo!  she was shredding whatever was too old to keep.  I had mentioned that we could use the hallway to store some of the stuff I don't want involved in the move.....she was in the process of making room.  that's when we were taking stock of what I would have to move out of the spare room,  and she saw the closet { she still doesn't have a clue what I have in the closet next to my computer / desk    I'd be banned for life if she did that!  this has also spurred the idea of getting a recycling bin,  because a lot of stuff can go that route {if you catch my drift}.    so.......just to let you folks know that there might not be an update this week.  I'll be up to my eyeballs in moving rooms around.  I'll try and do something..............but no promises.

[mtaylor]

First rule, Dennis... keep the Admiralty happy.  We'll see you when you're done and she's smiling again.

[Old Collingwood]

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

First rule, Dennis... keep the Admiralty happy.  We'll see you when you're done and she's smiling again.

Takes a good meal and the total  release  of the TC remote   aided by lots of  visits to the kitchen to keep our admirals  lubricated.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks gents.....there might be a silver lining here .......>rockus maniacal laughter here<  I very well COULD get that 'wrap around' table I've been dreaming about    in any event,  you'll get to see a new work station......sad that I will lose the natural light.  I have been enjoying taking most of my pictures without the use of a light,  but the other room is a bit darker,  so lighting will be required.  I did put in my requisitions for new crane lights,  and since we need to go to Wally World for a new shredder {we burned the one we had up yesterday},  I can see what they have.  I don't know where to start really.......first thing I guess,  is to get the Christmas stuff situated.   then clear the tables.  the .......closet can be last

[Kevin]

we have been clearing up a lot in the last couple of weeks, to get the garage ready for being turned into a display room, i might just start a new thread on it, this needs a bit of planning but the space i am taking over is about 7 feet in height x 10 foot wide and longer than the biggest build, about 5 to 6 feet wide, it will have to be low budget but also dust free

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

I thought you did something like this a while ago .......thankfully what we did wasn't that drastic.   although......it did lead to a lot of chaos in the apartment.......

this is what table black looked like.....

 

even the dining room looked like a hoarder's den.....

the room that was our bedroom,  used to be our computer room when we first moved in here.   I finished the Nordkap in this very room......

I didn't take any pictures of the bedroom.......totally aqualung   but here's the beginning palette for the new shipyard

the room is smaller.......the admiral's computer was on the wall beside the heat register...mine was on the wall next to the door.  I know I have a picture of me standing next to my computer,  but I can't find it.  I was also building the Cux 87 at the time......that model was built when we lived on Spruce St.  I was waiting on the fittings for 'ole Nordie.  I ordered them from Tom's shop in Wisconsin......Harold {the model's original owner} found the fittings kit that he had,  so I ended up with two sets.  anyway.......I thought it fitting to put table white back where she belongs.  she was rather new back then, in looking at the above picture......she has a few battle scars now.

the five plane kits,  the four boxes under the tables,  the progress and the two steingraber boats....and times the United states by two {the Connie kit}, and this is some of the active and stash kits I have.  there's more in the closet.......and even more in the closet by my computer.  I think I have enough to play with for the time being    I plan to do some thing with this wall......a sort of 'berth' for models that I'm not working on at a given time.  

so this is where I'm at .......the bedroom is totally done,  with the exception of the closet.  the shipyard is still in the molting stage....things are still falling into place.  won't take me too long,  and then I can get back to work  

[CDW]

Denis,

 

I love that blue fishing boat you built in the 4th photo from the top. Great looking model. That's been several or more years ago, right? A Billing boat?

[Kevin]

everything changed when we got the dog,  it was easier for all for me to move into the house and use the conservatory, which in turns allows the dog to choose who he wants to be with

without opening external doors all the time to let him in and out

this leaves the original mancave and the garage for messy jobs and dumping grounds, , converting the garage then frees one of the spare bedrooms, where all my builds are collecting dust 

[popeye the sailor]

I was equally concerned with the dust collecting........if you looks at the picture of the dining room,   you will see two white boxes..........those are boxes I made to house the Nordkap and the Mary Ann.  I wanted to buy cases........love to have found a suitable cabinet,  but I didn't want them to collect dust either...so I packed them away.   the admiral caught on to what I had done and convinced me {rather sternly,  I might add} to unbox them........I hung onto the boxes in the event that we moved.  I'm still looking for that case { or to build one},  but time is a terrible advocate  

 

thanks Craig.......that's the Nordkap,  the first {actually,  the second} wood ship model I built.  there's quite a story with the model....something I never though that I could do.  in the beginning,  I meant to give her back to Harold,  the gent that gave me the kit.......but since he left WalMart,  I've not been in contact with him.   the kit was old........about 30 or so years old when I got it.....a Billing Boats kit.  I joked to the admiral that I wanted to buy a more modern kit,  since this one wasn't laser cut.....I wanted to experience what a laser cut kit was like.  a few years ago for Christmas,  she got me another old kit of the model......that kit was even older than the one I got from Harold!  very early Billing Boat kit dealt more with woods like mahogany and basswood.

    in today's kits,  you can get woods like basswood and Obechi....they have cheaper, softer woods.  the mahogany I used to plank the PT boat came from the second kit........even most of the thinner parts panels were of mahogany.  Peter V. is building a Cutty Sark that is as old as this second kit I'm building the Progress from.......he had quite a bit of mahogany in his kit too.  working with kits like these will introduce you to scratch building,  which comes in handy for future models.  I got hooked,  needless to say   

[popeye the sailor]

I know this is still a bit off track,  but the end is near    I didn't get to do any work on the model,  nor any other model,  but it has given me some ideas with how I want the room to look.  yesterday was clean out the closets day.  we took a break and got food for Gibbs.....the admiral got him a couple of his favorite treats.  where did he take it...........why,   he made himself at home in the new room!   

by the end of the day,  the closet transfer was finished.......except for the shipyard.  I had an idea not to toss all the kits in the closet,  but I might since the 'berth' idea seems so logical.  all the active projects will become centralized.......not in this closet,  that closet,  or out in the hallway.  in the meantime,  more of the stash has been added to the clutter.

today.......was the start on the 'berth' idea.   we've thrown out a lot of stuff we've been hanging onto.......there still more to go    my son had brought me some sheets.......best described as sawdust board........or chipboard.  really not ideal stuff to work with,  but then again......I don't need something that's permanent......if it does,  fine.....if not I can simply break it up and get rid of it.  it's 4' X 32" X16"......I may choose to build another

I'm still working on trying to get the treadmill out of here ......I still have the room for another though.

I will do my best to be up and running by the time my work week is done.  from time to time,  folks have asked just how many projects I have in the works.  if the Berth does what it's supposed to,  you'll get a good idea the next time you see it    I did get a table cleared off....small wonders 

Edited June 5, 2021 by popeye the sailor

[md1400cs]

Denis,

 

NICE! will be a great place in which to work. Good luck 👌🍀

[CDW]

You have a very manageable number of projects in waiting, unlike some of us (me). 🙂

Nice work getting it all together.

[popeye the sailor]

I dunno Craig.........if you saw that shelf right now,  you might want to run the other way!    my 'active' projects outnumber the stash......I fit 13 in the shelf,  and that's not all of them.  of course,  there are a couple that I'm just toying with,  just so I don't lose my train of though with them.  the room is almost done,  except for one snag...........the little table is leaving.  my younger son wants it........we're getting his table,  so the one we have is taking it's place.  it's longer and much higher,  so I'll have a lot more space to work with    the landlord has been having stuff done to the house,  so things have been hectic here.........we've had our first heat wave too.......which adds to the situation.  I finally ordered a couple of crane lamps.  I may set them both up on table black,  to make it more user friendly.  no pictures yet.........I hope to get back underway soon  

 

thanks for your kind comments and waiting. 

[mog]

Coming right along 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:42 AM, popeye the sailor said:

I was equally concerned with the dust collecting........if you looks at the picture of the dining room,   you will see two white boxes..........those are boxes I made to house the Nordkap and the Mary Ann.  I wanted to buy cases........love to have found a suitable cabinet,  but I didn't want them to collect dust either...so I packed them away.   the admiral caught on to what I had done and convinced me {rather sternly,  I might add} to unbox them........I hung onto the boxes in the event that we moved.  I'm still looking for that case { or to build one},  but time is a terrible advocate  

 

thanks Craig.......that's the Nordkap,  the first {actually,  the second} wood ship model I built.  there's quite a story with the model....something I never though that I could do.  in the beginning,  I meant to give her back to Harold,  the gent that gave me the kit.......but since he left WalMart,  I've not been in contact with him.   the kit was old........about 30 or so years old when I got it.....a Billing Boats kit.  I joked to the admiral that I wanted to buy a more modern kit,  since this one wasn't laser cut.....I wanted to experience what a laser cut kit was like.  a few years ago for Christmas,  she got me another old kit of the model......that kit was even older than the one I got from Harold!  very early Billing Boat kit dealt more with woods like mahogany and basswood.

    in today's kits,  you can get woods like basswood and Obechi....they have cheaper, softer woods.  the mahogany I used to plank the PT boat came from the second kit........even most of the thinner parts panels were of mahogany.  Peter V. is building a Cutty Sark that is as old as this second kit I'm building the Progress from.......he had quite a bit of mahogany in his kit too.  working with kits like these will introduce you to scratch building,  which comes in handy for future models.  I got hooked,  needless to say   

  I've found that old kits - sometimes incomplete/damaged or partially built can be found in flea markets or garage sales at a bargain price.  These can be good sources of wood, parts and supplies useful to enhance current builds or to scratch build.  Some old kits have good planking for those who don't want to do a lot of sawing (very dusty) or buy new stock by mail.  Other items may not be as useful, so its sort of a 'grab bag'.

[popeye the sailor]

yea...I've got a few.   the Half Moon was a partial kit that I got from a friend of mine.   I decided to scratch build the missing parts.......I've yet to get back to her of late.   I'm at the masting stage.   I still have a good amount of that mahogany planking,  which I got from the second Nordkap kit,  and I also have some pine planking from the Steingraber kit.  it's so old,  the resins from the wood has come to the surface and pre-sealed it!  it has some really nice grain to it........I'd hate to paint over it   

 

definitely agree....you can get some really good stuff from older kits     soon to get back to the PT boat.......I've got a crane light waiting for me at Home Depot.........I may move the project over to table black once I get the light installed on it {just gotta figure out how to attach it}.  the new table is in the spare room...it fits the wall.  the light is set up to cover both tables,  so the other crane light can stay with the scroll saw,  and I should be able to direct it to the spray booth.

still a bit more to do......but it's functional.  I brought in the black bookshelf from the computer room.......I'm not making another shelving unit,  although I might set something up on the wall.  the supply cabinet is loaded........the 'berth' is loaded........there are 13 active projects in it:

the three hull frames for the Bluenose project {counts as 3}

the Boulogne Etaples

the unnamed fishing boat

the caroler's boat

the Christmas Tree boat

the Thermopylae

the 'what if' battle cruiser

the Progress

the Tumb'lin Dice river boat

the Half Moon

and the hull frame for the Danmark {which may be called by another name}

3 others are in the black book case..........there are a few others still in the computer room closet.   I go where my ideas take me.......I am never bored  

    while I try my best to stay within the circle,  I seem to spiral outward.  Bermuda may have it's triangle,  but I have my circle