PT-109 by rudybob - FINISHED - Revell - 1:72 - PLASTIC

[SteveLarsen]

Looks great.

[rudybob]

4 hours ago, SteveLarsen said:

Looks great.

Thank You! Making progress...about 45 min a day, this or that

[rudybob]

I needed a scheme to draw the 109's waterline. I viewed several methods all of which all have a commonality, 
hold a marker firmly in one place at the correct height and move the hull past or move the marker past a firmly held hull. It's the same idea no matter which moves. 
I am going to slide the firmly held marker down the firmly held hull. 

I needed a starting point(s). On the stern are a row of six auxiliary gas cans? The waterline passes just above the lowest marking. I reasoned if I could get the cans 
attached and aligned I could work from that. I used double sided tape because I did not want permanence merely an precise point to start from.  I measured 14 mm 
up the stern hull corner on the outermost can. I marked both sides and drew my best line with a ruler. 

I wedged a pencil in a precision block at 14 mm. The line I draw on the primer will be practice. I do relish getting second chances. As I wrote I need a good way to hold the hull stationary while I line which is what I am pondering now. The hull is held to the stand by double sided tape. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by rudybob

[rudybob]

Not a bad line at all. Some trouble coming up and over or down and under but that is why tape was invented

[alross2]

Waterline position is right from the ELCO drawings.

Edited August 8, 2022 by alross2

[NavyShooter]

Looking good!

I think those 'gas cans' are actually the mufflers though 🙂

 

[rudybob]

18 hours ago, NavyShooter said:

Looking good!

I think those 'gas cans' are actually the mufflers though 🙂

 

Thanks Man!

[rudybob]

19 hours ago, alross2 said:

Waterline position is right from the ELCO drawings.

Yahooo! I love getting things right!! Thanks

[alross2]

Now, if you want to detail your turrets...

[rudybob]

2 hours ago, alross2 said:

Now, if you want to detail your turrets...

A fellow in another forum just finished his 109 and I was impressed by all the wires he ran. His turrets look good

[rudybob]

It's been a process. The first coat of flat black Testors went on nice the second coat was very bad. I wet sanded with 1000, 1500 and 2k grit Tamiya finishing abrasives until I had a smooth surface. I thinned the Testors about 20% with mineral spirits(until it dripped rather then flowed off the mix stick) and did another coat. I wait a week after paint to sand because I like dry paint. It turned out much better but I still had a couple spots I did not like so after a week I sanded again in those trouble areas and making sure my paint was still thin enough gave it one more coat. All the time I was worried about paint flowing under my tape. It did not except in two miniscule areas. I really am happy with my line. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by rudybob

[Dave_E]

NICE! 👍😀

[rudybob]

18 hours ago, Dave_E said:

NICE! 👍😀

Thank You. I really appreciate that from someone of your high skill level

[rudybob]

I had a moment today. For the first time when painting parts on the sprue I clipped most holdfasts first. It would have been nice to discover this decades ago but I am happy it came to me at all. It means my skill level just went up. I am sure many guys been doing it like this since forever. Then I had another moment after I clipped two of the three shafts and struts. It matters where I clip. What's a post without a picture?

[rudybob]

A lot has been happening and something I felt noteworthy with the PT boat build happened just now. I cut the end off a torpedo.

 

The torpedoes have been my focus lately.  I read some wiki PT boat overviews and that led me to more in depth torpedo research. The data found indicates two methods of launch: shot from a tube or pushed over the side. I wanted to know which my build used and I could not tell if these were shot or rolled simply from the included kit torpedoes.

 

Early on, PT boats used the Mark 8 torpedo shot out of Mark 18 launcher tubes (pictured) by a minor explosion which is all fine and good but since the tubes needed greasing they might catch fire. In mid 1943 the Mark 18 was replaced by Mark 1 roll off style launching racks using the Mk 13 torpedo. So I have a Mark 18 launcher with Mark 8 torpedoes. That being the case I cut the end off one of the Mark 18 launchers.  I may cut another

I am waiting to find if there was a protocol for firing order. To jazz them up I used some Tamiya dark gray panel accent

 

I attached the deck. "Hey Honey! Where do you keep your hair ties?"  In this instance better then tape or rubber bands.

 

I went to work on the torpedoes because the color scheme was vexing me. There are only three primary colors: gray, black and custom deck blue/gray.  I wanted to make sure my conceived paint scheme wouldn't be regrettable. I gave it lots of thought and pretty much have it now. I did a couple hatches blue/gray and have a few other parts I want in that color. My batch of custom deck paint dried up on me. I sealed it well but the container was not up to the task. I used a simple 2:1 mix and reproduced it. This time I put the mix in an emptied Testors thinner bottle. I wish I thought of doing that on my own but read it somewhere. 

 

I can spend more time now because I finished my 1:72 Pegasus Pershing and I can spend more time indoors cause it's dark out way earlier.

 

Thanks for reading this far 

 

  

Edited October 15, 2022 by rudybob

[alross2]

Here's a comparison between the MK8 and the MK13, as well as the MK1 rack for the MK13.  Typically, the torpedoes came from the factory with flat medium gray (like Ocean Gray 5-0) warheads and everything aft of the warhead in a yellowish brown preservative.  Props were bronze.

[Roger Pellett]

From what I have read, the Higgins boats use a proprietary compressed air system to launch torpedos.  The Elco boats used the (black powder?) explosive method.

 

Roger

[rudybob]

On 8/8/2022 at 5:34 PM, alross2 said:

Now, if you want to detail your turrets...

 

 

On 10/10/2022 at 9:13 PM, alross2 said:

Here's a comparison between the MK8 and the MK13, as well as the MK1 rack for the MK13.  Typically, the torpedoes came from the factory with flat medium gray (like Ocean Gray 5-0) warheads and everything aft of the warhead in a yellowish brown preservative.  Props were bronze.

Thanks I appreciate this

The turrets base is not fitting well and a small leg wasn't injected.

 

[alross2]

2 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

From what I have read, the Higgins boats use a proprietary compressed air system to launch torpedos.  The Elco boats used the (black powder?) explosive method.

 

Roger

The MK18 (upper) used the powder charge and was fitted to ELCO and Huckins PTs.  The MK19 (lower) was the Higgins compressed air tube.

[rudybob]

On 10/12/2022 at 9:35 PM, rudybob said:

 

 

Thanks I appreciate this

The turrets base is not fitting well and a small leg wasn't injected.

 

The detailed turrets are very helpful. Thanks

[rudybob]

I have looked and looked. I would really like a photo/drawing of green pointer area of a PT boat. Thanks

[rudybob]

It's the little things. The build is advancing rapidly now that 98% of paint is done. I might have built the boat, filled the cracks and painted it all gray but I could not. I like painting as much as the build and want it to represent me whoever that is today. As I fit the pieces I see where I need to make things better but I can't always so it's a flaw. I was in the mood to post but don't have the time to critique what I have done. Time for town and a walk with my boy Ollie

[rudybob]

I was/am concerned about the fit of the pieces. There is an excellent video on youtube of a finished Revell PT 109 and I can see from his final work that his less then satisfactory fits match my bad fits.  This fellow has a higher skill than me so that slakes me some as far as my fitting efforts.  As much as I could, I dry fit. The aft deck covers both needed way more sanding then should have been necessary. If those weren't a great fit I shouldn't have expected better fits for the more intricate pieces but I did. I can't blame all the gaps on the molding. I know my weaknesses all to well.  Each piece it important but some more than others. Those pieces would be the ones glued that must be built off of. They looked straight to me so I went with it. Mostly things are OK but some are not. This wouldn't be as big a problem if I had not painted almost everything first. Some gaps I won't bother with but I am going to sand and fill the front of the cabin where the sides come up and I may do some on top. Matching the paint will be a problem though. I have but a few squirts left from my rattle can AND I will need to mask which I don't enjoy but it may be the only thing for it.  The deck is somewhat blotchy but I can't imagine a non scuffed deck on a working boat. I think I will have this done is less than a week unless the turrets drive me nuts. 

 

[rudybob]

The arcs do not match. Which meant I had gaps on both sides that needed filling. I use Perfect Plastic Putty. The next snap will be after sanding and painting. I'm looking forward to the result.

[rudybob]

Could have done a little better but not much. I see some other areas that need attention

[rudybob]

I finished this build at the end of November and had no time to write a log. All went well except a piece fell off the transom that I was unable to find. I even ripped open a vacuum bag and did a thorough search. 

I like the color scheme, waterline and rigging. I went through my box of decals and found enough matching 5's and 2's to make 52 twice. Eventually I will paint and label the stand. 

I may have mentioned that my fit matches the fits of many of the models guys displayed so I am not too bummed about somethings not lining up as I would have liked. Overall a satisfying build