Well folks. The 1/35 PT has gone from pre-sell to available. They should be arriving to your front porch or a hobby shop near you before you know it. Can’t wait to watch the builds!
Dave
I opened the box on one at the LHS last week, a gentleman was purchasing it …I must say, the sheer bulk of the hull was a real shocker. I wasn’t really impressed though. It has some included PE and a large variety of weapons (cannons, rocket launcher etc.), the molding and detail was good. The assembly is very straight forward and I feel Italerei could have detailed plastic components to the nth degree in this scale. The one piece hull takes up half the box.
A nice kit, don’t get me wrong, but hardly a show stopper. I was offered the other kit that was available, and I passed. For over $100, I personally couldn’t justify it right now.
PT Boat enthusiasts will no doubt use it as a platform for super detailing, as OOB the oppportunities are limitless. Better clear off a HUGE space on the shelf for this one…
Steve
Thanks fellas for the run down on this!![:P]
I got mine just before the end of December and my first thought was WOW, followed almost immediately by “alright moron, where are you going to put it once its finished!” (I live in an apartment and I’m already space challanged. Maybe 1/48th would have been a better starting point.
The only thing I don’t like so far is the lack of markings for other boats, crew figures & their personal gear, such as helmets, lifejackets, binoculars and what not (you know, gear seen lying around deck on operational boats). Other than that, its impressive.
[%-)]hi guys i just got my pt boat and it is agreat kit,but whrer to start,[%-)]
I just received mine today and I’m very impressed. I don’t think anyone expects a kit to be all things to all people. But this is a great framework to do some amazing super detailing. Not to mention the foundation for after market changes and improvements to cover other hull numbers. My hat’s off to Italeri and and I would also throw my hat in for kit of the year.
Dave
Been thinking of getting one myself. As for figures, there are a few out there in other boat kits(LCM and LCVP) that might be used or coverted from other figure sets, equipment can be gotten from other 1/35th scale figure and weapons/equipment sets and I’m sure the AM companies will release some figures in the near future
EDIT: Should have mentioned that HR products does carry 1/32nd white metal fittings, etc for the old Lindberg kit, some may be useable with the Italeri kit
Just received notice from Tower Hobbies re availability of this kit. Just about $113 including shipping, with a note about “limited quantities.” Delivery approximately 5 - 10 days.
According to the 2007 Nuremberg Toy Fair announcements, Italeri are planning to release a S-100 Schnellboot in the same scale later this year. That’s right, a S-100 (at least 50% longer than an Elco PT boat, I think) in 1/35! If it’s to the same standard as the PT this will be a very impressive kit, although given that the latter is big enough I wonder how many people will have space to display it? I’d imagine it’ll be very popular with R/C modellers though.
(I’ve said this sort of thing all too many times before - but if a 1/35 boat this large can be mass-produced as an injection-moulded kit, why not a small warship like a minesweeper or frigate in 1/72 or 1/96?)
Technically any of these items can be injection-moulded in sufficient detail, at least from the engineering perspective. Amortizing the capital costs of the tolling is where the business risk can become an issue.
That’s more or less what I meant (i.e the cost of tooling vs. the saleability of the kit, not the technical feasibility of actually producing the moulds).
The old ex-Matchbox 1/72 Flower-class corvette is still selling very well to both static and RC modellers, despite being a fairly basic and dated kit - so there’s definitely a market for subjects like this.
I always thought the combination of the sheer number of parts, large hull mouldings, and the relatively limited market for models this big, meant a kit like this, produced to current standards of detail and accuracy wouldn’t be economically feasible (the Revell corvette doesn’t really count as it’s an old mould acquired from Matchbox, not a new tooling). But Italeri’s 1/35 torpedo boats seem to have proved me wrong (they are as large, and have nearly as many parts, as a small warship in 1/72 - in fact the S-100 will be substantially larger than the 1/72 corvette)
Check out this awesome build up:
http://www.ipmsslc.com/gallery2/v/Meetings/January2007/P1010018.JPG.html
Just ordered one from Hobbyland for $99 plus shipping. They list shipping anywhere in the US as $9.50 but when taking the order I was informed they will ship it FedEx for about $7.00. Not an additional $7.00 but only $7.00. That was just too hard to pass up.
I ordered mine from Hobbyland four weeks ago for $99 plus 7.50 shipping. It arrived early last week and I am impressed. It appears to be a well engineered kit and should go together easily, with plenty of opportunity for super detailing. It seems it would be easy to install an cabin interior, what with the optional position hatches. I’ll probably wait until some aftermarket stuff is offered to build it though, as my workbench is currently full of the Heller 1/8 scale Traction Avant, the Nichimo 1/200 (talk about shelf space!) Yamato, the new Revell Gato sub and yet another Matchbox corvette, my third. (I know the kit is dated, but I just love it and with the detailing kits available from GLS it can be a real masterpiece.) BTW, my house is only 1200 sq ft, but I find space for all of them! Granted, most are in the basement party room, but they are displayed.
FYI- I spoke with Bob Lewin of MRC ( US distributor for Italeri) on October 10, 2007reference Italeri 1/35 S-100 Schnellboot. Italeri is working to perfect the hull before release which is now scheduled for some time in 2008. The hull is enormous, around 1 meter(says a source on the internet), and has caused some difficuties. I have no project retail price but, if I took an guess I would place the cost at near or slightly higher than the Italeri 1/35 Elco 80’ PT Boat PT-596.
MANY THANKS!! Have posted inquiries re. the S100,appreciate the news as this time frame will determine my next build…again,thanks for digging up the info and sharing! Regards,Mike