Looking for anyone who has done one of these. My wife gave me this almost a year ago and just opened it. Seems very simple and much a beginners kit. It doesnt seem too “grown up”, but I have to do it and will take the opportunity to practicle on bigger items - scale wise that is. Tips please - the plastic seems to be of a different caliber, composition, not sure what, than others ive worked on. Looks shiney so ill wash it 1st. Anyhow, the pieces seems also to be rough and lots of remenants aroud the pieces. All this maybe due to being a less expensive kit??? Ive usually mostly primed my kits on the sprue but am thinking here because it looks like a lot of the pieces will have to be cleaned up that here i can get away with cutting, trimming them assembly then prime and paint. Any thoughts? Its not a lot of pieces total and bc of the large scale looks to be a way to go. Thoughts? Tks!
parts washed and drying. this is it - not much to it!
Yes, I’d agree that assembling it and then painting it will be best.
You’re looking at a model which was newly released when John Kennedy was elected president. The molds are hardly modern state of the art. They are old & tired, parts show a lot of flash or are polished smooth
The decks should not show raised planking. The were smooth planks with a canvas coating for waterproofing. The .50 calibers are somewhat clunky. The best piece of armament may be the 20mm gun
Take your time. Scrape away the flash. Thin the depression railing on the gun tubs. Don’t get wrapped around the axle detailing the kit. The 2018 release of the kit offers a couple of improvements but overall it still needs work
Oh, and BTW, that new kit hasn’t seen wide release since Revell went bankrupt
My take on paint then assemble, or assemble and paint- regardless of genre of model, I always find it is yes and yes. That is, it is a mix. If there are any seams that are not there on the real ship, these joints must be treated/smoothed after assembly. If there are no such seams, you can paint all parts on tree, then assemble, remembering to scrape away glue at joints. But I find on most ship kits there are always some seams to fill. So it becomes a paint, assembly, paint assemble, repeat. Typical seams on ships are hull halves, deckhouse panel and roof seams. Since that kit has a once piece hull, that eliminates one big seam, but there may be other subassemblies that will need treating seams.
I find every kit, even in same genre, is different. My first step, before building, is to read and study instructions thoroughly, and analyze best order of painting and assembly, and make notes in instructions.
Ed - thanks for the info. Gonna think on how to get rid of the seams the best way so its flush and even. Also, what exacylt are you referring to when you mention depression railing - the 2 piece railing pieces for each tub or something else?
Don - tks too!!
Looking forward to practing some new skills!!
I built this about thirty years ago. It is a very basic kit, I wouldn’t say “poor” and I’m not one to call things bad when they are just old. But it’s really a after-school kit made for the model builder of about 1968.
IMO it’s kind of like an older Monogram or Tamiya tank model. A lot of molded on detail that isn’t particularily nice. Have you ever built the Monogram M48?
I’d paint it after assembly. pretty much all one color.
I’d also suggest looking for some books about the subject. That will teach you alot.
Building this as 109 is complicated.
First off, there’s a ton of info out there, more than a lot of it contradictory.
So, you, as the modeler have to bone up on a lot of gouge just to know between the various options before starting.
Now, for 2¢ 109 at about time of loss is a horrible model subject.
For one, there were a bunch of ad hoc modifications with poor documentation at the time (or even now). Things like whether or not you ought have the portside depthcharge mounted or not. Whether the 37mm gun on the foredeck was an M1A antitakgun with or without its M3 mount; or if it was a coaxial mount scavenged from a P-39 AirCobra. In case you needed more stuff, there’s a huge debate out the mast on 109. To top that off, pretty much everyone agrees 109 was painted, slopily, with brushes and mops, in some locally-acquired green paint.
So, an accurate scale model of 109 is a monochrome green between pea soup and olive, over virtually every surface, with an unmaked waterline over a green gray, or red bottom, with some sort of gun out on the foredeck, mounting unknown. No hull numbers, not that much distinctive at all.
Now, 109 in as delivered fit, might be easier, no changes to the weapons, probably gray with a blue-gray deck over probably either red or black bottom, with 12" tall hull numbers.
Really, on of the 19’s sisters might be easier, since you can pick a few reference photos, and model away.
Your mileage may vary.
havent done the M48. Looks good though. Paint to be done afterwards… Already found a missing piece though - part of the stand. Oh well…
yep. tks. a lot of info out there and a lot of hard to read photos. gonna just roll with it and use it as a chance to practice priming and painting i guess. gotta do it - a present from the wife from last year!! tks
I have the gigantic motorized version and it is pretty well injected. I no longer have the box…but I do have the hull and most of the parts…What to do with it?
Rob
simple and basic - yes and yes… There’s no legs for this poor gunner. YIKES!! [^o)]
Hi,
I built that kit decades ago when I was a teenager. The one big issue that I had was keeping the deck glued to the hull. It probably had a lot to do with my limited skills at the time, but I guess its something to be careful of, and take time to make sure that you have a good connections there for glueing.
PF
PS. One of my embarassing weaknesses is that I have gotten hooked on some Japanese Cartoons/Anime. In particular there is one called “Black Lagoon” that is supposed to be set in Thailand in the 1990s that centers around a small group of smugglers/gray-market couriers, who use an old PT boat. In watching the episodes it looked to me like the animators had used an old PT109 kit as a basis of for their 3D model. In addition, in a later episode they run afoul of another smuggler who operates a couple PBRs which looked reminded me of the old Tamiya kit.
One word of caution though about the cartoon is that the language is very coarse and alot of the action is way over the top (almost to the point of being corny), but it is a “guilty pleasure” of mine [:P] and I have from time to time thought about maybe buying the old Revell PT boat model and doing it up as the boat from this series.
Rob,
That sounds like the old Lindberg 1/32 scale kit, which was about 30 inches long, and sold with cheap “toy grade” motors and running gear. It is another Lindbergh classic, originally released in 1978.
Lots of people have converted them to RC- a google search will turn up lots of examples. Hard to say what to do with it - depends in part on what “…most of the parts” means…!
Bill
Little boxes that had a cover. Filled with grease to seal the prop shafts.
Most of the parts means I have all the boat parts…just not all the motor running parts…like water box grease and the decals. All the molded part sprews are intact. I’ve had it for years, and was thinking of making it RC. The hull is nicely formed and injected.
Rob
Okay, so I’m getting ready to wrap it up and I’m looking for a suggestion on a main color. I have MM enamels and Tamayia acrylics. Prefer to use the Tamayias. Its ready for 1 more coat of primer. I hope I didn’t make a mistake using the rustoleum. It was a little tacky on the edges even after drying a days or 2. No so much now. Has a warning on the can about using with polyethylene plastics and adhersion. Never used rustoleum before, but boy did it go on nice! At least I was impressed. Suggestions on paint appreciated. Tks!!
That looks fine. Finish up smoothing the putty on the seams and try to just hit those area’s again with your gray primer. I have used that same brand of Rattle can and it works good on plastic. I even like the color. You could leave it as your main hull and superstructure color. Maybe something darker on the deck. I recommend a good anti-fouling red on the bottom. When it comes to the details like Horn, guns, mounts, Wheel, exhausts, etc., there is a lot of room for your own “expression”. I don’t know what supplies you have on hand but filling the searchlight with some Testors clear parts cement would give it a nice lens appearance.
Some Ideas:
:
Was there or was there not boot topping? Certainly no 20mm on the bow. (That looks more like a 78’ Higgins, not the Elco 80’ PT-109)
Maybe go for the probable Green vertical surfaces and lighter deck:
Or a nice “just got here” look: (Grey everywhere above the waterline)
(For the experts: Is that boot topping, or is it “Scum”.)
The Movie PT 109 was pretty interesting. It looks more “Blue”:
It always your choice. Have fun.
Nino
P.S. Nice job with the spray paint. Really got good coverage and a nice finish.
Hey Nino - tks for the thumbs up on the primer job! I was impressed wit the stuff.
Now the drag - I thought, was hoping, that after i sanded the putty spots a little more, they would be good to go and i sprayed them again. Yuck! I should have known better. Guess i was hoping they wouldnt look toooo bad when dome again. But, im not pleased with em. So, decision time - re-re-sand or just keep going. Maybe ill chlk it up to lesson learned and just go with it as is.
Also, still trying to decide on colors. Been looking around on the web - what a surprise - had no idea there were so many variations. Makes it tougher. I also call the local library to see if they had any books on Higgins and to my surprise, none. I still dont believe it as they were based here in new orleans. Might try that one again. But i did come across the same site that Nino posted from and this one - ptboatworld.com - which has a lot of interesting stuff. Finally, on that site i saw mention of a merit international 1:48 elco boat kit. being new to this i know nothing about merit. are they good? seems like an expensive kit. i tried to find them on the web, but all i got was i think a store called merit international. tks. this is now where i am…
I would say forge ahead.
If you want to try further fixing I have a few ideas. I hope some other folks will make suggestions too.
For the GAPS: If you have some “Mister Surfacer”, (a liquid filler), you could try that for the gaps. I have had somewhat satisfiying resuilts with white glue as a filler too. I use it on spots that will not require sanding and are areas that are not easily seen on the model.
For any blemishes you can try sanding a tiny bit more with a fine grade and then polishing with a 1000 to 3000 grit paper. That should help blend the existing rough sanding spots but not sand away much paint so you may not have to repaint. I recommend using a Matte sealer on the entire model after all painting/'sanding is done.
I have used Testors Dulcote for sealing. If you do decide to use a spraycan flat clear finish, test it on somethng first. I had used Modpodge matte sealer and a non-name brand Clear Acrylic Matte sealer in the past. They tended to darken the color. All seemed to hide my glossy glue spots and blend the Brush painting into a more uniform look but Testors seemed the best to me.
I saw you mentioned Higgins PT Boats. There are several WWII classes of PT’s. Elco made a 77’ boat and The 80’ boat (PT 109). Higgins made a 78" PT boat which is quite different looking from Elco’s designs. Huchkins also made a few 78’ PT boats of their own design.
For Plastic model kits Revell made the 1/72 scale Elco 80’ model kit as PT109, PT 117, PT 167, and a PT 190 “Jack of Diamonds” with roll-off torpedo racks instead of tubes. Revell also made a 1/98 scale Higgins 78’ model as PT 207, PT 211, and PT 212.
No Plastic Elco 77’ models though.
PtBoat World has some good references:
https://www.ptboatworld.com/PT_Boat_Info/PT-Camouflage.html
Nino
P.S. This Revell Elco 80’ PT 109 kit is a fun model. I remember trying to glue cardboard into the hull for the Dayroom when I was 12 (1964). Your PT boat is looking good. Get some details painted. The internet actually has good references on PT boats and there are many WW2 photo’s although low resolution. I probably need to build this kit again. With Revell’s new release and upgrade of the PT109 kit, I won’t have to use cardboard for the interior anymore.