The Ship Model Forum

David,

In regard to my comment about Thom and the toilet paper in the propellers of the torpedo; to refresh your memory:

From the PTBI board; I got confused; I meant to say impeller - NOT propellers, my bad ...

"Cluster had transferred over onto the 109, Tregaskis wrote, and "riding in the cockpit with Kennedy, was full of questions about the 80-footers. His own boat, and all the previous boats he had commanded, had been the older, 77-foot type, and he was very curious. He finally asked Kennedy if he could try the wheel. Being essentially a sea-going cavalryman like most good PT men, Cluster couldn't resist the temption to try out the manuverability and speed of the 80-footer. He swung into several turns, and then, as he later related the incident..."

The following is a direct quote from Cluster:

"I got to going quite fast to try and stay on top of the waves, but I miscalculated and finally plowed into one at high speed. The port forward torpedo came charging out of its tube (not all the way) with its turbine going full blast and building up pressure in the tube.

"Lenny Thom, Jack's exec, took toilet paper and stuffed it in the impeller mechanism of the warhead so that the torpedo would not arm itself if it went into the water... About this time, the pressures of the exhaust in the tube built up and launched the torpedo straight into the forward depth charge (fortunately unarmed), driving it right through the plywood deck, where it fell through the crew's living quarters and went through two empty bunks."

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

Dave,

I think unless you had a monster case, like a museum might have, putting the 37, or a "fish" beside the boat would be too cluttered and take away from the boat itself. I was thinking of having a separate base and case nearby with the 37 and torp and possibly a figure for scale. That's a long ways off though. I definitely like your lasered base, and that would be WAY too busy with the boat, fish, and gun. I like the less is more idea. As far as color goes, how were those pics colorized? As far as being a rivet counter, the idea appeals to me, but has to be a source of anguish. Unless you have the thing in your backyard, how can you be completely sure of anything? Then some turkey comes a long who just loves to take the wind out of your sails with some silly thing, but has accomplished nothing himself. I always liked the reasonable possibility train of thought. Nobody can really argue that. And in the end this is all about personal gratification. I do not model for someone else, just me.

Just in case anyone is interested in knowing;

The Revell book is still being edited. As soon as I hear more, I'll pass it along.

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

Great idea on the case Kurt. I'm looking forward to it. You may want to check with Royal American Services if you decide to do the laser engraving. They were at IPMS this year. They do nice work and seem to be reasonable. Check your local sources as well as mentioned earlier. Here's the link to Royal American...

http://www.royalamericanengravers.com

I only offer the color photos as a point of reference. I look at the the other colors in the photos, skin tones, etc. and they all look pretty good. I completely agree that you should go with what works for you and be happy with it. You can't worry about others unless your a contest builder which is hit or miss anyway. You can't worry about the Turkeys. As I always say, make it your own.

Dave

Dave, Thanks for the link. Looks interesting. Maybe I will make a small plaque instead of engraving the base.

Kurt

The other day, my publisher told me that, most probably, a final proof draft of my Revell PT book will be ready in January.

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

Dateline .................. NOW.

My publisher now says the proof draft should be here by the end of next week.

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

I'm thinking about a new project and am wondering if it's been done before.

I ordered Italeri's 1/35 PT 109 and am thinking about scratchbuilding the interior. I was pondering doing it either "cutaway" style or making the deck removable.

Is there an example of this done anywhere out in internet land?

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-Jason Channell

Current Project: 1/200 Bismarck

From my publisher yesterday:

As I mentioned I have produced it using a less expensive color
printing method. The big advantage is being able to offer the book at
$19.95 vs. the $31.95 price of the previous book.

The downside is that the photo reproduction is not as good. I won't go
into details on what I'm seeing; I'd rather send you the proof and get
your comments. I'll send it out tomorrow to your Ellington address.

If the quality does not meet your approval then we have to return to
using the same printing method that the Italeri book used. The photo
reproduction will be better but the price per page is more than three
times as high. Because this book is 60+ pages longer than the Italeri
book in paperback the Revell book would have to be priced around
$42.95.

At the moment I'm thinking that a hybrid approach might be best.
Because all the work on the inside of the book is done it would be
relatively easy to offer a premium edition of the book printed using
the earlier process. I would issue this in hardcover instead of
paperback and retail it for $59.95, the same price as the Eaglewall
book I published. We would also release the $19.95 budget paperback at
the same time. This would give customers a choice. If they really
wanted top quality they could have it at a price. If not they can get
the inexpensive paperback edition.

_________________
"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

Jason,
Denny White from our local Denver club has spent the past years working on the inside of one of the 1/35 boats. His work is based on Dick's Elco DVD's and several of his beautiful posters and calendars. While he has not completed it yet he is doing everything right down to the interior hull planking and deck beams. My understanding is that he plans to display it with the deck lifted off and at an angle so you can see both the deck bottom and the interior of the boat at the same time. I'll pass your email address along and possibly we can get him to post some pictures of his progress as it is beautiful work - reminds me of your patience with the Gato. Dave Waples, Denny and I are in the same club and between us are currently working on (or working and planning out) 5 of the big boats. 3 of the 596 boats and 2 of the new 109 boats.
Jerry

Hey Jerry, I haven't heard from you in a while! I remember you telling me about your PTs and would love to see what you guys are doing. I'm deep into a Bismarck build at the moment (and still need to paint my Gato) but my cache got a bit bigger yesterday nevertheless:



I want to go "all out" on this one too and am slowly making plans. As usual I know little about the subject material and thought it would be best to become a "junior honorary PT boat expert" before I started cutting plastic this time.

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-Jason Channell

Current Project: 1/200 Bismarck

Jason ...

Hello.

CHRIS DALEY PUBLISHING has a book regarding the ITALERI PT-596 kit that might help you, sir.

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

What is considered a good deal/price for the Italeri PT-109?

In the US Freetime Hobbies has been selling it for $140 plus shipping. I don't think I've seen anything less than that. If you're in Europe you can buy directly from Italeri with free shipping for about the same price.
Dave

$99 plus shipping from Hong Kong: http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=IT%205613

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De quoi s'agit-il?

DAVID, TIMMY:

Thanks for the info.
I got one on ebay for $122 including shipping from Hong Kong.
I've read a bunch of good reviews about the Italeri PT-109. I may have made a mistake in that I forgot it's a recent model released only a few months ago, so maybe I should have waited until later this year for a lower price.
I wonder if Italeri is going to release figures for the PT-109 like it did for the PT-596.
I was leaning towards the perennial Revell 1/72 PT-109 which is pretty cheap because I had one as a kid when it was originally released. It would be a great addition to my nostalgia collection.

That's a good price, now or in the future. Italeri is releasing an upgrade set for this kit this year. I think it's very likely that they will release a crew set. Not sure exactly when though. I hope you enjoy your kit. Feel free to reach out with any questions you have.
Dave

I have just sent this to my publisher, so I guess that means the book will be out "soon":

Mr. Daley (and my fellow contributors)

The proof copy came today. I've looked through it. It doesn't look all that bad to me. But, by the same token, I think all of my books don't look that bad. That said, I still don't think it's all that bad. Meaning; I think "we" could go with the $19.95 a copy version, and that, in all honesty, will be my final recommendation to Mr. Daley.

I will look at it again later and again tomorrow as well, but the way I feel? I'd say go with it in the $19.95 version as that will help generate sales.

Garth

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"You've got a question, I've got an answer."

DAVIDWAPLES:

Do you have any details on the PT-109 upgrade?

Well I know what I asked for and I know what's on the artwork they used on their catalog. They are still engineering this kit and I haven't seen the final product or know everything that will appear. Below is the artwork and here's what I was able to gather from that...

1. There are the two variants of SO Radar. The difference being in the shape of the dome and the framework of the mast. This was a bonus in my mind.
2. Spray shield for the aft 20mm Oerlikon in the event you want to make her coming out of the factory. Most crews ditched the spray shield once in the field.
3. Both Mk VIII and Mk. XIII torpedoes. They are going to provide roll off racks but they hadn't decided if they would use molded pieces or make some from photo etch.
4. A correct life raft.
5. 40mm Bofors
6. Extra depth charges.

I believe there will be other items included in this set but not sure what they will be yet. I sent them a wish list so I'm hoping some of those items make the cut.