1/350 Elco 77-Foot PT Boat.

[Rhino]

I moved this project. MTB Squadron 3 thread was all the way out of hand. I never did mean to get carried away in such a fashion. I never mean to.

It was the 77-foot Elco PT boats of MTB Squadron 2 that carried the fight to the Tokyo Express off Guadalcanal from their Tulagi base in during the dark days of 1943.

This is my gap filling trick in action. I had a nasty gouge in the stern of my hull. Mark with Sharpie. Dab your tiny bit of C/A glue on, gently sand and repeat until the gouge is fully filled. I was working on mufflers and exhaust pipes when I found this flaw.

I need 4 torpedo tube masters to mold for each PT. 21-inch torpedo tube diameters scale to .0625 or 1/16 of an inch at 3/4 of an inch overall.
The smaller brass tube is mathematically correct, but just looks too small. The larger tube is 3/32 or .9375 in diameter. Just a shade too big.
Heaven help me! Whaddyagonnado?
That was as far as I got on the 77' today.

 

[moon puppy]

I think once you get them on their mounts the correct size will look right.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Don't forget the superstructure. Having that in place will change the appearance a lot.

 

[Rhino]

1941 PT-41 or 1943 PT-61? 2 or 4 torpedo tubes? Both? Time will tell.

 

[Rhino]

Don't forget the superstructure. Having that in place will change the appearance a lot.

I think you and Pup are right. I can see the whole Boat looking at her so far. You can't argue with math, facts or truth.

 

[moon puppy]

View attachment 153398View attachment 153397
1941 PT-41 or 1943 PT-61? 2 or 4 torpedo tubes? Both? Time will tell.

Zoom in on PT66 and tell me who the mechanic is without tell me...

 

[Rhino]

Zoom in on PT66 and tell me who the mechanic is without tell me...

Holly Molly! It's Paul Schafer!!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

All I see is a bunch of skinny guys in swim trunks, and one guy looking like a homeless person.

 

[Rhino]

Dennis Hopper then? Harry Dean Stanton? John Kerry's dad?
Give Pup!

 

[moon puppy]

The guy in the cruddy coveralls.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

The guy in the cruddy coveralls.

Yeah, the guy that looks like a homeless guy.

 

[Rhino]

Elco Forward torpedo tube #1, started. There has GOT to be an easier way to do this! I have to make 4 torpedo tube masters.
Yes my friends, The tubes differ slightly from fore to aft mountings. (knock, knock knock.) Hello, Model Monkey?

 

[Rhino]

Hold the phone!

Narrow Seas Range | atlanticmodels.net

Scrolling down, one can see that Atlantic Models produces this very same vessel. Ordering a kit on their website seems cumbersome. We shall see.

 

[moon puppy]

The Scoundrels!

 

[Rhino]

Oh, no. This may be a HUGE plus! If the quality is up to my exacting PT Boat standards this will have saved me months of agonizing, detailed research and mastering.
It depends very much on how the old British molds have fared since 2014 when they closed. $20.26 USD is well below my expected price point.
We'll see how this shakes out.

 

[Rhino]

Conn, Emergency stop!
Helm answers all stop, Captain.

The TLAR Models 1/350 Elco 77-foot PT Boat project screeches to halt.
The label says "Elco 70 Foot PT-34" but she measures a shade over 25 meters long in 1/350. We ALL know PT-34 was a 77-foot Elco boat! (She doesn't have any mufflers.............) Elco 70-footers had straight pipes. They were fast and NOISY

Order placed 4 December. Order arrived today, 13 days later. $20.65 with fine detail and Pee parts is much better price than I would have sold my time intensive creation for, without any brass. It's missing deck planking details, mufflers and the hatch in the lazarette. Torpedo tubes are rudimentary, but otherwise it's a beautiful casting!
This is a full hull model, so waterline sanding may well ensue!
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[iambrb]

Guy in the coveralls has. Schnoz (nose) like Sean Penn

 

[MrT]

 

[moon puppy]

PT Boat theme song.

 

[Duke Maddog]

PT Boat theme song.

I'll have to save that and play it while building the remaining PT-type boats I have in the queue.