Revell 1/72 P.T. 109 W/WEM PE

[robtmelvin]

I wanted to share my recent build of P.T. 109 at the time of her loss.  She was done with White Ensign's excellent PE set.  Paint was Tropical Green, also by WEM, as is the 37 milimeter gun mounted on the bow.  On the whole, I'm very satisfied with her.  The torpedo tubes were sanded down of all detail except for the very front and very back, then the details were added from the PE set and scratch building of the retaining bands (wire) and access panels (styrene stock).  I also did some scratch building on the cockpit shielding to make it more accurate.  The only thing I'm really not happy with is the cord securing the 37mm.  I found some hemp cord that I thought would be a good substitute for the manila hemp rope probably used to secure the real thing, but it turned out to be a bit over sized and frayed easily.  I hope to replace it when I find a suitable substitute.  So, without further ado here it the link to the site where I have posted her photos: http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j325/robtmelvin/PT109/
Thanks for looking and comments are most welcome.
Bob
 
 

[Rokket]

Thanks for posting those Bob, she looks nice! Nicely displayed too. I see what you mean about the manilla line. Fraying might be too big in this scale. You could have a stroll through a fabric store, they often have weird thick thread and cord. I try to sue a hairless cotton, but it always has some hairs, so I soak the line in just a little paint (paper towel with some paint, draw it along). Not much paint is needed, it soaks in and shuts down the hairs. I think any slight hairs might be too long in 1:72. Hey, she's big! The cockpit looks good, worth the extra effort.

[edited typos]

[robtmelvin]

Rokket, thanks for the kind words.  If you will look at the photobucket link again you'll see that I have reworked the lashing for the 37mm.  I was able to find some three strand hemp line and stripped it down to one strand, ran it through bee's wax to keep the fraying down and used that instead of the original four strand line that looked like a hawser in 1/72 scale.  Well worth the effort in the end result.
This was really a great little kit and the WEM PE set made a world of difference in accuracy.  I've been fascinated by the 109 ever since my dad took me to see the move way back in '63.  I think it must have scarred  me for life, since I never got over it.  I recently had the opportunity to sit down and watch the movie with my 7 year old grandson, and now the bug has bitten him as well.  Great to be able to pass these things down to the younger generation.  Now, if Italieri will just go ahead and give us that big 1/35 scale 103 Class Elco.
Bob

[Rokket]

Good on the reworking! And on your grandson entering the model/ history world!

Yup, a nice 1/35 would be good.I'm going to have to add a PT to my job queue, but it's full now!