_GOTOBOTTOM
Ships by Class/Type: Military Small Craft
For topics on PT boats, landing craft, Vietnam riverine, etc.
Hosted by Jim Starkweather
Merit 1:48 Elco Early-80-footer PT Build
Fordboy
Visit this Community
Auckland, New Zealand
Joined: July 13, 2004
KitMaker: 2,169 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,597 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 07:34 AM UTC
Ahoy Tim

Nice updates again.

Thanks.

I love how there is always a Diet Coke can on the workbench somewhere hahaha


Cheers


Sean
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 05:58 PM UTC
HA!

When I got there yesterday, there were eight empties on the table, he moved them after I arrived. He's definitely a Coke guy ... at least, it's diet ...



Quoted Text

Ahoy Tim

Nice updates again.

Thanks.

I love how there is always a Diet Coke can on the workbench somewhere hahaha


Cheers


Sean
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 21, 2016 - 04:20 AM UTC
Got a lot done on it today, piddling little details stuff. Looking more and more like the 191 in the photo. The torpedo racks (from another kit) are on, the hatches are on, the cleats are on and the toe-rails, and the anchor is on ... Next week, we start adding the late-war additions to it as well as putting the base color on the hull of the camouflage scheme.

Here are two photos of the torpedoes being tested in the racks on the port side to verify the correct location of the racks and one of the racks on the starboard side, sans torpedoes.





Tim
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
Visit this Community
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
Model Shipwrights: 476 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 21, 2016 - 04:35 AM UTC
Loving this blog.
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 28, 2016 - 02:00 AM UTC
This week, Stan put on the depth charge racks and glued the depth charges together, but didn’t glue them on the racks, he’ll paint the hull first and then, put the depth charges, guns and torpedoes on. He put the SO-Radar mast on as well. The radar mast and the depth charges and their racks are from SHAPEWAYS. The green colored rings you see glued on the deck are from a REVELL 1:72 PT-109 kit, these are being used as the bases for the 37mm and one of the 20mm guns. The 191 did not have those two guns on the circular-shaped bases normally seen on PTs for some reason, in the photos being used as references show the guns mounted on the deck just on the tripod mounts.









Tim
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 04, 2016 - 01:17 AM UTC
No photos this week, but Stan installed the prop shafts, struts and rudders, masked the hull and put the first coat of Copperoyd bottom paint on. I like it.

If you use the AK paint set with a Merit PT kit, just a word of caution ... the bronze (for the propellers) paint will not adhere to the plastic. Stan feels that you might need to prime them first before using the bronze paint. He then used a bronze paint, normally used for model trains, on the props.
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 02:07 AM UTC
This week was spent masking the bottom of the hull to cover the AK INTERACTIVE Copperoyd while Stan painted the topside with one of the Greens for the Measure 31/5P scheme.

To me, it appears that it'll take a couple of coats inasmuch it doesn't seem to cover that well. Here's something that I never knew; Stan told me me that you need to apply the lighter shade first and then, the darker one. He said that if you were to apply the darker shade first, it'd bleed through the lighter shade.







Tim
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Friday, September 02, 2016 - 04:17 AM UTC
Yesterday, I went to Stan's. He marked out the camouflage scheme and painted some of it. He also started to build the 40mm, M3 Bofors (without the back railing as per my 'instructions' to him) ... I brought my camera with me, but for some reason, none of the photos came out that well.
Robbd01
#323
Visit this Community
Arizona, United States
Joined: February 13, 2013
KitMaker: 791 posts
Model Shipwrights: 59 posts
Posted: Wednesday, September 07, 2016 - 01:03 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I certainly will be watching. I have that kit in the stash and was waiting for a build post. So post them pics and build notes. I do have a question, anywhere I can pick up a 1/48 US 37mm gun in case I want to do the 109?


Cheers



Watching the progress. So since my search for a 37mm gun is pretty much impossible, I thought I try another approach. So being a PT boat Noob and wanting to build this thing out of the box as much as I can, what PT number boat would you recommend I could do with what comes in the box and still be close to accurate? I thought maybe doing one when they were in Panama but I see from some of the reference pictures that the aft torpedoes were replace with depth charges. Is anyone making AM depth charges for this thing? Ugh why can't this be easy :/

Cheers
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Wednesday, September 07, 2016 - 01:18 AM UTC
Hello,

This is the Merit EARLY ELCO 80-FOOTER kit. So, one can make any boat of the 103 to 196 series. Why don't you look on SHAPEWAYS to see if anyone there creates one ...

Does this help you?

OK, back to work on a 5 page paper, bye guys.


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I certainly will be watching. I have that kit in the stash and was waiting for a build post. So post them pics and build notes. I do have a question, anywhere I can pick up a 1/48 US 37mm gun in case I want to do the 109?


Cheers



Watching the progress. So since my search for a 37mm gun is pretty much impossible, I thought I try another approach. So being a PT boat Noob and wanting to build this thing out of the box as much as I can, what PT number boat would you recommend I could do with what comes in the box and still be close to accurate? I thought maybe doing one when they were in Panama but I see from some of the reference pictures that the aft torpedoes were replace with depth charges. Is anyone making AM depth charges for this thing? Ugh why can't this be easy :/

Cheers
Robbd01
#323
Visit this Community
Arizona, United States
Joined: February 13, 2013
KitMaker: 791 posts
Model Shipwrights: 59 posts
Posted: Wednesday, September 07, 2016 - 01:40 AM UTC
Well, Well, Well. They do make them. Sweet.

http://www.shapeways.com/product/CQSGMRCHA/1-48-pt-boat-depth-charge-w-rack-set-1?optionId=59970724&li=marketplace





Quoted Text

Hello,

This is the Merit EARLY ELCO 80-FOOTER kit. So, one can make any boat of the 103 to 196 series. Why don't you look on SHAPEWAYS to see if anyone there creates one ...

Does this help you?

OK, back to work on a 5 page paper, bye guys.


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I certainly will be watching. I have that kit in the stash and was waiting for a build post. So post them pics and build notes. I do have a question, anywhere I can pick up a 1/48 US 37mm gun in case I want to do the 109?


Cheers



Watching the progress. So since my search for a 37mm gun is pretty much impossible, I thought I try another approach. So being a PT boat Noob and wanting to build this thing out of the box as much as I can, what PT number boat would you recommend I could do with what comes in the box and still be close to accurate? I thought maybe doing one when they were in Panama but I see from some of the reference pictures that the aft torpedoes were replace with depth charges. Is anyone making AM depth charges for this thing? Ugh why can't this be easy :/

Cheers
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, September 15, 2016 - 05:36 AM UTC
Stan finished the 40mm today. Although, he needs to replace the PE gunsights for it which were lost and also not included.

He also hand-painted the scheme, just to get its "shapes" on the hull, he'll airbrush the second/last coat on later and feather the edges as well. I am thinking he'll need to lighten-up the lighter green. But, that's me. I COULD be wrong.

I really like the build.







Tim
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 03:29 AM UTC
Stan finished the Bofors 40mm for my PT-191, he also sprayed Green 3 on to the hull today – and painted the 3-D printed .30-caliber “stinger” but that photo didn’t come out that clear. Stan also painted the warheads of the Mark XIII torpedoes. Here are some photos:



Tim
Fordboy
Visit this Community
Auckland, New Zealand
Joined: July 13, 2004
KitMaker: 2,169 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,597 posts
Posted: Monday, October 10, 2016 - 04:53 AM UTC
Ahoy Garth

Great updates indeed.

Its shaping up to be a very nice build indeed.

Cheers


Sean
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2016 - 04:20 AM UTC
A little update on my Merit 1:48 early-war Elco as PT-191: Stan made a little more progress on my 191. He glued the .30-cal "Stinger" on the deck. He glued it too forward though. I'll email him later and ask him to move it back and glue one leg of it to the torpedo rack ... he glued the 40mm on as well. He also glued the 3D printed mufflers on with the kit's dampener cables. They look good. Here's a photo of the .30-cal.

Tim
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, November 03, 2016 - 06:12 AM UTC
Went to Stan’s today, … my PT-191 is nearing completion. I (and Stan) estimate that “we” have one more week and then, it’ll be done. Today, he glued the 37mm M4, from SHAPEWAYS onto the foredeck, modified two 20mms from Merit’s late-war Elco kit to represent the two 20mm guns that the 191 had her foredeck in 1944-45. Also, he created the twin .50 that the 191 had just forward of her starboard forward torpedo … The last time I was there (three weeks ago) he glued the depth charges that I got from SHAPEWAYS where the 191 had them over the transom, and he also glued the 40mm (also from Merit’s late-war Elco) into the place. Also, he put on the mufflers that I got from SHAPEWAYS on and mated them with the control arms and dampeners from the Merit early-Elco 80-footer kit. Another thing he glued on was the SO-Type radar from SHAPEWAYS. An interesting side-note, it did not come with a cradle for when the mast was folded down, but luckily, Tony Chin sent one in with the extra ready service lockers, the 40mm and the two 20mms and the Mark XIII torpedoes from the late-war Elco.
Before those of you inflicted with AMS get all bent out of shape and tell me the 191 probably didn’t have the heater installed, and I know that she didn’t have the spray shield behind the heater … The model looked uncomplete without those two items, so, I chose early on to have Stan put them on ... also … the 191 seemed to have had a field installed box structure on the outside of her portside cockpit bulkhead, I chose to have Stan not do one, but I might email him and ask him to make one.
I realize that – in the photos – AK INTERACTIVE’s Copperoyd bottom paint looks too red … but in person, it does have that muddy-reddish color like the real paint.
Here are some photos …








Tim


Quoted Text

A little update on my Merit 1:48 early-war Elco as PT-191: Stan made a little more progress on my 191. He glued the .30-cal "Stinger" on the deck. He glued it too forward though. I'll email him later and ask him to move it back and glue one leg of it to the torpedo rack ... he glued the 40mm on as well. He also glued the 3D printed mufflers on with the kit's dampener cables. They look good. Here's a photo of the .30-cal.

Tim
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, November 17, 2016 - 06:11 AM UTC
Today, I went to Stan’s to pick up my model of PT-191. I am very impressed with the finished model. Stan truly did an excellent job on it. I feel that it is one of his best efforts. To give me what I wanted; a PT-191 as she appeared in 1944/45, when RON 12 was station in the Philippines, Stan took the following from 1:48 Merit’s late-war Elco 80-footer PT kit:
The 40mm, M3 Bofors gun
Two 20mm Oerlikon guns on Mark XIV mounts
Four ready-service lockers
The cradle for the SO-radar
And the following parts ordered from www.shapeways.com:
A 37mm M4 on a Mark XIV mount
A twin .50-cal machine gun (which the 191 had field-mounted forward of her starboard forward torpedo rack)
A SO-radar mast and dome
The Depth charges
The mufflers
And, combined them with Merit’s early-war Elco 80-footer PT kit. The model is depicted in Measure 31/5P. The paints came from AK INTERACTIVE, via Merit (and Tony Chin). The 48-star flag is from AMP and the decals were especially-created for me by Mark from STARFIGHTER DECALS.
Here are some photos:




Tim
TRM5150
Visit this Community
Massachusetts, United States
Joined: January 03, 2010
KitMaker: 2,159 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,400 posts
Posted: Thursday, November 17, 2016 - 04:31 PM UTC
Congratulations to you and Stan on getting this one to the finish line! Fine looking PT!
TGarthConnelly
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: August 03, 2008
KitMaker: 875 posts
Model Shipwrights: 872 posts
Posted: Thursday, November 17, 2016 - 09:11 PM UTC
Thanks, Todd. I'm proud of it.
 _GOTOTOP