Hey all,

Thought I would give the blog thing a try. I started on my Vosper today. One thing that I discovered that I didn't see when I did the in box review was the deck doesn't match the hull. Right where the deck makes a step up at the front of the boat (sorry guys it's late) the deck has a serious over hang. I could try gluing what I can down then do the trim to fit and putty (major) the open spots but I decided to go a different route. I wanted to put planking down on the deck so since my deck needs major help I'll try my hand at making a deck. I have it started but I'll have to post a pic tomorrow, getting late here in MI.

I warned you about those Vospers needing a lot of gap filling. I got so frustrated that i set it down for 10 years going back only twice to do some work. This time I persevered, but this won't be a showpiece. Just hoping I can put a good enouh paint job to sit beside my old PT 109. Sure gonna look bad when I do the S-Boot.

Don't go scaring me away guys. I have plans on displaying the S-Boote, PT-109, and Vosper side by side. Hmmm... do I tackle the hardest one, the Vosper, first, and get it out of the way, or do the two better kits and put off doing the Vosper as long as possible?

The vosper is a good kit (for the time period it was made). There is some work to be done but aside from the deck being off and the weapons needing some help the rest of the kit is pretty good. I did notice one thing though, when I cut the hull from the spru I did manage to mar the plastic in one or two spots........ weird.

Rodger, I was thinkng of the same thing...haveing all the PT boats together. There is a russian PT boat out there also but I don't know what time frame it was around.

Don't forget that Japanese monster. KIt made by Tamiya. It isn't cheap, but search for it on ebay and you can get it discounted or get the Minihobbies version for a song.

Hey all,

I know I haven't posted a pic of my deck. After much thought I have decided to go back and use the supplied deck from the kit. I tried making my own deck but I wasn't happy with the results and to fix the deck I made would just take more time than it's worth. I have been thinking of painting the deck a natural wood color (to get experiance for future kits), has any one seen a vosper with a natural wood color deck? I know its not the norm for this kit but I thought I would buck the syestem and give it a go.

Hey all,

I have a question.......



The six small cylinders jutting out from the back of the boat, what are these called? Are they supposed to have an opening? Does any one have a picture of the back of a Vosper that shows these items?

Frank,
I had a quick look at the Imperial War Museum website and could only find one pic of the sterns of 3 MTB's with one in the foreground loading a torp (image D12509 if you're interested).
None of the sterns in view showed the cylinder things you're referring to.
Maybe it was something to do with the engine instilation of the US built Vospers.
Can you find out what yard(s) built them in the US and try to back-track that way.
Have you thought of scratching a 2pdr (40mm) pom-pom mounting for the bow of your MTB. I believe some British boats mounted one in this position.
TTFN
Tom

Engine exhaust pipes. Yes should have holes so the exhaust can get out. I'm basing this on the location and knowledge of the mufler system on the ELCO. As to natural wood color. would go with a NO. Yoou might get away with patchy to depict heavy use, but to go along with that you would have to really super weather it. Besides, the crew wouldn't allow it to get in really bad shape as paint was very neccessary to preserve and protect.

Steve,
My initial thought was also exhaust pipes, but I believe this kit comes with an exhaust system that has to be attached to the transom? You can see the locator holes in Frank's pic.
Tom

Alleycat,
I belive blaster is right. There are parts that attached to those location holes but thet also butt up to the cylinders. I thought they may be a muffler of some type but being molded the way they were it almost looked like a blackout drive light. I know a boat wouldn't have those but I try not to go by what I assume(being I thought they were mufflers). I wanted to check first almost like measure twice cut once. I have a habit of cutting first then measuring....lol!

The six protrusions are supposed to represent the exhaust pipes for the three Packards in this boat. The vertical pieces are supposed to represent mufflers, but are not interpreted well. Like the ELCOs, the outlets on the exhaust pipes had a butterfly valve that directed exhaust flow. Running full bore, the valves were open and bypassed the mufflers; running silent, the valves were closed and redirected the exhaust through the mufflers, the outlets for which were below the water.

On the original VOSPER design, the exhausts exited the sides of the hull, two to port, one to starboard. The mufflers ("Dumbflow silencers") were in the engineroom.

Those two rectangles with the four pipes in them on the transom are supposed to represent the chemical smoke pot holders.

Here are the inboard drawings for the engineroom and exhaust on this series:


Al Ross

6 exhaust pipes. I take it the Packards were a vee engine? then, one exhaust per bank.
Frank, a quick question. Are you just improving the kit to depict a US built Vosper or trying for a British one? If the latter you'll need to find some 0.5" Vickers MGs to go in the turrets.
Tom
EDIT: I've just seen your diagram Al, they are indeed 'V' engines.

allycat,

I'm trying to go for the american vosper.

Hey all,

Been working this weekend so no bench time but I'll be off for a week due to some hand surgery so maybe some bench time towards the end of the week.

Question for all of you..... Was the British Carley Floats similar to the American life rafts(life boats) that was on the PT boats?

Hey all,
I did a goggle search for Dumbflow silencers and I got this story......Thought it was kinda neat and ya gotta love the title..



Softly Softly Catchy Monkey
by DocDoom

We leave port and once clear of the immediate area go to full step-plane and 40 knots. The triple V-12 Allisons (1,700 cu.in. x 3) each of our 4 boats carries roar their deep throated burble through the dumbflow silencers.

We near the coast, well ahead of the time the enemy ships are expected to appear. We throttle back to 8 knots, to lower the sound of our exhaust and to reduce dramatically the phospheressence of our wake in the moonlight. We creep along the coast until we are about 5 miles out from the enemy port entrance.

We clutch the engines and drift, manoeuvring only to maintain our position just north of the outer entrance buoy. Everyones eyes scan the horizon for any sign of anything dark and ominous.

For our targets. The sole object of our existance at this time.

A voice crackles in my ear. "Doc .. I got 3 silouettes 40 degrees off to starboard."

"CC ... that must be them. Slowly, 8 knots everyone, come around to the port side, and fan out about d10 seperation. Put them between us and the moon."

We swing around so that the moon is behind them. This strengthens their silouettes and hides our phospheressence a little better. It also leaves us backdropped by the coastline, so we are much harder to see while we creep forward at maximum torpedo launch speed, a vulnerable 8 knots.

The engines can hardly be heard outside a thousand yards ... but at the 6oo yard launch window an alert sentry would hear them.

We creep forwards ... setting the angle in the sights for a good spread ... closer, waiting for ...

Tracer !

A curtain of flitting spitting snakes of fire erupt in front of us. The sea off to the side and slightly ahead of us churns to whitewater fury. Their gunners are slightly short, and not exactly sure of our true position.

"Fire !" and within moments of each other, our two fish heave themselves out of their tubes and plummet into the sea.

"Crash start ! Steer to port 120 degrees, full boost !"

The engines roar into being and our 70 foot Vospers begin to rise out of the water and heel over as the 3 rudders bite hard and we begin our run out of the hell that has exploded around us.

We take three 20mm hits in the transom, but suffer no casualties other than the litheful line of our graceful wooden hull looking like knees and elbows after a skateboard incident.

DGSBDY is less fortunate. A single 37mm hits the main fuel tank and his boat is blown into two halves seperated by a million pieces of highly varnished wood and machinery as the fireball goes BOOM ! WOOF ! in a sheet of petrol vapour driven flames.

"Damn !" I hear ATOM say, "we lost DGS".

Suddenly, about 1,500 yards behind us, a huge explosion shatters the night even more, and we know we got at least 1 hit with our 2 fish, or those of our partners in crime if not ours.

We reverse to check for survivors of DGSBDY's boat ... but the sheer volume of tracer being directed at the stricken remains of DGSBDY's boat prevent us hanging around. We withdraw until the show dies down and all falls relatively silent again.

The ship we had scored a direct hit on sinks slowly under the flames that remain after it has dissappeared from view. The others slip away quietly.

We slowly drift at 5 knots back to where DGSBDY's boat lists drifting apart, flames licking the night between the two halves.

DGSBDY calls out form off to our left ... we let him climb aboard and, gazing at the dieing flames of our "kill" as we turn back to home ... we bring those sweet aero engines back to life and skim across the blackness of the sea towards the moon hanging over our harbour, guiding us back to safety and the sweet serenity of land.

The beauty and grace, the sheer feeling of power that a planing hull at 40 knots can swallow you with, is as close to heaven as any after mission lull can possibly be.

That we struck success with no loss of life just makes it so much more exhilerating.

It won't always be like that, but that's not for us to think about now. That will come when it comes. We wallow in our brotherhood and teamsmanship, and the joy of a job well done.

Our story will be told and retold many times over before we fade away.

There are three photos on the Imperial War Museum photo site. Look for photos A 7418, A 23158, and A 30733. http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/qryPhotoImg.asp

They look pretty similar to US life rafts, but from these photos they look to be more circular, rather that elongated.

PS, hope the surgery goes well.

I've got most of the paint laid on mine. Have to do the hand and detail painting now then attach all the goodies like life preservers rafts and antennae. After 10 years, it is finally in the last stages and should be completed by the end of the week. Who knows maybe I'll get that 48th scale Toryu fighter done this year.

Hey all,

Al might have this but I would take any help offered. Does any one have pictures of the stern of the vosper that has the chemical smoke holders? I would like to see what they actually look like on the real thing. The kit shows it as a bracket with some round tubing and I would like to see if the actualy thing look like that. So Al or any one else if you have a pic couls you post it......?

Frank,
don't know if this helps but Great Little Ships has a 'Smoke Float and Smoke Making Apparatus' set advertised. I know this'll be RN but I couldn't find a pic and it may give you some idea.
Tom

Hey all,

I'm back on the bench now, my hand is doing much better after the surgery and I've been itching to get back to my build.

I'm usure of how to proceed on the stern of the American Vosper in relation to the chemical smoke holders.





I would like to see how they actually looked on the real boat. Tom (Allycat) suggested using the smoke kit from Great Little Ships (djparkins.clara.net) but I would really like to see what those actually look like before I decide to go with those. I have drilled out the exhaust (all 6) on the stern and the are looking better now.

Started work on the wheel house (is that the right word?).

I drilled out the door that leads forward and I have shaved off some grab rails and what looks to be engine controls. I plan to scratch build these as time goes by. I was going to order the vosper PE set from eduards.cz but after looking at what I would get I decided to give scratch building a more in depth try, we'll see how that goes.

Hi Frank,

Is this a Revell kit?

Murdo,

Yes its the revell "British Vosper" 1/72

Hey all,

Just got my order today from Squadron.com, my .50 cals.......may be a little thing but it will improve my boat.

P.S. they came in a 10 pack and I only needed 4 but I geuss they can go in the spares box.

Just be aware that the Revell Vosper kit represents a boat that never served the RN--it's an American license-built Vosper that was supplied to the Soviet Navy.