hello all,
i have been going to alot of web sites looking for color schemes for PT-109 like it was in the movie PT-109.
Mark put a link to John's colourcoats,and i found this paint:US 29 Tropical Green for SW Pacific PT Boats.is this the right color to use for the hull.
also what to use for the deck.MM's Wood paint or the wood paint from John's Colour paint.
any info is welcome.the kit i am using is Revell's 1/72 PT-109 and does not give good info.
Cheers,
Bruce

Don't go by the way the movie did it. Go with that WEM green color to include the decks from what I understand. I think that WEM also did a pe set for her as well. This is the same kit they made back in the early 60's and is crying for all sorts of corrections and update pieces to make it much more accurate.

hello Steve,
i am doing the build for the Hollywood at Sea campaign.so i am trying to get it as close to the movie as i can.i do not have a copy of the movie so i am going off of memory and a couple of books on PT Boats.i am looking for a copy of the movie,but i do not want to pay over $40 for it.i found a site that for $10 i could get a dvd,but it is from some guy and it is a pirate version.i am not going to do that.
thanks for the info about WEM's PE set,that is now on the list of buying.
did you get the letter?
cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce! I did a bit of digging on PT109 colors for my own Revell PT109 for the Small Craft GB. Major problem seems to be no color pics of the historic boat, and some arguments over what exact shade of green the boat had. If you are going off the movie, you probably have some leeway. I copy/pasted extensive notes from some discussions I found online, can shoot them to you via email if you wish. I also have a dozen bookmarks and many pics. Here is the beginning:

"There are no known color photos of the PT-109. There are color photos of other PT boats later in the war in a green pattern camouflage. The boats were delivered to the Navy at the ELCO plant in Bayonne painted in an overall gray with a dark gray deck - not bare wood. It has been determined, and generally accepted that the boats in Kennedy's squadron in the South Pacific were painted overall in theater in a home-brewed green paint. White Ensign's Colourcoat line of paints includes this color. It is not an olive. If you must choose a paint which you have in your paint box -- go with a forest green.The hull bottom was painted in Copperoyd - a trademarked antifouling paint. It was a rusty-red color. Lowe's Hardware store sells American Tradition paint - their Red Primer is a good match. Out of the bottle - a 60:40 mix of Testors Rust and Insignia Red will get you close.I'll give you the raft in gray.On to the torpedo tubes ... the domed tip on the tube is a protective cap that blows off when the torpedo is launched. It is not the tip of the torpedo. It should be the color of the rest of the boat. However, since these are expendable items they could come from the warehouse in almost any color - grey or another green.The back end of the torped tube wasn't open. It was a door through which the back of the torpedo was serviced. It was hinged to swing inboard and held in place by a spiderweb of braces and thumbscrews. It should be the hull color.You may not want to hsue the big numbers on the hull. They were applied to the PT boat in President Kennedy's inagural parade. The myth that they were there sorta stuck. Use only the numbers on the front & sides of the chart room. I'm not sure about a number on the pedestal of the aft 20mm gun at the time of her loss, but they were there when she was put on a tanker to be shipped to the South Pacific as deck cargo.You may want to search through this MB for other threads on PT boats in general and PT109 in specific. White Ensign Models (colour Coats Enamels) # US-29 "tropical Green" hull color and US-14 Norfolk-65A "Anti-fouling Red" for the lower hull."

hello James,
i you would please send what you have.
thanks for your help.

i checked out some books from the libary on pt-boats.they have alot of photo's on all the pt-boats used by the US Navy from the earlist to the last ones used by the navy.if you want the titles and authors let me know.
cheers,
Bruce

In these photos, on the left side, is an 80' Elco. From the location and date of this photo July '43, the only operational 80' Elco in the area was the 109 boat. The photo shows it to be a dark green. Prior to late april, early may, the 109 was grey. The decks were also grey. The torpedo tube covers are missing and you can see the brass (bronze) color of the warheads.

hello Ed,
thanks for the photo's and the info.
cheers,
Bruce

Yes Bruce, I did get the letter. Thanks. If I remember in the movie the boat was green not grey. I think the only place it had 109 was in the middle of the front cabin area. It's been several years since I've seen it and that was something I really stopped paying attention to many many years ago.

hello Steve,
i have been leaning toward's green so far,i did find 1 photo that has PT-109 on the back pedestal.i also have not seen the movie in years,so it is hard toget a picture in my mind for the colors.i do remember that the deck was wood color,i think.
have fun with the pup,Tigger the Wonder Dog is 1 year old and weights 90 lbs.hopefully he will stop growing.LOL
go luck on your new job.
cheers,
Bruce

These are 3 more photos taken in the same sequence. The boat on the right is a 77' Elco but you can see the green and grey colors a little better.




In the last photo, I think the boat on the left is also the 109.

hello James,
got the e-mail.thanks this will help alot.
cheers,
Bruce

Look at those sloppy sailors. No shirts, beards, hat all lopsided, and those boots, no polish. Man was I ever in the Navy at the wrong time. Any they guy smoking the pipe while wearing his cover!

It is funny to look at old Navy pictures with sailors. Some of the things that were gotten away with back then would get a guy shot today.

difference btwn peace and war. NOwdays, the ships are so far out to sea that they really are not in a combat zone. These guys fought a totally different war......up close and personal and more often than not after every mission someone didn't come back. They also lived under harsher conditions....no steak and ice cream for these guys it was c-rats and coconut milk on a good day. These are our dads....the ones that saved democracy

what struck me is how YOUNG they look.. of course, they ARE young... great pics regardless! thanks again for posting

From what I've read Jim, you can also chalk up their appearance to the fact that they were PT sailors. Regs on the smaller craft such as PTs, DDs and DEs were a little less strict because there was little chance of the brass showing up. Sailors on CVs, BBs and CAs had to keep it ship shape because you never knew who was going to be visiting.

also most of the officers where reservist or 90 day wonders.so they did not see eye to eye with the brass.and they had the respect of the chiefs and enlisted men.they were sharing the danger and what the shore bases had or not had like the lower ranks.no bunk with sheets and pillows,no nice wardroom with stewarts and nice silverware and white tablecloths.very rought shore base,outside showers and heads that were used by both enlisted and officers.so they did get away with alot of things,but they also in my opinion did more then the regular ship officers.
just my 2 cents.
cheers,
Bruce