I just bought the PT Boat crew and will begin adding them to my build. I have a couple other crewmen already so I should be able to get 12 on deck. The crew kit calls for pretty much navy clothing but did the crews in the SW pacific wear moslty navy issue or was it a mix of navy, army and Marine issue?

Not sure if i posted or not but the 495 took first in class at the 2008 Northern VA model Classic.

PT495 photos

Great, Ed!


Looking forward to seeing your vessel with the added activity, mate...when you're all done, take a bunch of pictures and send them in to me, we can add an "after crew" page to your feature...

Cheers,
~Gunny

Hi Ed,

Really great work on the boat. Look forward ti seeing the crew on board.

Al

WOW !!!

Thats a very nice boat Ed.
What a great effort.
I look forward to seeing the crew on it .

Please keep us posted .

Cheers

Thanks Guys. I'll keep you posted. It will take a couple of months or more. I'm not that handy with figures.

In researching the 495 I got to know one of the original crewmen who was onboard during the battle. Also got to know his son. The next to last PT Boat reunion will be held in July 2009 and it will be just about 20 miles from my home. I hope to attend and take the model with me.

He, Ray Wilbur, was badly wounded in Nov of '44 and spent the rest of the war getting healthy. That last mission was to land a party of Alamo Scouts but before they and the other boats in their 3 boat patrol could do that they engaged a Japaness formation of barges (one tried to ram the 495 and the gun battle that sank the barge was a 5 yards), took hits from a 20mm fired by another of the PT boats, took a near hit from a Jap bomb the killed one and wounded most of the rest of the crew and on the trip home, was rammed by one of the PT Boats that end up taking off part of the 495's stern.

I have action reports for the time from the Battle of Surigao Strait until that November engagement. If anybody wants a copy, send me your e-mail and i'll send you a copy.

Here is a link to a photo album I put together of RON 33. The beam photo of the 495 was after being repaired and updated with new radar and paint scheme. The photos of the 493 boat are from don Brown, son of her skipper. She was sunk during the Battle of Surigao Strait from japanese gunfire.
MTBRON 33

I did a little photo shop work:


I backdated mine to the 495 boat in Oct '44. The added guns were cast using the kit's 20mm and mounts to make silicon molds. I could not find A/M suppliers for the 20mm or mounts in 1/35 scale. The 50 cal stuff was easy to find using 1/35 scale armor pieces and scratch building the rest. If you need an SO radar dome and mast you will need to sctatch build it.

Backdating to about PT480 is pretty simple. Backdating to the 103 series is much more involved but can be done. see muddyfield's post. He has done a fantastic job. Al Ross also sells a data and drawing set for backdating to the 103 series.

Right out of the box, the kit builds a very nice late war boat with only minor corrections needed, depending upon how anal you are.

Here is a copy of what I did to backdate the kit that I posted in another thread:

To backdate the kit I

1. Made molds and cast 2 additional 20mm guns and parts to make 3 mounts, 2 for the additional 20s and one for the 37mm. I did not use the kits 37mm mount or base.
2. Cast the bases for the 37mm and both outboard 20mm.
3. Cast a second smoke dispenser after a 495 crewman told me she carried 2.
4. Cast 3 additional 20 mm mags.
5. Cast 4 additional "Ready-ammo" boxes.
6. Built the Radome from scratch and modified the mast.
7. Augmented the 50 cal depression bars.
8. Built the port side twin 50 cal craddle, ammo boxes and mount.
9. Added 2 50 cal and mounts and ammo boxes to the starboard 20mm to make an "Acey-Ducey". They used the same boxes as the 50 turrets so I had to made curved boxes and brackets to hold them.
10. Made mounts and added the 30 cal and boxes to splash shields.
11. Cut down the engine room hatch to the correct width for this particular boat.
12. Modified the roll-off racks to be closer to an earlier style than in the kit.
13. Modified the cockpit to look a bit like the earlier style this boat had.
14. Added PE ammo belts everywhere. The kit's plastic ones suck.
15. Used Gator's paint masks for all the markings and insignia.
16. I made the "Gentleman Jim" decal from a photo of the rear nameplate in the PT Boat display at Falls River, Mass. It was my first homemade decal.
17. Almost forgot, the kit's ammo belt feeders attached to the twin 50 cals are only positioned correcly if the guns are level. i wanted mine pointing up so I had to cut them and turn them correctly.

It is a great kit. I could have done less if i chose another boat to backdate, like a channel or med boat but I wanted a Ron 33 boats. Also, I didn't know what I was getting into whan i started. I learned a lot.

Hi Ed!

On the uniform question, crews fighting in the SOPAC and SWPAC theatres were not sticklers for formality or even conformity. This is a boon for modelers as crew figures on a "salty" veteran boat can be a delightful mix of dress and 'attitude'. Look for photos of PT men at Calvertville on Tulagi and Rendova and you'll see that uniforms were the least of their concerns in the Solomons!

--Karl

Great work..and thanks for listing the detailed WIP, great info here...

Gunny, maybe itstime for another Small Craft GB!