Hello! I just got the PT 109 kit for Christmas, and was wondering if anyone has built it. I know it's an old kit. But here are 2 questions.

1) Are there any good 1/32 or 1/35 detail parts for it, or that will work on it?

and 2) Has anyone been able to rig it to steer? Is it a major undertaking to get it to be remote controlled?

Thanks so much for any help! My girlfriend got it to build together and I want it to kick some a...h..butt.

- Steve

Hi Steve,

This model kit was designed originally to be a fun "toy" kit to build many years ago, mate, but there are also some really fine ship models that have been built from the kit, as well as R/C renditions...with the addition of Italeri Models 1/35 scale kit a short time back, the aftermarket accessories that have been produced are quite amazing...just Google search "1/35 scale PT Boat upgrades" and you will see many fine items available to sweeten up the old girl...Check out the PT builds here on MSW in the "Features" section to see some of these upgrades in use, as well as our review of the Lindberg re-issue kit in the "Reviews" section.

Here's a thread from "Radio Control Zone" dedicated to a conversion of the kit to R/C....it's been YEARS since I did mine, but I can remember that it wasn't tough and it was a blast out on the lake! There used to be a really good step-by-step tutorial on the web about the conversion, but I'll be damned if I can find it now, Steve...I'll keep looking and I'm sure that you'll get more hits on this thread as well. (Mr. Connelly, are you reading this? )

Good luck, and Have fun!
~Gunny

1:32 fittings work best with that kit. There used to be a PE fret for that but has been not be produced in close to 20 years.

I had a couple in at the shop here over Xmas. I looked for stuff for one customer, and there really isn't much out there.

He did end up getting the Italeri Elco Crew, as despite being Italeri, the figures were better detailed than the Lindberg ones. Warrior also makes resin crews for the Elco as well, which could be used on the Lindberg kit as well.

Aires makes a set of 1/32 Resin .50 cal MGs with the cooling jackets on them, as the .50cals in the kit are pretty bad.

Other than that, I wasn't able to find much.

Hello Steve, Academy makes a US machine gun set that includes both .30 cal and .50 cal MG's, including the type of .50 used by PT's. There are two of each type included so you would need two sets. HR Products makes a 20mm gun in white metal that needs some work due to the age of the molds but is an improvement over the kit supplied gun. Accurate Armour also makes a 20mm in resin I believe. The Italeri PT boat crew figures are a big improvement over the Lindbergh ones. A company called U-model in France makes some depth charges that also can be used on your PT. Hope I helped. Al

I'd tend to stay away from the HR stuff, although ... their 1:32 20mm, 37mm, 40mm and their .30 and .50 cal machine guns are good, but other companies are now offering better machine guns in resin.