I finally gave up waiting for Italerie to do an early version Elco. So decided to get the one out. At first sticker shock....it was OOP. Checed last week and there weemed to be a wealth of them (YAY!!!) so i got one ($123 +free shipping). So 2 things I am thinking about.


1) iS there a backdate kit for it. I guess mainly the torpedoes and maybe a different mount for the 20mm.


Is it hard / expensive to make this a radio controlled vessel. The plastic is nice and thick and it would be kind of cool to run it on this little lake near my girlfriends house.

Any ideas, places to get any of this stuff would be....oh and how to hook up a radio control deal....would be appreciated.


Oh yea I also got the little people to go with it.

Hello Steve, As far as I know there are no after-market parts to back-date the Elco. Several people have done it by scratch, but it is a lot of work. Besides the torpedo tubes, you have to relocate the starboard .50 cal gun tub about 1/2" forward. The engine cover and its vents are different. Accurate Armor offers the 20mm mount used on the stern. The bridge layout is also different. A fellow over on Modelwarships.com did two versions. One is an early war boat, the 109 I think, the other is a boat assigned to the Mediterranean with the 'Thunderbolt' quad 20mm turret on the stern. They are worth checking out. There was also a fellow on this site who did it, also worth looking at. I hope this helps a little, and good luck with your project. PS. Italeri manufactured their boat with some unused deck lights and flashed over holes that indicate that they left themselves the possibility of producing an early war boat. Molds are expensive and manufacturers like to get as much as they can out of their investment. Al

I had heard that about Italerie. But this kit was out 6 years ago and they haven't made a move yet. Surprises me as the majority f the parts are usable. So, I'm not a super scratchbuilder....especially on soethng like torpedeo tubes. Well, the kit will be a while in the stach, someone may drop somethng out by then.