overview Elco PT Boat in scale 1:48, by HpeterB

HPeterB

HPeterB

Joined
Aug 25, 2021
Messages
185
Points
103

Location
Minnesota
Jimsky said:
Working with any PE parts always required patience and assiduity. As you mentioned good bending too and tweezers should be a plus. However, I have worked with my few first plastic models PE parts only using pliers and tweezers. The importance of tweezers shouldn't be underestimated otherwise, the parts can fly for good. :p But this is the topic for another thread...

This is the first model kit developed and made by Joy Yard. He is already working on another project. I can expect the same superb quality (if not better)
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I’m currently working on an Elco PT Boat in 1:48 scale from I❤️Hobby. It’s a nice size for me and my shaky hands but the PE parts are still a bit of a challenge and require those wonderful bending tools and a whole lotta patience! I’ve actually learned a bit from my previous build using CA glue and … toothpicks! Who said you can’t teach this dog new tricks (I’m not old…just numerically wisened).

The Elco boats are a bit of nostalgia for me. They were built in my hometown of Bayonne, NJ. During WW2 my Dad worked next door to Elco in a warplant called General Cable and he would tell me stories about Elco and working in the plant. In the 1950’s there was an horrific train accident on the RR bridge that went from Bayonne to Elizabeth. The bridge was of the lift bridge style, the span was up and it was tragic error, the train went off the bridge, engine first followed by several passenger cars, multiple fatalities. When we heard about the disaster my father and I went to see the scene and the only place that had a view was Elco. So…they let us go on their property to see the wreckage. I’ve never forgotten that.

Bayonne had a few firsts to it’s credit: longest single span bridge, Bayonne to Staten Island, ultimately replaced in the record books by the Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia. More appropriately for this site, Bayonne had the largest dry dock on the east coast at the Bayonne Naval Base, also home of the WW2 Mothball fleet until they were moved to Kearny, NJ for breakup or up the Hudson River an anchorage. The third thing that Bayonne was noted for was the largest hub of petroleum refineries in the country. That record was broken by Houston, Tx after the big companies like Standard Oil, Flying A, etc…found better tax breaks in Texas. Just a bit of history from a kid from Joisey. 34240A74-BFDF-4FC3-9048-229503461498.jpeg

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Jimsky said:
would you like me to move your posts as the beginning of your own build log?
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Sure. I’ve never done a build log before so it’l be a new challenge. I’ve got to tell you and our shipmates that the members here are artists and teachers. I’ve been impressed since I joined with how supportive they are to newbies. I’ve been building models for about 6 decades with the past 5 being the most challenging as a result of my MS. That said…I love a challenge!
 
HPeterB said:
Sure. I’ve never done a build log before so it’l be a new challenge. I’ve got to tell you and our shipmates that the members here are artists and teachers. I’ve been impressed since I joined with how supportive they are to newbies. I’ve been building models for about 6 decades with the past 5 being the most challenging as a result of my MS. That said…I love a challenge!
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Very good start of your building log - not a challenge any more, I hope so....
 
Uwek said:
Very good start of your building log - not a challenge any more, I hope so....
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Nah! That’s my humble side talking. D8624628-8875-4706-AB28-B75C4D0E8F34.jpeg
The box! The big box! This is a pretty large kit in 1:48 scale and lots of parts that came packed pretty well. The full hull comes as one piece which is a really nice feature. My previous project was the Snowberry in -1:72 scale. The kit itself was rather old and the plastic needed a lot of TLC. The hull was actually in 4 parts that overlapped in places like a large jigsaw puzzle. I’m not the quickest rabbit in the hutch so it took me about 8 months to basically finish it. Emphasis on basic…painted, filled in the cracks, but haven’t done any weathering yet…waiting for a rainy day, I guess.
More on the morrow.
 
Interesting looking kit. It is one of the early war models as it has the crank out torpedo tubes on the deck and a 20MM Orlicon gun on the stern. Usually all kits depict the 109, JFKs' boat. This is the first one I've seen that is generic. Here is a photo of my scratch built 1/24th scale 323 which was sunk by a Japanese suicide bomber in December 1944.

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Beautiful boat. I just learned that PT109 was also an Elco 80foot boat, made…in my hometown of Bayonne. I’ve shied away from building a model of that particular boat precisely because of its notoriety. That said, I still wanted to build an Elco 80’ with a slightly different pedigree. I’ve had a love-not so much love with Bayonne over the years but recently (the past 20 or so years) I’ve accepted the fact that growing up there was actually something to have pride in. Elco…lots of pride there.
 
fourseas said:
Nice looking boat. I will follow your build with great interest as PTs are a favourite of mine. What number will you put on the hull?
Jim
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I haven’t decided yet. I’m going to do a bit of research then I’ll decide. 109 won’t be the number. There were so many boats and crews that didn’t get the publicity or notoriety that JFK and 109 got so I’d like to give a different boat the play.
 
I’d like to take a moment and talk about one of my favorite tools for sanding the nubs that are left over from detaching parts from sprues. I’ve gotten to appreciate the Flex-I-file and it’s versatility (I was going to say “flexibility” but since my wife is a former TV journalist, she’s always on my shoulder guiding my writing…). As you can see from the photos the file is basically a frame with strips of sanding medium on one side and a strip of clear, what appears to be acetate on the other. The strips can be bought in a variety of grits for different View attachment 332622

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Well with the weekend upon us it could be a reason to take a break…or…not! I’m really having too much fun building my Elco 80’ PT Boat 573. Why 573? (Jim wanted to know which boat I was going to feature) In doing my research of the Elco 80’ boats built in my hometown of Bayonne, NJ 07002 (memory don’t fail me now) there’s film evidence that this boat was built in the Bayonne boat factory. I found a 30 minute promotional film produced by Elco to showcase the manufacturing process of the boats. By today’s standards it’s slowish, narrated in the 1930-40’s Hollywood Newsreel style. But for people like us who love boats/ships and their history…this film is a gem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZxFSaphw
The title is “Giant Killers” and not only shows how the boats were built using new methods to maximize the numbers that they could produce, but, also some cool closeups of various components. The footage as opposed to the style is priceless. I got a thrill out of seeing the footage of the boat’s launch in Newark Bay, a place that I knew extremely well. In fact I could imagine my father walking to work at General Cable, the war plant next door to Elco. I’ve heard the stories from my dad about him swimming in Newark Bay as a kid and just as I did as a boy, playing among the rotting barges and creosoted Timbers of ships that once plied the waters around Bayonne. A lot of nostalgia running amok in my head!

“Giant Killers”
 
I've seen the video you make reference to, and it really is a true piece of history. I think it is fantastic that you are working on this PT with your close family ties to the Elco plant. The 573 is a great choice for your model as it was one of the later boats built and because of that fact it allows you to dress her up with a variety of different armament not originally available on the earlier models. As I understand it was the crews that gathered up various weapons and had them installed on their boats. The 40 MM Bofors installed on the stern, and the relocation of the 20 MM Orlicon to the bow was and example of this. When the crews made these changes and the Navy seen how successful some of these changes were they started building them into all later boats. I would have to do more research, but the 573 may even had rocket launchers on it but I'm not sure.

Jim
 
fourseas said:
I've seen the video you make reference to, and it really is a true piece of history. I think it is fantastic that you are working on this PT with your close family ties to the Elco plant. The 573 is a great choice for your model as it was one of the later boats built and because of that fact it allows you to dress her up with a variety of different armament not originally available on the earlier models. As I understand it was the crews that gathered up various weapons and had them installed on their boats. The 40 MM Bofors installed on the stern, and the relocation of the 20 MM Orlicon to the bow was and example of this. When the crews made these changes and the Navy seen how successful some of these changes were they started building them into all later boats. I would have to do more research, but the 573 may even had rocket launchers on it but I'm not sure.

Jim
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Jim, you’re right about the historical facts. It’s the same info that I’ve seen from other sources. I think from all of my reading and studying the history of WW2 that it was a period of intense creativity and innovation. We owe so much to so many for their sacrifices. My own father tried to enlist but got rejected because of his age. To be able to help the war effort he worked in a war plant. I had other relatives who were in the army, one in particular was a West Point graduate and served in Europe under Patton. I found out his service record when I shot a story at West Point and asked the Major who was our liaison if they had his info. West Point and the Army have the records of all West Point grads and their service records. Btw…he also taught at the Point. I’d known some of his history but not enough until that day. I was stunned by learning about his amazing military career, saddened…because at the same time I learned that he’d passed away only a year earlier.

I’m glad that you enjoyed the film and that you shared your knowledge.
 
fourseas said:
HPeter B, have a look at this web site. PT103.com
I found the information extremely valuable while I was building the 323.
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Fourseas, thanks so much! I briefly looked at it and there’s no doubt that there’s a ton of great info. I did find some 3D printed parts, I.e. 50cal machine guns with suppressors that seem to be so accurate that I wouldn’t want to stand in front of them. . Do you have any photos that you’d like to share so I could see your version?

I might have said this before but in case I only thought about it… this blog is an amazing community… full of crafts people, real artists, and teachers willing/eager to share their knowledge and experience to help further our journey.
 
HPeterB said:
Fourseas, thanks so much! I briefly looked at it and there’s no doubt that there’s a ton of great info. I did find some 3D printed parts, I.e. 50cal machine guns with suppressors that seem to be so accurate that I wouldn’t want to stand in front of them. . Do you have any photos that you’d like to share so I could see your version?

I might have said this before but in case I only thought about it… this blog is an amazing community… full of crafts people, real artists, and teachers willing/eager to share their knowledge and experience to help further our journey.
Click to expand...
Forgive me everyone…I’m not known for short messages. ‍
 
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