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Topic: My thoughts on PT 109 |
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PeterTareBuilder
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 9:58am
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Hi there.
Love it or hate but to me PT 109 was the boat that ignited my interest in American PT boats of WW2. I'm Canadian and it was the book by Donovan, then the theatrical film although I only saw that on television and then the song PT 109 by Jimmy Dean that really got me interested in these small wooden boats and iron men.
If it wasn;t for PT 109 would Italeri have released a 103 Class PT boat? Isn't a great deal of the international appeal for this kit simply because it was at one time commanded by a future United States president?
I'm sure that it will be a fairly easy matter to convert this new Italeri kit to represent any one of another of these wonderful craft.
PT 109 in PT boats is like a more famous sibling that overshadows the other siblings great deeds. Nothing can take away from the deeds of those who sailed on and fought from all the other PT boats of all the other various types. Let us be thankful that PT 109 and her exploits have helped thrust PT boats in general into the spotlight of history.
Cheers from Peter
"Give me a faster PT boat for I'd like to get out of harm's way!" |
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Dick
Moderator
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 10:28am
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Let set the facts straight . . .
It wasn't the Italians love and world wide admiration of the 109/Kennedy it was the pure energy and long hard work put forth by David Waples with a ton of technical support by Jeff Davidson that brought about the nicely done 103 class of PT boat by Italeri. Lets not forget Italeri's very successful earlier and much talked about Non-Kennedy PT boat PT-596 ! ! !
Lets put credit where credit is deserved, thanks David & Jeff.
Dick . . .
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PeterTareBuilder
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 10:36am
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That is all true Dick.
But would the INTERNATIONAL MARKET for a 103 Class boat be as large if the kit was marketed as other than PT-109? Look at how well the absymal Lindberg 1/32 scale kit as done becaue it was sold as PT-109 which it barely resembled.
I for one am delighted that Italeri chose to kit PT-109 partly because I canremove that nice 37 mm anti-tank gun and use it ob a land based diorama. Even when I first heard about this new 103 Class kit I NEVER intended to get one to model PT-109. I have seen other images of 103 Class boats that I find more intriguing due to the different torpedo and gun arnaments hence my decision to grab the Dragon Quad .50 Gun Turret kit for my boat.
It seems to me that the mere mention of PT-109 is guaranteed to stir up a hornets nest.
Cheers
"Give me a faster PT boat for I'd like to get out of harm's way!" |
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Hadly
New Member
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 11:18am
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David and Jeff thank you for all your hard work, because of you guys I'm sure to enjoy this upcomming build of a 103 boat. Dick, good fight but you're clearly out numbered. I would like to help more but I just don't know much about Kennedy.
SH
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Will Day
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 12:25pm
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Hey, guys.....does it really matter? What is important is that the 103-class kit is a reality!
Will |
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Frank J Andruss Sr
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 1:19pm
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If not mistaken Dick, your name as well as mine are in that new PT-109 booklet as having a hand in helping with the new kit. I am thankful that Dave Waples asked me to help and get involved. One must be blind not to see that PT-109 was one of the most single reasons that PT BOATS is even this well known. I am not taking anything away from "They were Expendable, which ranks right up there as one of the all time WWII movie greats, but again Kennedy became President. Bulkeley certainly gained big time attention during WWII and beyond, but in any of my discussions with my exhibit visitors, or when I do speaking engagements, I ask those in attendance, "Do you know what a PT BOAT is", the answer is mostly always the same. which is "Isn't this the type boat Kennedy served on". Sorry, but PT-109, love it or not, is one of the most famous boats of all time.
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Frank J Andruss Sr
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 1:19pm
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If not mistaken Dick, your name as well as mine are in that new PT-109 booklet as having a hand in helping with the new kit. I am thankful that Dave Waples asked me to help and get involved. One must be blind not to see that PT-109 was one of the most single reasons that PT BOATS is even this well known. I am not taking anything away from "They were Expendable, which ranks right up there as one of the all time WWII movie greats, but again Kennedy became President. Bulkeley certainly gained big time attention during WWII and beyond, but in any of my discussions with my exhibit visitors, or when I do speaking engagements, I ask those in attendance, "Do you know what a PT BOAT is", the answer is mostly always the same. which is "Isn't this the type boat Kennedy served on". Sorry, but PT-109, love it or not, is one of the most famous boats of all time.
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 28, 2012 - 7:20pm
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I'd like to respond to this one and give you my opinion as well.
First, Italeri saw an opportunity to do something unique and provide kits of coastal forces boats that would have cross over appeal to the armor world. High quality, highly detailed subjects that are in the same scale the armor guys work in. At least that's my take. They may tell us something different. But it worked. These kits have been very successful with both ship builders and the armor guys. Half of the builds you see on line and in magazines are with the armor builders. Italeri has provided all types of subjects before they got to the 596 boat. LCVP''s, mini subs, etc. Then they got bigger with PT-596, the very successful Schnellboat, Italian MAS boat, Vosper, etc. before they came back to the Elco with the 109 release. As mentioned the 109 is a natural in this scale.
When I saw the 109 prototype at Nuremberg, like most of you I cringed and knew we could help them. As I recall several of us tried writing them but for some reason they responded to my email and we started a conversation. I knew that we had the people and the references to help them create a finished kit that was as good or better than what they had done to this point. I thought the key pieces to making this go was the parts catalogs and drawings that Dick has organized, The amazing CAD work that Jeff has done. I also had in my collection some great drawings from Al Ross. We sent it all over to them and they started the project over and I can tell you it came out great. Some errors but compared to most kits it's practically perfect. In the middle of all this hen they sent me a prototype booklet and I knew we could help them make that better as well. Frank and Gene to the rescue! I also sent them some information but it came from a lot of you like Ted, Drew, Jerry, and others. You all played a part in it.
I'm not sure what's next but I did send all of our thoughts to Italeri and it will be up to their marketing department to decide what's next, if anything. I truly hope that we get both a Higgins boat and a 77' Elco sometime in the future. You can be sure that if I hear back from my new friends there that I will summon you all to put our best foot forward and help them with another winning project.
So thanks for the props but all I did was bring you all together to help them do something great. I'm really glad to know you guys. We're not all model builders here, but for those of you who are, go have fun with it and make it your own. Don't forget to show us your work!
Dave
David Waples |
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Jeff D
Moderator
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Posted on: Nov 29, 2012 - 5:21am
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I have a cardboard sign above my desk that says "Will Work For Thanks". Thanks guys, it's nice to know my many thousands of hours of work is appreciated! But it's sure not a sole effort. Dick, Al, and Jerry helped a lot as well as many others here on this board. Cheers guys!
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Randy Finfrock
Advanced Member
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Posted on: Dec 7, 2012 - 12:45pm
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Dave said: "We're not all model builders here, but for those of you who are, go have fun with it and make it your own. Don't forget to show us your work." I was an avid model-builder in my teens and 20's and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like reading the variety of interpretations and discussions on the board. It seems to me that all of you are attempting to depict the best possible rendition of this historical craft and I commend each of you for your efforts. I think of accurately detailed models as 3D art, and through their display, another great way to keep alive the memories of our PT veterans and the boats they served on. I heartily agree to share the work with all.
P.S. I vote for an Elco 77 footer next!
Randy Finfrock |
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