beefy66 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 This has got it all in bucketloads Great build to follow and learn from. 👍🏻 You can get your self that drink now you deserve it Beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 1 hour ago, beefy66 said: ... You can get your self that drink now you deserve it Beefy Thanks Beefy. That'll be my excuse for today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 I was sitting watching a baseball game on TV this afternoon and did a little doodling on the computer. Here's the result ... I don't think I could build a model seascape as well a many here on BM. So Photoshop and virtual water will have to do. BTW, my team beat the NY Yankees 7 to 3. Not a bad afternoon. John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Brilliant ! Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 Some more computer doodling. Playing time is over. I've got to get back to finishing the crew. John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve27752 Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 hour ago, JohnWS said: Some more computer doodling. Playing time is over. I've got to get back to finishing the crew. John Marie Celeste..................No crew!!! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Very artistic John, will look brilliant when you've given her a crew. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Your computer doodles look fantastic John, a crew would lift them into the realm of "what am I looking at? Is that the real thing." Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Hello again. I've started working on the crew for the PT Boat. You may recall I ordered a set of 3D printed sailors. I was hoping that all that I needed to do was paint the figures. As I started to pick the crew members for the various positions on the deck, I found the figures poses were just not right for what I had envisioned. I really like the detail of the 3D printed figures, so I've decided to play doctor and do a little surgery to transplant heads, arms, hands, legs & feet as needed. I've completed two of the figures for the 37mm & Oerlikon guns, modifying them for positioning behind the guns. I was concerned that the 3D printed material wouldn't survive being under the knife. But, by using a new sharp X-acto knife blade and CA glue I think the surgery was a success. So far, so good. Here's a photo; Next, I need to resize the two 50 cal. MG gunners to fit in the turrets, and reshape the two Bofors gunners to fit in the PE seats, What I thought would be a relatively easy task to complete the crew has turned into a small project. Thanks for checking in. John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 John Just come back from a trip to find these pics - They look hugely realistic and Fab as does the whole model. The Figures look great, I always admire your preciseness - evident here as so often throughout the rest of the build Spectacular!! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Welcome back Rob. Your comments mean a lot. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Figures looking good for 3D, which one's are you using? Must say your 37mm gunner looks like he's taking the strain (trying to be polite) Kev 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 19 minutes ago, longshanks said: ... Must say your 37mm gunner looks like he's taking the strain (trying to be polite) ... Watch it! He's got a big gun. The crew figures are from Shapeways - 1/72 USN PT Crew Set 204, made by Panzer VS Tanks 2. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Great looking figures lots of details should show up when fully painted beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Figures look great but the gunner on the 37mm should be a little worried about his mate behind on that Oerliken! Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 (edited) Hi everyone! Another milestone in this build. The PT Boat crew painting is complete. I found that the 3D printed crewmen were too thick to properly fit in the 50 cal. MG turrets, so I signed up two crewmen from the Revell PT 109 kit. They had to be modified a little as well. You'll note the lack of detail of the kit figures compared to the 3D printed parts. This isn't an issue as most of the Revell figures will be hidden in the gun turret. When I was researching the paint colours I learned a lot about the Kapok life jackets worn by the USN sailors during WWII, as shown below, First, I found that the colour of the life jackets seem to vary between blue & grey. It appears that there were a number of life jacket manufacturers and the dye colours varied between manufacturers. Also, as the jackets were exposed to the elements the colours tended to fade from blue to grey. Since my model depicts a late war boat, I decided to paint the crew's life jackets a (faded) grey colour with a bluish tint to show they were well worn. Another thing I found interesting was the materials used to make these life jackets. I've aways felt the USN life jackets looked bulky and were probably very uncomfortable and limited movement for the wearer. For those interested, here's a description of the flotation materials used to manufacture the Kapok jackets - "Natural materials were first used to create floatation devices. ... A material called kapok was used as the fill material in life vests. Kapok is a vegetable fiber found in tropical tree pods, resembling milkweed. The waxy coating which covers the kapok fiber provided the necessary buoyancy. The kapok fiber was sealed in vinyl plastic packets to prevent exposure to the water. One problem with the vinyl-sealed kapok fiber life jacket was that the packets could be punctured, causing the jacket to lose its buoyancy. Kapok is now prohibited for use in life preservers in most of Europe and in Canada." http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Life-Vest.html#ixzz5kKpRWdH8 Next up, I'll add the crew to their stations on the model, and that should pretty well complete this build. I'll add photos of the completed boat in my next post. Thanks for looking. John Edited April 6, 2019 by JohnWS 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Great work on the crew. A bit a of a double edged sword with the life jacket colour; good camouflage when on boat, not so good when you want to be found in the water! Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 19 minutes ago, Courageous said: ... A bit a of a double edged sword with the life jacket colour; good camouflage when on boat, not so good when you want to be found in the water! ... I was thinking the same. You would want a nice bright colour if you need to be rescued, but not so much if you're being shot at. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Really lovely figures John, and your surgery worked out well. I also like the photo shopping you've done ( it illustrates how exciting baseball is , the ideal sport for an industrious nation 🙂). Regards, Arjan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 5 hours ago, Arjan said: ... I also like the photo shopping you've done ( it illustrates how exciting baseball is , the ideal sport for an industrious nation 🙂). ... I'm afraid I'm not a very good baseball fan, starting with the first game I ever attended. I fell asleep half way through the game. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 John - super job on the figures - they maintain the exquisite standards on display throughout the whole of this build Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 (edited) Well guess what? She's FINISHED!!!!!!!! The crew's been added. It's been a fun build & I really appreciate the comments & support that many of you have provided over the last 17 months. Here's a few photos showing the crew on the boat. I made a couple of sets of 40mm ammunition for the loaders to carry. I also decided to not glue the guns & rocket launchers in place & glued the crew figures to the guns & rocket launcher so that they will move when the guns & launchers are rotated. I still need to take a few additional photos and post the completed model in the Ready for Inspection section to wrap up this build. Thanks again everyone! John Addendum: Ready for Inspection photos can be found here. Edited April 15, 2019 by JohnWS 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 John - Fab - They really set it off - What a show stopper!!! Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Beautiful job throughout Well worth the 17 months you've put into her. What's next? Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 What a 17 month ride! Great build, great execution and she looks fantastic. Yeah, what Kev asks, what's next...no slacking? Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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