Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s…….a PT 109

[GuyOReilly]

Looks scale to me!!
BTW, is your motor water cooled?
Guy

[sihinch]

Hopefully not! 

The white straps are cable ties holding it to the mount.

[sihinch]

Well, I'm not entirely sure what I did wrong but since having the problem, my research indicates it could be one of several things!

I wanted to see what the torpedoes would look like with some paint on. So I went to get some Painters Touch grey primer and tested one.  Now, I'd sealed the wood and used Eze-cote (rather than sanding sealer) and the strapping I added to the torpedoes was smooth vinyl tape. Also, when I sprayed the primer, I did it outside to avoid the nasty smells and the temp was only 6C, even though I brought the painted torpedo straight in to the basement once I'd finished spraying.

My problem is that my primer is still tacky, 2 days after spraying.  My research says it could be the fact that I sprayed a smooth surface, sprayed in cold damp air and sprayed over the eze-cote.  I've added some gentle heat with a heat gun and now left it on the radiator. 

I'm not in a rush so can leave it to see if it cures but wondered if anyone has any other tips or insights?

[GuyOReilly]

I heard putting talcum powder helps. 
I tried it once and got really nice smelling boat hull.
Guy

[sihinch]

I've had some success with the primer this week by putting parts in direct sunlight. I still don't like the primer and wished I'd not used it but I think I'll get away with it.

On the subject of pain, I've done load of research in to who makes an accurate, pre 1944 Haze Grey 5H paint! Seems like no-one can really agree on the correct colour but I came across the 1929 Munsell colour code for it and had a tester made up, at Home Depot. Score!

And it's been a torpedo factory, other than that! Carving little compressed air chambers, building mounting brackets, adding straps and cutting deck pads! The good news is that all the torpedoes are finished now, so tomorrow it's on to the dinghy and smoke generator!

[sihinch]

I spoke too soon! I decided to do a little extra detailing! Building this is like building an Airfix kit except you need to make all the parts!

So yesterday I mounted some of the torpedo launch pads and added the rails and winding gear. In the kit these are cast metal parts but I didn't have those so made them! I used some styrene rod for the rails and whittled some wooden dowel for the winding spigot.

[Frank v B]

Nice!!

F.

[sihinch]

Lots of progress with the deck items. I've made the smoke generator, the depth charge rack and the life raft. Every one of these items needed shaping from wood, building components from styrene and assembling.

When I was a kid I used to make Airfix kits. I was never really any good at it and used to brush paint everything. A few years ago I bought myself an airbrush, like the pros! After watching lots of YouTube videos I've given "pre-shading" a try, where you spray details in a dark colour (I chose black)before spraying the final colour.

In the photos you can see a finished torpedo with the final pre-shading effect and all the other items with the primer and pre-shade sprayed.

[GuyOReilly]

Great work on the torpedoes.
Mine is ready for Sea Trials.

[sihinch]

Super nice Guy! Hope we can patrol together!

[sihinch]

A little "before and after" or "spot the difference."

[sihinch]

I've not made any progress on the RC PT boat because I'm waiting for the wooden replacement parts to arrive for the cabin etc.

But one of the things I got in the habit of, when doing a scratch built model, was to build a plastic model kit of the subject. I've done the same with PT109 to help me add some of the details to the larger areas of the deck.

Unfortunately the model I bought was a cheap one and it's pretty crap! The details are poor and the actual moulding is not of a good quality with lots of flash. But it will help and if nothing else, I can practice my airbrushing before I make other model kits.

But the parts for the RC model should arrive this week! I'd like to get it finished before May.

[Frank v B]

MMMMMM.  Building a model to build a model!! 
That's a twofer.
There appears to be a fine line between an obsession and an addiction.
Just don't stop now.

Frank

[sihinch]

Finally, some progress! After a month in the UK, I've come back at the PT boat with some renewed energy.

I was never happy with the hull primer so I sanded it off and re-sprayed it. That's good now. 👍🏻

Then, after a great discussion with Frank, Michael and David at flight training night, last week (see, you get building tips too!) I've masked the waterline.

It was a real mental block for me - how do you get a straight line on a curved surface? Anyway, as you can see, I went with the laser line route. I'm very happy with it! Hopefully painting tonight....

[GuyOReilly]

Looks great!
I wonder how well it will fly...