Hi everybody,
I'm wondering if any of you have purchased the Italeri 10 figure PT boat crew?
I have and ,not being,the best figures I've worked on,I was very disappionted with the seated gunners.
Legs did not meet the foot pedals and the arms were not even close to the guns handles or cranking handles.
For the price I paid I find it's going to be a lot more work than needs to be done.If you look at the box photo's they even show them with these flaws,arms in the air grabbing nothing.
Being the manufacturer I would think they could mould them to the right specs.

Tom

Hello Tom, I've used the Italeri PT crew and I agree with you about the 40mm gunners. You would think that since they were made specifically for their own kit, that Italeri's sculptors should have done a much better job. I also had a problem with the .50 cal gunner. Why is he sitting down? I did find the rest of the figures serviceable. I sawed off their heads and hollowed out the collars to accept Hornet brand heads. I used some with sailor hats (HUH05) and some with GI helmets (HUH01). No, I am not a paid spokesperson for Hornet. I just think they really improve the look of the figures. I also built-up some of the life-jacket collars with putty as they looked a little too flat to me. It was a really easy fix. Warriors makes two, two-figure sets for the 40mm. Two gunners and two loaders,but they are twice the price, about $25 (US) each set. From what I could see in photos, the two gunners didn't look like that much of an improvement for the price. I'm currently working on one gunner, I repositioned his legs at the knees and cut a notch in his life-jacket for the seat back. I also had to grind away some of his butt to get him to fit in his seat. I made the notch a little too big so I need to add some filler. It would have been much easier to have done all this before I built and painted the gun and boat. Oh well, live and (sometimes) learn. Al

It's dis-satisfaction with plastic kits, (like this example) that 'pushed' me to start offering a design service for 1/72 scale.....

It does happen, best thing is find replacement minis.

se

Hi Tom

The boat is a good one can't say about the Italeri crew but I'm not surprised.

If you want some cracking figures to finsih it off try U Models and Royal Models, they both make some excellent American crews, not fighting the boat but maybe more interesting.


http://www.u-models.com/

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/4897&mode=&order=0

Would agree, replacement heads are the way to go.

Al

HUH?

LOL, Me thinks we have a stowaway, I say we keel haul him.

I'm with ya Scott,

Pull out the gang plank.

Merry Xmas.
Tom

I got a couple of the U-Models 'at-rest' fig for the PT, got them really cheap from a club member at a local hobby show.
really really good castings.

I have all ten of Warriors' PT crewmen and they are very well sculpted and cast. Granted....they aren't cheap (you can find individual figures on the internet for around $12). That's why I bought one here and one there -- not the entire set at once. Easier on the budget.

I also have the Italeri set and feel the same way as other posters -- if they were made by Italeri for an Italeri boat why is the fit so poor?

One complaint I might lodge against the Warrior figures is that the first set was the commander and helmsman. Neither were wearing life jackets. The 8 figures that followed were all decked out in battle gear -- helmets and life jackets. I can only guess that Warriors may have originally intended to limit the series to the commander and helmsman and then changed their plan.

In any event . . . if you want your crew in action and can afford the cost I highly recommend the Warriors' figures. I must say, however, that the Royal Models figures are pretty appealing. I just wish they were available in the US.

Brian

First of all...I apologize for all the deleted posts that may have sent notifications to everyone's inbox. For the life of me I could not remember how to post photos. But now, thanks to a very helpful post I found in the Model Shipwright forum, I think I've figured it out. Let's hope so anyway.

I have a question regarding the Royal Models resin accessory set for Italeri's PT Boat. As you can see in the first photo the box art clearly shows two different life jackets. On the left you see jackets that are flat and are intended I assume to lie flat on something like a deck or a deck house. On the right hand side of the box art you see the jackets as they appeared in the original diorama article in MMiR. They appear to be hanging. Either way -- they are two vastly different life jackets.

The second photo I've attached shows the life jackets that weer used in the diorama article in their bare resin state. This photo btw comes from Royal Models website depicting the accessory set in question

And now here's my question. Does anyone own, or has anyone seen, this set to know what exactly it is you get for life jackets? I suspect -- unfortunately -- that it;s the flat ones.

I've been unable to get any answers from Royal Model.

Thanks.

Brian

Hello Brian, I don't have the actual parts from the Royal model set. However, from looking at the photos, I think you get four different life jackets. The two shown lying face up are meant to lay flat. The others look flat because of the angle of the photograph I think. If you look at the hanging life jackets you will notice three different patterns of folds. Look at the photo of the parts and you will see multiples of those same patterns. I'm no photo interpretation specialist but in my opinion, for what its worth, you get 13 of the hanging life jackets, and two flat ones. Al (PS) I would like to know if you,or anyone else, knows of a distributor for Royal Models that carries this set.

Hi
I think that they have possibly been warmed up & curved to get the hanging set.
Dont have this set as they wern't around when I built my PT Boat had to scratch build mine.

Thanks Al. I'm still not sure about which of the jackets are included and am hesitant to drop the money not knowing. So . . . for now I'll just wait. However, in answer to your question you can find the set here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Royal-Model-1-35-Elco-80-Harbor-Accessories-WWII-535-/180491262464?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a061e1a00

I've had very good luck with Dragon Hobby and highly recommend them.

Good luck and if you make the purchase I'd love to hear just what's included.

Brian