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Author Topic: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"  (Read 6941 times)

RipSlider

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Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« on: June 24, 2008, 01:18:23 pm »

Hello all.

Seeing as though many of the other build threads have been very useful to me, I thought I would post my own as a bit of comic relief for you guys. Martin can Sticky it as a "what not to do" thread.


The Boat:

 I like military boats, but I don't like big warships - too many other people do them, so I was looking for something a bit different. Barry at Westbourne Models suggested the PCF - Patrol Craft Fast used in the vietnam war, and after a bit of research I decided to have a crack at it.

The boats were 50' long, 13' wide and had a draft of only 3 foot. They were used throughout most of the vietnam war for fighting in the delta's. Speed was 32kts.

Armament was twin .50 cal machine guns in the turrent, and a weird device in the stern which mated a .50cal machine gun with an 81mm mortar.

104 were built in total - actaully they were originally designed as an in-shore tender, but the Navy dropped the large turrent in the top of the deck, added armaments and a little armour, and bob is your mothers brother.

Only one still survives - it has been re-built by surviving PCF members in the US.




The Model

The model is a caldercraft kit - now out of production. I understand that this is the last kit to be sold in the country.

The kit comprises of a GRP hull, ply for the structures and lots of white metal for the fittings and weapons.


Power will come from 2x speed 700 motors. twin rudders are used, and a mixer will sit between rudders and props so that the individual props speed up/slow down in relation to the rudder movement.

From a scale point of view, below the waterline the kit is a long way out. After a lot of fiddling with the included white meal rudders and props, I decided that everything below the waterline would be functional, rather than scale, so good quality - and large - rudders were fitted, along with some decent semi-cleaving three blade props.



The Histroy:

I first started building this model about a year ago. It is the last kit in the country for a reason - that reason being that it's a bit of a lemon, and also caldercraft don't offer much support on it any more.

The hull is very poor. The image below shows the state of the hull after it's 4th coat of hi-lift primer - there are still significant depressions. There were also chunks of the hull combing missing - not the green stuff at the bow and stern.

<<green stuff - this is an epoxy putty sold by Games Workshop and has been invaluable on this project - I truely believe epoxy putty is very valuable addition to any modellers toolbox.>>



next step was the deck. This didn't actually fit - in any direction - so a heat gun, lots of acetone and clamps were used to try to pull it into a rough shape that fit. Then the gaps were Green Stuff'd again.


Most of the wooden components didn't fit in at least one place - truely the worse kit I have ever dealt with - to get as far as the images below took about three months, and the model became a chore rather than a pleasure.

In the end at the advice of some of you chaps here - I put the model in the loft and forgot about it for a while.

This is where it got to:




The Present

recently I was digging in the loft and came accross it again. And after a good dose of looking at it I actually felt like I might want to resurect it. A second dose of looking at, and going back to my photo - sources made me decide that it was a good plan, so I heaved it all down and set to again.


Many of the issues that I was having now don't seem to bad. However, before I can crack on with it, my previous choice of pulling the deck in is now coming back to haunt me. Somehow, the deck has taken on a compund curve, and is now bent in two directions.



<<poor image - bends go to about 6mm in places>>

 After a lot of thinking, I've decided that I'm going to skim the lot in body filler and get it back to flush, so I have a solid base to work from. At that point I might then lay down a thin layer of ply, so I can go back to working with Wood - wood joins.



The dremel came out this morning and the combing for all the deck area's was removed. Next step is to get a flat and even working surface. And then I'll start again.

I'll keep posting as make progress. However, you should probably expect more questions than interesting pictures and observations.

The plan, after a post on this forum, is that I'm not going to build the boat "pristine" - like most models are. PCF's led a very hard life, and this model will be made to look the same. I'm not sure how far to take this yet. One photo I have shows the deck covered in blood and three wounded navy men, and bullet holes in the deck house. I'm kind of tempted to go this far, but it might be a bit disrespectful to the fallen.

Steve

<<Oh - just so you don't think badly of me - the stand is - i know - possibly the worse contructed thing that you have ever seen. My friend made me a lovely stand when I first got going on the model - but it rapidly started to get covered in glue and muck. So that got put away, and the shoddy stand you see here was knocked up in ten minutes just for the build and paint phase.>>
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Sub driver

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2008, 07:48:41 pm »

Ripslider.

Glad you have re-started the PCF

For your info,

The deck of the PCF MK 1 should have a slight sheer on it from front to rear, the bottom edge of the main cabin is not perfectly flat. It is slightly curved.

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Martin13

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2008, 12:48:55 pm »

Steve,

Good to see that you are having another crack at it. It looks like a good model to hone your modeling skills. By the way, I was the first one to have "How not to build a Model". See BB and all its stuff ups..

Keep it up and build the model how YOU want it to be O0 although I reckon the bullet holes would look good. ::) ::)

I'm watching ::)

Martin doon under
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RipSlider

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2008, 09:29:40 pm »

Well, after 15 hours of work, it now looks identical to how it did originally.

Made the decison that I had to go and fix the mistakes I'd built in the first time around before I progressed. So the deck was body filled to be the right shape and contours, and the superstructure was popped apart and re-glued in a better jig than last time.

I couldn't find any normal body filler sitting around in the garage, and the local shop only had "plastic padding" which I hadn't used before. It went on brilliantly, but turns out it is an utter swine to sand. After p60 aluminium oxide paper was bouncing off it, I gave up and had to cheat - so the deck went down to my friends garage where he took a pnumatic double action sander to it!. It came out lovely in the end, better than normal body filler by a long way - but good lord did it take a long time to get though it.


So after lots of banging, swearing, odd smells and a whole load of dust I have progressed exactly zero. However, I do have:

a) a basic hull and superstructure that is the right shape and doesn't bend in odd places
b) huge doses of scorn from Mrs Steve who finds it unbelievable that I did so much shouting and swearing, and am now looking pretty pleased with myself, but she can see no difference what so ever.

Ah well.



Next jobs:

re-do motors and electrics. At the same time, try to convince myself not to upgrade motors to BB Turbo versions

fit radio gear - attempt to convince myself not to go and buy a swanky 2.4ghz set

start with the detail.

Steve
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Martin13

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2008, 09:29:15 am »

 

{-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-)Sorry - but your a Classic!!!!!

I can't stop laughing

Martin doon under {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-) {-)
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2008, 09:54:07 am »


Steve, I think you and I served the same apprenticeship ..... yeah, I failed to!  !  ;)

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herrmill

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2008, 05:50:29 am »

For anyone interested in large scale kits, Mosquito Boat Hobbies offers 1:12 PBR & Swift Boat kits along with several Elco & Higgins PT boats & fittings.

http://www.geocities.com/mosquitoboat/index.html

Shipping will probably kill you from California but they do offer a nice line for the MTB fan.

Chuck
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RantandRave

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2008, 10:52:37 am »


Charging for the promotional and instructional videos is a bit rich!  >:(
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RipSlider

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Disaster strikes
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2008, 04:26:52 pm »

Today has been a day of swearing.    >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-( >>:-(

Having finally got most of the wooden sub-assemblies to the point where I can prime them before I start to add any white metal fittings, I doped all the wooden bits I could with sanding sealer and then went to get some lunch.

I come back from lunch, and am presented with a whole heap of collapsed pieces of wood which no longer bare any relation of bits of a boat.

I'm not sure if I had a bad batch of super-phatic resin, or a bad batch of sanding sealer, but everything that was glued with super-phatic has failed at the joints and the glue has just turned into mush.

Seeing as I had re-built much of the boat, that means pretty much all of the boat is now in a heap.

17 days of work completely wasted.

Now I have to clear up all the gunk, re-make the jigs that i'd foolishly thrown away thinking that the boat would actually stay in one piece, and start all over again.

Absolutely gutted.  :'( :'( :'(


Steve
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Martin13

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2008, 12:10:39 am »

Steve,

Have you got a photo showing what has happened. How long has the timber parts been glued?. Sounds like the dope has reacted with the wood glue ???

Martin du
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barryfoote

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Re: Build thread - PCF - "Swift Boat"
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2008, 08:11:52 am »

Steve,

You are one dedicated chap. Now don't let her beat you (I don't mean Mrs Steve). Keep going. We are all enjoying your suffering ;D ;D
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