This will be a replica of PT-109 boat that President J F Kennedy commanded during WW II. It’s an 80 foot Elco boat that had a top speed when new with a clean hull of about 40-45 MPH. After a few months in combat, the boats averaged about 35 MPH as a top speed due to drag on the hull and wear on the engines.
The images are the first attempts at modeling the Hull, Day Cabin, and Air Vents for the engine room.
A new project! Great! Although ships and boats are outside of my scope, it will be a interesting to watch the progress of this model! You are definitely right - the modeling would take much less time if we did not spend so much time on checking the reference materials. But our goal is precision and historical truth, and we learn a lot during this process :).
[SUB]BTW: I remember that I learned about PT-109 and its skipper when I was a boy, from the most unexpected source - a country ballad, from the radio.[/SUB]
Just finished adding a few basic details and adding the Day Cabin to the deck.
Note: the deck looks terrible. I have an early version of the planking but it’s not high enough resolution and so it looks more like lumps than planks. I’m working on a better drawing to produce a high quality normal texture.
New deck items include tow bitt, mooring bitts, cleats on fantail and port and starboard sides.
Day Cabin has refined details which are likely too small to show up well but important for historical accuracy
To finish the Day Cabin, I need to model the mast, which will be the next phase. and then the port turret for the twin 50 cal machineguns. That will be a challenge as there is a lot of detail and no complete reference for all the parts so some of it will guess work from what can be seen in photographs.
I’ll also do some quick modeling on more deck details such as the ammunition boxes for the 30 mm Oerlikon cannon, the three deck hatches, etc.
Very nice wip!
Yes, I know, the deck planks still look horrible. I’m working on it.
More deck details such as the mast, smoke generator, Ensign staff and aft hatch.
While it doesn’t look like much progress, I did a lot of touch up work to nearly all of the meshes to improve the hull, the planks for the deck, trim, day cabin, some weird anomalies that somehow got into the meshes, etc.
Additionally, I completed the basic shafts, props, rudders, mufflers, and cooling system.
The flat objects pointed down are the mufflers for the three 1,500 HP engines. Each engine had two mufflers. They were designed to blow the exhaust down below the waterline to further reduce the noise of the engines.
The pipes projecting perpendicular from the stern are the intake pipes for water cooling the engines. The harnesses above the pipe controlled opening and closing the flaps on the pipe. The flaps were closed when not operating and open when underway.
Nice dectails, polycount for now?
More details such as the 20 mm gun mount, ammo boxes, storage box, Depressing Rail (behind the gun mount).
The textures are just place holders to give me a very basic idea of the overall look.
PT boats were painted about 7 different colors and camouflage designs. The basic color of the boats were gray, various colors of green, teal, etc. Best evidence is that PT-109 was a flat green with some brown mixed in.
While it may not look like significate changes from the previous post, this render represents numerous small changes to the mesh and objects as well as the new torpedo tube.
The torpedo tube is about 80 percent correct, but I have a lot more work to do to fill in the small details. There are many more tweaks on other objects, but I doubt that you will be able to identify which one had the most important information.
I’ve been focused on modeling the torpedo tube for PT-109
While that sounds straight forward and from the images I’ve posted the modeling isn’t all that difficult, it took a long time to come up with this particular model. Why? Because there were many different torpedo tube designs on the early classes of PT boats before the tubes were eliminated in favor of the simpler design that allowed the torpedoes to roll off the side of the boat instead of being projected out of tubes.
This is an update on my progress.
The torpedo tubes are pretty much finished with only some minor details yet to be added. There is a lot of details that can’t be seen in the images below and probably will never be seen unless people eventually download the finished model in Blend Swap and explore it
Note, these tubes are in their firing position which means they were positioned a few degrees outboard. When in the “safe” position, the tubes were more inline with each other.
After doing more research, I found that the nose of the torpedoes were three different colors: red, copper, and silver. I now believe that PT-109 had torpedoes with a copper nose, so the images below with the red noses are incorrect.
It’s been a while since my last post, but I have a business to run and I have about a dozen other hobbies / interests that consume my available free time. Some of which are more time consuming than 3D modeling. Besides, I’m 70 years old and I’m slowing down a bit.
Anyway, the limited progress so far includes:
A couple of other notes:
The windows are black because there was an inside “flap” for each window that would be closed during night operations. The side next to the glass was painted flat black. It was standard blackout lighting during WW II.
I am working off some of the few hand-drawn diagrams for the PT-103 class of boats of which PT-109 was in that class. However, boat commanders often made changes that were not regulation and so no one really knows what PT-109 looked like on it’s last mission. We do know that JFK had his crew lash a 37 mm anti-tank cannon that he “commandeered” from the Army to the front deck. There are only a couple of BW photos of PT-109 half of which were taken when it was prepared for shipment to the Pacific. The only other photos of PT-109 are of JFK on the bridge and JFK and crew posing in front of the Chart House Cabin.
The images don’t do the texturing for the hull (minus the deck) and torpedo tubes justice. If Blender Artists allowed higher resolution images, you would be able to see the texturing better.
When I finish this, I will upload it to Blend Swap with CC-0. I see almost nothing on Blend Swap depicting historical combat scenes, so I doubt anyone would have an use for my war-time models.
Finally, this has been a huge research effort to make PT-109 as accurate as possible. But not only are the diagrams few, but the drawings have considerable differences in both scale and detail. My depiction of PT-109 is based on the best available data. For example, there is an intense discussion on forums if PT-109 had the depth charge modification or not. But there is evidence that it did. So in my final scene, I will show where the depth charge modifications were located.
Criticisms are welcomed. I’m only an average modeler and would like to sharpen my skills (and I don’t have a lot of time left to do so), so helpful comments are appreciated.
Obviously, I don’t have any following on this WIP, but that’s OK. I’m 70 years old so I only do this for myself–not for others. Hint: when you reach 70 you really don’t care much about if people like or dislike your work because you don’t have a lot of time to develop the skills to make them happy.
The superstructure, except for the two twin .50 cal turretson the port and starboard sides, is about 80% finished. The details for the bridge and controls arealso about 80% complete—the armor plating that protected still needs to beadded as well as a few small details such as the braces for the windshield.
Additional details that still need to be added to thesuperstructure are the gas caps for the three fuel tanks, the three forwarddeck vents, three mushroom vents, and the crew vents.
The armaments (twin .50 cal. machineguns, the 20 mm cannon,and the 57 mm cannon) still have to be modeled.
The first image is a render of the bridge. It’s not 100% complete, but it will only takea day or two to complete.
The second image is a render highlighting the engine roomhatch (center). The rear (forward) partof it opened up to allow access to the engine room. The “windows” are called “deadlights” (thisis a blueprint term that became the standard description in the Navy) and allowsunlight to help illuminate the dark spaces below deck.
Wow, this is coming along great. Can’t wait to see the final product.
pt109, one of my personal greatest asskickers in ww2. great work so far, but doesn´t the torpedolaunchers have to turn a little outside the boat?
The torpedo tubes were only turned outward when preparing to launch an attack. On the top of the Day Cabin are two “Torpedo Trainers” one on the port and the other on the starboard. It took me a while to understand what a torpedo trainer was. It is a long crank handle that fits into a mechanism at the base of each tube. As a crew member turns the crank a worm screw forces the tube to rotate outward a few degrees so the torpedo will clear the boat when launched. The tubes are then returned to their normal position, as depicted in my latest WIP images.
Also, when the tubes are in their normal position, they usually have a cover that fits on the front to protect the torpedo from the effects of the salt water and weather.
But my intent is that PT-109 will be in a scene that depicts the transition from leaving the PT boat base at sunset in preparation for night patrols against the Japanese ships and barges trying to resupply Japanese forces on the islands. The front covers have been removed and stored below but the tubes are not yet in launch position.
This early model of torpedo tubes for PT-103 class boats were inaccurate, required a lot of maintenance, and the torpedoes themselves were highly unreliable. Later classes of PT boats (about 800 were built and used in all theaters) did not have tubes. Instead, the torpedoes were in the open on a davit. When launched, the simply rolled off the side of the boat. By eliminating the massive early model torpedo tubes, the boats were 12,000 pounds lighter and therefore somewhat faster.
However, the reduction in weight was soon neutralized by adding more and larger weapons. The 20 mm cannon on the stern was replaced with the 40 mm Bofor cannon, two or more 20 mm cannons were added to bow, rocket launchers were also added to the port and starboard sides, some boats increased the number of depth charges, radar was added, and so on.
The history of the PT boats is interesting and the story of PT-109 is fascinating.
It may be a while. I’m very slow as I have so many other hobbies and interests that also need TLC. But the boat is coming along. The superstructure is nearly complete and that will just leave the weapon stations and texturing.
This turned out to be a much bigger project than I had anticipated. I reviewed other models and photographs of PT boats before I started and everything looked like it would be straight forward. It was only when I dived into the detailed research that I realized that the construction of PT boats is deceptively complex. And both the Navy and individual crews were constantly making modifications so it took a lot of research to learn what PT-109 probably looked like on its last mission. There is a lot of speculation and disagreement about PT-109 on the online PT boat forums.
For example, PT-109 was originally painted gray when it was built. It was still gray when it was loaded aboard a cargo ship to be transported to the Pacific theater. My model depicts PT-109 in the standard Navy green and my research suggests that most of the PT boats in 1943 were painted green. But you will see all sorts of different paint colors and schemes. Some were painted camouflage, some were gray, some were different shades of blue and teal, and some were painted in an experimental camouflage design referred to as “Dazzle” which was black and white stripes in all sorts of different angles to make it more difficult for Japanese gunners to determine accurate range when engaging PT those boats…
This is an update on my WIP for PT-109. When finished, it will be available on Blend Swap as CC-0.
Major additions still pending:
A couple of historical notes.
First, photographs, drawings, and blueprints of the PT-103 class boats (which included PT-109) are in poor condition, and/or not to scale, and/or are not complete. Therefore, much of the modeling of PT-109 is guess work based on all of the available information and data.
Second, there is a lot of disagreement about the configuration of PT-109 on the Internet forums dedicated to PT boats. For example, it is documented that PT-109 had two depth charges on the bow. Also documented is that during heavy seas, a forward torpedo was ejected and tore off one of the depth charges. It is unknown if PT-109 repaired that damage or removed the depth charges. Another example is what the deck looked like. When the PT-103 class boats were originally built, the decks were planked and painted with a non-skid paint. However, there is at least on photograph of a PT-103 class boat that suggest there is no planking. I assume this may be because of additional coats of non-skid paint made it appear to be a smooth deck or there may have been a modification in the field. Models and paintings of PT-109 show both a deck with planking and a deck without planking which means no one really knows. I opted to show a deck with planking because it’s possible that PT-109 had a planked deck and because it added interest to the model.
Next, there are no photographs of PT-109’s forward hull. Some PT-boats had their number painted on the hull, the front and side of the chart house, and the front of the 20 mm cannon. Most, however did not have a hull number. So my model will not have a number on the hull when completed.
You know, there is a time during modeling when you think you are not progressing. But then when I look back at my early attempts to model PT-109, I realize that I have actually progressed a lot in my modeling and texturing.
So for all of you out there who are intimidated by 3D modeling, hang in there. The best I can possibly give is to pick a model/theme that is beyond your current capabilities and model it. You will learn a lot about modeling techniques. Every time I run into a problem, I Google for a solution and I get lots of good information. Some is better than others but they mostly get the job done.
For the experts out there, this would be a simple model to create. But for me, it has been a difficult challenge. So remember to progress from a difficult challenge to expert requires a lot of practice.
Never give up. Always progress.
One last note. Except for the textures on the hull and torpedo tubes–which are just an experiment–everything else is a texture place holder until I decide how I want to texture every grouped piece.
This is an update on my WIP for PT-109.
The forward turret is nearly complete. There are omissions that were not intended:
a. There is a small piece missing on the “Limit Stop” cage.
b. The twin machineguns are not perfectly aligned and so the ammunition feed from the right and the left look a bit off in front view.
c. I forgot to create the supporting bar structure for the twin mount.
d. And I forgot to add the “barrel” flash suppressor to the ends of the machineguns. The Navy used three different flash suppressors in 1943, but a rare photo of PT-109 confirms that it had the barrel type.
And there is one major item that I haven’t yet modeled. That would be the hatch on the aft side of the turret. I have no idea what that hatch was used for.
The internal part of the turret was far more complex than my general representation, but my final renders will be mostly at a distance. I could easily spend a month modeling the complexities of the forward turret, but no one except an expert in PT-103 class of motor torpedo boats would notice. The big pieces are all there.
The images below are details of the forward turret.
this is awesome. can you make me a 3d print out in 1/1 size all functional when its ready? just kidding. when you have done your sunset scenario it might be cool to see this little angry bastard in an attack run, launching a torpedo. might be a tricky job with a lot of spray and motionblur.
