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Author Topic: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla  (Read 3501 times)

Offline von Lucky

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Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« on: February 10, 2019, 01:23:30 PM »
So I was weak. I have already been distracted by something shiny and new.

Last week I bought the January edition of Wargames Illustrated that included some articles of interest, along with two free US PT boats for Warlord Games' Cruel Seas game. I liked how well they went together that a day later I bought the US Navy PT Boat Flotilla box set to give me a total of four Higgins and four Elco PT boats.

Overall they were pretty easy to put together, though due to the small parts there was more flash than I would've liked. They also didn't include an instruction sheet, so I had to watch some YouTube clips and search through historical photos to see which way round the torpedoes and rocket launcher were meant to be positioned. But these are just minor criticisms once you see what the flotilla looks like all lined up.



One thing that wasn't too easy to do was add a magnet (as I'll be storing these in a tin) to the bottom of each boat. Although there was a cavity, this was sloped on an angle. The simple solution was to add a little block of card about 7x7mm to the deeper end and then glue a strip of sheet magnet strengthened with card so that it was flush with the bottom of the boat. (The photo above also has all the boats with a magnet strip added.)



Painting-wise I'll keep things simple - the Higgins and two of the Elco boats with be in a simple grey scheme, while the other two Elco boats will be in green camouflage.

More here:
https://donnerundblitzenwargaming.blogspot.com/2019/02/cruel-seas-gluing-together-pt-boats.html
« Last Edit: February 20, 2019, 10:30:53 AM by von Lucky »
- Karsten

"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Blog: Donner und Blitzen

Offline tomrommel1

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2019, 07:41:08 AM »
nice start.
In hoc signo vinces

Have a look at www.wargamesgazette.com

Offline von Lucky

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2019, 09:49:00 AM »
I decided as this was a small project I wasn't going to buy paint to match the exact military colours of the PT boats. However, after a bit of googling, I realised this wasn't really an issue as colours varied wildly (including the effects of weather)! I started off with Vallejo German Fieldgrey WWII (70.830), but it had way too much green in it (even when I factored in highlighting), so I painted over a coat of London Grey (70.836). Much better.



For a (very) brief moment I considered painting some of the boats in dazzle camouflage... but just like the American crews I gave up when I realised how difficult it would be. It looks pretty amazing though.



The base coat was followed by a few heavy dry brushes with white (70.951) mixed in. The weapons were painted black (70.950).



The cabin windows and the crew were painted Dark Prussian Blue (70.899) with some white highlights, with a small dot of Flat Flesh (70.955) for the faces. The missiles were painted a mix of metals and black to differentiate them on the table, including a set to match the ones on the Elco with silver bodies and bronze (70.998) tips.



For markings on the Higgins boats I saw something on the History Channel's documentary (it's on YouTube) on PT Boats that was simple but would stand out.



The decals were from some spare Flames of War Sherman tanks I had and were easy to apply on the flat surface (though I still used decal softener).



I also cut down some 1/72 decals I had for a Flying Tigers P-40 that was a few decades old now. It needed a few goes with decal softener due to the curves in the bow's hull, but I think it's come out alright.



Since taking these photos, I have given these both a heavy black and brown wash, and will post photos once I varnish them and glue their flags in place. Hopefully in the next few days.

Blog post here:
http://donnerundblitzenwargaming.blogspot.com/2019/02/cruel-seas-painting-pt-boats.html
« Last Edit: February 21, 2019, 11:03:15 AM by von Lucky »

Offline tuco74

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2019, 10:09:21 AM »
They look great, I'm very tempted by Cruel Seas.

Offline AKULA

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2019, 10:19:07 AM »
Good work, makes me want to get on with my own flotilla

 :)

Offline von Lucky

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2019, 10:32:53 AM »
Thanks guys. They really are easy to paint and take to dry brushing and washes really well. Got the 8 PT boats for less than AU$50.

Offline von Lucky

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2019, 03:51:45 AM »
Final post, as these are now done.

As previously discussed, I gave these PT boats a heavy wash of both Vallejo Woodgrain and watered down Black. I also added the (tiny!) American flags to some of the boats, using the flag sheet that they came with.

I am very happy with how the wash came out on the top surfaces:



But I think I was a bit heavy with the streaking with the brown ink along the sides:



A day or two later I am not concerned now with having to fix this up as you can hardly see it when the boats are laid out on the table. Overall I am very happy how quickly I got this project done from when I purchased them to getting them ready for a game. (Okay, I've got two more to paint, but these don't have to be finished to get a decent sized game in.)

More here:
https://donnerundblitzenwargaming.blogspot.com/2019/02/cruel-seas-finishing-off-pt-boats.html
« Last Edit: February 23, 2019, 03:53:33 AM by von Lucky »

Offline Ultravanillasmurf

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2019, 07:42:32 AM »
Very nice.

Offline Warboss Nick

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2019, 09:56:34 AM »
Looking good an quite effective, too.

Offline tomrommel1

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2019, 03:53:35 PM »
very nice indeed

Offline tomrommel1

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Re: Cruel Seas - Building a US PT Boat Flotilla
« Reply #10 on: June 03, 2019, 01:07:22 PM »
really nice boats