January 2020 issue: Test Bench Revell PT Boat

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

In his review of the Revell 1/72 PT-579, the author wrote: “This rebox from Revell can trace its roots back to the early 1970s….”

That is incorrect. The author is mixing up the old and new Elco 80 foot PT boat kits. The new late war kit is not based on the old kit!

The original Revell PT-109 Kit was released in 1963. It has been in production ever since- you can still find it in shops. This kit is typical for the era, with various errors such as deck planking (the real boats had smooth decks) and limited detail. I built this kit about 7 years ago- it was awful. The molds seem like they are worn out- there was lots of flash and poorly molded parts.

Revell released an all new kit of the 80 footer in 2018, also marketed as PT-109. This is a much better kit. The new late war kit is based off this one, not the old dog from 1963! The initial release of the new PT-109 was overshadowed by Revell’s parent company’s bankruptcy- both happened in a January 2018. The new kit wasn’t well distributed, as a result- so many people don’t know it existed. ( Maybe that’s why the reviewer thought it was a derivative of the old kit?)

The release history of the two kits is documented on scalemates.com

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

I find these kit reviews very good, as they give me ideas for bigger stuff to build, must be 500 kits up the loft I enjoy plastic kit building and they are good insulation for the roof, well that's how I describe it to my wife 😀

Regards Ray

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Hi Ray,

I also like to give some model building time to plastics. I don't have a stash (for loft insulation), but like to buy to build with a couple of exceptions. The cargo liner Benledi is in storage, an old Revell kit, which dates from when Revell had a manufacturing plant in Great Britain. Not sure whether I will build or not, the old saying "when in doubt, do nowt" seems to apply.

My current plastics build is Revell's 1:90 'Nina' from the 1990s when Revell were in Illinois USA.

Pleased the new editor, Martyn has found space in the magazine for these (plastic) models.

[Author]

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