These are some in-progress photos of a conversion of the 1/35 Italeri PT 596 kit to PT 559, one of the Mediterranean Elco 80 footers from Squadron 29, based at Bastia in Corsica. This was one of the four boats that were equipped with the Elco-designed Thunderbolt 4x20mm mounting, instead of a single 40mm, at the stern.
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PT 559 01.JPG [ 142.29 KiB | Viewed 3922 times ]
The photo above shows some of the modifications to the bridge area, which include the moveable airfoil that could be adjusted to defect wind over the cockpit in lieu of a glass or plexiglas windshield, adding the binnacle and reworking the hatch and deadlight on the charthouse roof, changing the radio antenna housing from round to rectangular, and adding a small searchlight bracket to the port side spray shield.
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PT 559 02.JPG [ 140.87 KiB | Viewed 3922 times ]
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PT 559 03.JPG [ 138.77 KiB | Viewed 3922 times ]
The two photos above show some of the changes at the aft end of the boat, including the beginnings of the scratch-built Thunderbolt mount. In addition, the engine room intake was narrowed, the curved-topped life raft housing has been replaced with a box-shaped heater enclosure, the rear torpedo racks have been moved further aft, and the smoke generator moved to the stern. Still to be done are a new radome for the mast and other miscellaneous items. In adddition to scratchbuilt details I will also be using some pieces from the Eduard photo etch set.