1:24 Scale ELESCO 80 foot PT Boat Number 581 from FINE ART MODELS

ELESCO 80 foot PT Boat Number 581 from FINE ART MODELS, Chicago. http://fineartmodels.com/Welcome.html Owner Gary Kohs died Apr 6, 2018. Enclosed is his obituary. https://ebw.tv/remembering-late-gary-kohs-making-impossible-possible/ I purchased the model from a brass train dealer THE CABOOSE, located in Wolcott, Conn in August 2007. Owner’s name is Armand Mazzetti. Phone (203) 879-9797 Model Measures: 40" L x 12" W x 14" H Base Measures: 47-7/8" L x 15-3/16" W x 17" H PT Boat was a 1995 Release with a Limited Edition of 25. It is in EXCELLENT condition. A true museum quality ship model! HAZE GRAY and UNDERWAY! The incredible attention to detail on this Model is unparalleled. A little history on the PT Boat: The enemy called them “a monster that roars, flaps its wings, and fires torpedoes.” The American press called them “mosquito boats” and “expendables.” They were the motor torpedo boats of World War II - the PT boats. In 1892, the Electric Launch Company (Elco) was founded to produce electric launches for the Chicago World’s Fair. In 1914, it introduced standardized construction with its 32-foot Cruisette, and then carved a niche for itself in the history of mass production by producing 550 110-foot patrol boats and minesweepers for the British Admiralty in a mere 488 days during World War I. In 1937, the U.S. Navy saw the potential of using inexpensive high-speed wood patrol torpedo (PT) vessels for delivering torpedo attacks and conducting anti-submarine warfare. After it tested three (3) experimental boats, it published terms for a design competition and ordered eight (8) boats (PTs 1–8). But these were not wholly satisfactory, so experiments continued into 1939. By then, Elco (now a division of Electric Boat) had seen the possibility of leveraging its World War I experience. The designer and production manager from those days were still with the company when entering the motor torpedo boat market, and proposed a 70-foot boat that became PT 9. A stretched, interim 77-foot version suffered from hull strength and sea-keeping problems. But in July 1941, new plywood derbies were conducted with competitive designs from Higgins and Huckins. These tests yielded yet another set of requirements, and this time, production contracts were awarded to all three builders. The Huckins design proved still too weak in service, but the 78-foot Higgins PT 71 was a good boat and the 80-foot Elco PT 103 proved to be the best of all - fast and dry with a smooth ride and good visibility for its crew … relatively speaking! It was fast enough to become airborne in even a moderate swell and, in rough weather, the pounding could throw everyone off their feet. Although Elco received its contract after the others, its boats entered squadron service first. They were built in two series at Elco’s Bayonne, New Jersey yard. The first consisted of PTs 103–196 and 314–167; the second included PTs 372–383, 486–563 and 565–622. They delivered classic torpedo attacks as well as attacks on shallow-draft barges with guns. Most served in the Pacific where many were lost (including PT 109, commanded by then Lieutenant John F. Kennedy), with two squadrons deployed to the English Channel and one to the Mediterranean. Today, the Elco legacy lives on. Although the navy burned and scrapped almost its entire PT boat fleet immediately after the war, the modern-day Electric Launch Company is again producing electric pleasure boats in Highland, New York for a customer list that reads like a social register, much as it did more than 100 years ago. About the Model… PTs 565–624, built in the last year of the war, were the most highly developed Elcos, as much a gunboat as it was a torpedo boat. With a life raft on top of the charthouse and an 8-foot wherry on the day-room cabin, they also had the most interesting equipment, and thus, are the boats that Fine Art Models’ chose to build in a scale of 1:20 with exacting detail. A limited edition series, each PT Boat is built by a team of eight (8) of the most skilled craftsmen in the world, with more than 400 man-hours just to assemble. Computers were used to generate exact scale drawings from the original plans. All of the materials used to construct this boat meet and/or exceed museum quality standards including a space-age, high definition hull and decks and a completely fabricated brass superstructure, including the 37mm and 20mm mounts and the four (4) .50 cal. machine guns. The brass guns and rocket launchers swing out from their stowed position while the elevation of the launchers can be controlled. Pull the release lever on the torpedo rack and the torpedo rolls off. In addition, all of the paint used is custom-made and impervious to ultra-violet light. As with all Fine Art Models, the PT Boat scale model comes complete with a Black Walnut base and leaded glass display case. ( painting in background not included but would make a fine addition to this display. Please inquire.)

$6,895

Call or email Steve Gronow to get your questions answered and find out how to finalize your order.