1:72 PT-579/588 Boat Life Raft

Special Navy 1:72 - a resin life raft for the PT-579/588 boat

A resin detail accessory in 1:72 scale meant for a model of the American PT-579/588 torpedo boat. It is not a kit of the vessel but a standalone casting of a life raft, that is deck equipment. It is precisely the small equipment that decides whether a model reads as a manned vessel or as a bare hull: an inflatable raft with a surface texture of its own is instantly legible on the deck and cannot be made from plastic at a small scale.

The real subject

The torpedo boats designated PT were small fast craft of the US Navy with a wooden hull, meant for torpedo attack and for patrol duty in coastal waters. They carried a sizeable crew in a very small space, so the use of the deck was literally fought over - every piece of equipment had its fixed place. Life rafts belonged to the compulsory equipment and were usually stowed on the deck or on the superstructure so as to be quickly to hand.

Usage tips

Wash the casting first in warm water with detergent, so that any mold release agent disappears. Separate it from the casting block with a saw or a cutter and never snap it off - resin cracks. Sand the area left by the block smooth, ideally wet, so that no dust is raised. Glue with cyanoacrylate; plastic cement does not work here. Apply a primer before painting. The raft itself looks better when, after the base color, you bring it out with a thin wash into the folds and suggest wear on the edges with a dry brush. Try the stowage on the deck dry beforehand and bear in mind that the part must not block the view of other parts of the model.

Who the accessory is for

• Builders of torpedo and patrol boats in 1:72 scale.
• Modelers who add deck equipment beyond the contents of the kit.
• Those building the vessel into a diorama or into a scene with a crew.
• Modelers with experience of resin and cyanoacrylate glue.

The package holds only the resin accessory. The kit, paints and glue are not part of it.