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Monogram (now Revell) UDT Boat with "Frogmen" WIP

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Jeffry Fontaine:
The old Monogram UDT Boat with "Frogmen" kit is quite primitive by current technology standards but still the only model [affordable] of an actual LCP(R) in a useful model scale.  Not sure what the real scale of the kit is but it is somewhere in between 1/32nd and 1/35th scale and it looks like a Higgins' LCP(R) which is alright by me.  The kit comes with a pair of machine guns and associated hole in the deck featured at the fore of the boat.  I was not overly impressed with the weapons or the hole in the deck and opted to discard this feature.  It might have been relevant to the younger modelers back in the late 60s when this kit was first released and I suspect the one-piece hull was an important feature for the "bathtub naval flotillas" where this model probably spent most of its in-action/play time. 

I removed the janky gun tub holes by filling them in with some flat scrap plastic.  I also replaced the coaming in those two areas to fully cover the new gap.  Once again that HO scale lumber came in handy.  The oddly shaped white bits on the underside of the deck are recycled blood sugar test strips.  Hate to see plastic go to waste and I had salvaged a few of these over the years and finally found a use for the things as a sort of retaining feature to hold the scrap plastic discs in place as the glue cured.  I opted to leave the things in place instead of trying to remove them since they are not interfering with the other parts that are located in that area forward. 

I did not bother to make an image of the deck before filling the holes in as it is rather obvious what was done to change the features on the model.  The only nagging issue I have at the moment is that the HO scale lumber/planks were not as thick as the original kit coaming but I am not going to try and change it now that the CA glue has cured.  I like the look achieved without the gun mounts as it gives the coxswain/helmsman a better view across the bow and to the port and starboard which would have been obscured with the guns in place.  I have considered mounting weapons along the sides of the boat which was done on other amphibious craft during the Vietnam war but will cross that bridge when I get further along.  Not much space in the boat as it is so there is that to be considered.  I am also undecided on the small rubber inflatable boat that was a key feature for discharging and recovery of swimmers at speed as it is a rather clunky arrangement that includes a large support structure that is quite fictional but integral to holding the small boat in place next to the hull of the larger LCP(R).  I am at this point considering not having the inflatable boat deployed but instead stowed on the larger craft.  It would certainly help in covering up some empty space on the larger model. 

Frank3k:
I had this kit as a kid and was a great bathtub and pool ship. I bought one when it was re-released, knowing that it's nowhere near modern standards.

Your gun tub fix looks good; it looks like a field mod (which it is, sort of). Maybe put some bolt or nail heads/holes. You can also add a wheelhouse like the one in the Monogram 1/48 RAG Boat.

Found this build.

Jeffry Fontaine:

--- Quote from: Frank3k on February 12, 2022, 02:51:36 PM ---I had this kit as a kid and was a great bathtub and pool ship. I bought one when it was re-released, knowing that it's nowhere near modern standards.

Your gun tub fix looks good; it looks like a field mod (which it is, sort of). Maybe put some bolt or nail heads/holes. You can also add a wheelhouse like the one in the Monogram 1/48 RAG Boat.

Found this build.
--- End quote ---

The "bathtub flotilla" was a large organization that occupied many household bathtubs back in the day before we all realized that taking a shower was much quicker and the bathtub flotilla faded away except for the memories in later years.  :smiley:

Thanks for finding that link to the LCP(R) Command and Control Craft, that guy did a great job on making an overhead structure to fit his model.  He too quickly abandoned the kit parts for the weapons and gun shields and rightly covered over the offending hole in the deck. 

As far as adding rivets or in this case very tiny bumps to the surface of the deck per your suggestion.  I had not considered that since a lot of that field work would have been ad hoc and in the case of small craft/wooden boat repair there was a layer of canvas laid down to seel the hole from water intrusion and any surface feature standing proud of the deck surface would have been an issue for quicker wear and tear by abrasion.  I hope with a good coat of paint that the filled in areas will disappear from casual view.  As an interim fix I do have some blanking plates from the Monogram B-29 kit for the Silverplate nuclear bomb carrier version that would have been even more useful for filling the holes.  Maybe on the second UDT Boat (I have two of course) that approach can be taken. 





***Edit to correct spelling error -- jjf

LemonJello:
Interesting work underway here.  I look forward to more progress reports.

Jeffry Fontaine:
I managed to do a bit of detail work on the very plain vanilla small inflatable rubber boat that is included in the Monogram UDT Boat kit.  This is the small boat that is attached to the side of the LCP(R) to aid in launching and recovery of the UDT swimmers.  The bottom of the inflatable is very plain and I could have ignored it but I still had a stack of HO Scale planks so I opted to craft a floor of single planks laid on the long axis of the boat and then added some stiffeners across these to hide some gaps and seams.  I regret assembling that small boat prior to attempting this detail work as it was kind of cramped working in that tight space with two fingers holding a plank and trying to set it down straight without getting glue all over the surfaces. 

Attached images show the floor installed in the small inflatable rubber boat.  First image is a view from above.  Second image is a right side view and the third image is the left side view.     

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