Italeri's 1/35 scale
ELCO 80' Torpedo Boat

by Ted Taylor

Italeri's 1/35 scale ELCO 80' Torpedo Boat is available online from Squadron.com

Here is Italeri’s 1/35 scale ELCO 80’ Torpedo Boat BT596.

When this came in for review I was amazed how big it was. After it had sat in the to do pile for a while I decided the box was taking up too much room so I just had to build it.

I am glad that I did.

The kit comes with a one piece hull and a single detailed deck, also included is a sheet of Etched metal quite nicely done, a clear sheet with pre-cut window shapes which just need lifting off the adhesive backing. Another small bag contains fine mesh net, “cables”, screws, some lengths of wire and two nicely turned metal gun barrels.

The main deck needs a number of holes drilled out to take later parts I checked with the required parts to see which size drills are needed and found just two small drill bits covered all the holes needed, the instructions show the deck windows and PE frames being installed early on but I left these until all the painting was done to save masking and then fitted them with PVA glue which will not damage the paint. Be aware that not all the windows are glazed some are covered by other structures later but they are all clearly marked.

I spent some time deciding what order and how far the parts could be constructed before painting, this I felt was well worth it as I was able to assemble large sections without paint and had no worries about cement damaging any freshly painted parts. All the clear windows were left out until all the painting was finished but added before cementing each section to the main deck.

Each section was set aside until all were built, things like aerials and masts were left off until it was safe to add them or if parts needed detail painting these were done later while waiting for parts or paint to dry. You will find lots of items need making and seams cleaning up ie. Torpedoes and their launchers, vents, machine guns and their revolving mounts plus the rocket launchers.  A splendid 40mm Bofors gun with some delicate parts I think sets the whole thing off and was the part I enjoyed most.

I fabricated two hinges for the main radar mast so it could be lowered if required but that was the only alteration. I built the rest of the kit straight from the box.

In my opinion, Italeri’s 1/35 scale ELCO 80’ Torpedo Boat is an excellent model. It is large and also eye catching.

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Model, Text Copyright © 2008 by Ted Taylor
Page Created 8 October, 2008
Last Updated 8 October, 2008

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