Revell - British Vosper MTB (1/72)

The boat depicted by the kit was never used by the Royal Navy.  While a Vosper design, it is a heavily-modified design built in the US under license specifically for the Soviet Navy.  The kit was originally released in the early 1960s as "McHale's Navy PT73".  This TV show actually used one of these boats that was never shipped to the USSR.  The kit has a number of fit problems (notably the deck to hull) and the hull bottom is wrong, but it does approximate the basic configuration of this group of boats.

Pictures and plans can be found in (among others) the Squadron VOSPERS IN ACTION monograph by T.G. Connelly and ALLIED COASTAL FORCES OF WORLD WAR II, vol. 2 by John Lambert and Al Ross.  Proper RN colors are available from White Ensign Models (www.whiteensignmodels.com)

Al Ross 

 

Hi Al,

Thanks for the great reply!  I probably should have researched this kit a bit more before purchasing.  I was picking up the Tamiya "Prince of Wales" and couldn't resist this one.  I'm planning on getting the Squadron book.  Does it cover the configuration, etc. of the Vospers in other navies such as the Soviet Navy?  If not, do you happen to know any good references to history, configuration, etc. for service of the Vospers in the Soviet Navy?

On the other hand, my original yen was to do a British WWII era MTB - any suggestions on reasonably accurate kits?  I have now read that the Airfix kit may be reasonable.  Any experience with the Airfix Vosper kit?

Thanks again, Rick

RTimmer wrote:

<<SNIP>> On the other hand, my original yen was to do a British WWII era MTB - any suggestions on reasonably accurate kits?  I have now read that the Airfix kit may be reasonable.  Any experience with the Airfix Vosper kit?

Look at the White Ensign Models line of small combattants in their Narrow Seas line

Review @ Steel Navy http://www.steelnavy.com/WEM350MTB57.htm

These are 1:350 scale resin & brass.  They are quite inexpensive.

Instructions and painting info

It also includes a very nice PT-109 (as lost) complete with a 37mm AT gun and Al Ross' personal favorite PT-34.   There are also an assortment of Schnellboots

RTimmer wrote:

On the other hand, my original yen was to do a British WWII era MTB - any suggestions on reasonably accurate kits?  I have now read that the Airfix kit may be reasonable.  Any experience with the Airfix Vosper kit?

 

The Airfix Vosper kit is very good - it's an accurate representation of a 73-foot MTB (a later design, with heavier armament than the 70-foot represented by the Revell kit). Other than the tricky multi-part hull assembly, the kit is excellent with very few "issues", the only problems I can think of are the lack of shoulder rests on the 20mm gun, and the inaccurate representation of the flare launchers, both of which are very easy to correct with a bit of Evergreen/Slaters styrene. I definitely recommend buying this kit - and the RAF Rescue Launch - if you can find it.

An invaluable reference for Vosper or Elco boats is "Allied Coastal Forces: Volume 2" by Lambert & Ross - this has detailed plans, photos and technical data for virtually every MTB/PT boat built by these manufacturers in WW2, including many prototype/experimental designs (and including the Soviet Lend-Lease Vosper boats). This book is not too expensive or hard to find at the minute - I paid about £20-25 for mine. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in modelling these vessels. 

Hi Ed,

Thanks very much for the feedback and link.  I will be adding this to my build list.  They look marveously detailed for this scale.  Are they about 3 inches in length?  They look like they would be an interesting and challenging build.

Cheers, Rick 

Hi,

Great feedback! Is the Airfix Vosper OOP? Do you know offhand of an online stores that have this kit, or is eBay the best source?

Based on your feedback, I have already ordered the Lambert and Ross book.  It looks like a good source especially for when I graduate to scratch-build for this class of boats.

Cheers, Rick 

RTimmer wrote:

Great feedback! Is the Airfix Vosper OOP? Do you know offhand of an online stores that have this kit, or is eBay the best source?

All the Airfix 1/72 boats are in production and readily available at retail in the UK - and probably also mainland Europe - but I'm not sure about their availability in the USA. However, I'd suspect that some of the major online retailers like squadron.com or Pacific Front have them in stock.
 

Thanks! 

If anyone is following this thread, I did a quick search of some of the online stores I've used (in the USA).  Here's what I came up with for Airfix 1/72 boats of various types (list not meant to be comprehensive, but where I would typically look):

Free Time Hobbies:

1/72 Airfix German E-Boat AIR10280 - $42.39

1/72 Airfix RAF Rescue Launch AIR5281 - $17.19

 

Great Models:

 

Vosper Motor Torpedo Boat #73 (Cat No. ARX5280) - $17.55

RAF Rescue Launch Ship (Cat. No. ARX5281) - $17.55

RNLI Lifeboat (Cat. No. ARX6280) - $22.35

RNLI Seven Class Lifeboat (Cat. No. ARX7280) - $25.55

 

 

Roll Models:

 

They also have the E-Boat (Cat. No. AF10280) - $41.50

Vosper MTB (Cat. No. AF5280) - $16.00

 

Squadron:

 

They have the E-Boat (Cat. No. AX10280) - $47.69 

 

I checked Pacific Front and Sprue Brothers without success. Based on the feedback here, I think I will definitely pick up the Vosper MTB from Airfix.  I'm intrigued by the E-Boat and some other Airfix subjects (rescue boats), but don't know anything about the accuracy or fit of these other kits.

 

Thanks to all who have responded thus far!

 

Cheers,

Rick 

 

 

The Airfix E-boat is (IMHO) not nearly as bad as some people say it is. The lower hull shape is inaccurate and rather clumsy-looking (it can be built as a waterline model, however) but other than this it's a pretty good and nicely detailed model of an early-type Schnellboot (very different in appearance to Revell's S-100). However, it is very expensive - overpriced, I'd say - compared to the Revell boat. (I managed to pick up one second-hand for much less)

The RAF Rescue Launch is an excellent kit with very little bad to say about it other than the usual Airfix multi-part hull assembly (some issues of this kit, and the MTB and E-boat, also have problems with flash + mould lines). You can build it either as an early-war boat with a high-vis paint scheme, or a late-war boat with additional armament including a 20mm Oerlikon gun.

What's the difference between these 2?

RNLI Lifeboat (Cat. No. ARX6280) - $22.35

RNLI Seven Class Lifeboat (Cat. No. ARX7280) - $25.55

 

Thanks

Hi Firecaptain,

I think that this is an error at the Great Models website, that I copied over rather blindly.  Looking at the Airfix site, there is one RNLI Lifeboat - the Severn class lifeboat - with an Airfix number of AO7280.  There is nothing listed at the Airfix site that would suggest a second RNLI lifeboat.  Sorry about my mistake.

Chers, Rick 

Today's "new releases" page on the Squadron mail order website lists the Airfix Vosper:  http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=AX05280