PT Boat colors

[Flyingfortress]

I've been asked to build a PT boat for a former skipper and all he recalls is his boat being grey. I don't understand the color call outs of "measure" and hope someone can tell me the simple names I should use to paint his boat grey. I work with Tamiya and MM acrylics. Many thanks.

[john53]

Go here, they explain it best.

http://ptboatworld.com/

Some boats weren't gray, some were camouflaged and some green.

I did some research on a future build, PT-107, and the MM paint I found

closest to measure 5D was MM Gunship Gray but thats according to my eye

and is my personal opinion only,YMMV, there were various schemes through

out the war so see if you can find pictures.HTH. P.S. the PT-109 shown below

was gray before it's second skipper, JFK, was ordered to paint it green to

match the jungle foliage on the islands.---John

Edited February 16, 2013 by john53

[john53]

Actually what I did was get frustrated and I found a chart on

line, goole is your friend, showing the colors such as 5D,

Haze Gray etc. and I matched those as close as I could to my MM

grays in FS I had for aircraft. I also had bought some White Ensign

paint in the small tins and matched those to my MM paints. Sounds a

bit bizarre but it worked for me.---John

[Flyingfortress]

Thanks very much!!!!

[Randy Wise]

Ironic that I should find this thread. I've just begun an Italeri 1/35 PT109 project. Regarding your question about grey PT Boats, check-out this incredible build by Stuart Hurley.

http://www.pt103.com/Italeri_PT109_Build_Stuart_Hurley.html

This build replicates the PT109 at about time that she was on duty in the Panama Canal Zone, prior to loading on board the SS Joseph Stanton and shipping out to the South Pacific. I've read one account that states that the 109 was painted "Green" immediately after delivery to Tulagi. Unfortunately I cannot find any other reference to back that up. As for the "Green" color in question, it's commonly understood that the color was a field mix. Some call it "Forest Green". It's really a tough call. But it's a good bet that no two PT's looked alike color-wise unless they were painted from the same mix.

On the PT Boat Forum, here's a color photo of an early war Elco 80' in the field applied green paint.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n27/David_Waples/PT%20BOATS/PT-109colorreference-1.jpg

Anyways, getting back to the original factory applied grey, Stuart Hurley used Ocean Grey. I think he's got it right. I love his weathering. Most PT Boat builders ignore the weathering aspect of their builds (I've been guilty of that in the past too). Personally I think that his build is the finest PT Boat in scale that I've ever seen.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Randy Wise

[Stuart Hurley]

Ironic that I should find this thread. I've just begun an Italeri 1/35 PT109 project. Regarding your question about grey PT Boats, check-out this incredible build by Stuart Hurley.

http://www.pt103.com/Italeri_PT109_Build_Stuart_Hurley.html

This build replicates the PT109 at about time that she was on duty in the Panama Canal Zone, prior to loading on board the SS Joseph Stanton and shipping out to the South Pacific. I've read one account that states that the 109 was painted "Green" immediately after delivery to Tulagi. Unfortunately I cannot find any other reference to back that up. As for the "Green" color in question, it's commonly understood that the color was a field mix. Some call it "Forest Green". It's really a tough call. But it's a good bet that no two PT's looked alike color-wise unless they were painted from the same mix.

On the PT Boat Forum, here's a color photo of an early war Elco 80' in the field applied green paint.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n27/David_Waples/PT%20BOATS/PT-109colorreference-1.jpg

Anyways, getting back to the original factory applied grey, Stuart Hurley used Ocean Grey. I think he's got it right. I love his weathering. Most PT Boat builders ignore the weathering aspect of their builds (I've been guilty of that in the past too). Personally I think that his build is the finest PT Boat in scale that I've ever seen.

Hi, Randy,

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you like the build. If any questions arise during your project let me know.

Stu