Classic Lindberg Coastal Patrol Boat with Conversion to Viet Nam Era PGM
The Lindberg Coastal Patrol Boat, which I had posted much earlier, was a good beginning for this conversion. Reference material was somewhat limited. The Squadron publication, "Riverine" by Jim Mesko, gave me a decent start. The back cover shows a Vietnamese Patrol Motor Gunboat (PGM) "off Da Nang in late 1971". I thought I'd give it a go. With the encouragement and help of T.Garth Connelley (of "PT Boats in Action" fame), I was able to locate the white-metal accessories I needed. The rest was scratch building from the deck up. I enjoyed the build, and the result.
I've added the picture I worked from.
Great work done with this Joe.
Just a wonderful conversion. Truly a well thought out and executed model! A big well done.
California Steve
Very nice conversion build, Joe...a lotta scratch-building there (and well done).
Nice work there Joe,glad your back .
N.
Nice work, Joe. The splash of colour on the grey boat is an effective touch.
Great work Joe. Looks simply perfect.
The boxart is very nice too
Very nice conversion Joe, I always enjoy seeing vintage kits made over using state of the art techniques and accessories. On USCGC Cape Gull are those some sort of Hedghog launchers on the foredeck?
Yes, I believe that's what they're supposed to represent.
Thanks for the comments, guys..
Great conversion Joe.
Good to see you make an appearance .
Well done mate.
sweet and clean
Very nice! I love the surplus of barrels: from a time when warfare was more 'shooting them up' than precision bombing
Thanks for the inspiration!
Joe:
Market Time or Game Warden, interdicting VC supplies. You don't hear much about it, which is a shame considering the effort those involved put forth.
Months of boredom, punctuated by moments of stark terror, as we used to say.
That sums up a lot of what went on in country and in surrounding waters.
Good to see those Lindberg kits getting some love. I'm an airplane guy, but I used to look at them in the stores, way back. I saw their LST last week in a collection of donated kits the museum is selling off. Was like seeing an old friend.
Great job on this one, just a beauty.
I may yet buy a tugboat...
Regards,
Bernie
Thanks, Bernie. I'm an aircraft builder too. I enjoy a boat now and then, to break up the routine. You'll see my Lindberg Tug elsewhere on this site, along with another bunch of "oddballs". I try to stay around 1/72 as much as possible, with my boats, difficult with Lindberg, but close enough for me.
I'm glad you enjoyed my PGM. You're correct about not hearing much about "the Brown Water Navy". Highest casualty rate in the Navy in Viet Nam. Nerve wracking duty, and some real hero's.
It's a shame that some plastic company didn't offer the 82' "POINT" Class Coast Guard patrol boat. First commissioned in 1960 and the last boat scrapped in 2005, the 82' patrol boat served in Vietnam until the fall of South. The only sucessful "operation" in Vietnam was "Operation Market Time" that involved the CG's 82' interdicting the North's supply of arms to the South. So sucessful at choking off the flow of weapons by boat the North moved the bulk of it's war material over the Ho Chi Min trail.
Your model of the 95' patrol boat represents the "A" class of the 95's. There were the "B" and "C" class and differed in superstructure and armament. You did a great job on the PGM, good to see a different representation of a Vietnam era boat.
Thanks Mike, and all the other guys. I can't take credit for knowing any more about what I was building, than what little I had to look at. I just tried to make it look like the picture. There's still not a lot of info, or reference available on these boats.
Always good to see one of your postings, Joe, and this one is no exception. Very attractive looking result, and it's interesting to read how you researched and built it.