What if - 21st century PT boat

Sometime in the near future - Central American and Mexican drug cartels, emboldened by tepid US government response, have become increasingly brash and daring, especially along the US Gulf coast. Drugs and humans are being smuggled in modified, heavily armed speedboats, fishing trawlers and small freighters. To combat these vessels, the US Coat Guard issues a specification for an armed, high speed patrol boat larger than their usual harbor boats and smaller and more maneuverable than a cutter. The Whiggins Boat Company of Metarie, Louisiana, responds with an updated version of the venerable WWII PT boat. Known as JPT boats for their turbine powerplants, they are constructed of carbon fiber with Kevlar reactive armor and equipped with modern weapons and electronic warfare systems, and are proving to be reliable and surprisingly effective...

This came out of a "McHale's Navy" binge watching session brought on by a serious modeling funk. I started trying to imagine what a PT boat would look like today, and egged on by a good modeling friend who specializes in sci-fi and steampunk modeling (he builds pretty decent armor, too!), I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and got this kit on one of their 40% off specials. The boat is the 1/64 AMT PT-109 and it is truly awful. But it had a single piece hull and deck, which checked all the boxes for me.

The kit donated said hull and deck, torpedo tubes, cabin and some miscellaneous fittings. The main and turret guns, cockpit, engine and engine compartment, and engine hatch are all scratchbuilt from junkbox parts, and other items were pirated from various aircraft, ship, armor, Star Wars and car kits, as well as stuff that I found lying around the house. The dock is built from balsa wood and small hardwood dowels. The base is two layers of 1 inch thick foam insulation, hollowed out to accept the boat hull and the battery pack and switch for the LED lighting I added after the build started because I thought it might look cool (it does!). Water is several layers of Mod Podge craft glue applied over a painted base with the aim of replicating the brown water found in inland waterways. This was then followed by several coats of future to give that water "shine". The diorama depicts a JPT undergoing maintenance at a dock in a bayou somewhere in Texas. The captain and machinist mate are discussing a problem that plagues mechanics everywhere,..."There weren't as many parts left over this time..."

I had an absolute blast building this, and it went a long way to relieving my modeling funk. The idea was to create something ridiculous, but still be believable. And I learned some new techniques that I'll probably use in future projects. I even have a spec sheet for the boat if anyone wants to see it! If you're having a mid life modeling crisis, try doing a what-if project. You might be surprised at how much fun you'll have!

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.