Italeri 1:35 Vosper Motor Torpedo Boat Box Open and Kit Review

As requested by my Patreons this is a box open and sprue review of the Italeri 1:35 scale model of the 73 foot Vosper Motor Torpedo Boat kit. It is a great looking kit which promises to build into a fine model, but there are a few traps to watch out for and some areas which can be improved.
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Chapters Click and Go
00:00 Intro
03:47 Opening the Box
10:23 Look at the Sprue
16:22 The Instructions
28:16 Machine Guns
34:21 Reference book
36:30 Summary

[@brucegibbins3792]

Cheers, Harry and big thanks for the kit review. This kit is a temptation, but one that hopefully by morning may not be so much of one. Your boat reviews are becoming too much of a worry to my credit card company who even from this great distance I can detect the smell of fear from them at my increased rate of spending on kits. Boohoo. Great review.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Sorry to hear I have put you under financial pressure and credit anxiety. I will strive to review less expensive kits in future to lessen your pain ;)

[@MrFumblethumbs]

This one I've had stashed for several years. Now, I've got it's number! Cheers Sir !!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

You always know when your numbers up.

[@rustykilt]

Just started watching your Channel. In a moment of madness I purchased the ITALERI schnell boat 1/35 and their 1/35 elco PT Boat.........and yes, they are sitting in my stash. As an old bloke I have jumped headfirst back into a hobby I enjoyed as a kid but had no time for with family and work. It has changed a lot. As an Aussie, I relate to your approach. Good stuff.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Wow you went big, in a big way!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Great review Harry. I have all the 1/35 Italeri boats and mini subs so may well do a review of them? The MAS boat is beautiful with the red and white on the deck and the St Nazaire Vosper is lovely too.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes there do appear to a lot of nice paint schemes, just as I found for the Schnellboot.

[@John_Sharrock]

It's a beast! But remember,it's not the size of your box... It's what you do with it! 🤣

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Never a truer word said.

[@davidhinkson8856]

The old Airfix box you showed at the start brought back some childhood memories - the tape at the side always seemed to be in that particular spot! I've always admired this kit, followed a build on Cyber Modeler a few years back on one of these big scale Italeri fast attack craft, be good to see one on video rather than stills.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks, won’t be for a while yet, as I have a few other projects to get out of the way. But it is a build I am very much looking forward to, and have just found the Griffon upgrade for the twin Vickers machine gun setup. So there will be more brass and metal barrels.

[@johnf3885]

Wow Harry it's huge!!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

That’s what she said ;)

[@MrHullRockers]

I bought that a couple of months ago along with the crew. Really looking forward to getting into it but a few models to finish off first.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Same here... have a few other ships to get out my styrene shipyard before working on this one.

[@andrealeighv1]

Looks like a great kit. I really need a bigger display case one day for all these big ship kits coming out.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

You and me both!

[@nickbutler7935]

Greetings fellow Vosperian. Nice review Harry. I have the MTB 74 St. Nazaire version which accounts for the tubes on the fore deck. It's role was to hit the anti-submarine nets then launch the torepedoe's to block the dock gate. Also abaft the bridge the deck was modified to fit silencers ( for obvious reasons ). So, sadly the M.G. mount was done away with. Bridge superstructure also slightly different. Kit also contains P.E., Rigging pack and seven crew figures. However no snazzy little Photo reference booklet. It does have the 'B.B.Q' at the back tho so all is not lost. I am looking forward to the Camo scheme which you also liked the look of. Finger cramp now, so I will close with stay safe, Happy modelling and cheers from the U.K.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks Nick.. yes that camo has my juices flowing.

[@mikehufnagl8696]

Harry, love your humor and enjoy your videos. 👍

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

It’s the only humour I have, glad you like it.

[@rikbryan9709]

Had my eye on this since its release. Well Harry, time to raid the sheckle jar and order one.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I think it’s worth the shekels if you like the subject.

[@J.A.Hansen]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Absolutly true. Apart from that I got a mantra from King Solomon》Everything has is time.Sometimes when i want a modell or what ever i put it on my do to list and when there is space i'm gonna buy it.So much bigger is the joy. However.

[@nickwarney9231]

Harry, I think the coat hangar thing is actually a long bow .... makes up for the shortage of guns!! Wonderful video, thanks very much

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

No that seems completely logical... some other guy thought it was a catapult to fling rocks?

[@aussiefrenchman-hobbytable9960]

Nice review, mmm something I can RC , looking forward to you putting it together 😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks 👍

[@Duececoupe]

You're not gonna fit in the tub yourself, with that lass in there, you'll need a pool! Excellent video young fella! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Bask wants to use it in the river to catch fish

[@Duececoupe]

@@HarryHoudiniModels One wish her all the success, maybe she'll be kind enough to share with you!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Ha ha are you joking? Bask will bite my hand off if I touched her fish.

[@Duececoupe]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Oh dear, that's not nice, not nice at all....you'll just have to catch, find, better fish that her then! 😆😂

[@gerryjamesedwards1227]

MTB 74 had the torp tubes moved to the foredeck for the St. Nazaire operation. It was meant to go up right to the boom blocking the river and fire two specially fused torpedo over the boom (which supported an anti-submarine net) at the dock gates of the Normandie dock. The torps would then sink down to the base of the dock gates before exploding, to gain the focussing effect of the water on the blast, directing all the force into the gates.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

You and Bernard would get along. He likes that kind of info

[@garfieldsmith332]

Sadly the boat was lost in the operation.

[@jerrybird9365]

Great review, and hilarious as ever Harry. Cheers. By the way, the 'toilet paper' was the protective sheet for the decals, not in there for wiping sheet! 😂😂😂

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for the info but too late.. I did a boo boo!

[@jerrybird9365]

@@HarryHoudiniModels hey, that's what makes your vids so entertaining though. Got to have a laugh, especially these days. Thank you👍😆

[@markgroth1790]

Good review, Harry... thanks!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

My pleasure! Glad you liked it.

[@J.A.Hansen]

Ahoi Harry-Top review🔝I really like your videos and this channel. I like your humor and knowlege of building the modells and so on. Apart from that i like the music at the beginning of your channel(I'm a blues musician,so that is that) Have a nice day🍀 J.A.Hansen⚓

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Gotta love the blues

[@usssaratogacv3lefevre978]

Nice review, that is a big one!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes big scale, but really nothing compared to my wood ship kits

[@brendanleach4735]

G’day, I’m building this kit atm and I’m after a scale material Royal Navy Ensign. Can you tell me where I can pick one up, thanks? Preferably in Australia.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Try these guys: amp.rokket.biz/flags.shtml

[@jason-sp8nb]

My god that's massive never seen a model that big 😳

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

They are suited to radio control. Those boys like their boats big.

[@subliminalstyrene811]

Nice one Harry ! I've been thinking about getting this one for myself......but..... and I know your going to be upset about this, but i'm not really that into boats to justify the cost of this kit. Love a Galleon, Love an Aircraft Carrier and a good Battleship, but this one doesn't get my juices flowing enough to chuck so much moolah at........plus being a pensioner I have to be careful with the dosh. But having said that, I am really looking forward to your build of this one, interesting to see in 1/35. Will you be adding some figures ? Italeri does a set of figures especially for this kit, would look really good.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I used my government stimulus bonus to buy it... otherwise I might not have lashed out on the shekels.

[@darronhedges5873]

Just after i watched a fairmile documentary,and realized dragon dont make one.I'm so tempted,all the scratchbuilding and A/M should help the 'reveleri' factor.Off topic,the Tipa cabroni was another creative pre war design,makes The Flea look reasonably safe.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I think I got the jist of that... best turn spell checker on when posting.

[@darronhedges5873]

@@HarryHoudiniModelsSorry Harry.And i studied English Literature.'Reveleri'..Revell/italeri.

[@Andrew-se4tg]

Just a thought Harry, but this boat would look great in a water diorama. I know she's a big girl, but still it would look great! Maybe a torpedo being fired from a tube? Either way, great video!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Cool idea! But I have little enough display space as it without filling up the place with dioramas. I just stick to kits.

[@Andrew-se4tg]

I know the feeling man...

[@dave_jackson3043]

Thanks for the review mate, hopefully build up better than the fiats huge chunk of plastic😀😉👍stay safe pal

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I have it on good authority it is a good build. Well British engineering always beats Italian mass production LOL

[@Emtbtoday]

It's about the same size as the 1.48 elco 80 kit still very nice though I love my pt boats

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Now now it’s not about who’s got the biggest one hehe

[@Emtbtoday]

@@HarryHoudiniModels hahaha small for a 1.35 good to sit on the shelf though Haha

[@johnmaddox7432]

The barbie items are smoke generators. The land mines are depth charges. Looks like they were trying to build a miniature destroyer but forgot the pew pews. At least replace the Vickers with some Bofors. Otherwise, your sending these poor guys out with their hands tied behind their backs at least dealing with the Lufthounders;)

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for the clarification... I knew once I said it that Land Mines just wasn’t the correct name, all at sea you know, and could not remember the type of guns. There are many variations of layout for these boats, so may go my own way, especially since I saw that snappy tri-colour camo in the photo booklet.

[@mikaelfrigeniua208]

The Captain of the said Vosper will be advised not to let our coathanger trap any wayward Albatros ! Guarranted bad luck for sailors ! Come on Captain Houdini ! Add the hapless bird as an optional conversation piece !!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Now that is a great idea Mikael

[@mikaelfrigeniua208]

Albatrosses can be vindictive to the modelling fraternity if one is not careful ! So why not get away scot free by letting it be somewhat entangled !! Full marks for your narrative ! Informative and that self irony makes it a teetotal !

[@mikaelfrigeniua208]

Sanding thin sprues are a pain in the... they will be boken or bent So my remedy to this sad state of things is ! Imagine our Vosper happily upon the sea ! Enter our heavy hero bird happily soaring enqountering the coathanger ! Modelling wise it would be bent !

[@claytonmcclain182]

Wow have you started this monster yet?

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Not until I get a bigger bath tub!

[@garfieldsmith332]

Yep. A lot larger. 8 times larger in fact. You double the size, you cube the volume as the length is doubled, the width is doubled, and the height is doubled.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Actually you only paint the surface area.. so double the size, square the surface area… by all means fill your model with paint for volume if you like.

[@garfieldsmith332]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Yes. I did not phrase myself correctly. I was only explaining why the box size is so large and the model so big. A lot of people think you double the size it becomes twice as big, not 8 times as big in volume. I remember that as eons ago in science class they explained why there are no monster spiders or giant ants, etc. in all those B movies from the 1950's. I just picked this kit up yesterday and have not had a look at it. I also have the St, Nazaire kit in my stash. Stayed around to watch so I have a pre-look at what I am getting into. Nice looking kit. Both going to be fun to paint. Got this one as prices are going through the roof over here for styrene. The kit was about $ 185 Canadian (About $ 201 AUD at exchange rate). Built the Airfix Vosper eons ago. Liked the review and subscribed.

[@matthausrex5973]

Italeri instructions prove that logic is entirely subjective...

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

You need to drink some vino to understand them!

[@garfieldsmith332]

@@HarryHoudiniModels I would agree, Built a couple of their armour kits.

[@janmajer865]

It is not a clothes hanger it is a catapult.The guns could not fie directly ahead without shooting into the wheelhouse so they put a catapult in the nose to fire rocks at enemy aircraft

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Makes sense to me.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for sorting that out Les.

[@jameslochridge4265]

I can get a model 1:35 scale of an American MTB for about £40 yet a Vosper costs about £90 in the UK.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

But what brand is the La’Merican MTB?

[@Dreg0]

I am a "lucky" owner of s-38 schnellboot in 35 scale and for two years of owning this kit, every day I ask myself: "where in hell I'm gonna put it in case if I'll ever build it"

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes the Schnellboot is a lot bigger than a Vosper, almost twice the length. Hence my 2 foot rule, otherwise it’s too big to display.

[@rustykilt]

Building the TRUMPETER TYPE VIIc UBOAT in 1/48, I face a display issue.

[@chinook9785]

Tamiya 1/350 Enterprise has some screws

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I did not know they made spaceships?

[@chinook9785]

@@HarryHoudiniModels The Nuclear aircraftcarrier CVN-65

[@clementferguson2719]

Yep to join the bow to the rest of the hull

[@paullynch8316]

The deck gets screwed down incase you want to RC it

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

As I summised

[@discotrucker9740]

3:07 You mean matryoshka? Because babushka is grandmother in Russian.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

We know those dolls with smaller dolls inside as Babushka dolls. It seems we have been naming them wrong all these years?

[@discotrucker9740]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Internet says that: Many people think that babushka and matryoshka have the same meaning. That is why some people call these dolls as babushka dolls. However, babushka and matryoshka are two different things. Babushka, in Russian, refers to an old woman, while matryoshka means mother. In the west, matryoshka dolls are often referred to as babushka dolls,

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for clearing that up. I will try to remember for next time.

[@janmajer9195]

😂😂😂

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Do you need a moment to compose yourself?