life size cardboard model used in 60's tv comedy

**mchale** · #1 01-10-2011, 09:51 PM

in mchale's navy tv show the pt 73 used when tied up at the dock is never left the that set because it was made out of cardboard acorrding to
ernest borgnine in a 2007 mchale's navy cast reunion interview here is a postcard picture of the boat i am talking about

**Jim Nunn** · #2 01-10-2011, 10:25 PM

Very cool, I wonder if they made using an Exacto blade...

A good friend is a active member of the "Tin Can Sailors" and he told me that Ernest Borgnine is a active member. Mr. Borgnine enlisted in the Navy pre WWII and served on a 4 stacker high-speed minesweeper and achieved the rate of Gunner's Mate 1st Class. I guess you could say he was type casted for the part in McHale's Navy.

Jim Nunn

**mchale** · #3 01-10-2011, 10:31 PM

Tim conway was in the army for a few weeks

**mperdue** · #4 01-11-2011, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchale

Tim conway was in the army for a few weeks

According to his biography at The Official Tim Conway Website, he was in the Army for two years.

**airdave** · #5 01-11-2011, 08:38 AM

what a great topic Mike!
"Cardboard Construction in Movies and TV"

we could start an entire thread!

heres a well known one:

In the GREAT SciFi Classic Movie Forbidden Planet,
Robby the Robot was not designed to sit down.
So when it came time for such a scene,
the special effects crew had to create flat handpainted cutouts for Robby's legs.
If you look, they are very obvious!

**airdave** · #6 01-11-2011, 09:06 AM

I really loved McHale's Navy...is it still on TV??

I'm not really a Boat Builder...I have built the U-Boat model
but I don't have room anyway for big Battleships and the like.

But this PT Boat is pretty darn cool!
and because I like the show...
I could really get into building a PT73.

actually I would love to build a model of PT73!!!

Mikey you designed a model right?
...and I'm sure its great, but what about a more detailed model
from one of our "expert" designers?

Anyone? hint hint ...anyone wanna tackle a PT73 model for us?

After seeing Barry's Landing Craft, I bet he could do a fabulous PT Boat?
Barry? you busy?

it doesn't have to be huge, or overly detailed...

**mchale** · #7 01-11-2011, 09:14 AM

yes dave i did make a couple pt 73s and no mchale's navy is not on tv anymore but i have all 4 seasons on dvd so if you need more pics of the pt 73 just let me know and i will take some screen shots with my camera i would definetly like to build a pt 73 model that wasent my own inferior designs

**airdave** · #8 01-11-2011, 09:26 AM

so, it also sounds like Mikey would like to see a new design of the PT73...
whos gonna give this a try for us?

**dto** · #9 01-11-2011, 11:16 AM

Looks more like a cardboard superstructure over an existing hull -- note the break in the deck for the slightly higher bow. (Higgins and Elco PTs were flush-decked.) The wheelhouse windows seem painted on and the torpedo tubes have no detail.

And of course, a completely cardboard hull wouldn't last very long in that lagoon, even if the film crew was careful about not splashing it above the waterline! ;-)

I recall that only one side of that prop was marked "PT 73". The other side was painted to (vaguely) resemble a Japanese patrol boat.

As for "Cardboard Construction in Movies and TV", there were the infamous cardboard tombstones wiggled during the filming of "Plan 9 From Outer Space", and the life-sized cutout of Helen Slater that soared from that lake in "Supergirl".

I believe the Battle of Britain TV series "Piece of Cake" had flat cardboard Spitfires and Hurricanes filling in the airfield. Since they were placed in the distant background, their true 2-D nature wasn't noticeable on the screen.

Any other examples?

**mchale** · #10 01-11-2011, 11:47 AM

dto the lagoon was only 2 feet deep the hull was made of cardboard thats why it never left the lagoon it fell apart they used grease paint to pant over the 73 so they could do other boats like pt 200, pt 109, the japanese pt, pt 25 the german eboat pt 116 captain binghamton's pt and various others and easly remove the other numbers for use as pt 73 the shots with all of them standing on the bridge and the phony ocean scene behind them was a full scale mock up on a sound stage the boat seen in the opening credits and getting underway was a 72 inch vosper mtb made in america for the ussr but never made it their because ww2 had ended it was sold to howard hughs for a chase boat for the flight of the spruce goose the boat was the sold to the studio because there was few real pt boats left