The Operation ToyBox catalog · DD137
PA26-21 is painted prominently on the hull of DD137. Behind its bow ramp lies a long open well, with the coxswain and two machine gunners grouped at the stern. The shape explains the boat’s job before any troops are added.
From Louisiana workboat to landing craft
The National WWII Museum’s Higgins boat history traces the design back to shallow-water boats built for Louisiana’s oil and gas industry. Earlier personnel craft required men to climb over the sides; the LCVP combined troop and vehicle transport with a bow ramp.
That development is the historical idea visible in the model. The open well and broad exit were designed around getting people and small vehicles ashore.
Three crew, an empty carrying space
The release includes a coxswain, two .30-calibre guns and their gunners. The announcement describes a ramp that raises and lowers, and room for added infantry or a jeep and trailer.
Those passengers and vehicles are display possibilities, not extra contents promised under DD137. Keeping the well empty also makes the construction and crew arrangement easier to see.
PA26-21 and PA26-22
DD138 is the companion version with a different hull number and coxswain figure. The visible number is therefore an important identifier, rather than an incidental piece of lettering.
The old DD137 page title abbreviates that number inconsistently, but the body description and saved photograph identify PA26-21.
A shoreline changes the viewpoint
With the ramp down, leave clear ground in front so the exit remains readable. With the ramp raised, an elevated angle reveals the carrying well and stern crew. DD137 belongs as this particular numbered craft within the larger amphibious story, not simply as a generic grey boat.
Release record and collecting notes
Sager’s archived DD137 product record lists a release date of July 2010 and a retirement date of April 2012. These are catalog dates, rather than a statement about today’s secondhand availability. Compare the seller’s actual photographs with the reference image here, including any projecting equipment and the base; a familiar box title alone is not a condition report.
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