Subject: SMML15/12/97VOL030 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX 1: Big E 2: Arizona camouflage 3: BISMARCK 4: List of available kits 5: HMS Prince of Wales ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Terry Sumner" Subject: Big E Hi Greg, No I don't have the D & S book yet. My local hobby shop is trying to get it for me but is not having much success. I just picked up 2 sets of the now-defunct airplane set #2 for my Big E, you know, the set with the Sea Kings in them. Greg, you sent me 4 photos of the E, 3 of the superstructure and 1 of the hangar. If you've got any others of the hangar deck, they would certainly be appreciated. And now a question. Can anyone tell me the differences between the Gold Medal and Tom's Modelworks photoetch sets for the Big E? What do they include/leave out? Opinions on which is better? Or should I just get both? Is there a lot of duplication between the 2. For which period in time were the sets designed for or are they generic? Oops, one more...still trying to find out what the FS number equivalents would be for the colors of the big E since I don't use Tamiya paints. "If you're not making any mistakes, you're probably not building anything." Terry Sumner IPMS 35079 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: TANewell Subject: Arizona camouflage Greg I promised that I would write about the Arizona's paint scheme, and since you've commented about the lack of submissions, I thought that I would go ahead and do it. I'm assuming that you want to build your Arizona as it appeared on Dec. 7 1941. This is basically how she is represented by the Revell kit, although the antennas, masts and aircraft included in the kit date from the mid 30's. Loren Perry details the changes that need to be made to the kit in the instructions included with his Arizona photoetch set. The set is geared toward creating a Dec. 7 Arizona, although Loren included some really neat details, such as the range clocks, that you will have to leave off of your model if you want to be truly accurate. I got turned onto the Arizona after reading Loren's article, "Tale of the Two Arizonas", on the Navis website. He included several photos of his Pearl Harbor Arizona in the article, and it was from these photos that I took the paint scheme for my model. At Pearl Harbor, the Arizona was camouflaged in Measure 1, which was basically dark gray up to the funnel top and light gray above the funnel. The light gray and the dark gray that Loren used on his model do not seem to be that different from each other. I have heard talk of lightening colors for "scale factor"...is this what Loren has done? He has mentioned in his articles that he paints his rigging with a light color so that it will show up in photographs, perhaps he is also lightening up the ship itself so that the photos will show more detail. I used Floquil Navy dark gray on my Arizona, and it came out VERY dark, so that there is a marked contrast between the light gray fighting tops and the rest of the ship. I think that it makes for a neat looking model, and this look seems to coincide with photographs I have seem of other ships in Measure 1. By the way, in Paul Stillwell's book "Battleship Arizona" there is only one photo of the Arizona in Measure 1 taken prior to her destruction...it is the oft-published shot of battleship row taken from an attacking Japanese plane on page 235. (It seems that there was a law enacted in 1938 prohibiting the unauthorized photographing of Navy ships, and there are very few photos of the Arizona from that time until 1941). The photo shows the ships being so dark that details cannot be seen, with the fighting tops almost white in comparison. There are plenty of photos of the Arizona after her sinking, and although the foremast is so badly burned that the paint is not discernable, the mainmast is undamaged and shows again the contrast between the light fighting top and the dark searchlight platform and lower tripod legs. Also, on page 287 of the book there is a photo showing a large model of the Arizona (about 6 feet) in the memorial visitor's center, and it too shows the contrast between the mast tops and the rest of the ship. As an aside, I found a photo of the Pennsylvania in drydock after the Pearl Harbor attack in the book "Battleships of the World" by Siegfried Breyer (page 363) It shows the Pennsylvania painted in Measure 1, with the light gray foremast (mainmast is not visible) and dark gray on the rest of the ship, however, where just the fighting top and the tripod legs of the Arizona were painted light gray, the Pennsylvania had also the entire top deck of the superstructure painted light gray, including the directors for the 5" antiaircraft guns. It seems odd to me that two sister ships would be painted so differently under the same camouflage specification. Anyway, painted dark or not-so-dark, the Revell Arizona, with the Gold Medal Models P/E set, builds up to an impressive model and thanks again to Loren Perry for his excellent products. I was excited to read in your interview with Loren that he is working on ship sets for some of the other classic Revell kits...if you don't mind the odd scales, a lot of Revell's ships are really good, and cheap, too. (Forget their Missouri kit, tho) Another BTW...I saw a Revell USS Pine Island seaplane tender at a hobby shop in N. Carolina last summer while on vacation, told my son how I remembered building it as a kid, assumed that it was an SSP rerelease, and didn't buy it. Now it can't find it...does anyone know if it has been rereleased by Revell, or did I see one of the old kits? There was a question about photos of the Prince of Wales after the Bismarck engagement...in Alan Raven's book "British Battleships of World War Two" there are 2 photos of PoW at Scapa Flow in August 1941, pages 290, 291. One is an aerial view showing that the entire maindeck is wood, answering another question that I saw posted... Tim ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: John Snyder Subject: BISMARCK OK, memory fails me: was it on this list that the purported color of BISMARCK's turret tops was the subject of discussion? If so, I have more info. John Snyder ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Dave Carter Subject: List of available kits Hi Gene, >> I have had a request for a source for a kit of USS George W. Ingram (DE 62). I do not know of one, but it was a Buckley class (long hull). I know there is at least one Buckley kit out there. << There is the Revell 1/250 USS Buckley (recently re-released as HMS Bligh). There is the Skywave W8 USS Buckley in 1/700 Scale, and there is the Iron Shipwright 1/350 Scale kit available. >> This question sparked the idea that it would be convenient if all the steel hull warship models were listed in one source document. << Check out Rajendra's lists on NAVIS. This is the most complete listing of kits of non-sailing subjects on the net, covering both resins and plastics. It is a big file and takes an age to download but contains a lot of useful and relevant information on kits past an present, also opinions re: quality, accuracy and availability. However, a simplified listing such as the one you propose would be a nice idea. If I had the time, I'd probably do it myself. Maybe Rajendra's listing could be a good starting point.. Cheers Caroline White Ensign Models,Gardeners Cottage,Cowarne Court,Lower Eggleton, Ledbury,Herefordshire,HR8 2UF,U.K. Tel: 01432 820403 Fax: 01432 820830 http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xdt22/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Dave Carter Subject: HMS Prince of Wales Hi Jo, >> I recently picked up a Revel Germany 1/720 HMS PoW kit, and I have started doing some research. I would like to model her as she looked after being trasfered to Malaya in 1941. I was wondering if anyone knows of any photos of her while she was being repaired her in the U.S. (after the Bismark engagement)? << The Prince of Wales was actually repaired at Rosyth in Scotland after her engagement with Bismarck. She did visit Newfoundland with Churchill on board for the Atlantic Charter Conference so there may be some pictures of that on your side of the pond. All the following books contain good selections of photographs of the KGV class: British BBs of WW2 by Raven and Roberts, British BBs 1919-1939 by Ray Burt, British, Soviet, French and Dutch BBs of WW2 by Garzke and Dulin Ensign No. 1 KGV Class Battleships by Raven King George V Class Battleships (Arms and Armour Press/USNI.... if anyone would like to sell us their copy, we'd be very pleased to buy it). Of these, only the Garzke and Dulin book is still in print. >> 2nd part, does anyone have any pointers on this kit? It seems pretty bland (probably along the lines of the Graf Zeppelin in quality) are there any specific problems? << The main problem with this kit, and the Revell KGV is that it is not 1/720 Scale. When placed alongside the Tamiya POW, the size discrepancy becomes obvious. It is in fact almost exactly 1/570 Scale! A blunder on behalf of Revell's marketing or packaging dept. I fear. Interestingly, this packaging error is present on a 1970s KGV we have (although on the side it says 1/570 Scale!), and is still on the latest productions. Maybe a ploy to get people to buy it, thinking it is closer to the more popular scale of 1/700?? If you want a pretty true-to-1/700 scale ship of the class, then you have to buy the Tamiya kit. >> Is there a specific photo-etch set for the PoW? I know of the "generic" RN sets, but I was wondering if there GMM or Eduard or anyone else might have a set? << As this kit is 1/570, you can use the GMM 1/600 KGV/POW set. We sell it at 10.46 British pounds (around $17.00 at this time). However, in the US you can buy either from GMM direct or from Pacific Front Hobbies. If you go down to NAVIS at http://www.navismagazine.com, GMM have got an advert. This lists the contents of the GMM sets. AND.. Hi Greg, >> I was just looking at the box art on Tamiya's offering, and I didn't release she was completely wooden decked from Bow to Stern? Even the Forecastle/Anchor area? << Yes, Correct. >> Was this a common arrangement on all HMS Vessels? << No, most had plated foc'sles. Some of the larger ships did carry the planking all the way up to the sharp end. >> And I was also wondering what Tamiya got wrong on this kit? << Never having sat down with the kit and relevant references we couldn't write anything in blood on this one. Actually, as Loren Perry has obviously studied these kits in some detail, in order to produce his excellent photoetch sets, he may be the one best qualified to comment. BTW, Historic Ships at Birkenhead was brilliant. However, it transpires that the sub I mentioned is a Type IXB, U-534, the "Mystery Ship". It is a seriously impressive lump.. however, they wouldn't let you photograph inside of it. I got some good exterior shots though.. Many of the artefacts (from maps to clothing) that were removed from the silt are completely preserved.. about 3/4 of the light bulbs still work. HMS Plymouth, the Rothesay Class Falklands veteran, is also preserved there.. I finally got excellent close-ups of her weapons and defence systems. You can wander at will over the ship. Superbly presented. HMS Onyx, the only diesel-powered sub that went to the Falklands, and was involved in covert ops with the SAS and SBS, was fascinating. They also have the Trinity House Channel Lightship preserved there. Great for anyone modelling the ex-Frog Revell kit! I hope to do an article on NAVIS in the New Year which will include photos of these subjects. Caroline White Ensign Models,Gardeners Cottage,Cowarne Court,Lower Eggleton, Ledbury,Herefordshire,HR8 2UF,U.K. Tel: 01432 820403 Fax: 01432 820830 http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xdt22/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume