Subject: SMML6/6/98VOL202 shipmodels@wr.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: soldering 2: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! 3: More on FDR and CVBs. 4: Humble Opinion on Heller 1/400 Scale Kits 5: Nichimo kits 6: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! 7: Squadron carrier books again 8: Re: Bismarck & Tirpitz detail wanted 9: Re: Squadron books/ scale effect color 10: Looking for plans of Dutch cruisers De Zeven Provincien and Eendracht 11: Ship painting 12: Re: Viribus Unitus and French Books 13: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS INDEX 1: Re: WSW kit VIRIBUS UNITUS colors ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Hess1962@aol.com Subject: soldering I'm seeking your collective wisdom on the art of soldering masts, spars, booms, etc. in 1/1200 scale. Specifically, what's a good, reasonably-priced soldering gun/outfit that works well in tight places? Also, any procedural tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all. Dave Hess, Kalamazoo MI USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Sue & Ben Subject: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! First I wish to nominate this as the best subject line ever (being that size does matter). Second, as for advice, all I can say is get a wife that has a hobby of her own, she'll undersatnd. My wife never complains when I add to my stash because I never complain when she adds to hers. As a matter of fact if either of us goes on for too long without purchasing anything the other will urge on a purchase so we can justify our own. Quid pro quo, modus vivendi and all that crap. 'Course I understand that this may be an impractical option for some of us. ;-) But the not as yet wed amongst us can take it to heart. Ben Montreal, Canada ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Les Dorr Jr." Subject: More on FDR and CVBs. Mike Leonard wrote: >> Also bear in mind that the FDR was overhauled in the early 50's and got an angled deck, so the straight wooden deck in the kit is only correct for around the 1945-50 timeframe. << Actually, the flight deck was steel covered with non-skid material. According to Norman Friedman's "U.S. Aircraft Carriers -- an Illustrated Design History," the angled-deck conversion started in May 1954. The box art showing a wooden deck is absolutely wrong. Paul Jacobs wrote: >> With regard to the Revell FDR, several readers have asked about the F9F Cougars. They seem to be unable to determine if the ship ever carried them. Please refer to S. Terzbaschitsch's AIRCRAFT CARRIERS OF THE U.S. NAVY. At page 118 there is a photo of MIDWAY circa 1952 which clearly shows Cougars, and another at 119. I have not been able to find any adequate photos of CORAL SEA or FDR which reveal Cougars. << Wonder if the Midway photo (shot from overhead) is the same one on p. 200 of Friedman's book? The date is shown as May 1954. I'll check my refs, but I didn't think Cougars were deployed in the fleet until 1953 (VF-32/USS Boxer). If I hear back from the Navy History Office, I'll post something. Les ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "joseph w. reyna" Subject: Humble Opinion on Heller 1/400 Scale Kits >> Can anyone comment on Heller's !/400 scale kits? Are they of good quality? Is any one better than the others? Model Expo has a closeout on their supply at $22.88, is this a good deal? I'm partial to the Bismarck is this a decent rendition of her? Any special work to be done to her to fix it up? I know this is a lot of questions and I wish to thank all who answer in advance for any help you can provide. << First off, congratulations SMML! 200 volumes and not a single sweat broken! This has become the single most important piece of email I look forward to each and every day! Keep up the good work. Jon, I second the opinion that Heller kits are of good to excellent quality. I have managed to collect most of Heller's fine line of kits, which range from British entries (HMS Illustrious WWII carrier, King George V Battleship, HMS Hood Battlecruiser) to German entries (DKM Bismarck Battleship, DKM Prinz Eugen Cruiser, DKM Graf Spee "Pocket" Battleship, DKM Scharhorst Battlecruiser) along with the French ships earlier mentioned. While certainly not up to the near perfect castings by White Ensign Models, MB Models, or others, these kits can very easily be made to compare favorably with these much more expensive resin kits with some photo-etched brass from Gold Medal Models, White Ensign, Tom's Modelcraft, or others. Even with the additional photo etched accessories, you could almost literally buy and build the entire Heller line for the cost of one, perhaps two large resin kits. If acquisition cost is an issue, and it's a big one to me, then I would heartily recommend the Heller kits. And, by the way, there are other 1/400 scale kits, though most are out of production. Some great collectibles include the Nichimo Yamato and Musashi battleships in 1/400 scale, among the most beautiful battleship kits in that scale I have ever seen. I have been fortunate enough to capture a Musashi kit; still looking for the Yamato. There's also the CVN-65 USS ENTERPRISE by Otaki/Arii, both in pre- and post-refit configuration (primary difference being the revamping of the island superstructure from the "beehive" shape to the the conventional mast-head) -- these are excellent kits, too. There's the Monogram USS HALSEY guided missile cruiser to act as "Big E's" consort, the famous Revell auxiliary ships, etc. etc. You could easily fill you closet with only 1/400 scale kits, though since most are collectibles, it would take some time and patience. Good hunting and building, and Cheers. Joe Reyna ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Percy, John" Subject: Nichimo kits Has anyone built any of the Nichimo 30cm kits? I saw an IJN Agano (its about 1/500 scale) that looked ok. Nice size kit, but lots of flash. Has anyone built these, or have a review? John Percy mailto:jpercy@clariion.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Mr J Owen" Subject: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! There is a story current amongst model railroaders in the U.K. about a guy who goes to exhibitions with some old raffle tickets and a roll of adhesive tape in his pocket. If he sees something expensive that he cannot really afford he buys it, sticks the ticket on it and tells his long suffering wife that he won it in the raffle. Jim Owen, (U.K.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Björn Bäcklund" Subject: Squadron carrier books again Just for the record: Sqadron/signal´s book about carriers are named. 4005 U.S. Aircraft Carriers in action Part 1 4009 Escort Carriers in action 4010 Essex Class Carriers in action so it looks like there are no Aircraft Carriers in action part 2 yet. Björn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Æeljko Hanich" Subject: Re: Bismarck & Tirpitz detail wanted Aloha, As I am planning to build Tamiya 1/350 Bismarck and Tirpitz, I am looking for every available detail ever published. Could I get any suggestions regarding books (title, publisher ?), and plans, as well as some good site address with some fine pic. Also, any info refarding camouflage of Bismarck and Tirpitz during different periods would be of a great help. Does anybody have some experience with GMM set for them ? Cheers, Zeljko ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: JGordon262@aol.com Subject: Re: Squadron books/ scale effect color >> 4003 US Battleships Part 1 4004 US Battleships Part 2 4005 US Carriers Part 1 4010 US Carriers Part 2 Can you tell me which Battleships Book contains the "Fast" Battleships? << I have 4003, battleships part 1, which covers the Pearl Harbor era ships, so part 2 is the one you want. re: scale effect colors >> I have used the technique with startling but satisfying results. I did once see a chart in a publication which gave the percentage of white to be added to base colour to achieve results for certain scales. The smaller the scale, the bigger the percentage of lightener to be added. This really equated to the greater scale "viewing distance" of the subject. << The key word here is "startling". Airfix model magazine ran an article by Ian Huntley on this subject back in the 80's, with a percentage chart for adding white. If I remember correctly, the percentage of white added to 1/144 scale was 40%, so 1/700 would be a much greater percentage. Obviously, your painted model is going to have a startling effect if you do this- it will look much too light and washed out. At a certain point you have to stop with the scale effect and try to achieve an aesthetic balance between realism and artistic expression, otherwise you will not want to gaze upon your finished model, and that defeats the whole point, doesn't it? I can't tell you what that point is-simply, what looks good to you is good, toss out the formulas. Models are not real sized ships and they are not viewed outside in real world conditions. Details are much more readily seen on a model than they are on a real ship viewed at the adjusted distance away, and lighting conditions again, change all the viewing factors. For me, it's a topic that verges on the philosophical- lets hear from the scale effect philosophers out there... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Jeffrey Roberts" Subject: Looking for plans of Dutch cruisers De Zeven Provincien and Eendracht Hello. My first post... I'm interested in building a model of the Dutch cruiser Eendracht or her sister ship De Zeven Provincien as they were originally designed in 1939. They were both completed postwar to a considerably modified design and renamed De Zeven Provincien and De Ruyter respectively. I've found plenty of material on them as completed but only a couple of fairly rough line drawings in Jane's and in Whitley's Cruisers of WW2 as designed. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have regarding possible sources of more detailed plans or illustrations for the two ships as designed. Thanks. Jeffrey Roberts ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Douglas Bauer Subject: Ship painting I'm in the latter stages of my Revell Mission Capistrano conversion..almost ready to go to the paint shop. There's a complete re-work of the main deck detail,additional detail work, all presenting a painting challenge...I want to paint it in WW2 colors (haze gray vertical, deck gray horizontal surfaces), but the complexity of the job has me perplexed. If I paint the vertical surfaces first, can I brush the horizontals, or will I have a problem with brush marks, uneven coverage, etc.? I guess my question is: what method would give me the best results? Is there a paint which leaves few if any brush marks? Any help anyone can give me on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Doug Bauer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Sanartjam@aol.com Subject: Re: Viribus Unitus and French Books I'd like to add my belated congratulations to Greg for SMML's 200th! Great job! One of the really impressive things about the list is how many countries are now represented. On the paint scheme of the Viribus Unitus, there was a very good article called "Austro-Hungarian Battleship Colors" by Falk Pletcher on page 30 of issue No. 1997/2 of Dan Jones' magazine "Plastic Ship Modeler." I think this would answer most questions you might have about painting the Viribus Unitus (and her sister the Szent Istven as well). On the availability in the USA of the French books published by Marines Editions, if you can't get them from Pacific Front Hobbies, I would get them from Articles of War in Skokie, Illinois (the web site has been listed already), or from Mr. R.P. Smyers of the INRO Book Service (for subscribers to the magazine Warship International). Incidentally, in the UK the books are available from Motor Books in London (just off Charing Cross Road near the Leicester Square tube station). The French books I've seen from Marines Editions are of very high quality, but they are very expensive; it's up to each individual whether they are really worth the price, though the few I've gotten have been worth the price to me. You might want to keep in mind that (1) there are few or no alternatives for the information in the books and (2) these books don't stay in print all that long; for instance, the book by Robert Dumas on the Richelieu, the book on the Dunkerque and Strasbourg, and the book on the La Galissoniere-class cruisers ("Les Croiseurs de 7600 Tonnes") are all out of print. Hope this is helpful. Art Nicholson ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Alberto Rada Subject: Re: Smuggling Even More Kits Into Your Already Vast Inventory of Unbuilt Kits Without The Little Woman Suspecting Any Sinful Wrongdoing!!! A humble contribution on this crucial problem, Some possible explanation we might try 1.- Isn't it incredible, how cheap British things are, that 1/350 WEM Type 42 destroyer only $7.00, yes that's what I've said, seven, Canadian Dollars that is, yes, the little ship, oh that one, Caroline ships one free, with every order. 2.- Aren't they nice those guys of BWN, they send them to me, free, yes, well I have to build them and show them around, so my friends buy them, well of course it's because I am such a good modeler. 3.- My boss has no Imagination at all, every time he wants to show some gratitude for a well done job, he just comes with another of these ship models. Someone most have told him I used to like them when I was a little kid. 4.- Shrinks have funny ways of doing things, you know, my psychoanalyst just ordered me to make one of these models every month, yes it's the latest discovery to take off stress, yes. And he assures me it works much better than Viagra. SALUDOS Alberto ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: dhjonespsm@juno.com (Daniel H. Jones) Subject: Re: WSW kit VIRIBUS UNITUS colors: An excellent article by Falk Pletcher appeared in the magazine Plastic Ship Modeler, Vol. 4/2. It gives the historical information about Austro-Hungarian colors and color matches. Falk recommends Modelmaster 1728 for the overall Blue-Grey for wartime color. For the steel decks, turret roofs, Humbrol 92 or Revell 77. Waterline color (after 1915) Humbrol 125. PSM 4/2 is available as a back issue, $5.00 (USA) $6.00 (overseas) which includes postage. It can be obtained directly rom the publisher: Plastic Ship Modeler, P.O. Box 2183, Arvada, CO 80001-2183 Dan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume