Subject: SMML30/06/98VOL226 Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 20:26:24 +1000 (EST) shipmodels@wr.com.au --------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://warship.simplenet.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: No going anywhere 2: RE:Paint chips 3: BOOK REVIEW 4: Submarine references 5: Re: Horror Stories 6: Horror story to end all horror story´s 7: USS Constitution - Thanks 8: Yacht America 9: RE: Horror Story 10: Horror Stories 11: Just Jesting.... 12: Horror story 13: Just some info ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Re: Still more books for sale. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Ritchie_deutag, Colin" Subject: No going anywhere OK I'm not going to the US Nats, (The thing of it is my aunt lives 15 minutes drive from the event, but the air fair, AH well that's different). Anyway since I'm not going, and a soon to be recipient of the WEM Sheffield, watch this space for first look review on Thursday, Royal Mail permitting. I've had a look at the WEM Web page, and printed out the camo scheme for the winter 41 scheme, all I can say is you gotta be joking!..... Colin Ritchie WEMblie and proud of it..... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: John Sheridan Subject: Re: Paint chips John Snyder wrote: >> Well, I almost got it right. I said Randy Short and I would be at the IPMS(USA) Nationals with our first 2-page set of 21 USN colors; make that 20 colors, from prewar grays through the purple-blues and flight deck stains. Then I said that our next release would be RN; well...make that the USN neutral grays, USN greens & browns (most of which we've already got mixed and on hand--we'll see how the response is to the first set). THEN we'll be doing the RN colors.... << Where can we get copies of these paint chips ?!?!?!? John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Baker Subject: BOOK REVIEW With regard to Mr. Nicholson's comment that people should consult the review of the Painter's Guide that appeared in PLASTIC SHIP MODELLER, it might be worthwhile to consider that the review was exceptionally chrulish in its content and that, in effect, General Motors was reviewing Ford's car. While the Painter's Guide is not without its minor faults (which are, I am told, being corrected in a new edition, as the first has sold very, very well), the ad hominum attacks on the author in the original review and in a further commentary on his modest letter of protest were, to put it as nicely as possible, not very constructive. The Painter's Guide is meant primarily for 1/2400-scale wargamers (and the results I've seem from those who have used it are exceptional) and not for super-nitpicking larger-scale modellers, who, presumably after having invested staggering sums for their kits, have also taken the time and effort to research further in more detailed and exacting publications like those issued by Allan Raven. One of the other on-line model publications has referred to those with an over fondness for criticizing other people's model finishes as the "paint Nazis" and such folks are only driving away neophyte modellers, reducing the numbers of people participating in the modelling hobby, and driving up the cost for themselves in the long run. Be nicer to one another, folks@! Best/A.D. Baker, III ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Seitz_Mark/AMARC_FM@amdiss1.dm.af.mil Subject: Submarine references Folks, I was asked by a young man if there is a good book to use when building the Revell Gato class kit. I recommended the Squadron/Signal "U.S. Subs in action" as it has lots of pictures, and a color plate for painting, and would not scare another potential modeler away. Well, the gal behind the counter at the local hobby shop said that it " wasn't available yet". She said that it hadn't been released yet. Now, I'm almost positive that I've seen this thing before...even picked it up and paged through it. Am I losing it here? Is it available? Where is it? Any other Gato references suitable for a 12-13 year old? Thanks, Mark Seitz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: John Snyder Subject: Re: Horror Stories Well, time for me to chime in. A few years back, I was trying desperately to get a Skywave 1:700 ATLANTA converted into JUNEAU and finished in time for the IMPS Nationals. I had to have it finished a few days early since I was sending it back with a friend. I had that godawful modified Ms.12 camouflage scheme on, all the photoetch in place, decals on, crew figures placed--all that remained was to shoot a final dull coat. It was then that I discovered that I was down to a few final drops in my jar of Gunze-Sanyo clear dull, and it was nearly closing time for the local hobby shop. Since I had to have it to my friend the next day, I jumped in the car, made it to the shop, rushed to the rack, poked around reading the tiny print on those labels looking for "dull", grabbed the appropriate jar and headed back home. Later that evening after dinner, I unlimbered the airbrush and began to shoot. To my horror, a whitish haze began to appear (fortunately I had started on the hull at the bow rather than on the superstructure). I grabbed the jar and discovered that I had picked up their flattening agent, designed to be added directly to their paints to make them flat. Now I had large areas of Navy Blue and Ocean Gray covered with this stuff. If I had to strip paint and begin again, this model was going nowhere. All I could think of was to try a very mild abrasive (remember, this stuff hadn't had time to set up well); so, I and the model repaired to the bathroom where I squeezed a little Crest onto a toothbrush and began lightly scrubbing while trying to hold the model without knocking off photoetch details. And it worked! Next morning I was back at the hobby shop when the doors opened. This time I made sure I grabbed the right product, headed home and successfully dull-coated the cleaned-up and repaired (I knocked both anchors off with the toothbrush) JUNEAU. Then it was into the waiting box with the model and off to my friend's in time for him to catch his plane. JUNEAU made it to the Nationals, had fresh breath and nary a cavity, and took first place in small scale ships. But believe me, I read labels carefully now, and I refuse to be rushed--next time I figure the ending might not be so happy. John Snyder ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Johnny Pedersen" Subject: Horror story to end all horror story´s Hi all This is, thank God, not something I´ve tried myself. It something I picked up at rec.models.scale a while ago. It´s so gruesome that it has kinda stuck to my mind ever since. I wont go into too much detail but imagine this: An almost finished Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise........the flightdeck.......a bottle of liquid plastic cement....... now imagine the liquid cement all over the flightdeck. Poor poor guy..... I normally end my letters to other modelers with a HAPPY MODELING but somehow this doesn´t seem appropriate here Johnny Pedersen "What´s on the Worktop?" http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/5680/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Felix Bustelo Subject: USS Constitution - Thanks I wanted to thank all of the SMMLers out there that responded to my query regarding the Revell 1/96 scale USS Constitution both through the forum and privately. The info has been most helpful, although I don't know how my original question turned into a thread on the hazards of pet cats and rigging on sailing ship models?!? Since I am allergic to cats, this shouldn't pose a problem. Felix Bustelo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Felix Bustelo Subject: Yacht America Hi, The Revell Yacht America was the first kit that I attempted in my return to the hobby. I built it right out of the box. It makes a nice kit, although the painting instructions are incorrect. A group in upstate New York bulit an exact replica of her (the original was destroyed in the 1940's when the boat house she was in collapsed, crushing her) that makes the rounds on the East Coast. I saw her from across the East River when she was anchored at the South Street Seaport when I lived in Brooklyn while walking my dog. Alas, she was gone by the time I made down to the pier during my lunch. I was a good re-introduction to the hobby after a long hiatus during college, grad school and getting married in between. My skills are a little sharper now, so I coulda down a better job, but I still like how she came out. Felix Bustelo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: RE: Horror Story Howdy I think this may be an appropriate SMML horror story: I was being relocated by an employer, at their expense, and using their recommended moving company. Wash, DC to Atlanta, GA. I had recently finished the large Revell Constitution with cloth sails, wooden blocks, etc. Not a bad job either, not a prize winner, but definitely a keeper. Even my wife (now ex) was proud of it. Long story short: when the packers saw it, they called their office and asked for a crater to come out and crate it. To save a few bucks, somebody told them to pack it in a dishpack used for crystal and china, it would be fine. When the shipment reached me about 3 weeks later (overdue), the unpackers took the top of the dishpack off, gasped, and called me over to observe that it arrived that way, not my fault, man. It was totalled, my very own Wreck of the Hesperus. Virtually unrecognizable. Turns out that the mover had brokered the move to a low bidder who in turn trans-shipped it, etc. It means 4 or 5 moves from truck to storage and back again, much more handling and abuse. Bottom line is I was finally reimbursed for the kit price period. Insurance doesn't pay for sentiment, time spent, fitting sets, gnashing of teeth. Reckon you get what you pay for. Wasn't the Space Shuttle built by the lowest bidder also? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Douglas Martin" Subject: Horror Stories Here's mine: Having built and 'retouched' the paintwork up many times on my 1/700 warships, since 1973 till the mid 80s, I noticed in horror the tendency of many ships to 'stand on their ends' and 'roll on their bottoms'. I asked Paolo at Navis about this some time ago, but the 'waterline bases' seem to have been the problem, perhaps the different type of plastics or my stupidity in gluing the metal weights in place - or at the very least gluing the supports in place and leaving the metal 'free' I now have a collection of ships with their bases cut of and replaced by plastic card, with serrated edges of course, some ships with their bows and sterns 'up', others with bulged downwards bases. This seemed to take place over a few years, but in the early 80s I did a batch of Tamiya KGVs and Hasegawa Alabamas/South Dakotas, each with a unique paint scheme and extra AA weapons etc, per Breyer and other layouts. You guessed it, some of them bulged super quickly and I still have not properly repaired them, since then none have had their 'bases' glued on, just sitting on top instead. If anyone looks closely at the Tamiya/Hasegawa catalog pics of the 1/700 ships you 'may' spot the same bow up attitude, or am I seeing things........ Douglas (Note all kits completed before the curse of the dreaded PCs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Douglas Martin" Subject: Just Jesting.... Caroline: Who's manning the fort at WEM whilst you are off gallivanting in the USA, its not that 'darned' cat is it? Judging by the photo on your website, the beast could do serious damage to any fully rigged sailing ship models that are lying around, just like my moggie did after inviting herself into my 'ship cupboard' all those years ago. Douglas (Had a look at my collection of Warship Profiles, Ensign books etc, glad I bought them when they first came out at £0.50 - £2.50 approx.!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Douglas Bauer Subject: Horror story Several years ago my wife and I drove from Poway, CA to Las Vegas to attend the plastic model show there. I had carefully packed four of my best 1/35th scale armor pieces in a cardboard box and my wife kept watch over them during the drive, protecting them from quick turns, sudden stops, and my rapid accelerations. We all arrived in Las Vegas in one piece, and the models even made the harrowing trip through the casino to our room unscathed. The next day we again made the perilous journey, taking the models to the car for the trip to the Show. Arriving at the show site, I found a parking place and removed the cardboard box and its precious cargo. I had unfortunately forgotten that the day before we left Poway I had given the car a brilliant wax job. Unwittingly I sat the box on the car trunk and leaned down into the backseat to retrieve something. Simultaneously, as I was in the process of standing back up I heard my wife shout (in a voice that sounded miles away, and at 33 1/3 RPM): "Dooouuuggg!!!! The booooooooooxxxx!!!" In seeming slow motion I turned and watched in horror as the box slid slowly off the trunk and landed upside down on the asphalt, like a sinking ship slipping beneath the waves. I remember the initial crash of plastic upon plastic...then a split-second of silence...and then the sound of many tiny, broken pieces filtering down to the top of the overturned box. But the show must go on! After some hasty repair work I was able to make a model presentable and enter it in the show. I think it even took second place. My wife, of course, has never let me forget that incident...and as a result, I've never set the box on the trunk lid again either. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: PERATHJEN@aol.com Subject: Just some info I know it is hard to believe, but in the middle of our country, as far away from the ocean as you likely can get, are some ships on display. In Freedom Park, Omaha, Nebraska, are currently the USS Hazard, AM-240, and the USS Marlin, SST-2. And very soon, there will be a third ship, the USS LSM 45. This vessel was brought all the way over from Greece, by the National LSM/LSMR association, and will be on display. Several volunteers are going to be working on her restoration. The LSM is a unique ship, with the conn off to one side, open well deck, etc. If any of you know anything about a model, kit, or whatever, of this ship, I think about 3000 ex-LSM sailors, myself included would be very interested. Paul Rathjen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: dhjonespsm@juno.com (Daniel H. Jones) Subject: Re: Still more books for sale. Found a few more books that are surplus to my needs. Prices include postage within the USA. Others - e-mail and we will work out a fair rate. All items good to very good condition unless otherwise noted. Warship Profiles - $12.00 each. 13 - HMS EXETER 15 - USS ENTERPRISE 18 - KM BISMARCK 26 - RUBIS Fahey's 8th edition - Ships & Aircraft of the U. S. Fleet (1966) - $10.00 Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy by Oscar Dull (bookclub edt.) $10.00 Submarines books - $8.00 each - all are hardback w/dust jacket unless noted. All are good to very good condition unless noted. Batfish by Lowder & Scott (1980) Take Her Deep by Galantin (USS HALIBUT) (1987) Iron Coffins By H. A. Werner (U-Boats) (1969) The Killing Time (WW I U-Boats) by Edwin Grey ( 1972) Bowfin by Edwin P. Hoyt ( 1983) Submarines At War by E.P. Hoyt (no dust jacket) (1983) The Underwater War (British subs 1914-18) by Edwin Grey (1971) The U-Boat War by Edwin Grey (1994) The Fleet Submarine in the U. S. Navy by John Alden (1979) Tattered dust jacket - otherwise very good copy. out of print USNIP title - photos & drawings $25.00 Submarine Commander by Paul Schratz (1988) (mint cond.) $15.00 Bartolomeo Colleoni (Anatomy of the Ship series) fine copy - $20.00 The Warship in History by Phillip Cowburn (1967) (interesting photos) $15.00 At Close Quarters - PT Boats in the United States Navy by Robert Bulkley - USGPO. Forward by Pres. John F. Kennedy. (1962) Still the best history written on these vessels and becoming very scarce $60.00 American Battleships,Carriers, & Cruisers (Doubleday series) $12.00 The Last Blue Water Liners by William Miller (1986) Fine pictorial - photos $15.00 Fifty Famous Liners by Braynard & Miller Vol. 1 (50 ships) $15.00 Woodhouse's Textbook of Naval Aeronautics (ISNIP reprint of 1917 large pictorial book ) (1991) $20.00 Titanic by Thomas Bonsall (1987) covering all three, Olympic, Titanic & Britannic. Landscape format with numerous color & b&w photos and illus. $15.00 The Ship That Would Not Die (destroyer USS LAFFEY) Adm. James Becton (1980) No dust jacket - otherwise v/g copy - $8.00 Thats the lot! Daniel H. Jones Plastic Ship Modeler ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume