Subject: SMML29/09/98VOL317 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: 1/350 scale Yorktown A/C decals 2: Why WWII all the time? 3: Re: A big welcome 4: My Arizona question 5: German Flower Class Corvettes 6: No room to store a Tamiya Enterprise? More on Missouri 7: DML's 1/350 Ticonderoga 8: PE rail thankyou 9: Iron Shipwrights USS Alaska, PE Railings, and 1/350 Decals 10: Re: Lindberg Landing Ship Dock (LSD) 11: Lindbergs Landing Ship Dock kit 12: Flower Class Corvettes 13: Fletcher Conversion 14: Re: Tribal class destroyers 15: ARK ROYAL A.A. Directors -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Books available -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/350 scale Yorktown A/C decals Apparently Mike Bishop has had the 1/350 A/C decals for the Yorktown A/V on order from Microscale. He didn't want the decals to hold up production of the new kit. He tells me that everyone who orders (or has ordered) a Yorktown or will receive the sheet that will outfit 24 A/C at no charge. I ordered two extra A/C sets. I hope I get another for these A/C. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "FERNANDO, YOHAN" Subject: Why WWII all the time? The large selection of kits and the abundance of references aside, WWII subjects just 'tickle my fancy' you could say- for reasons mentioned by other posters and for many more that I can't put in words. It comes down to what is personally interesting and appealing. For all the reasons that someone likes building modern subjects and can't see what all the fuss is about WWII, there are an equal number of reasons that another person like myself only builds WWII ships and can't figure out what people see in modern ships. In trying to understand the WWII 'phenomenon', keep in mind that WWII, being the largest conflict in history, offers the most diversity to a modeller. Manufacturers know this and so focus alot of their energy in this direction, which in turn gets more people interested in the era, which in turn makes the manufacturers create more kits, which gets more people building WWII kits... You see where this leads to. It has alot to do with business unfortunately. Personally, I like to see people interested in other eras besides WWII and being able to find kits to build. Recently, it seems as if some maufacturers have started to diversify which must be good news for people (e.g. WEM's new pre-dreadnought Russian protected cruiser). I should consider myself very lucky that my interests have the benefit of being very well catered to by manufacturers and book publishers. Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Les Pickstock (Les Pickstock) Subject: Re: A big welcome I'd like to echo Caroline C's welcome to John Lambert, having been a big fan of his work for more years than I or he himself would want to remember. I am at the moment using some of his plans to help me build my Corvette and my 1/72 GRAY GOOSE and very good they are to. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Michael Connelley Subject: My Arizona question Hello: Thank you for your replies. My deck has a few sinkholes as well as this molding flaw in the port forecastle what sticks up above the deck...plus I'll rebuild some of the deck details. So I will use both the makeup technique and the thinned down putty technique. I just noticed that after the mid to late thirties the Arizona's casemate guns were open. Does anyone know why they made this change? Does anyone know where to get ten 5" 51 calibre guns in 1/429 scale??? I feel some scratchbuilding coming on here. Again, thats all for your help. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on. I'm keeping a note book on my computer of all the replies that I get to my questions and to the people's questions that interst me, so nothing will be forgotten. Cheers Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: German Flower Class Corvettes Hi all you Flower class maniacs out there! Have you ever heard about Flower class corvettes of the German Kriegsmarine? The four Flower class corvettes France had ordered to be built in St.Nazaire shortly after the war broke out were captured by the Germans and acquired by the Kriegsmarine in June 1940 when still under construction. I could get the following informations on them: ARQUEBUSE: Launched Oct.16, 1940; commisioned Apr.15, 1944 as PA.1; served with the 15. VP-Flottille (patrol boat flotilla); decommisioned Aug.24,1944 at Le Havre - or sunk by RAF aircraft Jun.15-16, 1944 at Le Havre. HALLEBARDE: Launched No.27,1940; commissioned Nov.16, 1943 as PA.2; served with the 15. VP-Flottille; bombed and sunk Jun.15, 1944 by British aircraft at Le Havre - or in the English Channel. SABRE: Launched Nov.29, 1940; commisioned Nov.10, 1943 as PA.3; served with the 15. VP-Flottille; decommisioned Aug.17, 1944 at Le Havre - or bombed and sunk Jun.15, 1944 by British aircraft at Le Havre. POINGNARD: Launched 1941; sunk as blockship at La Telindiere/Nantes when still uncomplete in Aug. 1944 - or Apr. 1945; salved and scrapped 1946. The ships where of the short-fo'c'sel type and armed with 1 - 105mm gun, 3 or 4 - 37mm Flak, 4 or 10 - 20mm Flak 2 - DCT A drawing by Mickel in Groener, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945, Vol. 8/1 showes a new closed bridge and the following location of the guns: 1 - shielded 105mm gun on the fo'c'sel (like on other Flowers), 1 - 20mm Flak each port and starboard in a stand at the aft end of the fo'c'sel, 1 - 20mm Vierling (quad.) in a stand on top of the bridge (very strange because of the top weight, but reportedly evidenced by photos), 1 - 37mm Flak in a separate stand abaft the funnel, raised up to half the height of the funnel, 1 - 20mm Vierling in a separate raised stand abaft this 37mm stand and of lower level, 1 - 37mm Zwilling (twin) in a stand extending over the aft edge of the superstructure. This drawing also shows 6 DCT at the stern. Does anybody know more about those German Flowers? Above all: Can anybody provide photos of these ships? I'd really like to add a scratch-built or converted German Flower to my 1/700 collection. Thanks Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Jens H. Brandal" Subject: No room to store a Tamiya Enterprise? More on Missouri >> I have a Tamiya 1/350 CVN-65 that I got at a good price but now realize I will have no place large enough to put it and this guy will be a dust magnet! << No room? Well, why not convert it to one of the smaller carriers like the Kitty Hawk, Constellation, JFK? Or even a Forrestal? I saw a Constellation at the UK IPMS Nationals a couple of years ago, and in my eyes it was an absolutely amazing model. First I was amazed that someone had decided to do such a thing in the first place (don't know where and how many cuts there were, but no doubt there were many), secondly, I was amazed that the aircraft had the correct squadron markings (VF-21 and VF-154 IIRC on the F-14s) handpainted., thirdly, I was amazed that a British model publication described it as a "Constellation built from the Tamiya kit", and fouthly (?) that it didn't win. In my opinion, the winning submarine should have sunk through the table in respect for this beauty! If I can finish my Enterprise (one day...one day...) to that standard, I will be very happy indeed. But first, the Missouri. Thank you Rusty for your advice. I got this kit at a very reasonable price, and splashed out on GMM photetch for it. I decided to build the kit with the instructions provided in the GMM set and the kit, as I have found out that too much reference material confuses rather than clear things up. Once I get bogged down in details, there's no way out, and I really want to finish this kit. Stand by for more Missouri questions later. Jens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Doc Data Subject: DML's 1/350 Ticonderoga My local hobby shop says DML's 1/350 scale Ticonderoga was discontinued a while ago. I know it is still listed on most on-line hobby shops and in the Squadron catalogs so... is he correct or is there water coming over his bow? Doc Data, owner of the USS Putnam (DD-757) home page http://www.MustangONE.com/putnam -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Keith Butterley Subject: PE rail thankyou Hi all, Many thanks to all of you who helped bail me out of my rail problems. Your advice worked like a charm. Thanks again Keith Butterley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Jakloek@aol.com Subject: Iron Shipwrights USS Alaska, PE Railings, and 1/350 Decals I just caught up on a weekend's worth of SMML. I attended ROCON 19, the local IPMS Contest yesterday, and Ted Paris was there with many of Iron Shipwright's latest offerings. What really caught my eye (and nearly my wallet) was the USS Alaska. He was showing a waterline hull with all the resin moldings built up on it (main and secondary batteries, bridge towers, directors, gun tubs, etc). All it needed to be complete was PE and paint. It was very, very nice. I've read many comments in SMML about what handsome ships the Alaskas were, and this was a handsome model. Count me in as a dedicated nub user to apply CA glue. For attaching railings I have had good luck with first tacking them down with spots of CA. This takes advantage of CA's quick drying to get them positioned properly and easily. Then I will thin white glue with water and use a fine paint brush to lay bead of glue along the whole joint between the railing and the deck. This provides for excellent strength and also fills any gaps which might exist along the joint. The white glue dries colorless, and a final coat of flat finish will make it disappear. I find this easier and more forgiving than trying to do the whole thing with CA, since mistakes with the white glue can be cleaned up with a wet Q-tip. In terms of 1/350 aircraft decals, a suggestion is to buy the 1/700 sheet, and use a color photocopier to enlarge this 200% onto a sheet of plain decal film. I've done this, and it works fine. Two things to be aware of are that the color copier won't print white (but if you copy onto white decal paper, that's not a problem) and that you will need to seal the sheet with a couple of coats of clear gloss before you use the decal, otherwise the copy will run when you soak the decal in water. There may be copywrite issues with this, but as long you are just making one sheet for your own use, I doubt too many companies would be upset. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: louellet@uism.bu.edu Subject: Re: Lindberg Landing Ship Dock (LSD) RCClem@aol.com, Rocket Roger Clemmons wrote: >> I also bought for $10 a kit that I never knew was built. Its the Lindberg kit for a Landing Ship Dock (LSD) Kit # 766. The box says copyright 1976. The scale on the box is stated as 1" = 10 ft, 6 inches, or 1/126. An odd scale, except for that large Fletcher DD? Very nice, except that its wrong. The ships were 458 ft long with a 72 ft beam and displaced 4500 tons. At 18.9" long, this converts to: 458x12/18.9 = 1/290.8 scale or 1" = 24 ft-3". At 3.1" wide, it scales to 1/279 or 1" = 23ft-3". So it seems the correct scale is about 1"=24ft or 1/288. This is also a strange scale. << Roger, I built this kit when I was younger (in the 1970's). I 'sailed' it in my bathtub, flooding the well deck and letting all those LCVPs float out. Back in May I attended the IPMS Region One (NOREASTCON) show in Sturbridge Mass. and found the Lindberg LCM and LCVP from one dealer at around $13 - $14 each. The Spare Time Shop also had the LST that The Naval Base reissued in their own box. I'm still looking for the LSD (anyone got one for sale? for $10 8->). While looking at the LST, I noticed that it has a few LCVPs and they reminded me of the LSD kit. I believe these two kits are the same scale (amazing) or close enough since the LCVPs look exactly as I had remembered. >> Do you think that there are any PE kits in this scale (1/288) so that I can do it justice? These Lindberg kits were not known for their attention to fine detail. << I'd like to see GMM, or any other photo-etch company (HINT, HINT) produce sets for all the Lindberg Landing craft. Shaya Novak wrote: >> The Lindberg kit of AM-299 the USS Sentry was last produced in the late 80's. I will be speaking to Lindberg this week about things one of which is that kit. Give us a count at shaya@erols.com at The Naval Base if you are interested. << Shaya, I'd be interested in the Minesweeper, as well as all the landing craft that have not been seen for years. Do you consider your LST venture to be successful? Larry Ouellette Volunteer, USS Salem (CA 139) U.S. Naval & Shipbuilding Museum, Quincy, Massachusetts http://www.uss-salem.org/ (USS Salem model kit information available) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Tim Perry Subject: Lindbergs Landing Ship Dock kit Hi Roger, I don't know of any photo etched parts for this LSD kit, but if you want any vehicles, ie trucks, tanks, artillery etc. for a representative load, look up GHQ Models at http://www.ghqmodels.com. Their range of war gaming vehicles are at 1:285 scale so almost exactly right for the LSD. The castings are stunning, in pewter, and cover most major US types of tanks and trucks. I am using several of their British subjects (Churchill AVREs and M4 Sherman tanks) for my own scratchbuilt LCT4 model. I am cheating slightly as my landing craft is 1:350, but the GHQ models are so good, I am going to live with the slight discrepancy! I am converting them to 79th Armoured Division 'Funnies' including Crabs and Assault Bridge carriers, so the load should look pretty impressive. Going back to the 'Why WWII Interest?' and having just seen 'Saving Private Ryan', I am now sure I know why I am interested in this period, and it reflects comments from other SMMLies. The more I learn about this staggering conflict, the more I realise I owe to the men and women that gave so much for my, and my childrens, freedom. I hope that learning from the past will help prevent such awful things happening again, and modelling is my way of making that memory a little more solid. While Spielbergs film was quite stunning in its own right, I was saddened to hear several fellow members of the audience make comments that showed a total ignorance of the background to the Normandy landings, indeed WWII in total. Because of my interest in the subject I was able to illuminate some of their questions, and that sparked a further lively discussion. I trust this increased their understanding of the subject a little bit, even though we were all still rather shaken by the film we had just seen. Of course comparing modelling with such works as this film is presumptious, but I trust the spirit that inspires them is the same. To remember, to wonder, and to say thank you. That is why I am so interested in WWII. Tim Perry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Rob & Heather Weilacher Subject: Flower Class Corvettes General Question: Were the Flower Class Corvettes used by the USA as well as UK ? If so, did the USA use them in the Pacific ? How ? Rob -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Doc Data Subject: Fletcher Conversion I am (or was) planning on converting Tamiya's 1/350th Fletcher DD into the USS Pringle, one of the 3 Fletcher class DD's that were modified, temporarily, to carry a catapult and Kingfisher seaplane. There are not many photos of these 3 vessels but I thought what I had was enough as other mods were limited and other ship photos could be used to get the detail right. I can use a photoetched crane from GMM's Missouri set and I have a 1/350the scale (or at least close) Kingfisher. I ordered the Fletcher Class Plan Book as well as the plans for USS Stevens (one of the others to be converted) from The Floating Drydock and found I have a problem on this project. By the way, the Fletcher Plan Book is an absolute gem and a detailers heaven! We are talking the most serious detail I've ever seen! I had wondered, just recently, how they got the Kingfisher back aboard while at sea after launching it. The BB's used a crane very visible on the fantail to pick up the aircraft but none of the photos I've seen show one on the DD's. However, the plans do show it on the port side, main deck and obviously when stowed, it is down below the level of the superstructure in that area. The plans show a starboard side view and a main deck view so I only have what the crane looks like from above. Does anyone know where I can get photos of this crane or possibly drawings showing a side view of it? Another question along this line that is not clear in the plan or photos. The catapult on the BB's had a set of catwalk platforms around it while it would appear from the plans that the one on the DD's did not (possibly due to it not being so high off the deck). Any help would be apprecaited. Doc Data, owner of the USS Putnam (DD-757) home page http://www.MustangONE.com/putnam -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Vimieraa@aol.com Subject: Re: Tribal class destroyers Can anyone supply me with the address of the Tribal class destroyer association in the UK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Les Pickstock (Les Pickstock) Subject: ARK ROYAL A.A. Directors In response to the gentleman in Vol 314 and Bob Mitchell in Vol 315. Kenneth Poolman reports in "ARK ROYAL" "There had been no time train a proper crew for the new portside pom-pom. It was manned now by a pilot and a few odd cooks and sweepers. Nor had there been time to join it up electrically to all the other gun control circuits and directors." This is in chapter 8 "The Thirteenth Day" and is on pages 163-164 of the New English Library paperback edition. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: John Snyder Subject: Books available Dupes from the ol' home library, available for the following prices (I'll pay postage): Malinowski, Jaroslaw. _Wloskie pancerniki bypu "Vittorio Veneto"._ (Vittorio Veneto class battleships). 1996. New condition. Lots of good photos with English captions, all text in Polish. Good line drawings of sections, elevations, color profiles of camo patterns. $14.00. Hoehling, A.A. _The Lexington Goes Down: The Last Seven Hours of a Fighting Lady._ Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1971. Fine condition, with DJ (DJ worn). $26.00. Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell. _The Liberty Ships: The History of the 'Emergency' Type Cargo Ships Constructed in the United States During World War II._ Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1970, 1973. The definitive work listing 'em all, with many photos & a few line drawings. Fine condition, with DJ. $90.00. Ballard, Robert D. _The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal: Exploring the Ghost Fleet of the South Pacific._ Toronto: Madison Press Books, 1993. New condition, with DJ. $35.00. John Snyder Sacramento, Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume