Subject SMML09/10/98VOL327 Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 03:04:15 +1000 (EST) shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: copied plastic parts 2: 1:700 40 MM detail parts 3: Re: Skywave 5" guns 4: Lindberg Olympia 5: South Dakota Class 6: Mounting of in progress models 7: Re: Blast Bags 8: Re: OLYMPIA 9: Re: ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) 10: Re: 1/100 Bismarck 11: Re: RN CVE colours 12: Re: A little more on Illustrious 13: Arizona details 14: Re: Card Models 15: Kronprinzessin Cecilie 16: USS Texas(BB35) pics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Items for sale/trade and wanted 2: Airfix Vote - The Results -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Wordnimage@aol.com Subject: copied plastic parts In response to Tim Perry's complaint, I have a little different perspective regarding copied plastic parts. When I first started Corsair Armada Productions I'll admit I used quite a few copies of Skywave parts, mainly in order to cut the amount of time required to build masters. At that time, it didn't make sense to me to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I was self-taught in molding and casting and am still the sole entity involved with this company. Since I also have a "day" job and do this in my "spare" time, I try to save time wherever possible. I still use copies of Skywave's 20mm guns because they are relatively easy for me to make and include with my kits. Besides, I fully expect most people will discard them in favor of photoetched parts. I only include them so the kits will be complete. I do not yet have the capacity for photoetched parts, but plan to include this feature as soon as practical. When I do, those copied parts will be dropped. As time has passed the number of copied parts that I use has been greatly reduced anyway, but not because of some perceived ethical dilemma. No, it's because Skywave parts are so generic that they really aren't very accurate. Many parts are way over scale as well. I applaud WEM's decision to go "all original" with their master parts, but I also believe the dearth of detailed and accurate small parts for British ships included in plastic kits had something to do with that decision. I should comment that I know Caroline and Dave personally, and have the greatest respect and admiration for them and for what they've done with their company and products, so I'm not being critical of their motivation. I do not feel I am ripping off Skywave because they are my distributor in Japan and make a profit from the kits. I also think that by including small parts made by Skywave, they believe it lends a commonality with their other kits...you see Skywave parts and think Skywave. Also, although I give full support for lost or damaged parts, if you want additional parts you'll be tempted to buy their accessory kits. In over five years of dealing with Skywave, they have never voiced one objection to the inclusion of copies of their parts in my kits. I agree that the wholesale piracy of major components is theft and should be condemned, but the incidental use of minor components is allowable, especially with the tacit approval of the "injured" party. So, if mine is one of the companies you intend to boycott, Tim, I can respect you for your priciples but pity you for what you'll be missing in future kits. Have fun, anyway. Respectfully, Mike Czibovic Corsair Armada Productions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: 1:700 40 MM detail parts Hi Are there any aftermarket PE sets available which include 1:700 scale splinter shields for USN quad Bofors mounts? I am gearing up to build an Essex class carrier in 1:700, full hull, with complete hangar deck interior. I will be asking more questions as the project progresses. As a Kriegsmarine specialist, I am a bit out of my element here. Thanks David Krakow (back in) Frankfurt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: Re: Skywave 5" guns >> Replaced 5" mounts with Skywave parts and will go with their 20 and 40mm sets, too. << I had a close look at Skywave's twin 5" QF guns and, unless I have an outdated parts set, they suck. The are obviously misproportioned and hardly any better than the Hasegawa parts. The only really accurate mounts I have seen in this scale are included in the Albatross 1:700 Gearing kit. Are there any aftermarket sets which include a better 5" gun that Skywave's? I will need 'em for my Essex. Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: Lindberg Olympia >> if anyone knows if the Lindberg Olympia kit is the same as the Revell kit? << Oh, NO, not the Lindberg Olympia!! That kit ranks right up there with the "Life-Like-Yeah-Right" Yamato and the Lindberg "1:300-Something" Bismarck as the most useless lumps of plastic in all of model-shipdom. Forget it, get the Revell kit which is "much" better. Dave PS, anyone wanna buy a Lindberg Olympia kit... cheap? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: South Dakota Class >> Wow. I wonder if the drydock will be open to the public? If so, it'd tie in nicely with my plan to stop in Boston to see the Salem in April enroute to Bath Iron Works for the christening of USS Winston Churchill. << Probally not. But, one end of the drydock in South Boston is right by the street. I got an excellent view of the QE II when she was in the drydock after finding some rocks off Nantucket. As for the USS Salem, She is going to be drydocked soon for painting the entire hull and superstructure (badly needed). No date has been set yet but it shouldn't take too long once they start on her. Myself and a few others on this list are members of the volunteer crew for the USS Salem so let us know when you are coming. It's always nice to meet fellow modelers in person. While in the area, you should also visit the USS Casin Young and USS Constitution in Charlestown. You will need to drive right by them on the way to Maine .. John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Mounting of in progress models >> I will hopefully soon be buying my 1st cast resin warship (Alaska). How do you folks handle a large warship model in construction? I was thinking of screwing it down to the base, with a sheet of wax paper over the base to protect it.<< Which Alaska are you buying, the Iron Shipwright or the Classic Warships?!?!?!? I am building the 1/350th BWN USS Massachusetts right now and have the same problem. What I plan to do is to finsih the hull first and screw it down to the base. Then I will use it as a stable base to finish the superstructure. >> Also, how do I hide a large cash transaction from my wife (hehehe)? << Lie through your teeth. How much did that cost ?!?!? Oh, about $90.00..........on sale. It normally goes for $200.00 but it had some broken parts and i'm a good enough modeler it fix it. I just couldn't pass-up a bargin like that now could I?!?!? Remember to rehearse the above line several times in order to get the correct inflection and emotion. . John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Foeth" Subject: Re: Blast Bags Weren't the bags also used to keep the water out? I know that a lot of ships had trouble with green water, sometimes so bad that the stereoscopic rangefinders in the A-turret were removed. As for turrets above 5" having them, turrets below 5" were mostly open mounts, so they are wet in any case, and do not need covers to keep trhe water out. I doubt that they were added to vent out explosions when powderbags explode. Usually, this destroyes the entire ship, so I cannot imagine why a few bags would help. Also, bags obstruct gasses from their way out, discarding them is more logical in this case. This is clearly shown by the Iowa turretexplosion; only a few bags ignited (4?) and the entire turret was destroyed (You can see the bags fly on the footage of the explosion), and if they shutters to the powderroom weren't shut at the time, the ship would have been destroyed completely. Am I thinking the wrong thought? Also, didn't the IJN use white bags in peacetime, and brown during the war (I remember this was so for barrelcovers)? Evert-Jan Foeth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: JVT7532@aol.com Subject: Re: OLYMPIA Thanks to those of you who answered my questions on the Olympia kits, I have the PYRO kit of the Olympia and while it is helpful in learning to build a scale ship I would like to get the Revell kit so that I can use the GMM P-E kit to make a nice one for the shelf. Can anyone help me locate one? And many thanks to all of you for your great amount of information and knowledge passed about on this board, I have learned so much just listening, please keep it up. Again many thanks Jon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Baker Subject: Re: ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) The "beehive" on the ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) was not part of the radar system but rather supported the antennas for the electronic warfare intercept array, unique to that ship. The AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33 phased array radar antennas were mounted on the sides of the "blockhouse" below the beehive. The radar was premature, in that it attempted a bit too much with old tube and analog switching technology. LONG BEACH (CGN-9) was the only other ship to have AN/SPS-32 and 33, and it was also removed. A.D. Baker, III -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/100 Bismarck >> I would also like to see this discussed. I am building the USS Missouri in this scale and I would appreciate any ideas on how to proceed. I would like to be included in any E-mails. << First, I am changing the name on the thread, as that is the scale of model - the hull and fittings were built off of the German plans, which are in this metric scale. A minor nit, but might as well start off on the right foot. I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have, so post away! Unless the other readers of the list find it objectionable, we will keep the dialogue public, for now at least, so we can take advantage of the body of knowledge out there. Perhaps those that are building these large models can start out by letting us how far along you are in the contruction process. Kurt Greiner SeaPhoto -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Ernst-Bernhard Kayser Subject: Re: RN CVE colours >> ...The problem I'm having is in interpreting the b/w photographs in my references... I have pictures of HMS's Battler, Attacker, Chaser and Pursuer (plus some good pic's of HMS Biter and Avenger from the Long Island class), all of which seem to show a large, irregular band or patches of a very dark colour on the hull above the waterline (507A?, >G10?). This very dark colour seems to be accompanied in almost every case by two other colours, one a much lighter, sort of "intermediate" shade (blue?, green?) and the other a very light shade indeed, possibly even white (maybe Western Approaches white?). << Hi John, I am not an expert on your problem but I know that the WARSHIP site on the www has a review of the skywave 1/700 kit of HMS Tracker. There you will find a scan of the box art which shows a port side view of the ship. The author, Scott Spencer, states that the colours in this picture depict Western Approaches Blue, Western Approaches Green, and Light Grey. Furthermore, he supplies a link to another webpage with royal navy colour chips. However, there is catch, or rather there are two. First, although the camo-scheme seems plausible Scott does not know whether Tracker ever wore these colours. Second, given the box art is accurate, what did these colours look like before they were distorted by the scanner, monitor, printer, etc. (hehehe)? In case you do not find better documentation I'd go with the box art. When it looks OK it is OK (for me), and to hell with the colour police! Happy painting anyway Bernhard -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Mark Kwasnycia Subject: Re: A little more on Illustrious Howdy, The "gang" seems to have covered Illustrious' ordeal in the Med pretty well, but there's some interesting additional information contained in a book entitled "Taranto 1940" by A.J. Smithers, published by the Naval Institute Press. I believe it's still in print. As you can no doubt tell, the main focus of the story is the infamous Taranto raid, but the book does go on to detail the Fliegercorps X attack on her, mainly from the point of view regarding what happened to Taranto aircrew during the ordeal. Pick it up if you can. Mark Kwasnycia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Michael Connelley Subject: Arizona details Hello fellow ship modelers: A few questions for the general polulace: 1) Does anyone know how to dilute CA? I added some .005" X >015" strips to my kit with diluted white glue, but I want to run some thinned CA down into the seams and crevaces to make sure they hold strong. 2) I noticed that the side bulges on this kit (1/429 scale) are majorly understated, so I'll add onto the sides until the hull has the proper shape. However, I'll have to replace the bulge keels (I think that's what you call the long narrow fin that sticks out from the hull underwater). What is the most realistic way of replacing this part? I was thinking cutting some sheet styrene to shape, but I don't know if this will work well given that the bilge keel has a triangular cross-section and follows the curve of the hull. Any ideas? Cheers Mike Connelley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Robert J. Mitchell" Subject: Re: Card Models A Friend of the family on holiday in Europe has just sent me a card Model of HMS Victorious. I already have Victorious in 1/400 scale fron the Heller kit, and i'm toying with the idea of enlarging it to 1/144. I heard about some modellers reducing these kits to boost 1/600 scale, but I was wondering if anyone in the group has heard of anyone going the other way, and could offer any tips. I think slightly thicker card might be an idea for a bit of extra strength, Any ideas ! Reguards Bob Mitchell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Myhrman" Subject: Kronprinzessin Cecilie Hello! I am looking for any type of drawings of the North German Lloyd liner Kronprinzessin Cecilie and also of her "sisters" Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kronprinz Wilhelm and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Could anyone possibly point me towards a good reference source for the K Cecilie and/or the other three ships? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't think that any plastic or resin kit has ever been made of any of the four liners, but does anyone know if there is a paper card model around of the K Cecilie or one of her "sisters". There is a relative (I believe) new K Cecilie from CM in 1/1250 scale. Does anyone know the quality and accuracy of this model? Sorry for a lot of questions. Best Regards, Johan Myhrman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Steven Belanger Subject: USS Texas(BB35) pics I thought some would like to know I have updated my webpage by adding about 20 pictures of USS Texas taken by Paul M. Shinkawa when she was being refurbished in 1993. He took several interior shots of the ship in areas that are not open to the public. Others are views of the superstructure. Also added is a picture by Ward Duffield of Battleship Cove from 10,000ft. The Battleship Museums - http://members.xoom.com/Wespe/ Steve Belanger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: jpoutre@lehman.com (Joseph Poutre) Subject: Items for sale/trade and wanted Hi, I have a few models to get off my hands. I'll take any reasonable offer. I may not have several hundred models, but the few I have are taking too much space in our small apartment, especially now that the wife needs space for _her_ new hobbies! :-) Lindberg 1/525 USS Yorktown CV (the recent rerelease) Opened, fondled, thought about, ignored. DML 1/700 USS Tarawa LHA Opened, all internal bags sealed ARII 1/700 USS Vella Gulf (VLS Ticonderoga CG) Outer plastic removed, inner intact. Skywave detail set E-5 - IJN WWII Opened, wrote some notes on the instructions, all parts intact in still-stapled inner bag. Revell 1/540 or so USS Missouri BB-63 Still in wrapper WaterLine Series 1/700 Harbor Set Opened, internal plastic sealed Testors 1/72 Mirage 2000 Still in wrapper Trades would also be OK. I'm looking for a 1/700 KGV-class BB (Matchbox or Tamiya), a 1/700 Prinz Eugen (or sister), and a 1/700 Nelson/Rodney (worked on OK - it's getting kitbashed.) I'll ship first, even. I am looking for 1 (one) 1/700 C-130 Hercules cargo plane from the Skywave Desert Shield or West Wing 1 set. I will pay $1.00 (one US dollar) plus mailing cost, or will trade you from my previously enjoyed Skywave sets: E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-7, E-6, E-9 and E-10. Just ask, and I'll see if I haven't used it. Thanks, Joe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Felix Bustelo Subject: Airfix Vote - The Results Ok. The polls are closed and the results have been tabulated. New Subjects - Ship # of Votes HMS Renown (WW II) 9 HMS Invincible (Falklands 1982) 8 HMS Lion 4 HMS Ark Royal/Eagle (Modern Carriers) 3 HMS Dido (WW2) 3 HMS Sheffield (WWII CL) 3 Type 22 Frigate 3 HMS Dreadnought 2 HMS Illustrious (WW2) 2 SMS Seydlitz (WW1 German BC) 2 Vittorio Veneto (Italian WW2 BB) 2 Colony Class Light Cruiser 1 DKM Atlantis (Disguised Merchant Raider) 1 Emergency war built Destroyer, eg S-Z classes 1 Fort Victoria or any current Royal Fleet Auxiliaries 1 HMAS Perth (ex HMS Amphion RN CL) 1 HMCS Bonaventure (Light Carrier) 1 HMS Dorsetshire 1 HMS Hermes (Falklands Carrier) 1 HMS Hermes (WW2 Carrier) 1 HMS Majestic/Colussus Class Light Carrier 1 HMS Ocean (New Amphibious Operations ship) 1 HMS Queen Elizabeth (fully modified WWII fit) 1 HMS Queen Elizabeth (WW1 fit) 1 HMS Theseus 1 IJN Akagi 1 IJN Shinano 1 IJN Yamato/Mushashi 1 RCCL Vantage Project 1 RMS Britannic (1930's Liner) 1 RMS Carpathia 1 SS Oriana (1960's P&O Liner) 1 SS Rotterdam (1959 Ocean Liner) 1 Type 23 Frigate 1 Type 42 Destroyer 1 USS Montana (US Battleship that was never built) 1 USS Nimitz (Nuclear Carrier) 1 Releases/Retoolings Ship # of Votes HMS Hood 9 HMS Ajax 5 RMS Queen Elizabeth (Ocean Liner) 5 HMS King George V 4 HMS Hotspur 3 HMS Victorious 3 DKM Bismarck 2 HMS Campbeltown 2 HMS Nelson 2 HMS Repulse 2 DKM Prinz Eugen 1 HMS Belfast 1 HMS Cossack 1 HMS Daring 1 HMS Iron Duke 1 HMS Manxman 1 HMS Suffolk 1 HMS Warspite (with parts for Valiant and Queen Elizabeth) 1 Moskva 1 RMS Mauretania 1 RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (Ocean Liner) 1 USS Forrestal 1 In total, 23 SMMLers voted. This was way below our expectations, but we are very grateful to those who did vote (you know who you are). We will compose a letter and send the results along with the list of voters to Airfix. Felix Bustelo & Keith Butterley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume