Subject SMML16/10/98VOL334 Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 22:52:18 +1000 (EST) shipmodels@wr.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: copied parts 2: Paint removal 3: Re; Flower article 4: Construction: USS Massachusetts (part 2) 5: Why are schnellboote called E-boats? 6: Re: Metric scale conversion one more time 7: Re: Thanks for the scale help 8: Re: Realistic water for Norm 9: Airfix Ship Models 10: Re: Copying parts 11: Paints - CLASSIFIED INFO 12: Jim Chambers email 13: Re: Airfix 1/600 14: from F J Hueso: Metric Scales and more 15: Re: RN carriers in Sydney 16: Cruiser Models 17: Re: DeGrasse Colors 18: Paint removal & Revell Prinz E 19: Lawyer-Modellers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: NEW WEM 1/700 IJN Doors and Hatches 2: OzMods Ship Kits 3: WTD: USS California kit 4: USN MONOPOLY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Michael Czibovic" Subject: copied parts To all customers and critics of Corsair Armada Productions-- In an effort to respond to the concerns of my customers I will be making original masters for secondary guns to be included on future kits. I will NOT be replacing these guns on existing kits, however, no matter HOW deafening the uproar. However,due to the time it will take to create new masters and enough duplicates to sustain production, don't bother asking anyone when the next release will be. Thanks for a lovely Christmas! My heartiest appreciation goes to those of you who have offered their support and encouragement. You WILL be rewarded, eventually. Best wishes, Mike Czibovic Corsair Armada Productions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: Paint removal I made good experiences in using old brake fluid to remove paint coats from plastic models or metal models. Just brush it over the paint and set the model aside for some time. The brake fluid which was formerly sold here in Germany used to sneek beneeth the paint coat. So you could peel it off after some hours. The chemical formula of brake fluid was later changed. The new type shows this effect only on metal surfaces. On plastic surfaces it is now only softening the paint. You now have to brush it away. But if you give enough time and use a hard brush, you can get the old paint totally off. The brake fluid which is available here in Germany doesn't effect the plastic of the model, but you should wash the model with water and soap after the procedure. I think brake fluids in other countries are mainly of the same formula. Nevertheless you should first try it on a piece of plastic that you do not need anymore before ruining your model totally. Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Gene Larson Subject: Re; Flower article For information purposes, the Nautical Research Journal is currently running a four part series on Flower-Class Corvettes and Temptress-Class Gunboats by N. Roger Cole from Canada. Might be worth a look by those deep into this subject. Lots of photos and good set of references. Gene Larson, Alexandria, Virginia mailto:genenrg@Naut-Res-Guild.org Nautical Research Guild, Inc. http://www.Naut-Res-Guild.org "A non-profit, tax exempt, educational organization with international membership, dedicated to maritime research and accurate ship model building." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Construction: USS Massachusetts (part 2) Here's an update on my construction of the BWN 1/350th USS Massachusetts: Hull: The epoxy that used to glue the two-halves of the hull together has finally cured. I then proceeded to sand and re-fill the hull seam. Since the hull did not mate perfectly, I needed to fill in the gaps with Dr. Microtools modeling putty. I finally got the hull to the correct shape and hide the seam. I then added the inboard propeller shafts to the hull. I then took the hull to the paint booth for its first coat of paint. I used Floquil Hull Red for the lower half of the hull. I thinned it 50% with thinner and proceeded to spray the model. I applied a thin coat to most of the hull and past the waterline seam so that I could check for sanding scratches. After spraying, I set the hull aside to dry. I allowed the paint to dry for 48 hours before touching the model. I did find several flaws in the hull and some scratches. I proceeded to correct the flaws with more putty and began the sanding process again to correct the problems. Weapons: Between sanding and painting of the hull, I worked on the numerous fittings for the ship. I started on the weapons because they were the easiest to construct. I finished the 3ea 16" Guns and the 10ea 5" Guns pretty fast. I then began to work on the 18ea 40mm Quads and boy were these tough! There are 8 parts per mount: 2 pairs of gun barrels, the base, the splinter shield, and finally; the gunsights. The gunsights were the hardest since they were extremely thin photo-etched brass. It took a lot of patience to get them to look right on the mount. I then needed to bend the splinter shield around each gun mount. This was not too difficult due to the fact that the shields had bending lines etched into the brass at the correct locations. Once I completed the first two shields, I found an easy way to mount and glue other 16 and keep them properly aligned to the mount until the glue dried. After I finished the 40mm guns, the only weapons remaining were the 40-or-so 20mm AA guns I needed to assemble. The 20mm guns are in 3 parts: the gun itself, The splinter shield, and finally, the base. I was ready to assemble the 20mm when I discovered that the bases for all of the guns were missing from the kit! A quick e-mail to BWN fixed this problem and the missing parts are on their way! Radars: Since I could not complete the 20mm guns till the gun bases arrived, I decided to build the radars. The Massachusetts carried 3 major radars: Mk12, Mk37, and SK air search radars. The SK radar was the easiest to build with only 3 parts. the 2ea Mk12 was a little more difficult in that it had 7 parts; 5 of them photo-etched. The most difficult to assemble was the 4ea Mk37 with 11 parts; 10 of them photo-etched! I did the SK and the 2ea Mk12's in about an 1.5 hours. I then proceeded to build one of the Mk37s. The first one took me 2 hours to build and was extremely difficult. The hardest part was getting the screen to bend correctly in two perfect curves without causing a crease in the material. The base for the radar was also difficult because the photo-etch is very thin and also the fact that you need to mount it onto the white-metal director base and keep it horizontally aligned as well. It took me an entire afternoon to build the 4 Mk37 radar but boy did they look beautiful once they were completed! Other fittings: After the radars were completed; the rest of the fittings such as the cranes, boats, and Kingfisher aircraft were a piece of cake! All of the cranes came with photo-etched pulleys and cables already together as a unit. This made the cranes much easier to build. The Boats (2ea) and the Kingfisher Scout planes (2ea) were mostly white metal with one-or-two photo-etched parts. After becoming a photo-etch pro with assembling those radars, finishing these parts took me no time at all! Coming up next: Painting all of the those parts and pieces -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "RLOCKIE" Subject: Why are schnellboote called E-boats? There is another suggestion, contained in Harald Fock's 'Fast Fighting Boats', which is that the 'E' stands for 'Effekt', after the Lurssen Effect (effekt in German), which is a hydrodynamic phenomenon derived from the round bilge hull and the special Lurssen rudders which schnellboote carried. I have never see it referred to anywhere else and the contemporary British accounts seem to favour the 'Enemy MTB' derivation. Incidentally, the Lurssen shipyard still exists (making motor cruisers etc) and has a website - perhaps one of our German-speaking subscribers could make enquiries there? Robert Lockie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: James Corley Subject: Re: Metric scale conversion one more time >> I didn't receive any answers to this email last time so I thought I'd give it one more try. The Moskva plans I have are 1M:100. What does this mean? 1 meter equals 100 millimeters? My metric conversion is rusty so can anyone give me the formula to convert metric scale to standard ship scales (1/350, 1/700 , etc.)? << Rusty, Not sure about the 1m:100, but I think youy are right. As for the other scale, they are metric and originated in Japan. The truth about scales is that they are unitless conversion ratios (1":60' or 1/720 with the units cancelled) therefore 1/350 1cm=3.5m 1/700 1cm=7m Now, what was the old Nichimo 2.5cm scale?? From: LubenLarry@aol.com >> Subject: Re: Tamiya 1/350 aircraft It is possible to add stores to these aircraft. I added gear doors, pylons and refueling probes (on the A-6's) all made from index cards. I made drop tanks and Phoenix missles from sprue, sidewinders from small bits of wire. Now if only I could still see! << A friend here used some 1/285 GHQ white metal stores on a kit he won best of show with at the Pensacola/Blue Angels Modelfest a few years ago.....the stores are a little big, but really made the difference on that kit! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Thanks for the scale help I wanted to thank all who helped me out with this scale problem of the Moskva plans. I emailed the fella that sent them and he told me they were 1:100 scale. That's a popular scale used by Engineers and since I have an Engineers scale it shouldn't prove too much of a problem to convert to 1/350 scale. Once again, thank you all. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Realistic water for Norm >> Now that you owe me, don't forget that you promised to tell me your method of modeling super realistic water. << Norm, If you have access to Navismagazine.com the water article is in their back issues section. Just go to the archives and check out the contents of each issue until you find "Modeling realistic water" you can down load it from there if you wish. If you don't subscribe to navis (you really should, it's more than worth it) email me and I'll down load it and send it your way. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "joseph w. reyna" Subject: Re: (Airfix Ship Models) Malcolm, Dare I hope that Airfix would re-release HMS HOOD in 1/600 scale? Your news concerning the success of the current Airfix shipmodel releases is a balm to we few (but proud) 1/600 scale ship modelers. I can only hope that Felix Bustelo's 1/600 poll was well-timed to get Airfix thinking about the feasibility of at least one new release (Airfix, I promise I'll buy 10 of whatever new 1/600 ship kit you release!!). BTW, do you have an HMS DARING available? Cheers. Joe Reyna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Copying parts >> Mr. Czibovic sought their prior permission to copy certain of their copyrighted parts for the purpose of including those parts in kits he was intending to produce and sell. Mr. Czibovic's request put Skywave on notice concerning a potential infringement of their copyright. At this point, it would have been a simple matter for Skywave to communicate to Mr. Czibovic any objection they might have had to his intended course of action.>> It never ceases to amaze me at the logic some folks use to justify copyright infringement. If this reasoning flys, all I have to do is notify in advance that I'm going to steal your car. Never mind the fact it's your car. As long as you don't respond it's all right. I know this is a bit extreme, but it's logical using this reasoning. I don't think the size of the part matters. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Jeff Herne" Subject: Paints - CLASSIFIED INFO Ok gang, here's a secret: Go to your local craft store, on the East Coast of the US, it's Micheal's and MJ Designs, sort of the Wal-Marts of arts and crafts. They carry acrylic paints under several name brands, Applebarrel Colors and Folk-Art are the two I use. They have about 300 different shades of every color imaginable. They require thinning, a little for hand brushing, about 50-50 for airbrushing. They are VERY inexpensive, between $.39 and $.79 for a 2oz. bottle depending on the brand and store. When you consider how much paint you can get from 2oz. of pigment, it's well worth the hassle of trying to find the stuff. The only catch, you'll need to get color chips to match to the colors, either in the form of Snyder & Short's, ANA595A or B if FS numbers are being matched, or whatever simply looks good to your eye. Jeff Herne -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: Jim Chambers email Wow! I'm impressed. The things one can learn from the SMML almost boggle the mind. And my wife thinks its all a waste of time. I can almost see the white-wigged honorable lords representing the Crown and arguing the point. I'm neutral on the subject, and abstain, courteously. As should everyone else reading this list. Please lets close this thread. We are here to enjoy ourselves and indulge in escapism, unless I am terribly wrong. My lords and ladies, the Crown rests. Gene S. Katz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: Re: Airfix 1/600 >> A well known British dealer? Is there another one in the UK? << Well Malcolm, Besides your good self... we DO have Ray Lawson of Plastic Pastimes.. he became pretty well known at last year's U.K. IPMS Nationals.... Cheers Caroline Carter WEM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "F J Hueso" Subject: from F J Hueso: Metric Scales and more Hello to all! I expect to fulfil my duty towards fellow SMMLers with the following lines. About metric scales: Rusty: as Denis Campbell points out, the scale you are dealing with is 1/100, as in the metric (i.e. decimal system) scales are usually referred as ratios; so, 1:100 means that one unit in the model (or plan) equals 100 units in the original item, and also when we deals with 1/350 or 1/700. The 1/72 scale, so popular among the airplane modellers is exactly the same, as it derives of the one inch to six foot ratio (that is 1'' to 12*6''). 1/48 is 1'' to 4' (but not the same as one quarter, the last equals 1/25) and so on. I remember (and is possible that I've got somewhere about in my hard disk) a tread in rec.models.scale about the same subject some time ago. BTW, Rusty, I'm relieved seeing that you overseas have the same problems reading scales and dimensions as we the poor guys of old Europe :) >> I have a question, why are German Schnellboote referred to as "E-Boats" and not "S-Boats"? What does the "E" stand for? << David: According to the Glossary of "The Eclipse of the BIG GUN" (Conway 1992), E-boat stands for "Enemy boat" (p. 214) Regarding Dan's query about the R code in a British carrier, I've got a diagram (unfortunately, I'm not sure about it's accuracy) depicting Ark Royal, about 1971, with that code on deck. Regards Javier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Robert J. Mitchell" Subject: Re: RN carriers in Sydney Dan, If it is possible for you to send a scan of the photo, there's a good possibilty I might be able to identify the other carrier for you. It probably is implacable, easiest way to tell. An implacable has a double hanger and is therefore higher in profile than the illustrious' class. Implacable and Indefatigable are very hard to tell apart fron certain angles but it is possible Bob Mitchell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: RCM612@prodigy.net Subject: Cruiser Models Has anyone built the Classic Warships New Orleans class cruiser models in 1/350 scale? I'm considering purchasing one as a very long term project, but I don't want to jump in prematurely. Thaks in advance. Robert Morgan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Steve Sobieralski" Subject: Re: DeGrasse Colors I have been doing some research for a 1/100 model of the Surcouf (post-war French destroyer, not the submarine) which I started over ten years ago, but put away for lack of reference material. With my discovery of Articles of War's excellent catalog of foriegn books and publications I was able to obtain two books on the Surcouf class of ships (in French of course) which have been useful in determining details and color schemes of French destroyers in the 50's and 60's. I'm sure most of this would probably apply to De Grasse as she was of this period. A few years back out of curiosity I obtained the Heller 1/400 Surcouf, and for the most part the color instructions in the Heller kit seems to correspond to the photgraphs of the actual ship. Decks are dark grey, superstructure and hull are light grey, with black boot top and red below the water line. Funnel caps are black as are mast tops which are exposed to funnel gases. Unlike the US Navy the French Navy tended to "detail" their ships a bit - gun barrels and anchors are always painted black and some times (but not always) other pieces of deck furniture such as bitts, bollards and fairleads are also black. Life rafts, at least in the mid-50's, were painted in alternating sections of orange and dark blue. Ships boats appear to have overall grey hulls (no waterline) with coamings, decks and cabins of varnished wood - this may account for the glossy tan reference. A bit about the ship and the model - The Surcouf class was designed in the late 40's and was a continuation of the French pre-war philosophy of large fast destroyers with a heavy gun and torpedo armament. The design was heavily influenced by the US Gearings and was armed with 6 127mm (5") guns in 3 twin turrets, 6 57mm Bofors guns in 3 twin enclosed mounts and 4 triple TT's firing both conventional anti-ship and acoustic anti-sub torpedoes. The 127mm guns were of French origin, shrewdly designed to use US 5" shells which assured the French of a cheap and abundant supply of ammunition. A total of 18 ships were built in 3 groups and they emerged starting in '54 as WW2 throwbacks with their open bridges, TT;s and gun AA armamnent (including 8 20mm Oerlikons). Naturally they underwent armament and configuration changes over the years and most were phased out by the late 70's/early 80's. One member of the class, the Maille Breze, is preserved as a museum ship in Nantes, although she is much altered from her original appearance. The model, by a French company called New Maquettes, has a wooden hull of plank on frame construction and a large number of injection molded plastic and turned brass fittings. Designed for R/C, the material quality of the kits is good, but detail is minimal and heavy. With the help of my recently acquired refence materials I hope to improve upon this. The kit was purchased over 10 years ago through a source in England and I'm not sure if New Maquttes is still in business. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Björn Bäcklund" Subject: Paint removal & Revell Prinz E Hello. I used brakefluid many years ago for paint removal, but it's a messy way to do it. I got a tip on some newsgroup to use Johnson owen cleaner instead. I couldn't find that brand but tried Mr. Muscle owen cleaner and covered an old (30+ years) kit with the foam. 30 minutes later I rinsed the kit in water using an old toothbrush and had no problems to get the colour off. Even the clear parts stayed clear. Revell Germany has the 1/720 Prinz Eugen in the 1998 catalogue. Bjorn Backlund, Sweden Visit "The 72 scale page", a home for small scale models. http://hem1.passagen.se/burrabee/72scale/start.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: Lawyer-Modellers Hi All the talk about copying and copyrights and some of the detailed responses on the thread led me to wonder, just how many of us on this list are lawyers? I am, though I quit my job and do not intend to practice anymore. Survey time: All lawyers here, please raise your hands... Cheers David Krakow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: NEW WEM 1/700 IJN Doors and Hatches We have today released the above... and they are truly yummy! Exquisitely relief-etched in stainless steel, and priced at 1.95 pounds per fret...that's around $3.20 per set.. order 3, get 10% off this item.... all shipped post free.. Twin and Quad Bofors underway, by the way.. we have given Brian Fawcett the go-ahead to go all out, no expense spared, on this item... Also, (Thanks Joseph P.!) he will start some 1/700 carrier accessories.. crane, tow tractors etc... Etched brass for the Bofors, by the way, will be by Peter Hall.. talking of which, 1/700 Rodney/Nelson brass will be released tomorrow... 9.15 pounds POST FREE worldwide... Pacific Front, East Coast Miniatures, and other U.S. dealers will be stocking these items as well... 1/700 Kaman Huskies (x5), Skycrane(x3) and Seahawks (x3) (again with etched brass details) were released today... each bag at 4.22 pounds. Cheers Caroline and Dave C. White Ensign Models, Tel: 01432 820403 Fax: 01432 820830 http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/white.ensign.models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Greg Anderson" Subject: OzMods Ship Kits Dear Sirs, OzMods Australian Models produces a wide range of model kits, among them destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy. These are the four Daring Class Destroyers Vampire and Vendetta (in 1/700), and Voyager and Duchess (in 1/600). These are resin kits with decals, are retail at Aus$39. About to be released (once the box labels are printed) is a super detailed 1/350 HMAS Vampire. The main components are very highly detailed injected resin (masts, etc are in a high-tech resin plastic that won't break or snap); fine detail is provided with photoetched parts, decals, fine wire and real metal scale chain are also provided in the kit. Comprehensive photo references/history/data and construction guides are also included. This kit will retail at Aus$137.50. We will post to you, this week, photos of the components. Regards, Greg Anderson Accept the Challenges and you will Taste the Victory!! OZMODS AUSTRALIAN MODELS Tel + 617 3818 0137 Fax + 617 3818 3043 Postal address: PO Box 1083, Gailes, QLD 4300, Australia. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: WTD: USS California kit Hello all, Seeking one of the resin 1/350 scale battleship Californias, prefer waterline version only. E-mail me if interested in unloading a kit you may never build... Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Greg Lee (SMML Listmaster) Subject: USN MONOPOLY Just got this from NAVY NEWS - not really SMML related, but I would like one all the same, I think the pieces would be cool! Greg >> NNS4306. Navy edition Monopoly Game released by Naval Media Center WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Wouldn't it be nice to own an aircraft carrier? Or how about a submarine or F/A-18E/F Super Hornet? Sound like possessions out of your league? Not anymore. Purchasing such items is as easy as playing Monopoly. The U.S. Navy is now immortalized with a Monopoly edition of its very own. Navy men and women are being honored by USAOPOLY, an Encinitas, Calif., company, with its newest release: The Monopoly Game: United States Navy Edition. Now Sailors, retirees, veterans and Navy enthusiasts can take risks and make deals for the chance to own the entire fleet. This is the first time a branch of the military has received such an honor. Monopoly has been a part of American culture since 1934, when Charles Darrow, from Germantown, Penn., publicly introduced the game. Monopoly is now licensed in more than 80 countries, making it the most popular board game in the world. It is printed in more than 23 languages. The Monopoly Game: United States Navy Edition is based on the original game design with the traditional four corners and taxes (GO, GO TO JAIL, FREE PARKING, JUST VISITING/JAIL, Luxury Tax and Income Tax) remaining the same. The special edition features Sailors, prominent vessels, famous submarines, important U.S. naval bases and some of the most advanced aircraft ever manufactured. The renowned Blue Angels, the world's most highly recognized flight demonstration team, and USS Arizona, an icon for all who have fought for U.S. freedom, are highlighted as the two most prominent properties on the game board replacing Boardwalk and Park Place. The Monopoly Game: United States Navy Edition features a battleship as well as custom pewter playing pieces, including a submarine, an anchor, a CH-46 Sea Knight, an F-14 Tomcat, a Sailor hat, an aircraft carrier and a flight deck shooter. "Monopoly is proud to be able to honor our United States Navy veterans by creating the Monopoly Game: United States Navy Edition," said Dane Chapin, President and CEO of USAOPOLY. "We've tried to capture the excitement and tradition associated with this elite branch of the Armed Forces." << -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume