Subject SMML25/10/98VOL343 Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 22:06:36 +1000 (EST) shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: PC Coker 2: Re: Graf Spee Decks 3: More on the Graf Spee 4: He 60 biplane question 5: Re: HMAS Sydney 6: IJN AA gun color 7: Nagato 8: Re: Black and silver warships. 9: USS Helena 10: Model Search 11: USS Pennsylvania 1927 conversion 12: Landing crafts to safe the private Ryan 13: H.M.S. Newcastle 14: Re: Graf Spee details 15: PE Figures 16: Looking for tanker model 17: Re: USS Helena 18: LCVPs and "Saving Private Ryan" 19: Re: Nagato vs. Hyuga 20: About CVN 65 in Detail & Scale 21: Re: Camo for Liferings & Fire Hose 22: Re: Landing Craft in SPR 23: Landing crafts to safe the private Ryan 24: Re: Flagship Tarawa / Realistic water 25: Landing craft seen in "Saving Private Ryan" 26: Naval History Magazine 27: Floquil Paint Query 28: Re: Lindberg's USS Tortuga LSD 26 (Kit #766 @ 1/288) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: "Big Yamato & detail set for sale" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: PC Coker Hi Anyone know the current whereabouts of PC Coker, well-known author and ship model builder, last know to reside in Charleston NC? A friend of mine in Germany wants to resume letter-contact (its not about collecting a debt, honest!) David Krakow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: Re: Graf Spee Decks Hi Checked out some of my Spee photos and, though its hard to say, it looks like the center portion of the main superstructure deck (port and starboard of the funnel) was also covered in brown linoleum. . Concerning the possible removal of the linoleum at the outbreak of the war as a fire safety measure, this leads to the question of what measures, if any, were undertaken to provide a flame-retardant and skid-proof surface on the now exposed steel decks? Can anyone comment?? Somehow, I now rather suspect the brown lino was not removed from the Graf Spee. Further, I point out that, my research shows that the small forecastle decks of ships' motor launches were covered with brown lino at least until 1942, and possibly to the end of the war. As the Spee is one of my two research projects, I hope to be able to offer a more definitive answer on the deck-covering question sometime soon. I just hope you USN fans truly appreciate all the superb primary research that has already been done on the fine details of US Navy ships. For the Kreigsmarine, most of this research still remains to be done, quite a frustrating task given the amount of time that has passed, and the understandably cold attitude towards the subject matter here in Germany. Cheers David Krakow Frankfurt Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: More on the Graf Spee To try to answer some of Bill's Graf Spee questions from the last issue: >> First, one of the plan cross sections identified as "przekroj przez wrege 127" is a section through the superstructure that shows a large triangular open truss construction extending out from both sides of the deck house and apparently supporting an upper deck. I cannot find this structure anywhere on the Graf Spee.<< I don't have the Polish book, but if I am reading you correcty, this was an open truss structure just forward of the catapult which was added to the Spee to support an extra complement of ship's boats. The original design called for a second aircraft to be stowed in this area, with the aircraft's pontoons resting either on, or just above, the main deck. Two small triangular trusses were intended to support small rowboats on either side of the spare aircraft. However I don't think this was ever actually constructed. Rather, for some time early in her career, the ship carried an enclosed hangar structure in this area (presumably the aircraft was stowed with wings detached) which was dismantled sometime around 1936 and replaced with a large truss platform bridging the rear superstructure with the center section. This supported the extra boats. The space below the tresses was left open. Underneath were the artillery hoists for the secondary armament, a number of ready ammo lockers, and four ventilator shafts. >> The plan also shows in the ship’s rigging three triangle shapes that are suspended along a line that runs between a yard arm down to the searchlight deck atop the funnel. Those triangles on the right side point up, those on the left point down. What are these and what do they do? << These are 3 dimensional cones suspended in the rigging which (I must profess ignorance here) either rudder position indicators, or speed indicators. They are bright red (port) and bright green (starboard). They moved up and down in response to changes from the bridge. If you look closely at the photos, you can see the metal wheel pulleys on the yardarm from which they were suspended. At night an illuminated marker, shaped like a wheel with four spokes, substituted for the cones. You can see this wheel mounted on the rear center of the funnel's searchlight platform. (Not included in the kit!) I am sure you will get a more detailed answer from somebody else here.... Oh, I do feel a thread coming on! :) >> There are numerous square windows seen on the superstructure. Were these glazed with glass or were they open? << All glazed. The windows on the command bridge which extend port and starboard of the tower were merely windscreens, there is a short roof over them, but no enclosure behind them. >> The port holes along the deck, should these be drilled open or are they supposed to look like deeply set closed holes? << On the original ship they were of course glazed, however drilling them out on the model probably will not improve their appearance much in this scale, and you run a serious risk of deforming them if your drill strays. You can paint them black, and mask them by stuffing them with maybe peices of round toothpicks while painting the hull grey. That will give the right effect in this scale. >> Lastly, the barrels of the main batteries are all capped in every picture in the book. Were these usually capped when the ship was underway except when preparing to fire? << Beats me, I got photos of the ship moored and underway with and without the caps (trunnions in naval terminology?). I suppose it depended on weather conditions, etc. By the way, I do like Heller's kit. Its really not far off the mark and I am sure it will build into a very respectable model. I have Matchbox's Spee in 1:700, too; don't scoff at it, its workable! Cheers David Krakow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: DKrakow105@aol.com Subject: He 60 biplane question Hi All this "Spee Chat" reminds me to ask, what's the color sheme for the early He60 biplane carried as a spotter on early KM ships. I have one color photo from the era, and it looks like the plane is a light green. Can this be correct? Not a very tasteful color, I must say. :) David Krakow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: Re: HMAS Sydney The recent posts on HMAS Sydney have opened up a new avenue for me to explore. I never heard or read about her that I recall. My loss. See what you can learn from this list? Anyone know of an HMT Rowenda(sp?) transport lost with most or nearly most all hands? Was she a merchant navy ship crewed by the RN? Gene S. Katz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "FERNANDO, YOHAN" Subject: IJN AA gun color I've been planning to go back to many of my finished models and 'updating' them to correct any minor (and in a few cases, major) inaccuracies. One big issue that has come up is the color of AA mounts on IJN vessels. I've been using a mix of gunmetal and black to paint them but am not sure if that is the correct color. I've seen other people paint in many different ways- black, grey, the same color as the deck, etc. I havn't read or seen any sources that tell how these guns would have been painted. What brought this up was last night I happened to be watching the movie Midway on TV (for the 20th time or so) and in a nice close panning shot where you see the deck and sponsens of the Akagi, the AA guns are painted the same blue-grey as the rest of the ship. Was the movie producer's source for doing this accurate? Does anyone have any definitive sources on how these guns were painted? Or is everyone doing what looks best lacking this information? Thanks. Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: jakloek@kodak.com Subject: Nagato Adding a Nagato to my collection is also on my short list. Before you make a kit decision, I'd recommend looking through the material on the Warship website. There are at least three relevant articles. First is Jim Gordon's piece about upgrading the Aoshima Mutsu, it discusses a lot of what needs to be done to improve the kit. Next is Rob Mackie's article about Paul Eisenberg's 1/200 scratch built Nagato, this also shows pictures of creating a lot of detail. Finally, there is Rob's review of the Hi-Mold Nagato. Included in that is photo of the instruction sheet from the kit, which also gives a lot of information. Basically if you want to start with the Aoshima Nagato, and then improve it, these three articles are a good place to start gathering information on what could or should be done. I am trying an experiment with the lower energy, higher cost route, namely buying the Hi-Mold kit. My idea (last August) was to order it over the net from Hobby Link Japan. At the time, the yen was very weak against the U.S. dollar, and it looked like I could get it for about $80. (Still not cheap.) Alas, HLJ have back ordered it, and now the yen has improved dramatically against the dollar, so my cost savings may be nil. If it stays on back order, and the dollar keeps weakening, I will probably cancel the order and pull out my Aoshima kit. In the meantime, I am going to work on the Aoshima Atago. I have in hand the WEM 1/700 IJN photoetched AA weapons. They look good, but I may go blind trying to assemble them. James Kloek -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Foeth" Subject: Re: Black and silver warships. About the Dull Black, what I remember from the Missouri paint sceme, dull black was one of the twelve standard US colors, but I'm more into kriegsmarine colors, so I might be mistaken. Dull black is not completely black, as that color is indeed the worst color for a warship at night, however improbable it may sound. As for the Yamato requem: what is the poetry level in his book? He might just be speaking metaforically. Also, perhaps it is translated correctly *litterally* but not true to the color. As for the weather deck, from all pics left to us, I can see a teaky color on all of them. I would also object to black on decks, as for a ship in warm waters, it is not the most crew friendly color. As for wrong battleship gospel: I though the Graf Spee was Green a week ago. Honestly. Evert-Jan Foeth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: YHSAIO@aol.com Subject: USS Helena Well, the discussion on occupations was interesting. Let's see if the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker chime in about their interest in model ships. Seriously, on the matter of ships, Cadman asked about the USS Helena (CL-50) and camo schemes she wore during the war. Unfortunately, for us USN modelers, Helena is one of the most poorly documented ships photographically. In the instructions of the Classic Warships Helena kit, there is a mention of Alan Chesley's monograph by Leeward Productions, which is likely out of print:-( Perhaps Steve Wiper will be persuaded to do another of his excellent monographs on Helena or St. Louis real soon (please!). There is only one photo of Helena I've seen, and that is the famous underway shot in 1943 after a refit. Of course, she's in overall Navy Blue. I'm assuming that Helena would be in 5D at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack and in Sea Blue during 1942, but don't hold me to that! The standard references on US Navy cruisers, by Friedman and Terzibaschitsch, have the photo I mentioned. Maybe you should build a model of St. Louis, as I think Classic Warships has a kit out already and besides, she's in a Measure 32 dazzle scheme, which would be nicer than an overall Navy Blue scheme. Yunchi Hsaio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Lance King Subject: Model Search Hello to all, I am new on this post so I hope I get the format etc. correct. I am trying to locate a model kit. I saw a liberty ship model at the Great Lakes Naval Training Command (my son just graduated from "boot" camp) that I would like to build. It had lots of amphibious boats on the stern. Unfortunately no one there knew what the kit was and I have forgotten the name. I do not care if it is plastic or wood but can anybody give me a clue what to look for? Thanks in advance! Lance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Steven Rogers Subject: USS Pennsylvania 1927 conversion With all the knowledge and skill of the members, hopefully someone can help. I am researching the upfit of Tom's 1921 Arizona to the 1927 Pennsylvania. My information so far suggest a larger conning tower, expanded chart house over the bridge, landing the search lights on the foretop, and a circular communication shack abaft the funnel. Also losing the fly off platforms from turrets 2 & 3, with the addition of a catapult and derrick on the quarterdeck. I have good photos of the chart house. Shadows block my view of the bridge, is it the same as the Arizona? I have no idea of the comm. shack configuration. Last problem is this, UO-1 float plane profile and elevation with the proper paint scheme. OK guys, suggestions? A good source of photos and or plans? In a similar process, I want to backdate the IS California (1941) to the 1936 Tennessee. That is however, another story. Feel free to e-mail me directly or post on the list in case others could use this info. Thanks! Steve Rogers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Landing crafts to safe the private Ryan A good source for those interested would be: Allied Landing Craft of World War Two Indroduction by A.D. Baker III ISBN 0-87021-064-5 It is a reprint of ONI 226 Allied Landing Craft and ships from June, 1944 with a supplement. I would say it is a right on target for your interest. Also, you might want to read the relevant sections in D-Day by Stephen Ambrose. He discusses the developement of the various kinds of landing craft in some detail. The book is an interesting account of the landings in any event. Hope this helps! Kurt Greiner SeaPhoto -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Torgeson Roger A Subject: H.M.S. Newcastle I have a couple of questions for the collective knowledge of the SMML membership. Warship pic of the week for 18 Oct. has a number of photos of H.M.S. Newcastle. Can anyone name which US shipyard they were taken in, and what Iowa class battleship is in the back ground of photo #4. Things must be real slow in my life when this is all I can think to ask. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: ironship@usit.net (Jon Warneke) Subject: Re: Graf Spee details >> I have a few questions that the book (unfortunately printed in Polish) cannot answer, And I hope some of you can. First, one of the plan cross sections identified as "przekroj przez wrege 127" is a section through the superstructure that shows a large triangular open truss construction extending out from both sides of the deck house and apparently supporting an upper deck. I cannot find this structure anywhere on the Graf Spee. << I don't have the Monographie in front of me, but I believe the area you're describing in under the fire control tower. There is a walkway between the bridge area and the superstructure that would be masked by the forward sets of 5.9" guns when looking at the ship in profile. More than likely, this is where this area is (the "127" refers to the frame location on the hull). >> The plan also shows in the ship's rigging three triangle shapes that are suspended along a line that runs between a yard arm down to the searchlight deck atop the funnel. Those triangles on the right side point up, those on the left point down. What are these and what do they do? << They probably are used to seperate long range radio aerials, similar to the ones that are used on high tension power transmission lines. >> There are numerous square windows seen on the superstructure. Were these glazed with glass or were they open? << They would have glass in them, and shutters on the outside. >> The port holes along the deck, should these be drilled open or are they supposed to look like deeply set closed holes? << I'd say your preference. >> Lastly, the barrels of the main batteries are all capped in every picture in the book. Were these usually capped when the ship was underway except when preparing to fire? Yes. These are tampions which were used to keep moisture out of the bore of the gun to prevent rusting. Overall, this is a good kit, and you should enjoy tricking it out. Jon Warneke Iron Shipwrights -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: SantMin@aol.com Subject: PE Figures Pete, You are right on one account, I have seen many really nice ship models spoiled by phoney looking "flat figures". However, it doesn't have to be that way, in fact, well done figures bring life to any model. Here's what I do (this works for commercial or my home made PE figures). First, I like to keep them in strips, a line of figures lined up, clipped free from the fret but all with their feet still attached to a runner. That way you can work on a group at a time and it goes much faster. Clamp the runner in a pair of self closing tweezers to act as a handle. Bend some arms and legs to make 3-D poses on the men. Then hit each figure with some cyano and kicker, front and back, to build up body roundness. You can even make the head more realistic this way (you may have to do this more than once). I have a chief on one of my models with a beer belly! Then it's just a matter of painting them assembly line fashion. Any ship model will look better with a well turned out crew. Cheers, Bob Santos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Tomcat" Subject: Looking for tanker model Hi again, I would just like to know if someone knows of any model of a supertanker preferably in 1/700. Any VCCL or UCCL would do just fine. Thank you Fredrik Tholander, Sweden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Re: USS Helena Cadman asked: >> does anyone know what other paint schemes that the USN Helena CL50 wore during here brief career in the Pacific? The photos I've seen seem to be the rather unexciting measure 21. Also can anyone recommend a good book with more info (reference photo's) on this particular cruiser? << By far the best single reference would be the Leeward Publications "Battle Damage Report #1: USS Helena CL 50" that was done in 1979. Naturally, it's been long out of print and I was lucky to find one at Articles of War in Chicago last year. It has a lot of good photos, many pre-war, and several from 1942. All seem to show the ship in overall Navy Blue Ms 21. >> One last thing in passing, I'm an Engineer too, one with entirely too many hobbies. << My wife wishes I had but one hobby: waiting on her hand and foot! :>) Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Tim Perry Subject: LCVPs and "Saving Private Ryan" Hi Catoldo again, I have my copy of 'D-Day Ships' back now, details of the LCVP are as follows:L 36 ft, B 10 ft 6in, Displaced 8 tons, 11 tons loaded. draught 2 ft forward, 3ft aft. speed 9 kts capacity 36 infantrymen, or 3 tons of cargo. Could carry a Jeep, light AT gun for example. Crew of 3, armoured ramp and sides to stop small arms fire. In all over 23 000 made!! There are some simple drawings in this book. Several variants including ambulance, mine sweeping, radio, even tugs. There are some better drawings by a chap called Edward Wiswesser, No 181XX which covers several US LCM, LCV and LCVP types, if you want to model them. I don't have a current source for these, perhaps someone else can advise this? I am going to the IPMS Nationals here in the UK tomorrow, and there is a group who usually exhibit models of landing craft; if they are there tomorrow, I will ask for any more suggestions for details! Best wishes, Tim Perry Bristol, UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: Allan Plumb Subject: Re: Nagato vs. Hyuga >> As if that were hard enough, for a few bucks more I can get the Nichimo 1/500 Nagato. Even if it's an old kit and not great, it's considerably bigger (which is always nice) [...] The only thing is that I have no idea how the Nichimo kits are. Are they good, so-so, or a waste of plastic? << I'm a fan of battleships in general, not just Japanese, for their sheer wastefulness. (Battlecruisers are even better.) I bought the Nichimo 1/500 Mutsu, and started to build it. Then I threw it away. The hull parts were warped. Above/below waterline match was horrible. The after hull was of course modified for a single-screw, but since I expected that, OK. Excessive flash. Yada yada yada... basically I discovered that I wasn't enjoying myself building it so I went on to something else in my unbuilt pile. YMMV - others have different standards, but my favorite part of modeling (other than researching) is watching a pile of pieces become an organic whole. I decided that this would never look like more than a pile of pieces that happened to be attached. Maybe I'm spoiled. For large-scale plastic ships, I'd say that Nichimo rates below Hasegawa, and even the worst Airfix 1/600s. (The best Airfixes are excellent.) Way behind Tamiya, or Heller. IMHO, the Revell Arizona is somewhat better (David Weller has mine now, after the addition of the clipper bow and lengthened stern - no, really). And to tack on from other threads: - I don't mind off-topic stuff at all, Greg. But I'll restrain myself (somewhat) because some do care. But since I'm here... - Physics major, UC Berkeley 76, now working in computers - hmm, methinks I see a trend here. Allan Plumb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "F J Hueso" Subject: About CVN 65 in Detail & Scale >> Does anyone out there know where I might get my hands on the detail & scale volume covering Enterprise CVN-65? All help appreciated. << Mark, I'm also seeking that book. Squadron sells the old Detail & Scale from then to then. In the October's Flyer they have on sale USS America and USS JF Kennedy books. If you are interested, I can send you a mail if they offer the Enterprise. From: Bill Cunningham Re: Graf Spee details >> ..The plan also shows in the ships rigging three triangle shapes that are suspended along a line that runs between a yard arm down to the searchlight deck atop the funnel. Those triangles on the right side point up, those on the left point down. What are these and what do they do? << If your plan is like that I have those triangles are helm signals, indicating to which side the ship was heading. Subject: Lindberg LSD >> Can anyone confirm the 1968' Lindberg Landing Ship Dock model as a Thomaston Class vessel? How accurate is the kit? What scale is the model? << Ralph: if it's the same as the 1988 kit, it try to represent USS Tortuga LSD 27, a Casa Grande Class ship (Older than Thomaston). And about accuracy, is like other Lindberg models... Scale is stated as 1/288, though I must confirm that. (BTW I'll try to convert it to our Galicia L-31, ex USS San Marcos, expecting my memories and my photos not betrays me. - Someone knows about Hughes 500 helicopter in 1/288 scale? Un saludo Javier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ 21) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Re: Camo for Liferings & Fire Hose >> Having checked the photos in a number of my references, it appears that the life rings on a Measure 21 ship were painted out in Navy Blue. The fire hoses might--emphasis on might--have been stained Navy Blue, but I'm betting they were unpainted/unstained canvas, a warm light gray in color. Jeff Herne, whaddaya think? << There was a very nice color photo of a Fletcher in Ms 22 on the cover of a recent issue of Warship International (1998, Vol. XXXV, #1). It shows the ship doing an UNREP with a carrier, late WW2. The life rafts appear to be the same Haze Gray as the superstructure and fire hoses also a light gray, so they may either be stained that way or the natural color. Interestingly, a long L-shaped firefighting tool (know as an applicator) can be seen stowed on a bulkhead and is painted red, the normal peacetime color for damage control fittings. No liferings are visible in the picture. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Re: Landing Craft in SPR The craft shown at the beginning of 'Saving Private Ryan' were known as Higgins boats, after the owned of the company that built them in New Orleans. Officially, they were known as "Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel" (LCVP) and were designed to carry a single 6000-pound vehicle or 36 combat troops. They were made mostly of plywood and were 36 feet in length, 10.5 feet wide, weighed 18,000 pounds empty, and powered by either a 225-HP diesel or 250-HP gasoline engine. They had 1/4-inch armor on the sides and ramp and often were armed with one or two .30 caliber machine guns. Maximum speed was 9 knots. After the war a number of LCVPs were sold as surplus and some exist to this day. Several were purchased for use in the movie. Don't know if LCVPs or their derivatives are still used. Large deck amphibs and tenders do carry LCM-6s for utility work; they are a bit larger than Higgins boats. A host of specially configured landing craft were designed and built in WW2. Many of the early designs were British and some were adopted and modified by the USA. A good book is "Allied Landing Craft of World War Two", by the US Naval Institute. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "K. Hagerup" Subject: Landing crafts to safe the private Ryan Another good book to track down is Allied Landing Craft of World War Two. My copy is published by Arms and Armour Press in 1985. It's a reprint of the US Navy's Division of Naval Intelligence ONI 226 Allied Landing Craft and Ships and ONI 226/1, a supplement. I used the book as a reference for an article I wrote for the 1994 IPMS/USA National Convention Journal on landing craft. Ken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Flagship Tarawa / Realistic water The Tarawa/Saipan PE set comes with lots of deck crewmen (women). I have built the Tarawa using this set and the figures in 1/700 scale look really give the model a good scale appearance. With the crew on deck, the average person looking at the model can appreciate the actual size of the ship. BTW, at mall displays spectators get a real kick from the tiny figures. >> As for the water, I've read a few article on "modeling realistic water" (including the one on the WARSHIP website) and I decided to do some experimenting with acrylic gel. I understand that I need to do a fair bit of experimenting but if that means that I have to build another diorama than so be it (I love to build models!). << I wrote the Navismagazine.com article concerning making realistic water. I would use nothing else but Liquitex Gel Medium when making 1/700 scale water. The only thing you need to remember is to eliminate the "Dairy Queen" curly cues that occur every time you lift the brush from the gel. All you have to do is let the gel dry for several until it's tacky to the touch. Then use a flat, soft brush dipped in water and gently paint the gel with water. The acrylic, not being dry yet is still water soluble and the curly cues will smooth out nicely. Also, no need to wait for the gel to dry completely clear. As long as the surface is dry to the touch painting can begin. It will continue to dry after painting. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: Douglas Bauer Subject: Landing craft seen in "Saving Private Ryan" I served in the USN from 1966-1970, and all of my career was in the Amphibs...I served aboard an amphibious attack cargo ship (AKA 97), an LST, and was stationed at Assault Craft Unit ONE as an assault boat coxswain. The most common craft seen in the movie was an LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel). The transports (you could see the ship's number and the number of the LCVP stencilled on the side of the boat) carried a dozen or more of them, as did the attack cargo ships. The LCVP was a 36' long, single-screwed wooden boat, with a steel ramp opened and closed with a mechanical, hand-operated winch. The sides were re-inforced with thin 1/4" armor plate. With a beam of 11', the "Papa" boat weighed around 18,500 lbs., and had a cargo capacity of 8100 lbs....it could carry 36 combat-equipped soldiers at 225 lbs. each. Having driven them before, I can tell you they're relatively under-powered, having only a single Gray marine diesel engine...but they're remarkably maneuverable. Because they have only one screw, they have a tendency to broach easily once on the landing beach with moderate waves. Although I don't remember seeing one (I was too engrossed in the carnage on the beach), another craft used in amphibious landings was the LCM-6 (landing craft, mechanized). The "Mike" boat was 56' long with a 14' beam and weighed 56,000 lbs. It was constructed of steel and had a powered ramp winch (hence, the "mechanized"), and was driven by twin screws connected to two Gray marine diesels. It had a cargo capacity of 68,000 lbs. and could carry 120 fully-equipped troops. Because of the twin screws these boats could turn on a dime and were very maneuverable.....the only problem I had was that the throttles and gear levers were integral, on either side of the conn with the large wheel in the middle. Made for some awkward movements when retracting off the beach. The LSTs in the movie were poorly done (I thought)...ballasted way too high astern...and the boat davits were out of proportion to the rest of the ship. There were many LSTs used in amphibious landings, and a good book about them is "Large Slow Target-A History of the LST" by Melvin D. Barger...published by the U.S. L.S.T. Assn. in 1986...ISBN 0-9616588-0-0. I served aboard USS Windham County (LST 1170), out of Yokosuka, Japan...we were usually deployed with the Mobile Riverine Force in southern VietNam, so didn't have much occasion to make amphibious assaults. Hope this helps you a bit in your search for info on amphibious craft, Cataldo. Doug Bauer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Naval History Magazine The December 1998 issue of Naval History (published by the US Naval Institute) is out and includes articles on the following topics: - Admiral W. S. Sims and his efforts to bring about cooperation between the US Navy and Royal Navy during World War One. - Latest salvage attempts on the RMS Titanic. - Western Australian Maritime Museum's construction of a replica of Captains Cook's bark, the Endeavor. - Lack of naval gunfire support at the Normandy invasion. - US Asiatic Fleet. - Photo essay on Marines in the central Pacific theatre in WW2. - China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center in California. - British coastwatchers in the Solomons in WW2. Plus the usual features on historic ships and aircraft, museum ship status report, new books, etc. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) Subject: Floquil Paint Query From: "Joe Norris" Greetings, Does anybody know where I can get some Floquil "Navy Blue" 5-N for my 1942 U.S.S. Yorktown? If not, what is a substitute from another mfg? p.s. I'm a physicist and proud of it! Joe & Adrienne Norris Ramona, CA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: RCClem@aol.com Subject: Re: Lindberg's USS Tortuga LSD 26 (Kit #766 @ 1/288) >> Can anyone confirm the 1968' Lindberg Landing Ship Dock model as a Thomaston Class vessel? How accurate is the kit? What scale is the model << Ralph, I have the Lindberg USS Totuga LSD 26, Kit # 766. The box art says copyright 1976. The Tortuga was commissioned late in WWII but did not see any action in that war, despite what the box art shows. LSDs 1-8 were called the Ashland class, after the Ashland LSD 1. They were powered by steam engines. All the rest were turbine powered. LSDs 13-15 were called the Casa Grande Class after the Casa Grande LSD 13. 16-27 were the Cabildo Class. So the Tortuga was in this class and was built in Boston. The rest were built too late for WWII service. The USS Thomaston, LSD 28, was not launched (at Pascagoula, Mississippi) until 1954. Her speed was 23 knots as compared to 16 knots for the earlier classes. Note that during WWII the structural differences were minor. Most evident were the differences in the height and complexity of the superstructure. Also, the number, type and placement of the AA guns varied. The location of the cranes also varied in the later classes.. I am going to try to revise my kit to be LSD 3, the USS Carter Hall, on which my father's landing craft company sailed during the war. The box art says the scale is 1" = 10 ft, 6 in, or 1/126. This would have provided a kit 43.6" long! However, the ship was 458 ft long with a 72 ft beam and displace 4500 tons. The kit is 18.9" long and has a beam of 3.1". So it seems the correct scale is about 1"=24ft or 1/288. The kit is motorized, which Lindberg did a lot of in that time. One motor and two shafts. (I also have the Lindberg USS Yorktown CV-10, (Kit # 760M), which is also motorized {one motor and shaft}. It is in a box that is the same size as the Tortuga, but since it is a larger ship, the scale is about 1/525. Whatever will fit in the box, I guess. I think Revell did the same thing.) The LSD kit comes with 15 LCVPs. It could carry up to 27. Although it did not see combat in WWII, it did see active service in Korea and Viet Nam. I have not started the kit yet. I plan to build it for my dad. It has molded on railings that could be removed and replaced with a photoetch kit that I have yet to identify. I'd also like to replace many of the crude guns that come with the kit. I'm just happy that someone built a kit for this ship type. Other Listees have offered the following manufacturers as sources for accessories at this scale: See HR Products at http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~hracct/ and GHQ Models at http://www.ghqmodels.com Tom Eisenhour of Austin, Texas is also interested in this type of ship and in the Lindberg kit. Maybe he has discovered some more resources for us. I hope this helps. Roger Clemens Hinsdale, Illinois -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: "Big Yamato & detail set for sale" Dear readers, I have one of these big 1/200 scale Yamato's. I just don't have the room for this monster even if I wanted to build it. I also have the GMM detail set to go with it. Let's do an old fashioned bid. Don't post your bids here. Send them to my email address. For both I'll need a $150.00 opening bid (you have to buy them both). I'll take bids for a few days and notify the winner. The winner will have to pay about $20.00 shipping (US). Together this stuff is worth well over $300.00. If no one's interested, I'll keep it in the closet. It's completely unbuilt, box in excellent condition I'll also consider a trade for a 1/350 Yamato and some other 1/350 ship kit(s). Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume