Subject SMML30/10/98VOL348 Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 22:58:37 +1100 (EST) shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: 1/1250 Model Plans 2: Re: Cleveland class cruisers 3: Re: More on Celluclay 4: Re: Indianapolis story 5: Re: 1/700 oiler 6: Civil War Ships 7: Mystery Ship - Solution ? 8: Cleveland Class Cruisers 9: Re: Mystery Ship HMT Rowena (sp?) 10: USCG Itasca 11: An informative web site 12: Air raid- This is no drill... 13: Re: Civil War Ships 14: USS Indianapolis 15: Re: American Civil War Era Ships-References 16: Lighting the 1/350 Titanic 17: Re: CA Indianapolis 18: Re: Nagato vs. Hyuga 19: HMS Kelly 20: GHQ Models & USS Enterprise in detail & scale 21: USS Indianapolis Ref. 22: Re: Kelly 23: Plans 24: Re: Mystery Ship 25: Re: USCG 44 footers in Pacific Northwest 26: Revell USS Montrose? 27: Internet Kit shopping....... 28: SYDNEY and KORMORAN models 29: USS Arizona, 1941 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: www.navalbasehobbies.com 2: Looking for your photos of warships 3: Looking for a kit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Gene Larson Subject: Re: 1/1250 Model Plans Paul Jacobs wrote: >> I can say that for any good model to be made for mass production, you need good plans, and those usually aren't available in most of the books on U.S. or other nations ships. << Just wondering if you have tried the National Archives II? I understand they are very accommodating in service, especially to "in person" visits. You must know what you want however. Sources for plans are listed on our web site in our Sources For Model Builders section under "SOURCES FOR NAVAL HISTORICAL RESOURCES WASHINGTON, D.C. & REGIONAL". If anyone has had any experience that differs from the information listed I would appreciate an update. Regards, Gene Larson, Alexandria, Virginia mailto:genenrg@Naut-Res-Guild.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "FERNANDO, YOHAN" Subject: Re: Cleveland class cruisers >> just wanting to know if you would know where i could pick up a clevland class light cruiser. i know they are out there, but i dont know where to look << If you want one in 1/700, Skywave offers 2 injection kits- the Clevelend (early type w/round bridge) and the Miami (late type w/square bridge, enhanced AA etc.). Both usually sell for around $30-$40 I think. As will most Skywave kits, the level of detail is good and the kit is accurate. Lindberg also makes a Cleveland class kit which costs far less I'm sure but from the photos I've seen of it, you'd be wasting your money. At best, it vaguely reminds me of a Cleveland class cruiser. I don't know what exists in other scales. For availability of the Skywave kits, if you can't find one anywhere in a local hobby store, try Pacific Front Hobbies (http://www.pacificfront.com/). Also check out http://warship.simplenet.com/ for some nice examples of completed kits. Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: More on Celluclay Mike, How do you overcome the lumpy, oatmeal consistency of the Celluclay? This was another reason I stopped using it. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Indianapolis story >> She went down in 12 minutes, with 800 men out of a complement of 1200 going into the water. On 3 August, 316 survivors are picked up. << I was channel surfing the other and caught the movie "Jaws" when the the captain was telling the story of the Indianapolis. It's somewhat short, but from I remember was pretty accurate. If you got the tape, check it out. Most of the men that went in the ocean were taken by sharks. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/700 oiler >> Ship. I'm building 1/700 scale and would like to find these ships in the same scale. I've been using plastic kits << I believe (and I could be wrong) that Jim Shirley Productions makes a 1/700 USS Cimmeron resin kit. You can get it at Pacific Front Hobbies. Bill Gruner can tell you if it's an oiler or not, but I believe it is. Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Torgeson Roger A Subject: Civil War Ships Ron, Three good references for Civil War Ship are The Old Steam Navy by Donald L. Canney. It's a two vol. set. Vol. #1 Frigates, Sloops and Gunboats 1815-1885, ISBN 0-87021-004-1. Vol. #2 The Ironclades 1842-1885 ISBN 0-87021-586-8. The third one is Warships of the Civil War by Paul H. Silverstone ISBN 0-87021-783-6. All three are published by the Naval Institute Press. Hope this helps -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Mark Kwasnycia Subject: Mystery Ship - Solution ? Hello all, I've been following the thread on the mysterious HM Transport that was sunk. Is it possible that the ship is HMT Rohna? She was sunk November 26 1943 in the Med, while transporting a very large number of US troops, most of whom perished. The culprit was a German glider bomb. There's a book published by the US Naval Institute entitled: "Forgotten Tragedy" (ISBN 1-55750-402-4) written by Carlton Jackson. According to my USNI catalogue, it's still in print. Hope this helps, Mark Kwasnycia Ottawa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Torgeson Roger A Subject: Cleveland Class Cruisers Perk, I know of three Cleveland class models. Two are by Skywave, a 1942 Cleveland and a mid to late war Mobile. Both are in !/700 scale. Gulf Stream has a 1/350 Miami. I don't know if it's available at this time. Gulf Stream was sold some time ago, and I remember reading some place (SMML ?) that it was going to be reworked. Warship, in its Model kit Review section has two articles on these kits. In fact, it was because I read the article on the Gulf Stream Miami that I now have one waiting some day to be built. Hope this helps -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: Re: Mystery Ship HMT Rowena (sp?) Dan and all I saw a brief blurb in Hamilton booksellers list about an HMT (I assume His Majesty's Transport?) Rowanda, Rowena, Ruwanda, or something real close to this name. It advertised a book about the "tragic loss of life". I thought it may hve been a troopship lost in convoy. Or it may have been like HMS Birkenhead in the last century. I know nothing else. But I'm curious and mad that I didn't get the book at that time. The plot thickens . . Gene S. Katz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Allan Salas Subject: USCG Itasca I would like to obtain any information regarding the US Coast Guard Cutter Itasca. My father-in-law served aboard this vessel from 1938 to 1940 or 41 so this is a matter of personnel history for my family. Regards Allan Salas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Norman Samish Subject: An informative web site An informative web site at http://www.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime.html gives the following information: "SS RAWALPINDI. (November 23, 1939) British armed merchant cruiser of 16,697 tons (ex P&O liner) sunk by the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst in the Iceland-Faroes gap. There were 37 survivors but 265 of her crew were lost." Norm Samish -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Steven Rogers Subject: Air raid- This is no drill... Hey Guys, Anybody hear from Bill over at Pacific Front Hobbies? Is there something I don't know? Faxed an order and two e-mails...no reply. Perplexed, Steve Rogers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Donna Ogilvie Subject: Re: Civil War Ships Three of the best books on Civil War navies: Warships of the Civil War Navies by Paul Silverstone. published by Naval Institute Press It has numerous photos of the major and not so major ships as well as full data ad an encapsulated history of the vessels. The next is a two vol. set The Old Steam Navy v.1 Frigates,Sloops,and Gunboats, 1815 - 1885 v.2 The Ironclads 1842-1885 by Donald l. Canney published by Naval Institute Press This is a more detailed account of the design and characteristic of the ships of the era. Again there are numerous photos and line drawing of the ships at various points in there lives. The third invaluable reference for civil war naval research is: The Civil War Naval Chronology 1861 - 1865 compiled by the Naval History Division of the Navy Dept. published by Government Printing Office 1971 This book goes through the Civil War day by day with a paragraph or more about each naval / Riverine action. Again numerous photos and drawings,maps charts etc.. If you are looking for something specific please contact me at gogilvie@home.com.there is a good chance that I can point you in the right direction. I am a Civil War naval researcher / writer and have literally several hundred books on the subject. I am currently attempting to find any information on the USS Keokuk such as details of her building and transit to Charleston etc. I have the accounts from The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies During the War of Rebellion, Battles and Leaders etc.. I am looking for souse information. I am also or primarily researching her Captain Alexander C. Rhind. Anyone with any sources information on either Rhind or the Keokuk or suggestions where I might look please contact me at gogilvie@home.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Douglas Martin" Subject: USS Indianapolis A couple of years ago, a video was released in the UK, no doubt elsewhere, called the 'Mission of The Shark', based on the loss of the Indianapolis. The film has been shown at least twice on the regular TV channels, the last time was not that long ago. Well worth seeing, once again the blame for loss has to be applied to someone, but like many things usually unfairly applied to guys at the sharp end. Procedures for monitoring ship movements in the Pacific appear to have failed badly, you must ask yourself why a major surface ship should have had no escorts. Consider what impact there would have been on the war, had the ship been sunk a week or so earlier whilst carrying the 'A' bomb. Douglas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Ray Lagomasino" Subject: Re: American Civil War Era Ships-References Hi Rob: Lack of coverage/study at my Naval War College course and a move down to the metro Atlanta area three years ago spurred my interest regarding naval warfare during the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression, as it's most commonly referred to around these parts). The following contains recommended books, plus plans/drawings, museums to visit, and a resin maker who is producing some neat stuff regarding that era. The closest book I have found to a "one-source" publication is "Warships of the Civil War Navies" by Paul Silverstone, published by U.S. Naval Institute (USNI). Unfortunately I do not see it listed in their current catalog. This is a must have. Its in a "Jane's Fighting Ships" style format, with unit class description/specifications/capabilities, plus brief service records. The CSS side of the book has fewer pictures, since those are rarer (the Confederate Navy Department, and its records, were burned when Richmond fell). Other books of interest (with pictures): "Civil War Chronicles - Naval Warfare" by Metrobooks, currently sold at Borders for $14.40. Not a major breakthrough in Civil War Naval Warfare research--but at less than $15.00, its great value. The book has a general historical overview, some pictures, and the real prize: paintings by well known naval artists such as Tom Freeman and William McGrath. "Lincoln's Navy" by Donald Canney, published by USNI. Retails for $50.00. USNI members get 20% off. Borders (retail outlets) is only 10%--may get a better deal with Amazon.com. Book contains approx 200 illustrations of ships, weapons, personnel. "The Confederate Navy--The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1861-65" Edited by Dr. William Still. Also by USNI, in a similar format as "Lincoln's Navy". Lists for $60.00. Book includes pictures of models at the Woodruff Museum of Civil War Naval History. Another source of pictures is the Naval Historical Society, at the Washington Navy Yard, Wash D.C.--great folks, very helpful. As previously said, photos and data of CSN vessels are hard to come by. I've found two books that had very details line drawings/plans: "Capital Navy" by John Coski (historian at The Museum of the Confederacy, in Richmond VA). History of the CSN on the James River. Some pictures and illustrations. The best part: details drawings/plans of the James River Squadron's ironclads. The drawing/plans done by Mr. David Meagher. I contacted David and purchased a set of his plans of the CSS ATLANTA (includes gun deck detail--$25.00), which I am currently scratchbuilding. For those interested in Civil War era plans, David's address is: 208 Thach Lane Meridianville, AL 35759 "The Story of the Civil War Gunboat U.S.S. CAIRO" published by the National Park Service and sold for the whopping amount of $2.50 (yes the decimal is in the correct place) by the: U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP Washington DC 20402-9328 The 56 page booklet, provides the history of CAIRO, the first warship sunk by a naval mine (or "torpedo" as they were contemporarily called), to include operational history and a nicely done set of plans with interior detail--not bad for $2.50. Other books containing Civil War operational naval histories include: "Ironclads Afloat" by Dr. William Still. Best on CSN ironclads. "Divided Waters" by Musicant. Excellent!, mostly Union side "History of the Confederate states Navy" by J. Thomas Scharf. first published in the late 1880's by Scharf, a former former CSN officer. "A History of the Confederate Navy" by Raimondo Luraghi. Excellent nuts and bolts study/plus operational history of the CSN. "Gray Raiders of the Sea" by Chester Hearn. Blue Water Ops. (Pre-) Mahanian principles at work--commerce raiding. Sail/steam only--no ironclads. "The Capture of New Orleans" also by Chester Hearn. First op use of an ironclad (CSS Manassas) against wooden ships. "Duel Between The First Ironclads" by William Davis. One of Davis' earlier works, republished by Barnes and Noble for $8-9.00. Excellent book. Please note, there are other books out there and I hope other SMML'ers give you a more inclusive recommended list. The Woodruff Museum of Civil War Naval History (formally known as The Confederate Naval Museum) is located in Columbus GA. Its director is Robert Holcombe, a historian and accomplished modeler in his own right. The museum is a treasure trove of first rate CSN ship models (to include some beauties by P.C. Coker). It is well worth the visit. The museum's gift shop sells many of the books I listed. Other museums: The USS Cairo Museum at Vicksburg MS. Great model on display and the raised remains of CAIRO herself. Norfolk area: Maritime Museum and the Monitor vs Merrimac Museum Civil War era resin manufacturer: The best I've seen is Cottage Industry Models. Their 1/32 CSS HUNLEY and CSS DAVID (spar-torpedo boat) are very detailed, and can be made as cutaway. I have both and plan on purchasing their USS MONITOR, CSS VIRGINIA and USS CAIRO. All three have been announced as 1/96 scale! Cottage Model Industry models are sold by APC Hobbies and directly from the company. Their telephone number is 803-769-2352. Hope this helps. BTW, your WARSHIP Web site is fantastic. I appreciate the hard work you, Greg Lee, et al do for us. Ray Lagomasino -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Bill Gerlach Subject: Lighting the 1/350 Titanic I'm finally ready to light this puppy. I'd like to use 2 bulbs in the hull with fiber optics running up to various positions on deck, etc.. Can anyone give me a detailed list of what i need (ie..volts and amps of the bulbs, what type of power supply, maybe a description of the curcuit, etc..) I'm not very good with circuits or electronics, but i would like an on/off switch, and for it to plug into the wall. thanks for any help and please email me directly, Bill Gerlach -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: tomkremer Subject: Re: CA Indianapolis Yunchi writes: >> ...the case of the Indianapolis comes to mind, especially with the bungled rescue efforts and the travesty at the court-martial (Captain Hashimoto as a procesution witness against Captain McVay of the Indy? Give me a break. Almost like the fox blaming the chicken for allowing it to raid the coop). Do any SMMLer's know of the effort of a teen-ager in Indiana (I believe) who is trying to petition the Congress and Navy to overturn the conviction and clear the record and restore the honor of Captain McVay. << My understanding is that the testimony given by Captain Hashimoto was entirely technical in nature, how and when did he first sight Indianapolis, how did he make his approach and determine a firing solution, what courses were the respective vessels sailing, etc. Also the court wanted to find out why I58 happened to be loitering at the juction of two major sea lanes when Indianapolis came along when previous (and wrong) IJN practice had been to deploy submarines against allied fleets in forward battle zones, not against lines of communication. McVay was found negligent because he violated standard USN procedures by not steering a "zigzag" course in potential submarine waters. It was his misfortune to do so at a time when the IJN had finally allowed its submarine forces the flexibility to deploy the same way the US and Germany had been deploying submarines throughout the war. Best regards, Tom Kremer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: drwells@hogpa.ho.att.com (David R Wells) Subject: Re: Nagato vs. Hyuga Allan wrote: >> 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. << OK, I'll agree that the Nagato/Mutsu kit wasn't that great. I had to do some serious modifications on the torpedo bulges. Also, it hasn't aged well, and some of the warp in the hull has gotten worse. Wish I'd known you were throwing it away. I lost my funnel cap. OTOH, the Hyuga/Ise kit was MUCH better. The details were nicer, and it's generally more accurate. One problem is that the lower hull was still warped. :-( This seems to be a pattern in Nichimo 1/500s. Some are pretty good, others aren't. Their Atago-class aren't that good. Their Ashigaras are quite nice. Go figure. >> 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. << My view is that Nichimo, like Revellogram and Airfix, is a very mixed bag. Some are good, others aren't. It all depends on the individual kit. You can't judge by the company name. >> IMHO, the Revell Arizona is somewhat better << The Revell Arizona, for all its faults, is probably better than the Nichimo Nagato. By curious coincidence, my Nagato is displayed one shelf above my (good) Revell Arizona. >> (David Weller << WELLS!! (of course, I've been known to miss an "l" in Allan's name....) >> has mine now, after the addition of the clipper bow and lengthened stern - no, really). << I use that one for experiments. I spliced the hull again amidships, lengthened the stern some more, and even added a second funnel. It looks vaguely Italian now. David R. Wells -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: HMS Kelly Thanks Yunchi for the nice comments about Kelly... we WILL be producing HMAS Sydney in 1/700 Scale next year, which will be about the same retail as Sheffield, but there's plenty of nice WEM stuff to build in the meantime! We are taking all the discussions in at this time... interested parties??? Let us know so we can guage numbers. It would be EXTREMELY difficult to modify a Leander (Ajax or Achilles) hull to any degree of accuracy to produce a Sydney.... WEM of course are certainly looking at completely original master patterns for this subject, as is our stated policy. >> I do have a question about the paint scheme worn by Kelly, as she was Lord Mountbatten's flagship and would no doubt be in Mountbatten Pink at some stage in her career. WEM's excellent instructions show Kelly in Admiralty Medium Grey, though. << The WEM kit portrays Kelly in 1940, hence the grey scheme.. as sunk, according to Alan Raven she carried Mountbatten Pink, but we won't get into any imbroglio re. paint mixes on this one!!! I hope that John Snyder's RN chips will give us a good idea.. I'm sure there's someone (Tim? Chris? Dan? ) who can whizz together the refit details to get an "as sunk" Kelly.. we haven't got time today, as we're still under pressure after the Nats to get up-to-date. One change was that she had her aft TTs replaced by a 4inch HA gun... look forward to more discussions from you lot! Cheers Caroline Carter White Ensign Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "F J Hueso" Subject: GHQ Models & USS Enterprise in detail & scale To Mike Leonard: Thanks for the link to GHQ. ( BTW: You think I'll be able to sneak it from my wife? After all, I only had just made or planning some orders from Conway, Squadron, Chatham...) To Denis Campbell (and other Enterpriseaholics -sorry for the word): The Detail & Scale books that Squadron offers as sale are from the old series from Kalmbach. The new issues published (up to now) are dedicated to aircraft. The old ones are priced $5.99. I'll keep my watch! Un salud Javier -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: USS Indianapolis Ref. Not to nit-pick, but a couple of corrections to yesterday's SMML: >> Subject: USS INDIANA The History channel has a show, "Rain of Ruin" on the Manhattan project and the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs. In it, they show some color footage of the INDIANA as she brought the plutonium to Tinian Island. This was eight(?) days before she was torpedoed. << This would be the heavy cruiser Indianapolis, vice the battleship Indiana. >> Subject: HMAS Sydney Regarding the lack of survivors from Sydney: By way of comparison both CA Houston and CL Juneau sunk with massive loss of life among crew who floated for days before being rescued. In both of these cases great negligence was to blame for delays in search and rescue efforts. << I think again the writer has the Indianapolis in mind. While it's true that the Houston sank with great loss of life, there were simply no assets on hand to mount any sort of rescue effort, in that the remnants of the Asiatic Fleet were running for their lives. Those from the Houston who got to shore were soon trying to survive again, this time as POWs in Japanese camps. A miracle any of them ever came home. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Vimieraa@aol.com Subject: Re: Kelly I have spoken to Alan Raven who informs me that the Kelly was painted overall in Mountbatten Pink from around september 1940 up until the time that she was sunk in may 1941 off Crete. This colour was only applied to the vertical surfaces. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "Graham Walker" Subject: Plans To those who requested more information, can you please re-email me as I have had a major comp crash and lost lots of information, thanks inadvance graham. PS the uk nats was the biggest and best yet, I had a very hard time of it juding the ship classes but I must say The models by Jim Baueman were truley awsome. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: ECammeron@aol.com Subject: Re: Mystery Ship You might be talking about the MT ROHNA, a British transport sunk in Nov 1943 by a German Guided Bomb. USNIP has a book on this entitled FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY. According to the USNIP catalog listing, more than 1000 US Troops were killed in the sinking. Eugene Cammeron -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: Re: USCG 44 footers in Pacific Northwest I was stationed with the USCG in Seattle about 5 years ago. Generally, you won't find 44's on Puget Sound-- they're at the stations on the Pacific coast. The Columbia River Bar is where the CG's heavy weather/surf school is-- there's a lot of MLBs there. There may be a 44 at Port Angeles, though. I would suggest contacting the Coast Guard Museum Northwest, or the Office of Operations, SAR Branch, at the USCG 13th District Office in Seattle. The guys at the museum are modellers, too, as well as ex-coasties, and are a terrific resource. If you're looking for photos, I'd call them first. (They're also in Seattle.) If you're looking to visit a 44, a call to the District Office is the way to go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: Revell USS Montrose? I'm looking for a Revell USS Montrose kit. I'm a builder, not a collector, so age, box art style, box condition, etc. mean nothing to me. I understand that the kit was re-released a few years ago-- anyone have any leads? Bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: "Morley, James (London)" Subject: Internet Kit shopping....... Here is some information that may be of interest to UK-based modellers. Despite the strength of the Pound, list prices here for (especially Japanese) mass produced injection moulded plastic kits remain high. Whilst there is always the opportunity to shop around for a sale, the number of internet mail-order retailers based here is actually quite small. There just might be some benefit in shopping abroad for the larger, more expensive, stuff. Here's an example: Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise UK internet mail order (Hannants) £149.00 + p&p - say £165 all in. UK shop (if you can find it, but you may have to order especially - Beatties?) £149.00 if you go and get it yourself. Mail Order from Japan (Hobbylink) Yen 18,000 + p&p - about £120 all in. (UK£1 = Yen 200) Mail Order from the US ....... (UK£ 1 = US$ 1.67) Many more Internet shops here, so your chances of finding a special offer, or whatever, are far better. I have seen this kit at $199, and also at $118 (!!!!). In this case (ModelExpo) $118 + p&p - about £95 all in. This obviously isn't going to work all the time, and for the smaller kits, it's not worth it. Someone is going to mention Tax, and yes, UK VAT at 17.5% is a problem........ but it still doesn't explain why the kit costs more UK£ than it costs in the US in $. Before you buy any of the Tamiya 1/350 ships in a shop, just have a quick check around the world by internet (if you're reading this you must be connected). I can't vouch for all of these places, but here are some sites to look at for the common plastic ship stuff: UK White Ensign Models: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/xdt22/ Hannants: http://www.hannants.co.uk/ Japan HobbyLink Japan: http://iac.co.jp/~hlj/ US APC hobbies: http://www.apchobbies.com/ ModelWeb: http://www.hobbyweb.com/ Global Outlet: http://www.globaloutlet.com/store/ ModelExpo: http://www.dxshop.com/_shop/home.mhtml?shop=ModelExpoInc Pacific Front: http://www.pacificfront.com/ There are, of course, loads more - try searching the "links" areas of the Warship site, or the Navis site. On principle, I am irritated that the injection plastic giants (like Tamiya) have tried to cut up their markets into different local segments, allowing them to price in each part of the world according to the maximum the local market will bear - they are assuming that YOU are too stupid or lazy to get around this. If anyone has any thoughts or recommendations, I'd be interested to hear them. James Morley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: SYDNEY and KORMORAN models Some years ago, I wrote an article for the German modellers magazine >Modell-Fan< on scratchbuilding the SYDNEY with parts of the Matchbox kit of EXETER. I know that B-Resina will use this stuff - among others - for making their resin model. So this will be more than a reduced Airfix kit. As I remember, >Modell-Fan< also had an article on KORMORAN with a plan that could be used to scratch-build her. If anybody is intersted in this stuff, please give me your post address and I will send you copies. But don't forget, these articles are in German language. Only the plans, drawings and photos are international. Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: Michael Connelley Subject: USS Arizona, 1941 Hello: I wa looking at a new reference that I just got on the Arizona and it shows one of those oval shaped rafts (the ones that all the BBs had later in the war tied to every verticle surface) near the port side of turret #3 after she was sunk. In the background of the same photo I can see these same rafts on the sides of Tennessee's #4 turret too (pg 242 in Stillwell). The same raft appears on pg 249, and in both pictures it's on the deck leaning on-end against the #3 barbette. Can anyone tell me how many of these the Arizona carried when she sank and where they were? I am trying to model her in late 1941, but the last picture of her before she sank was taken in January of 1941 (taken in the Puget sound naval yard) and she didn't have them. I'm not surprised that the pictures of Arizona after the attack doesn't show more of these as I sure sailors grabbed anything that floated after she exploded. Cheers Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Shaya Novak" Subject: www.navalbasehobbies.com Dear SMMLer's, The Naval Base has the Iwo Jima or D-Day kits with all kinds of landing ships and beach vehicles by Skywave. Look at our site www.navalbasehobbies.com Liberty Ships by Skywave at the Naval Base $34.95 6.00 for shipping. The Round Bridge USS Cleveland and the Square Bridge USS Miami are at www.navalbasehobbies.com for 40.95 6.00 shipping. The Naval Base carries more than a dozen Resin kits of both Union & Confederate warships Thanks, Shaya -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Looking for your photos of warships ANNOUNCEMENT Hello All, As some of you may know, I offer a service to ship modelers called SeaPhoto. My photos are a mix of overhead shots and detailed, on board photography. I cover a lot of the current US Navy, and have some sets for other Navies as well. I am looking for folks willing to trade negatives of certain warships for pictures from my collection. You not only will be sharing a valuable resource with other modelers (and getting photographer's credit in my catalog), but also getting, at no cost, additional reference materials for your own collection. I will trade two of my color photos for every usable negative I accept. You need not be an acomplished photographer, but the shots need to be sharp and useful to modelers. For now, I could really use shots of museum warships from outside of the United States. I have the HMCS Haida and HMCS Sackville already, along with the HMS Warrior, but just about all others are needed. If it's a warship built after 1800, I'm interested. The Aurora, Mikasa and Huscar would be especially welcomed, but please write with whatever you have. Current warships of other countries would also be welcome, so please write and tell me what you have. Please don't send any materials before you contact me, as this is a one man operation and it takes some time to sort through negatives. I have been in business for 5 years now, and have traded with photographers around the world to our mutual benefit. So, if you have some good negatives in storage, and would like to increase your reference collection, please contact me. Cordially, Kurt Greiner SeaPhoto -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Looking for a kit Fellow SMML members, I am in search of a rare kit put out a number of years ago by Aurora. It is Soviet Golf class submarine. Any help in locating one of these would be greatly appreciated. If anyone sees one, please buy it; I will gladly reimburse you. Thanks! Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume