Subject SMML02/01/99VOL413 Date: Sat, 02 Jan 1999 23:47:53 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: British Ensigns 2: Re: British Ensigns 3: USS CIMARROM & HMS LION 4: Re: British Ensigns 5: Re: 1/200 Yamato Decks 6: Tom's Modelworks 7: Re: RMS Titanic Ect 8: Re: HMS LION @ Jutland 9: Re: USS Cimarron 10: Re: French Warships 11: Re: HMS Lion 12: Re: Heller releases 13: Re: British Ensigns 14: Re: USS Oregon 15: Photos 16: Re: OREGON QUESTION 17: Re: Good news from Heller... 18: In the scrapyard... 19: Re: Glencoe: OREGON 20: New subscriber 21: New subscription 22: Potemkin-OGONJEK/Heller molds? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Donald Bridge Subject: Re: British Ensigns Hi all. With regard to the white, red and blue Ensigns in use with British vessels, to the best of my limited knowledge, they are in use as follows. White ensign:- Royal Navy Red ensign:- British registered merchant vessels There is not just one Blue Ensign. Blue Ensigns are used by other offical and government institutions, together with a few other organisations that have been granted the right to use it. These ensigns are blue with the Union flag at top flagstaff with the badge or device of the organisation in the main field. For exampe HM Customs and Excise flies a blue Ensign with the device of a portcullis with flying chains in gold in the main field and the Metropolitan Police Ensign carries the Met police badge. As I've been writing this I suddenly realised that I'm not sure which ensign the Royal Fleet Auxillary vessels use, logicaly it should be blue or white but as they are merchant vessels of a sort they may fly red. Best wishes for the new year. Don Bridge Sarajevo, Bosnia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Leverett L. Preble" Subject: Re: British Ensigns The Red Ensign is the general flag flown by all british merchant ships that do not fly another flag. The White Ensign is flown by all warships and ships in the regular Royal Navy. The blue Ensign is flown by merchant ships when the Captain (and some portion of the crew hold commissions in the Royal Navy Reserve. Traditionally the Q.E. and the Queen Mary flew this flag but the Q.E.II went to the Falkland Islands flying the Red Ensign as that captain did not hold a reserve commission. I hope this helps. Leverett L. Preble 28 Wainwright Rd. Winchester MA 01890 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: PulligS@aol.com Subject: USS CIMARROM & HMS LION Taubman lists plans for both ships in 1/144 and one for LION in 1/16. $12-$25. Try at http://www.modelersboatyard.com/taubmans/taubman1.htm . Then search for your ship. I have never seen one of their plans, can anyone comment? In regard to CIMARRON I have not checked but suspect that Floating Dockyard would have something. In regard to nets I would have bet money that they were all removed prior to Jutland but do not remember why I think that. There is a good shot of the QUEEN MARY with hers on on the WW1 page. Just did a word search on AOL netfind 15 ref to H.M.S. LION. One, on warship1.com had a good photo of LION 1916 with no nets. Other links were to various plans and models, most would show up on our warship web pane sponsors lists. Search for CIMARRON turns up a HUGE LIST MOSTLY OF aO-177. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Bob Pearson Subject: Re: British Ensigns The three different Ensigns date back to the age of sail and refer to the rank of the flag officer under which the squadron sails. Upon obtaining his flag, a new Admiral would be a Rear-Admiral of the blue (with his blue flag on the mizzen mast), his first promotion would bring him up to rear admiral of the white and then of the red. .... the next step would be to vice admiral of the white (white flag on the foremast). . and if he manages to outlast his peers he will eventually become a full Admiral of the red (red on mainmast). However if sailing under Admiralty orders, then a ship would fly a white Ensign to signify that it was a private ship and not under Admirals orders. Later when the various colours were dropped the merchant navy (as the true senior service) kept the Red Ensign, the RN got the White Ensign while the auxillaries the blue. Regards, Bob Pearson Managing Editor / Internet Modeler http://www.internetmodeler.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Steve Sobieralski" Subject: Re: 1/200 Yamato Decks I plank my decks using wood strips available from model railroad suppliers. A company named (appropriately) "Scale Lumber" produces many sizes of scale dimensional (i.e. 2x4, 2x6, etc.) wood planks. For my Yamato I am using HO scale 1x3's which are very close in scale to the Yamato's 127 mm wide deck planking. First I removed minor details on the deck that were either incorrect according to my sources or were too shallow to stand clear of the thickness of the planking and then sanded the molded planking detail smooth. I apply the planking using a German plastic cement called "Faller Expert". It comes in a plastic sqeeze bottle with a hypodermic sized steel tube at the top for application. It has the consistency of gap filling cyano but is more workable and adheres well to both the wood and plastic. I start planking from the centerline of the ship and work outwards. Deck features such as hatches, superstructures and barbettes should have a border planked around them which the main planking runs butt into. After the planking is laid I (very) lightly sand it to a smooth surface and then apply several thinned coats of clear varnish or polyurethane to protect it (you can stain it if you wish prior to applying the varnish), You can mask the wood deck with masking tape but when you remove the tape pull it back parallel with the surface of the deck. This will minimze the pulling up of any planking that may not be fully adhered. This all sounds fairly tedious and time consuming (and it is) but once you get going it proceeds quicker than you might think and and I have found it a surprisingly enjoyable and satisfying task. I have used this technique on a 1/192 model of the USS Indianapolis and a 1/128 model of HMS Hood and the results are (I feel) well worth the effort because, in the end, nothing simulates wood as well as wood does, at least in larger scales. Steve Sobieralski -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: CHRIS DRAGE Subject: Tom's Modelworks Hi all SMMeLies, Hope you are all overcoming the hangovers by now......... I just want to publicly thank Tom Harrison of Tom's Modelworks for such brilliant customer service. A little problem and Tom goes to great lengths to help solve it or provide you with what you require. In an age where good service is conspicupus by its absence it is refreshing to find such a retailer. Keep it up Tom! Regards, Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo, tena he tao kupa kaore e taea te karo.... (Te reo Maori) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Jim Burt" Subject: Re: RMS Titanic Ect Even though i don't have this new Titanic kit yet, I have heard that they had done some modifications on the decks, it was easier to build, they added the skylight on the forecastle deck, & the center anchor, they had forgotten to add some to the officers quarters, & to make a new dome for both grand staircases, ect. Minicraft is going to make some extensive modifications to their 1/350 scale kit, using guides off of the Titanic Scale Model Page. Hope that helped, Steve -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: John Snyder Subject: Re: HMS LION @ Jutland John: You may want to check the list archives for my previous, more complete explanation on this subject; here's the abridged version: The photos you've seen of LION from this period were made on blue-sensitive glass plates or orthochromatic film, which render colors into a different range of grays than modern panchromatic b/w films. In short, they make anything with blue appear much lighter than the eye is used to perceiving (notice how the sky in 19th/early 20th century photos is always washed out and appears like high overcast?), while reds go almost black, and yellows go very dark gray. Thus, a medium blue-gray would be appreciably lighter in a print than you would expect because of the blue content of the paint, and that chocolate-brown linoleum--with a good bit of both red and yellow in it--would be almost black in a print. In short, your description of the appearance of the ship in the photos seems to me likely to represent precisely the colors that she is supposed to have worn (though I won't make a guess about the turret tops--don't know enough about WW1 paints/colors). Hope this helps, John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Re: USS Cimarron There are starboard side profiles of both Cimarron and the 'jumboised' Canisteo in Jane's Fighting Ships 1984-85 and possibly other editions. Jane's Surface Skimmers would cover the ACVs. However, bearing in mind Dave Baker's comments in SMML 412, the accuracy may not be that high. I recall that Jane's Armour and Artillery published a terrible drawing of a Humber Pig APC for many years before I gave them a correct one and it was evident that they were quite content to keep doing so as the target audience is evidently less discerning than we modelmakers. Having drawn things from photographs, I know how wrong the result can be and there is no substitute for measuring the real thing as a starting point. Robert Lockie Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: MDeskin@aol.com Subject: Re: French Warships >> I think that what Mikey is looking for are FRENCH WARSHIPS of the WW I and WW II era's, not warships by French MANUFACTURERS. << Yes!! It is indeed the French warships that I am interested in!! Thank you all for your help!! Mikey -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Graham Walker" Subject: Re: HMS Lion The lion was painted a red/brown a bit like rust, this appeared on all the decks, except the main and forecastle decks which were wooden, as for the netting I used stretched sprue on my scratched HMS Queen Mary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Graham Walker" Subject: Re: Heller releases What no Hood, I was hoping they were going to release this one soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Graham Walker" Subject: Re: British Ensigns Pre 20th century the Royal Navy consited of Squadrons ie white, red, blue. In the 20th century though the White Ensign was for the Royal Naval vessels, with the Red Ensign for the merchant marine with the Blue Ensign for the Royal Fleet UXs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "roger torgeson" Subject: Re: USS Oregon Rich, The big difference that I can find between the Oregon during the Spanish-American War and post war is the difference in funnel height. The funnels in the kit are post war. An excellent photograph of the Oregon in White and buff with raised funnels can be found in Warship 1990 page 74. The book also has some good drawings that should help very much. A second good reference book is American Battleships 1886-1923 if you can find it. This book has a photo of Massachusetts showing the 6 poundres on the upper deck, lots of detail, platforms for gun crew, boats.oars, spars stowed on skids, turning engine for boat cranes. It also has a picture of the 300th anniversary of Jamestown in 1907 with all the Predreadnoughts in white and buff. I built this kit over a six month period of time, and finished it a few months before any designed photo etch was available. I used 1/200 etch brass railings. Feel free to get in touch with me ( work rtorgeso@kpt.nuwc.navy.mil or home ) for help, suggestions (how to lower the boat deck to main deck level) or just "how did you do this or that". I also had the help of a very good model of the Oregon in drydock, that is on display in the Puget Sound Naval Museum. Roger Torgeson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Vimieraa@aol.com Subject: Photos I am looking for photos of the following ships:- Minelayers Abdiel as in 1940/41/42/43 Manxman as in 1941/42/43 Welshman as in 1941/42 Latona as in 1940 Destroyers Janus as in 1942/43 Javelin as in 1942/43 Jervis as in 1943 Lance as in 1941/42 Ithuriel as in 1941 Any help would be appreciated -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: JVT7532@aol.com Subject: Re: OREGON QUESTION Well, I have started this Glencoe Model using some good reference materials and sites you fellows have emailed me, but right off I see a problem. Having glued the hull halves together I used the decks for proper alignment. Now as I look at the quarterdeck and the forecastle I can see the hull raised up above the decks about .010 to .015 of an inch, it is also angled slightly up from the deck to outboard. Now my question is this, should I fill in the void between the deck and the hull and then sand the hull flush with the deck or is this area supposed to be raised? I will fill the void in any case, but I cannot see in any picture I have come across that shows this area clearly. Thanks for all your help. Happy Modeling Jon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: jmaine@golden.net Subject: Re: Good news from Heller... >> 7.. The other announcements for the period Sept 98-July 99 (jointly with Airfix) are: c.. March 99: 1/200 Saint-Louis and Golden Hind, 1/400 T-23 and Scharnhorst, 1/600 Graf Spee and Ajax << Wow, the Scharnhorst at last!! - IMHO the most beautiful-looking of all the world's battlecruisers (with the Alaska class a close second and maybe HMS Hood and Tiger tied for third). That really is good news, Jean-Paul - I can't wait to add her to my "large scale" (i.e. bigger than 1/700) collection! BTW, I hope the box art hasn't changed; I'm also a big fan of that Heller "watercolour" style painting. Thanks for the info and Bonne Annee to you and all SMMLer's. John Maine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: tomkremer Subject: In the scrapyard... I was driving by the old Mare Island naval base the other day and noticed a couple of WWII era ships in the boneyard awaiting scrapping. I was wondering of anybody who follows this sort of thing could put a name of the profiles. One looked to be an Essex class carrier retrofitted with angled flight deck, etc. The other even more interesting ship was, I think, a Cleveland class cruiser with only the #1 turret in place, the #2 turret removed to make room for a bridge extension and the rear half of the ship totally rebuilt to carry Terrier or Talos missiles. I couldn't see the misile launcher(s) itself but the guidance system was there. The cruiser was a really interesting looking ship and I thought has great potential for some kitbashing. Best regards, Tom Kremer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Glencoe: OREGON I built this kit about two years ago. I wish I had all the references that are currently available. I've seen the Toms Modelworks instructions for detailing this kit and wish they and the PE were available when I constructed mine. Another excellent reference is the Kalmbach Books "Building and Detailing Scale Model Ships." I finished mine in the white and buff scheme, added my own railing with brass rod and thread and rigged it out in thread and stretched sprue. It looks magnificent on my shelf. I've also bought some Preiser "Z" scale figures, but haven't added them yet. As far as advice on building one, you're going to need some putty to fill the gaps between the deck, hull and supestructure. I would go ahead and attach the superstructure to the deck before painting. The finished model get lots of oohs and aahs from family and friends, but I'll never take her to a contest. Freeboard's too high, not configured properly for the paintjob, etc. But I know that years from now, occassionally when I walk by her, I'll take a visual tour and imagine myelf on her decks. Lovely ship. The sooner you get to work on her, the sooner she'll be finished. Happy modeling. Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: DILIANE@aol.com Subject: New subscriber Hi. I was going through your site, and got all excited. I am one of those people who makes 700 and sometimes 350 scale, and can't usually find very much information. I would appreciate your input. Thanks in advance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) To: shipmodels@tac.com.au Subject: New subscription My name is Patrick LESAGE and i leave in FRANCE at PARIS. My home adresse is 10 villa Poirier 75015 Paris - FRANCE. I speak very bad english. I search for built a battleship 1/200 that it possible to make a radio control for to sail. In what the subscription can help me to find the battleship out of France. Is the Battleship Yamato I:200 Injection Molded kit by Nichimo is a radio control ship? If it is who sell it? Thank you for your answer and happy a new year. P.LESAGE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Minadmiral@aol.com Subject: Potemkin-OGONJEK/Heller molds? Hi; I have the Potemkin kit comming, 1:400?, and may buy Aurora, also. These are from OGONJEK, using ex-Heller molds? I haven`t built a plastic model in 20 years, unless you count waterline Airfix ships for wargaming, and the various 1:700 models, also for wargaming.Virtually all of my modelling has been white metal wargame stuff, and an occasional 15mm cast foam ship. Any suggestions? If this is truely from Heller molds then anyone who has built the Heller kits could be of help. I do have a few questions to start. 1-Where can I find plans for Potemkin and Aurura? 2-How good is the kit? 3-What about photo etched add ons? I`v never tried them. I do have a few books with photos,and Conways. When the ship model gets here I will look at it and decide what period to build it. I would be grateful for any suggestions. I`m not out to win any prizes, just to build a model of a ship I like. Chuck Duggie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume