Subject: SMML25/01/99VOL436 Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 23:52:10 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: German Catapult Ships (continued) 2: Nautilus Models 3: Modern Royal Navy (Falklands Conflict) Questions 4: Re: Floquil Marine Colors 5: Re: Airbrushing Floquil 6: How to obtain any color in the universe 7: Re: Escort Ships of WWII 8: Re: Helo Hangars on FFGs 9: Re: Gun Calibre 10: Re: helo hangers RN 11: Re: USS Shangri-La 12: Help needed please 13: Re: Nautilus Models Annoouncements 14: 1/700 Hasegawa BB Haruna 15: Model Help 16: 1/500th scale Takao Class -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: German Catapult Ships (continued) MS FRIESENLAND Built at Kieler Howaldts-Werke, Kiel, specifically for North Atlantic service, in 1937, FRIESENLAND was much bigger than OSTMARK. Her Heinkel-K-10 catapult was placed on the portside of the quaterdeck. A system of two additional railways and three turntables allowed for easy arrangememt of the airplanes. In Aug.1937 she replaced SCHWABENLAND on the North Atlantic station. In Dec.1937 she returned to the yard for rebuilding. In Feb. 1938 she went for duty to the South Atlantic. In Aug. 1939 she returned again to Germany for an overhaul. Presumably not yet at this time, but later, early in the war, a 2 cm AA stand was fitted on the bow. On 5 Sep.1939 FRIESENLAND was taken over by the Luftwaffe. After an attachment to the Seefliegerhorst Hornum/Sylt, she took part in Operation Weserubung (the occupation of Norway) and launched supply flights to Norway from Travemunde. In Sep.1940 FRIESENLAND first moved to Trondheim, but sailed to the French west coast in Oct.1940. There she was stationed at Brest and later at Bordeaux. In Sep. 1941 she returned to Trondheim. While being escorted through the Channel, she was bombed off Vlissingen. She received a bomb hit on the quaterdeck which caused a fire but no major damage. After a short stop for repairs at Bremerhaven, she could sail on to Trondheim. On Nov.26, 1941 she moved to Tromso. There she stayed until Jul. 1943 when she moved to Bille-Fjord. On 19 Sep. 1944 she was attacked by Sovjet aircraft. A torpedo blew a huge hole into her bow, but she remained afloat. Four weeks later she was towed to Bogen-Bay near Narvik. There she served as a repair ship and travelled several times between Bogen, Narvik and Skjomen-Fjord under her own power. At the end of March 1945 She was finally docked at Bogen and her damaged bow was strengthened with section-steel struts. Also the foremast was ermoved. Not before April 1946 did the British take her over as a prize. FRIESENLAND was then towed to Wilhelmshaven where she received a provisional new stem. At the end of Sep.1946 a German crew sailed her to Rosyth and, early November, further to Burnisland where she was handed over to the Royal Air Force on 19 Mar. 1947. Although originally assigned for being rebuilt into a seaplane tender, she was sold to Alva S.S. Co, London, in Dec. 1949. Later she was rebuilt into a refrigerator ship and became the Panama-flagged FAIRSKY in 1950. 1952 she became the Italian CASTEL NEVOSO. 1968 she returned again under the flag of Panama, and her name changed to ARGENTINA REEFER. 1969, after 32 years of service, her career ended at Shipbreaking Industries Ltd., Falsane. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Michael Eisenstadt Subject: Nautilus Models Mr. Corley: After looking at your product line, I thought, why doesn't Nautilus Models produce an upgrade set for the 1/700 scale Hasegawa Essex class carriers (based on the old article by Larry Gertner in IPMS Journal)? I bet there would be a lot of demand for such a product! What do you say?! Sleepless in Silver Spring, Maryland... Mike Eisenstadt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Michael Eisenstadt Subject: Modern Royal Navy (Falklands Conflict) Questions Folks: Two brief questions concerning the modern Royal Navy. 1) I am building the DML Type 42 kit in 1/700 scale and have a query about camouflage. I have seen several photos of Type 42 destroyers dating from shortly after the 1982 Falklands Conflict, in which the upper half of the fore- and mainmast are painted -- not black per standard pre- and post-war practice -- but what appears to be a slightly darker shade of gray than the rest of the ship (see the photos of HMS Liverpool in 1983, HMS Nottingham in 1983, HMS Cardiff in 1984, and HMS Manchester in 1984, in Leo Marriot's Modern Combat Ships: Type 42, by Ian Allan Ltd, 1985). Comparison of "before" and "after" photos would seem to indicate that this is not due to "bleed through" of the previous black areas due to overpainting in a lighter color. Are there any RN veterans or others out there who know what color was used? Was this a short-lived attempt to reduce the visual signature of the masts, or was this some type of experimental radar absorbing paint? 2) Can anyone confirm reports that the RN used ship-based directed energy (i.e. laser) weapons in the Falklands War in an air defense role, in order to fog the windshields of low-flying Argentine jets? Were there any kills attributed to this weapon? Has the RN done anything with directed energy weapons since? Thanks all for your help! Yours truly, Mike Eisenstadt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Floquil Marine Colors Bill: Floquil Marine Colors are not the only paints mixed for US Navy colors. Poly Scale Model and Hobby produces a line of acrylics that almost duplicates the gray/blues of the Floquil line. (I believe there's been some colaboration here.) I don't know about you, but I prefer using acrylics for airbrushing. These paints are available in at least three hobby stores here in the Fort Worth/Dallas area. So your hobby store can probably get them. The only time I used the reflectance reducer is when I used one of the glossy Marine Colors paints (I've used some of the Floquil enamels and don't think any of the USN colors are glossy, at least not the ones I've used). I just sprayed it over the dried paint to get a flat finish. Marc Flake -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: BSteinIPMS@aol.com Subject: Re: Airbrushing Floquil >> Does anyone have tips on airbrushing with Floquil marine colors? Specifically, using reflectance reducer to achieve a scale flat finish without obscuring fine brass details? I find Floquil the most frustrating of paints to work with, and would be interested learning the correct way to handle them, as no other manufacturer, as far as I know, produces WWII colors for USN vessels. << Bill: This may be somewhat academic since the Floquil Marine Colors line has been discontinued after Testors bought out the parent company. But since I've been airbrushing Floquil Railroad, Military, and Marine colors for more years than I am going to reveal here, here is some basic information which will help not only with the Floquil line, but with many others (acrylics excepted) as well. 1. Use only Floquil's thinner, Dio-sol, for thinning any of the various Floquil lines of paint. This includes their older Xylene-based lacquers as well as the newer acrylic enamel formulations. Dio-sol works well with any of them. Dio-sol is expensive, so I use it only to thin paint. I use inexpensive lacquer thinner from the hardware store for cleaning chores. 2. Thin your paint. I use a mixture ratio of 50% Dio-sol to 50% paint. I then add one or two drops of Floquil Retarder to keep the paint "wet" as it goes through the airbrush and find it produces a more even texture to the finish. If your paint is going on with a rough, pepple-like texture it means the paint is going on the model too dry. Either your compressor air pressure is set too high, you are spraying too far from the model, or you need some Retarder. 3. Forget Floquil's Reflectance reducer and flat coat. After trying them all, I'v found the best, most even, flattest finish (if that's what you want) is produced by Testors Dull Cote. Again, thin this at least 50% with Dio-sol. Even though Floquil appears to be dry in just a few minutes, allow it to thoroughly dry for two or three days before masking over it in order to apply another color or airbrushing the Dull Cote flat finish. The first coat will be cured and rock-hard, and is capable of absorbing considerable punishment at this point. 4. Another technique which is very subtle yet very effective is to put one or two drops of gray paint in with the Dull Cote/Dio-sol mixture when you spray your flat finish. This tones down all the colors evenly, blending them together almost unnoticeably, and produces a very nice scale effect by subtly lightening the colors. And no, I'm not going to say how old I am. Bob Steinbrunn Minneapolis (where the ceiling is 400 feet overcast, 1 1/2 miles visibility in freezing fog, and the snowplows are champing at the bit, eager to seal in my driveway again.......sigh) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Vimieraa@aol.com Subject: How to obtain any color in the universe I would like confirmation of the following formula, as how to obtain any color by using a total of five colors in a varying mix. I have used one of the color indexes as used in the printing trade to ascertain the percentages, and have come up with the following example:- COLOR = OCEAN GREY MADE UP AS FOLLLOWS:- CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 70% 40% 10% 10% 7 parts cyan 4 parts magenta 1 part yellow 1 part black 3 parts white 6 parts white 9 parts white 9 parts white ---- ---- ---- ---- 10 10 10 10 TOTAL OF FOURTY PARTS. MADE UP AS FOLLOWS:- 7 PARTS CYAN 4 PARTS MAGENTA 1 PART YELLOW 1 PART BLACK 27 PARTS WHITE TOTAL OF 40 PARTS. Can any member of paint royalty comment on the above. I welcome all replies, but I would especially appreciate an evaluation of the formula, because If I have this right then it means that I do not have to engage in a great search for custom colors. I would also like someone to fully explain CYAN and MAGENTA AS COLORS. ie, what is cyans base? This, in order that I can buy ANY commercial base color and use it with confidence I hold myself in eager readiness for the overwhelming cascade of superbly constructed replies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: WVeigele@aol.com Subject: Re: Escort Ships of WWII Chris, A book titled "Allied Escort Ships of WW II" I know of was written by Peter Elliott, 1977, Macdonald and James, London. It is available through the US Naval Institute. Another book is "PC Patrol Craft of WWII." Rob Mackie reviewed it on the Warship website. The review shows a photograph of a model of a PC. Bill Veigele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: John Burch Subject: Re: Helo Hangars on FFGs In my post yesterday in SMML24/01/99Vol435, I mistakenly said PFG 107, I should have said PF 109. Apologies for the error. John Burch Gaithersburg, MD, USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Mike Settle Subject: Re: Gun Calibre >> The length of naval gun barrels, typically 38 to 50 bore diameters, seems comparable to that of common rifles and pistols. These range from about 5.6 to about 86. I know how the velocity of rifle and pistol bullets changes with bore length, and I'd like to find out similar information about naval projectiles. Can one of you experts give me information or a reference about naval ballistics? << Here are a couple of sites that give some information on ballistics. The first site is from the excellent Nihon Kaigun page. If you have never visited it before, be prepared to spend some time. The second site I found by performing a web search using the word "ballistics". http://www.skypoint.com/members/jbp/gunarmor.htm http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/es310/ballstic/Ballstic.htm Mike Settle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Mike Settle Subject: Re: helo hangers RN >> A question. In 1991 the H.M.S. CAMPBELTOWN visited the area I'm in and in the frigates helio hangar next to the Lynx helicopter was a land rover car that was the ship's car. Is this standard on all modern RN ships or the exception to the rules? << I do not know if this is standard or not, but it causes me to remember a tale my Father told. Dad was a yeoman on a fleet oiler in 1945-1946. Once, while in port overseas, the ship received an urgent message from the ship's Captain to bring the landing barge to the dock immediately. Upon arrival at the dock, the Captain had the men load a jeep into the barge with a crane that just happened to be handily nearby. This "liberated" olive drab jeep was transported to the ship and hastily painted navy grey. Dad was the Captain's chauffeur on several subsequent liberty calls in other ports. Mike Settle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Michael C. Smith" Subject: Re: USS Shangri-La The Hasegawa Hancock/Ticonderoga model is a good starting point for the Shangri-La, although I would do a fair amount of kitbashing, as indicated in Larry Gertner's excellent article on the kit in Detail & Scale's book on the USS Lexington (CV-16). Terz.'s US CVs book indicates CV-38 had 44 40mm and 60 20mm in 1945 and that from 11/44 it had Air Group 85, consisting of VF-85 (F6F), VFB-99 (F4U), and VB-85 9SB2C). In Sept. 45 it had Air Group 2. Terz. also confirms that positioning of 40mms is standard late war for a long hull, i.e. 2 at bow, 3 stbd below island, 3 on island and 2 on stern. Radars were SK-2 and SC-2, and their locations were swapped 1/45 (offhand I'm not sure what the locations were, but that can be figured out). 4 deck edge masts. Be sure to chop off the front & back of the flight decks the required length, and you'll need to build the stern 40mm sponson, as well as modify the bow one's shields. Drop me a line if you need more help - I've done a Hasegawa kit as Lexington and Ticonderoga, so I've probably run across a lot a of the same problems and questions you're coming across. I'll be glad to e-mail you some digital camera shots of my models if that'll help. Michael Smith Marshall, Texas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Plink" Subject: Help needed please I am 14 yrs old and have to do a project at school where I have to research, design and build a model ship. Eventually the whole class will race their boats the length of a swimming pool. I am trying to research this on the web, but after one and a half hours searching, all I can find under "making model boats" etc. is companies trying to sell me kits. Can anyone out there please send me a basic plan for building a ship (any design) out off wood or similar, powered by a small motor, about 25/30 cm's long with a rudder. I am also interested in any information on propellars and rudders, to get the optimum efficiency out of the boat. Thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Malcolm Batchelor" Subject: Re: Nautilus Models Annoouncements I for one will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of your 1/700 updates for the Tamiya Fletcher Class DDs. Please keep us posted on their status and when they are released. Thanks, Stuart Batchelor Norman, OK, USA (60+ F, partly cloudy and still waiting on winter to get here) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Joćo Andrade Guerra" Subject: 1/700 Hasegawa BB Haruna Hello SMML-land: I just bought the 1/700 Hasegawa BB Haruna (kit No.111) and I discovered that according to the instructions sprue J is missing. As far as I can tell this sprue is just used in Haruna not the other ships in this class (Hiei, Kirishima and Kongo). Is there a problem with my kit or is this sprue missing in all the Haruna kits from Hasegawa? If this is the case I can always build the kit as the Kongo in 1944. If anyone can help thanks in advance. Best regards, Joao Andrade Guerra -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Jacob Groby Subject: Model Help Hi Everyone, I just picked up a new model on the market, but it is of a Early Russian Sailing War Ship. The following is the closest translation I can make my keyboard get to:" NAPYCHbIE KOPAbnN, Please forward any links, I can get to do a bit of research on Russian Vessels Tkank You, Jake Groby Jake's Ship Shop -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Al Imler Subject: 1/500th scale Takao Class I just picked up two Takao class Nichimo kits. I know the molded on railings make it look bad, but the basic shape of the hull doesn' look right to my eye at least. If anybody has any experience with these I'd like to know. I know Skywave is going to do the Takao and Atago in 700th scale, and I'm sure they'll be great. Al Imler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume