Subject: SMML17/02/99VOL459 Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 23:38:38 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Des Moines Heating 2: Re: Classic Warships Website 3: Re: USS Salem 4: Re: Representative Ships 5: Re: Tirpitz colors 6: Enterprise Paint 7: Re: 1/350 5-bar railing 8: Rodney 1944 fit 9: Re: Coast Guard's Simply Forgot Us 10: Re: Mogami class cruisers 11: Re: Warped resin (was USS Salem model) 12: Re: USS Salem 13: Re: COAST GUARD BOOK 14: Re: Tirpitz colours 15: Universla conversion site 16: Re: Spearheading D-Day 17: Re: Useless Ships 18: Re: German Imperial Warships of 1900 to 1914 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Re: 1/350 5 Bar railing 2: Re Leanders and other pretty ships 3: Mk 48 ADCAP model kit ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Re: Des Moines Heating >> Depending on the size of your microwave, use it to heat the hull to soften it,( about 15 sec at a time ) then place it on a flat surface(add some weight) till it cools slowly! If it won't fit in the M-oven, then hold it over the stove burner about a foot above, til it warms up. << That's got to be one hell of a Microwave oven to fit the 1/350th Salem model in! I needed to unbend my 1/350th USS Salem model and it just barely fit inside my real oven. Also, Steve Wiper of Classic Warships told me *never* to put resin parts in a Microwave oven. I believe they give-off toxic fumes if heated too much. I heated my 1/350th USS Salem @ 200 degrees for 15 minutes with the door closed. Make sure you close the door because if you heat the hull unevenly, it will not bend properly. I started out by leaving the door open and the bend in the hull became *worse* until I closed the door. Once I finished heating the hull, it became pliable enough to bend. Once I flattened it, I found an excellent use for Friedman's USN Carriers, Battleships, and Cruisers books . >> Boiling water works too, but a pain in the butt! and messy. << I used this method with excellent results on small and/or thinner parts. John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com If I'm talking Decals, then i'm talking for Microscale, Otherwise I am speaking for myself. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Re: Classic Warships Website >> For those you (like me) who wanted a Classic Warships web site there is good news. I talked to Steve Wiper the other day and he told me that a web site was being put together as we speak. I'm hoping it will be interactive (photos, order forms, etc.) unlike the site he now has. << Great news! I can't wait to see what the site looks like when it is finished. I hope they have lots of decent shots of their 1/350th kits. John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Re: USS Salem >> What a coincidence that you volunteer on the USS Salem! When that ship was in mothball at the Philadelphia Navy Yard I visited her that's how I learned about the propeller guard wood sections. I guess that was at the last open house before the base closing in 1996. You could climb the gangways to the closed entrance of the main deck. You volunteers certainly had your work cut out for you considering the repainting that had to be done. << There's at least 5 other volunteers/staff of the USS Salem on this list (including me!). As for painting, the State has given the Museum 3 million dollars to have the hull cleaned and repainted. The interior of the ship is in excellent condition due to the loving care provided by the Musuem staff and the volunteers. >> How did you solve the problem of the grass growing in the teak wood deck? A couple places needed a mowing at the time. << I forget how they did it, but nowadays the deck is for the most part grass-free and slowly being restored. John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: ALTON007@aol.com Subject: Re: Representative Ships Come on guys enough talk about CVA's, SUB's and the BB's. Has everyone forgot about the DD's. Just look how many were sunk from 41 to 45. They were everywhere on that ocean. They bomb this then ran over and bomb that. I spent 2 years (67 @ 68) aboard DD 869. I can tell you it wasn't fun chasing a carrier all over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "efoeth" Subject: Re: Tirpitz colors I have a Tirpitz in the making (For the last 3 years, and I haven't finished anything), and I have some Tamiya and Humbrol for painting ready (Tamiya for airbrushing, Humbrol for painting). Neither company has a color exactly the way I wanted it, and I did mix some jars. Unfortunately, there are 6 timezones between my info-scources on both ship & colors, and yours truly, but for the dark grey I did know I mixed Dark Grey and Black. The Tamiya Dark Sea Grey was also mixed with black. I used dark sea grey plus lots of white for the light grey. I believe the Tirpitz' bows were white in the '44 scheme, which seems to change on every picture I have on her. Even worse, I haven't seen a camouflage sceme of her fitting any photograph in 1944. I do have a very good 42/43 sceme, which includes the sceme Tamiya gives, plus the other side, which is completely different. It's also many thousands of miles away from me. Bad lighting in Norway and a shortage of pictures prevented me from rendering a good 44 sceme, which is too bad, as these scemes are the most interesting. Also, as a matter of fact, the Tamiya model is completely wrong (That's worse than inaccurate) from the keel up. I already have a new deck and pieces of new superstructure scrapped. Also, the extremely wrong Tamiya model is the extremely wrong 1941 version, and not the 44 version, not including the wurzberg device, extra flak, converted aft wobblypot, different FuMo etc. If you intend the correct it, you need to scrap the entire superstructure, except some details, and you also need two GMM sets for all the bulkhead details. Even if you do not intend to do that, the GMM set is warmly recommended, but it is also early war, and does not include all the later radar equipment. Except from some small errors, the most distinctive one is the fact that the detail part for the funnel is way to small, and thus will not fit at all. Encouraging to the last, Evert-Jan Foeth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: BumpyBunny@aol.com Subject: Enterprise Paint Does anyone have any suggestions on what specific colors I should paint my 1:350 Enterprise? I am trying to make it look as real as possible. I have the photo eched parts that I am going to put on. Any suggestions? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: KelDQ@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/350 5-bar railing Mike, I am currently working on a 1/350 Yorktown (DML Ticonderoga class) and I am using the GMM etch set. I pulled out the brass, and there are two short lengths of 5-bar railings on there. Hope this helps. Kelly Quirk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: CHRIS DRAGE Subject: Rodney 1944 fit Hi Guys and Giggles, Peter Hodges wrote an article on converting the Airfix Nelson into a 1944 Rodney in an old Airfix Magazine Annual (no.5). Does anyone have a copy of this they could scan/email or snail mail? Cheers! Regards, Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo, tena he tao kupa kaore e taea te karo.... (Te reo Maori) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: Re: Coast Guard's Simply Forgot Us Howdy For the information of any and all who think the Coast Guard was a joke in WW2, the USCG had a Medal of Honor winner (a signalman during an amphib invasion). I have a Lodge brother, retired CPO, who drove up on Sicily, Italy, and Normandy on USCG manned LSTs. Sure, we still make jokes about their having to be at least 6 feet tall so they can wade ashore if the boat sinks, but they are an over tasked, under funded, unsung seagoing service, with roots back to the Revolution against George the 3rd which predates the Continental navy. I'll step off my soapbox now. Semper Paratus! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Re: Mogami class cruisers Sean If your bank balance can stand it and you can find a copy Lacroix and Wells Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War is the one to get. It's literally a weighty tome but Chapter 9 contains all you'll need Chris Langtree What is this obsession with the weather ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: louellet@uism.bu.edu Subject: Re: Warped resin (was USS Salem model) Hi Steve, I straightened the warped lower hull of my USS SALEM model by putting it in my oven set at 200 degrees F. I turned a baking sheet upside-down and used two chop sticks to raise the hull piece above the metal sheet. After 10-15 minutes, I removed it with potholders (to be safe) and gently straightened it out. I did have to do it a second time since the resin seemed to 'remember' its previous shape. I very gently over-bent the hull piece the second time. John Frohock told me about this method, which I think is best for such large pieces of resin (30 inches long). John set his oven to 250 and the parts he straightened were much more flexible than mine. The major caution with this method is to keep any eye on the oven and to not set it higher than 250 degrees, at least for the resin used for the SALEM kits. Others have suggested that if you have a dead flat surface to work with (like plate glass) you could put the warm resin piece on the surface and weigh it down until it cools. Larry Ouellette Quincy, Massachusetts, USA Volunteer, USS Salem (CA 139) U. S. Naval & Shipbuilding Museum http://www.uss-salem.org/ USS Salem model kit information is available at the web site -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Steve Singlar Subject: Re: USS Salem Apologies to John Frohock regarding the Des Moines kits. I was unaware John would continue to have the kits available through the Salem. I know how much effort John went through to make this kit happen and I do appreciate his efforts on behalf of the Salem and the model builders. Steve Singlar Salem Volunteer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Baker Subject: Re: COAST GUARD BOOK For the fellow wanting to locate a copy of COAST GUARD CUTTERS OF WORLD WAR II, contact the publisher, the U.S. Naval Institute, at their website at www.usni.org The book, by Dr. Robert Scheina, should still be available from them. A.D. Baker, III -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Re: Tirpitz colours There was a useful three-part series of articles in Plastic Ship Modeller 1995/2, 3 and 4 on KM camouflage, of which part III had several drawings of the 1944 schemes on both sides of the ship. It was written by Dan Jones with assistance from Falk Pletscher, who also did the artwork and supplied Humbrol colour matches. The colours for the 1944 Tirpitz scheme (and Falk's Humbrol matches) are white (34), light grey (64), medium-light grey or light blue grey (no match given), dark grey (67) and black/grey (no match). It would seem (my opinion) that there was a certain amount of mixing of paint going on to get the intermediate shades, in which case Falk's mix for blue-grey (25+34) might be useful as well. If you do not have them, I can recommend getting your hands on the relevant issues. I understand that the printed colour patches in Dieter Jung's book 'Anstriche und Tarnanstriche der Deutschen Kriegsmarine' are pretty accurate for model use but my German is not up to the task of translating the text (fortunately the captions are in English as well). However, if you are specifically looking for Tirpitz information, the PSM issues are probably a better bet. I also have a both sides drawing of the scheme in an old issue of Scale Models and side and plan views of the 1944 scheme with notes and drawings of modifications to the Tamiya kit from the same magazine's July 1983 issue. Both were by MW Williams, whose other naval articles seem pretty authoritative. Hope this helps, although it is all secondary source. Robert Lockie Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Universla conversion site For those of you who are tired of getting current quotes from the bank for converting US dollars to other currencies, here is help. I found a site that handles all that for you. You can convert US dollars to literally any currency in the world and vis versa. Go to: http://www.xe.net/cgi-bin/ucc/convert Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. Ships and Tips http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Re: Spearheading D-Day A new book from Histoire & Collections (Paris), entitled "Spearheading D-Day", by Jonathan Gawne, will appeal to anyone with an interest in WW2 amphibious operations in the ETO. Subtitled 'American Special Units in Normandy', it deals with the organization, equipment, and uniforms wore by the SeaBees, Beachmasters, UDT, engineers, medical units, Rangers, and other US formations who were involved in the preparation and execution of D-Day. Many color images, both original and reconstruction. Over 200 rare photographs, including all types of US and British designed vehicles and amphibious craft. Retail price is $ 37.95; discounted through the Military Book Club and Internet sources. Mike Alexandria, VA USA photo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Useless Ships The 1893 Texas a useless ship? She was one of the first ships to take off after the escaping Spanish fleet at Santiago. She got in some good shots with her starboard 12" gun and 6" batteries, and was in on the kill of the Cristobal Colon at the end of the action. An inelegant and obsolete design, maybe. But not useless. Marc Flake Mansfield, Texas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: RCClem@aol.com Subject: Re: German Imperial Warships of 1900 to 1914 Russ Powell commented on the awesome beauty of German Warships of the Pre-WW1 days. I second that feeling and hope that model manufacturers will take the risk and produce more models in 1/350 or larger scales. Many Japanese, Russian, British, French and American Dreadnoughts and pre-D's would also make very interesting subjects. Roger Clemens Hinsdale, Illinois -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/350 5 Bar railing >> Does anyone know of a source for such railing in 1/350 scale?? << I believe GMM makes five bar railing which is included with his Merchant Ship set. Unfortunately, you have to buy the whole set to get them. I have considered producing a 1/350 scale Modern Warship Rails and Ladders set (to include 5 bar rails). If there is demand for it I would give it consideration, but there aren't many modern ship models available to justify the expense. I noticed the five bar rails about a year after I had redesigned the Ticonderoga/Spruance class set. If I retool it again I'll make the change, but due to the cost of set up fees and other expenses it will be a while. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: Re Leanders and other pretty ships Hi Mike Look forwrad to seeing you at Truks and Traks at the end of the month... >> Re the Brilliant - as it happens, she's on my shopping list, and my nightly reading, to boot! At what point in her career is the model set? << The 1/350 (and the 1/700 kit for that matter) are both modelled as in 1982 (Falklands). We will have a couple at Folkestone so see you there! Cheers! Caroline WEM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: SJantscher@aol.com Subject: Mk 48 ADCAP model kit ? Hi All, I recall vaguely a resin model of a USN Mk. 48 ADCAP torpedo for sale a number of years ago. My recollection is improved because I have a photograph taken from a model contest a few years ago of what I believe was that kit. I don't recall the scale, but it looks as if it is between eight and ten inches long, and maybe an inch in diameter. Does anybody recall who made this kit, and if any SMML'ers have one they would be willing to sell, I'd be buying. It really made a neat looking model. Thanks all, Steve Jantscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume