Subject: SMML19/02/99VOL461 Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 00:29:03 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War - YES 2: Re: straighteening resin hulls 3: Re: Tongue in cheek 4: 1944 Tirpitz Modifications 5: Battleships of the Bismarck Class (Koop & Schmolke): Tirpitz 6: Re: WARP-FREE SALEM 7: Re: Mk 48 Torpedo kit 8: Re: straightening warped resin hulls 9: Re: Enterprise Colors 10: Info about some kits.... 11: Tirpitz 1944 12: H.M.S. Gloucester, 1941 13: Re: Straightening Warped Resin Hulls 14: Mogami Notes 15: looking for Confederate flag 16: Ordering Replacement Parts 17: Re: Paper Models of Warships 1880 to 1914 18: Re: Representative ship 19: HMS Glamorgan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: 1/350 Titanic/Lusitania Ratlines 2: USCG Kit List -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: Re: Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War - YES Hello All Thought you might like to know that I just bought the subject book from Barnes and Noble, on-line via e-mail, for $38.50 plus tax/shipping. I feel it is damn well worth it, my wife's opinion notwithstanding. Everything you ever wanted to know about IJN Cruisers, but were afraid to ask . . . Gene Katz (Alaska, Flowers, Regia Marina, Marine Nationale, Merchant Marine, Submarine, Royal Navy, etc, etc, FRIENDLY) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: Re: straighteening resin hulls Hi Rob We at WEM, at the LEADING edge of technology, are working on a similar experiment, incorporating heat generation from nuclear reactors from redundant Russian submarines..we had a pig of a job to get these thru Customs though... will keep you posted on the results..... Best Regards, Caroline Carter Business Manager, White Ensign Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Tongue in cheek >> 7.) After 3 hours remove from the ice water bath. You will now have a ram rod straight resin hull. The beauty of this method is that one can do it while entertaining. It stimulates conversation, not to mention being very useful for meeting attractive members of the opposite sex. There is something about a modeler straightening a resin hull over red hot charcoal that women find irresistible. I hope this helps. << This is disgraceful! Why do I get the feeling Mackie isn't taking this seriously. There is nothing funny about the trial and tribulations of modelers when it comes to fixing warped resin hulls! By the way, will that technique work with propane gas charcoalers? Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "efoeth" Subject: 1944 Tirpitz Modifications I can make a compelete list of all the modifications on the Tirpitz in 1944, plus the most visible differnced between her and the Bismarck. As I said, my omnipotent scources and drawings are in Europe, and I am not, but here's a list from memory: Changes: Aft Wobblypot raised (Base was heightened) and Wurzbergdevice added. 8 or 9 FlakVierling mounts present. Potato locker adder at the rear of bridge superstructure (already in Tamiya Kit). The bridgelevel to which the potatolocker is added has two splintershields (7mm long from the aft of that floor) upto the bridge, which you can see on the pictures. On the bridgelevel, two all-weather wobblypot optical rangefinders replaced the open mounts (inside these circular things on the Tamiya bridge part) Different FuMo equipment. Not a real change, but Tirpitz's telescopical main mast was often in a downed position in Norway. Differences (main) Torpedo tubes (in the kit, but notice that they can't turn as Tamiya forgot the recesses in the superstructure) Air inlets on B and C turrets are behind the barbettes, in a circular configuration Config of main deck anchor arrangement (Which is almost correct on Tirpitz, but wrong for the Bismarck model) Much larger funnel (provided in kit, but the base of the funnel should be much wider still) Main cranes do not rest on supports near the bridge, but on special mounts near the forward wobblypots (see pics) The recesses for the 2 centre 15cm turrets lack the skewed top (And should be moved, different story) All hosereels are different from Bismarck (7 differnt types or so, thus GMM set will not suffice) Many overflow pipes at the rear superstructure deck level I believe (not really sure) that the stowage of all small boats on Tirpitz is different from Bismarck, and that Tirpitz carried two extra rowboats on a different location. Also, don't forget to widen the hull with some rods and make a new deck. (should be 4 mm wider or so) And add those "uninstalled 15cm guns" as in Bodo and Herzog's Bismarck book, they are ever present loading practise guns. Evert-Jan Foeth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "efoeth" Subject: Battleships of the Bismarck Class (Koop & Schmolke): Tirpitz I would not attach too much value to this particular book, and it's color scheme's. I find this book mediocre at best. The camo scheme's are mostly one-sided too, and this is not the case with the Tirpitz splinter colors. Also, as far as pictures are concerned, you'd better look into Breyers book, which is better suited for modelling. Take Browns "Fortres Tirpitz" for general history, although it is not compelling storytelling, but most facts are present. For interesting reading, German survivor stories are the most interesting, but few of them are translated into English. This is a shame, as this denies a great many readers a look into KM ship affairs. The Koop&Schmolke book is also the first in a ~7 serie volume, in german, each on a different class. That they choose to translate the least usefull book is a mystery to me, as the Bismarck is pretty well covered by now. My opinion is based on the fact that Koop&Schmolke's books a little of construction, history, pictures and survival stories, but fall short on each of the subjects. I have, by the way, not encountered any book that succesfully combines all of these aspects, and I don't think we need such a book. They book is not very volumous, but still they waste two pages with a general history of both Bismarck and Tirpitz (I mean the people), while a short reference might have sufficed. The only thing I am slightly happy about, is that they show you a "preview" of the drawings, which you need to buy seperately (plus the "modeling the Bismarck/Tirpitz" book, showing pictures of a model in the KM museum, which together combine to the three-part work the authors had in mind, but you are broke by the time you have it all). If you can read small print (very small) you have a free map of the ships interior, and you no longer need the drawing. They are not usefull for modeling anyway. I once tried to order a set of drawings directly from Bernard & Graefe customer service, but they send me the plans of a sailing ship, which I returned, and fought a little war with them of what I should pay for their mistakes. They did not write back after a few tries. Both drawings and books can be ordered at Christian Schmidts, but while you are ordering from them, you'd better pick something else, as this bookstore is THE shop to go for KM material. Evert-Jan Foeth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Sheridan, John" Subject: Re: WARP-FREE SALEM >> Lest anywone think that Steve Wiper's DES MOINES class cruiser kit resembles a bowl of spaghetti, the one received here was beautifully warp-free. More important, however, it was an absolute joy to examine. The kit appears dead-on accurate, the castings (resin and metal) are superbly done, the brass is magnificent, and the decals thorough and well-made. And the plans and instructions are thorough and useful. << You are right, the Salem kit is a really wonderful model. However, with any large resin casting, you will run into problems with warpage simply because of the way resin works. The Salem kit is approx. 24" long and I was not surprised that the hull was warped slightly. I could have sanded and fitted my upper hull until it mated to the lower hull properly but chose to heat instead just to save time. It worked beautifully and now I have two hull halves that mate flush to each other with gaps. This saves time in filling and sanding the joint to match the hull contours. The one thing I learned about working with resin castings is that you need to know how to sand and use filler properly to achieve excellent results. >> To whomever it was who was using the Friedman books to straighten the hull, I hope you read them thoroughly before sacrificing them in that manner! << That would be me! Yes, I own the complete set (Battleships, Carriers, Cruisers, Destroyers, and Brown Water) and used them all to make sure that my now heateed Salem upper hull would remain flat as a sheet of glass. Once the books served their noble purpose, they were returned to my bookshelf in perfect working order. >> By the way, COMBAT FLEETS 1998-1999, at slightly over 10 lbs a copy, would be an even better weight source, if you've no bricks; I use spare copies as paper weights and as presses for my leaf and stamp collections, while, when piled against an outer wall, the books make excellent insulation (and, if all else fails, they are a fine source of data on ships and illustrations for modellers). << <\shamless plug> I heard from certain sources that you plan on building a 16x16 studio out of all of your extra copies lying about. . John Sheridan @ Microscale Decals http://www.microscale.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Rick Heinbaugh Subject: Re: Mk 48 Torpedo kit I saw the kits at the 1991 IPMS(USA) Nationals in Seattle. They were produced (or going to be produced by?) Dragon Model & Pattern Works (of Oregon, not to be confused with the Hong Kong company who now has the rights to the name in USA.) Dragon had a bunch of big resin submarine kits (don't remember if they were 1/350 or 1/200 - just big) and some really pretty torpedo models. They later allowed the Hong Kong company the rights to the US name Dragon and became Fisher Model & Pattern. I looked at their current web page <> and didn't see any reference to the subs & torpedo kits. Now all they show is car kits in resin. I suggest you contact them for possible leftovers. Rick Seattle, WA It's still raining... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Kenneth H. Goldman" Subject: Re: straightening warped resin hulls Rob Mackie's inventive solution to the problem started my day with a chuckle out loud. But he neglected to mention what wine goes best with resin. The obvious choice would be Greek Retsina, which is resin flavored, but then too similar flavors are often not the best accompaniment for a particular dish. Ken Goldman THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER http://www.wman.com/~khgold/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Kenneth H. Goldman" Subject: Re: Enterprise Colors Sorry, Shane, I couldn't resist: Instead of mixing all those different colors as Rusty White suggests for the Enterprise's asphalt flight deck paint, can you use Vegemite right from the jar? Ken Goldman THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER http://www.wman.com/~khgold/ Well that would be different!!! At least then, you'd be able to lick your fingers after "painting" it Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: roberto paredes Subject: Info about some kits.... Hi All, I would buy the following kits: - Aoshima 1/700 German Battleship Bismark - Aoshima 1/700 USN Battleship Washington - Hasegawa 1/700 USN Battleship South Dakota - Fujimi 1/700 IJN BB Kirishima What do you think about them? Would you recommend them? Thank you in advance, Roberto. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Tirpitz 1944 The MW Williams article in Scale Models July 1983 provides a plan of the forecastle and quarterdeck deck camouflage and states it to be 'mid grey mottle' on light grey. He has the rest of the wooden decks (which are apparently more extensive than Tamiya indicates) in light grey, with the metal deck and grating areas in mid grey. The side schemes (starboard similar to Tamiya's 1943-44 scheme) and port (entirely new) are light and dark grey. This would suggest that the hull side darker grey was darker than the mid grey deck patches. Bear in mind also that there were areas of stringers welded across the holes in forecastle, starboard bow and port stern, to maintain the stiffness of the hull. After the Tallboy attack in September and October 1944, as well as the various radar additions and removed starboard crane etc.. I would incline to the view that the article is something of a 'must have' if planning to do the 1944 fit, although armed with the same references, I dare say the same conclusions as Williams made could be reached. 'Tirpitz - The Floating Fortress' by David Brown is the only one I have and it contains a good ovehead shot showing the deck camouflage. Robert Lockie Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Douglas Martin" Subject: H.M.S. Gloucester, 1941 Folks: Its amazing what you can hear on the radio in the small hours of the morning, when one is supposed to be asleep. Apparently there will be a TV prog in the UK tonight (too late now to turn it on now I think), regarding the loss of the Gloucester off Crete in May 1941, with survivors reported to have laid a wreath in commemoration. Some letters from Rear Admiral King who was in local charge and those from Admiral Cunningham have 'surfaced' and the finger is being pointed at King for sending the ships into dangerous waters without enough ammunition. Some 700 of the 800 crew were lost, Gloucester had being supporting the sinking Greyhound and was left herself with floats/rafts from Fiji (lost later the same day). Gloucesters survivors may have been looked for by the 5th Destroyer flotilla, certainly Fiji's were found, another bone of contention for the men interviewed for the program, with so many men lost 'only 15 miles away from the nearest land'. May 1941 was a particularly bad time for the RN, and operating ships nearby enemy land air forces, without your own air power was a particularly hazardous operation, as the loss tally shows. So if anyone out there sees the program, lets know what was said if you can! Douglas (Scotland) PS. We are plagued by TV shows where everybody has to show off their cooking talents, I wonder if Rusty's would be appreciated....... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Bill Schnakenberg Subject: Re: Straightening Warped Resin Hulls >> Here is a method for straightening warped resin hulls with which I've had excellent results: 1.) Using a 1/4" bit, drill a hole the length of the hull. Start at the stern near the waterline, and keep your aim true so that it exits exactly in the middle of the bow. The least bit of wavering or nervousness will irretrievably ruin your expensive resin kit. << Since most of us do not have access to a 2 foot 1/4" drill bit, a carefully aimed .22 cal bullet will achieve the same results. >> 2.) Insert a 1/4" diameter steel rod into the aforementioned hole. The rod should extend 3" beyond the bow and stern, so make it 6" longer than the hull. << Can I use a longer steel rod and cut it to the proper length? >> 3.) Purchase a 25 LB bag of charcoal at your local market. Mesquite fired charcoal works especially well. Fire up your barbecue. << Will this work with a propane fired barbecue grill? >> 4.) When the coals are red hot, mount your skewered resin hull 6" - 8" above the fire. << Should I mount it fore to aft or side to side? >> 5.) Slowly rotate the hull for 20 minutes. 2 or 3 rotations per minute is about right. Some modelers apply barbecue sauce but I have not found this to be necessary, though marinating resin hulls in red wine for about 24 hours prior to cooking can have beneficial results. But remember, keep rotating or else the hull will melt. << Which direction should the hull rotate? Clockwise or counterclockwise? >> 6.) When the hull is red hot, remove from the skewer and plunge it into an icewater bath. Use two 50lb barbell weights (or five 10 LB weights-the choice is yours) to weigh down the hull and prevent its reverting to the pre-barbecue banana shape. << 2-50 lb weights =100 lbs, 5-10 lb weights=50 lbs. Your addition is obviously wrong here! Also since you are using the barbecue method, you could just plunge the hull into the icy water around the beer barrell (get two uses out of the ice) >> 7.) After 3 hours remove from the ice water bath. << Or until the beer starts to become warm. >> You will now have a ram rod straight resin hull. The beauty of this method is that one can do it while entertaining. It stimulates conversation, not to mention being very useful for meeting attractive members of the opposite sex. There is something about a modeler straightening a resin hull over red hot charcoal that women find irresistible. << Since we all going to use this method, I suggest we all load up the pickups and vans and drive up to Quincy and have a tailgate party and we can compare results. BTW, thanks for the plug. The USS Salem, CA-139. The World's only preserved Heavy Cruiser, Quincy, MASS. http://members.xoom.com/ltwes329/salem.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Sean D. Hert" Subject: Mogami Notes Thanks to everyone who provided info on this- I've decided to go ahead and buy the Lacroix book- now that enough people have recommended it, I don't feel as much trepidation about spending the money. Thx, Sean D. Hert Webmeister, MBG Site: http://www.netwalk.com/~popev/bg/ IJN Mogami (Fitting Out) "People shouldn't treat Y2K lightly. Historians are only starting to realize that Y1K caused the dark ages." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: JVT7532@aol.com Subject: looking for Confederate flag I wonder if anyone can help me on this one. I'm putting together my materials to build the C.S.S. Manassas, and I need a Confederate flag to fly from her stern. The measurement would be in the area of 1/2" wide by 3/8" high. I don't know if scale size would help but she is 1/192 scale or 1/16"=1'0". I tried to print one up on the computer but it does not look so good, also just what flag would she fly? the Stars and bars? I think there is another flag that ships used but I'm not really sure, so I'll take all the help I can get, as I would like to do a few of these types up for my collection. I ordered a few books as reference like, Iron afloat, but they are days away and even then I need to find a source for a good copy of a flag to use. Also any tips on good reference books for the Ironclads is welcome. All your help is gratefully received. Thanks Jon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Paul O'Reilly" Subject: Ordering Replacement Parts Greetings All! I wrote to Tamiya to get some replacements five inch guns for the 1/350 Fletcher I'd bought. I had used the kit guns on another project so I thought I'd get some replacements so I could build the kit. They answered promptly but they wanted 11 International Reply Coupons as payment for the parts. When I enquired at the local post office they explained that these coupons, or IRCs as they call them, are a standard method of expressing various currencies in a standard format. I guess that's kind of like what the European community is doing with their "Euro". At any rate, the IRC is worth $3.50 Canadian each. This means the parts I ordered would cost $38.50, only about six bucks less than I paid for the whole kit! I think I'll take up scratch-building. Has anyone else tried to order parts from any of the major manufacturers and what luck have you had? By the way, I have not been able to contact Tamiya through their e-mail address tamiyajp@mb.infoweb.ne.jp . Is there a new address for them? Cheers, Paul O'Reilly Victoria, BC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: RCClem@aol.com Subject: Re: Paper Models of Warships 1880 to 1914 The Gentleman from Paper Models International was correct. His catalog of paper card models is indeed full of great choices and better prices. As an entry into this field, I bought the USS Maine @ 1/290 ($6) for my 10 year old son and the Austrian Cruiser SMS Helgoland @ 1/200 ($10) for me. My son has started the Maine and, although he is a fine modeler, he has found that there is a steep learning curve. The instructions may not be in English. Most of all, keep your fingers clean and use glue sparingly. But it goes quickly. I have not started mine yet. But I have made the USS Monitor that was given to me by Mike Leonard. You have to be closer than a foot in order to tell that it is not plastic and it looks just fine on the shelf. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Shane Subject: Re: Representative ship Hi gang, Well here the round up I promised. Please remeber that Steve originally asked for the either the "most representative" OR the "most famous". Australia: HMAS Sydney 5 votes HMAS Canberra 2 votes HMAS Shropshire 1 vote Well it seems HMAS Sydney is in front here & rightly so(sorry, bias peeking thru). New Zealand:HMNZS Achilles 5 votes No arguements here by the looks of thing. Britain: HMS Hood 7 votes HMS Warspite 6 votes HMS King George V 4 votes HMS Rodney 1 vote HMS Nelson 1 vote HMS Ark Royal 1 vote HMS Sheffield 1 vote HMS Jervis (Bay?) 1 vote HMS Starling 1 vote RN DD's 1 vote HMS Furious 2 votes Here, it's a close run fight between the Warspite & the Hood. Surprisingly though only two carriers made the list. My money's on the Warspite. Germany: U-Boats 5 votes Bismarck 8 votes Scharnhorst 2 votes Prinz Eugen 2 votes Graf Spee 1 vote (& he was right too, only one vote :-) ) I shouldn't be surprised at the outcome here, but I'm surprised Scharnhorst didn't gather more votes. United States: USS Enterprise 8 votes USS Washington 3 votes USS Missouri 2 votes USS South Dakota 1 vote USS Wahoo 1 vote USN Lct 1 vote USS houston 1 vote USS Hornet CV-5 1 vote USN Subs 1 vote USS Arizona 1 vote USS West Virginia 1 vote USS San Diego 1 vote USS Casablanca class CVE 1 vote USS Fletcher 1 vote USN DD's 1 vote Some surprising entries here, but the "BIG E" is winning hands down. Canada: HMCS Haida 3 votes HMCS Sackville(Fl***r) 2 votes Holland: De Ruyter 2 votes Russia: Marat 1 vote Tashkent 1 vote Gangut 1 vote Japan: IJN Yamato 8 votes IJN Kongo class 1 IJN Akagi 5 votes IJN Yukikaze 2 votes IJN Hamikaze 1 vote This was surprising in the fact that the Akagi is not far behind "that ship" :-). Italy: R.N Vitterio Veneto 9 votes Dinghy 1 vote What can I say :-). France: Richeliou: 5 votes Strousbourg 1 vote Poland: Blyskawica 2 votes Greece: Vasilissa olga 1 vote Norway: Stord 1 vote Brazil: Marcilo Dias 1 vote Finland: Vainamoinen 1 vote Well that's the results as they stand. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: roberto paredes Subject: HMS Glamorgan Hi, Some times ago, WEM announced HMS Glamorgan (County Class Destroyer), does WEM have the release date? I'm waiting this kit...Caroline, Do you have any news? Best Regards Roberto Paredes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: 1/350 Titanic/Lusitania Ratlines Anyone have some extra 1/350 scale GMM Titanic/Lusitania ratlines they don't need? The photoetch set includes a two sets of ratlines, one for each ship. If you build one or the other, you're left with a few leftover parts meant for the other ship. I'm working on the 1/350 scale USCGC Eagle, and could use all the ratlines I can get. If you have these leftover parts, please drop me a line. Bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: USCG Kit List With all the recent discussion about USCG subjects, I thought I'd put in another plug for my list: On my webpage, I have a list of USCG model subjects. Boats, ships, and aircraft; in and out of production; plastic and wood; period and modern; static and RC. I'm mostly interested in providing a list of buildable models-- I don't have all the really old expensive kits that are interest to collectors. Check it out at: http://www.tiac.net/users/billkaja/kitlist.htm Bill and Kaja Michaels -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume