Subject: SMML04/12/99VOL749 Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 00:45:18 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Closet modeler 2: Re: USS Newport News 3: Waterlineing 4: Painting Hulls 5: Re: WW1 Subchaser 6: Painting boot tops 7: Re: Loves/hates about modelling 8: Seattle sights 9: White metal/ resin fittings 10: Re: boottoppings 11: Re: "What-Ifs" 12: Love and Hate 13: Re: Shinano 14: Re: "What-if" models 15: Ajax grill 16: Retrain the Listmaster! ;-P 17: Re: Blowing up the plastic!! 18: Soviet OSA II Patrol Boat 19: USS Newport News 20: "Colour of war" - Video alert for NSW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: New SMML website 2: Just in at Model Expo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Mark McKellar Subject: Closet modeler >> I noticed one of the list guys said he had no room for a workbench in his home. << I have a similer problem.....no room...no garage......so I'm on the kitchen table witha huge toolbox of modeling supplies. It works out okay but the set-up and breakdown often takes more time than the actual modeling..... And, right now I'm doing the Tamyia Enterprise...so I;ve got storage issues too... Mark -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: Re: USS Newport News >> Just getting ready to start a few new projects and need some help with some details-not much really and this should be a piece of cake for you guys at USS Salem..During the late 60's and early 70's,what was the deck color of USS Newport News? << Teak Decking was unpainted. Steel Decking is Dark Grey. >> Did she have wood decks or steel? << She had both. Wood decking on main deck only. >> If wood, were they painted grey or left natural. << Wooden Decks were left unpainted. >> My research doesn't tell,and photos I have don't show the deck well enough to tell. Any help would be appreciated. << Check-out photos of the USS Salem ( http://www.uss-salem.org/ ) for where the wood decking is located. The only major difference between the USS Salem and USS Newport News was that they added flag spaces on the Newport News in the Early 1960s. This eliminated the two 3/50 mounts (I forgot the mount #s) that were abreast of the Bridge. >> Also, are any of the etched stern deck cranes available on the market appropriate for her in that fit??I'm thinking one of the GMM cruiser cranes will do, but any suggestions will be welcome. << If you are working in 1/350th scale, Call Classic Warships and see if Steve will sell you the Photo-etch frets from his USS Salem kit. It has the cranes right on the fret along with all the other goodies. John Sheridan Visit my USN Ship Camo site at: http://home.earthlink.net/~jrsheridan/ I am not a Member of the Lumber Cartel (tinlc) and I am not Unit #631 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Donald Bridge Subject: Waterlineing Hi All Does anyone out there have any tips on how to waterline full hull kits both one and two piece. I usually make 1/600 - 1/720 so any mishaps with cutting really show, With the resultant sanding to even it out I've a couple of my earlier efforts that look like they're carrying 20,000 tons of cargo. These days I tend to fill and then sand rather than just sand, but I was wondering if there's a better way. Any advice gratefully accepted. Don Bridge -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Rod Dauteuil Subject: Painting Hulls Everybody has their own methods for painting hulls, and if it works for you, go for it. Personally, I like to spray the lower hull with oxide red, making sure it covers the waterline. A few days later, I mask the red at the lower edge of the boot, and spray the boot black. Again, a few days later I mask the black and red at the upper edge of the boot, and spray the upper hull gray (or whatever color the hull is). I realize the upper portion of the hull will have 3 coats of paint, but if they're done right, there will be no problem obscuring detail. By doing this I eliminate the need to cut complex curves out of the tape because the tape is always being shaped on the inside of the curve. And since some kits have the waterline marks molded in, you automatically have a "lip" which will prevent seepage under the tape. The result: It works for me, which is all I really want. Rod. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: CBNJBB62@aol.com Subject: Re: WW1 Subchaser Hi Guys, I have some information about SC-96. The subchaser was built in 1917 at the Elco Boat Co. of Bayonne, NJ. Entering service in DEC 1917 she completed training and went to New London Conn. to join a flotilla of 30 some subchaser destined for over seas service. In Jan, 1918 the flotilla left New London and went to Bermuda and then the Azores Islands and the entered the Mediteerean Sea. With the destination of Corfu Island, Greece to serve on the Otranto Barriage to block the Adriatic sea where the Austrian-Hungrian Fleet and submarines and German subs were station. The Barriage was a system of Mine fields, patrolling warships and aircraft that went from Italy to Greece and consisted of English, French Italian, and American forces. SC-96 patrolled and escorted convoys in the Mediteerean and the Otranto Barriage, but never fired a shot in World War I at a sub. Her sound contacts turned to be fish not subs. After the war ended the navy withdrew but left a small force of armed yachts, gunboats and some subchasers to protect American citizens and interests. Many new countries were born after W.W.I and they didn't get along. SC-96 help evacuate refugees out of Turkey in1922.This force remained the Mediteerean until 1924 and SC-96 was put up for auction after being stripped of military equipment and purchased in 1924 to a man in Athens, Greece. Hope this is of use. Craig Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: BEN8800@aol.com Subject: Painting boot tops I like the idea of painting a boot top first. In that way, after masking the boot top and painting the gray and red, any paint that runs under the tape will go onto the black boot top. This is easier to scrape and retouch andy runs on the black, rather than having to retouch on bothe the gray and red. Ben Lankford Vienna, VA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Ramses Martinez" Subject: Re: Loves/hates about modelling Hello all, like my man Robert OConnor said: wake up Derek!!!, its crunch time, get of the bench and set up that three point play, its all about fun, most of us are not building models for museums so screw the experts. Things I love about Modeling putting it together, looking at something come to life Things I hate " " It sometimes gets in the way of playing and watching basketball Go HEAT!!! Ramses Martinez -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: Seattle sights O.k. SMML'ies, I will be visiting the Seattle area on business in about a week. What ships and/or sights can I visit while I am there ? Any good hobby shops and/or bookstores ? John R. Sheridan What I do to Spammers: http://microscale.com/images/N2.jpg I am not a Member of the Lumber Cartel (tinlc) and I am not Unit #631 Last last place on earth I would look for the Lumber Cartel(tm) is http://come.to/the.lumber.cartel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: White metal/ resin fittings Hi All, Can anyone tell me if whitemetal or resin fittings, such as lifeboats, 20mm, 40mm, 1.1 inch AA guns, etc...are made in the Revell/Lindbergh/Airfix scales ; 1/428,1/570 or 1/600, 1/400 or 1/500 etc???? Are any made that can be used in these scales? Any help would be appreciated... John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: DRPREUL@aol.com Subject: Re: boottoppings The best way I have found to do boot-topping is to spray your hull black including the bottom of the hull. The reason for painting the bottom is the color you chose to use for anti-fouling red is a low pigmented color and covers poorly (reds and browns). After spraying the black I use 3M blue fine-line tape. It comes in many widths (1/16-2") in 1/16" increments. Your automotive paint suppler should carry this line of tape. I purchase the size tape I need to be the same width as the boot-topping. Once you have laid out the tape it gives you a consistent width all the way around the ship. Now you are ready to spray either the anti-fouling red or the hull color. Hope this helps out. If you would like to see some of my examples go to: http://www.classicwarships.simplenet.com then to the model gallery under the models built by Don Preul -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Fritz Koopman Subject: Re: "What-Ifs" Personaly, there's not much wrong with "what-ifs". Before the age of CAD, a model was almost always built BEFORE a ship was actually constructed. Now what happened when that ship contract was cancelled? The world is full of these inadvertent "what-if" models. I plan to add to this world myself by scratchbuilding a 1/350 Montana class (most likely the New Hampshire) when I find the time. I already have a large block of basswood ready to go for the hull. I have the hull lines. All I have to do is figure out what the most likely AA configuration would have been. During the sixties, my father worked in the drawing/drafting room at the Charleston Navy Yard. At one point they had a house cleaning, and he was ordered to shred several hundred drawings. Among these, he recalled seeing at least five design sketches/studies for improved AA fits for the Montanas. They were made durring 42' when BuShips was reconsidering the Class (How these drawings ended up in Charlestown, I have'nt a clue). Most of these sketches were concerned with making partial or full use of the boat deck for for four 40mm quad mounts, similar to the mods. applied to the Iowa design durring their construction. Unfortunately he can only remember the specifics for one of these configs, but I'm still likely to chose this over the standard boat decks shown in most publications. Now, if I can just figure out if they would have been built with or without enclosures around the conning tower. Best Regards Fritz Koopman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Fritz Koopman Subject: Love and Hate Hello out there.. Hmmm. Lets see. Love: 1. Buying models (much to dismay of my mortgage company) 2. Examining box contents 3. Assembling larger structures 4. Painting extraordinary Disruptive measures 5. PE in general 6. Finishing models Hate: 1. Not enough time after work 2. Picking up my model tools/mess when company comes over,and then having to bring it back out of the closet afterwards (My workspace is my coffee table) 3. Working on several subjects at the same time. I inevitably wind up doing this, because I'm an idiot, and I can't wait to start the next thing. Progress then slows to the point where neither project seems to get finished. 4. Dropping small parts (example: 1/700 20mm Oerlikon PE, styrene 1/700 searchlights). 5. That little noise that the aforementioned parts make. That faint "P-TINGGGG" that lets you know you dropped it, and that it has succeeded in bouncing at least 10 feet in a direction opposite that which you will look. 6. Having to cut up "Standard Length" generic rails (especially 1/700) to make custom lengths for PE-less models. Getting those stanchions to mach up on deck edge corners etc. I find the custom lengths that come with some kits so much more enjoyable. 7. Rigging. A neccessary evil, as even a simple job makes the model take on a new life. 8. Tripods with platforms. Again, necessary and good looking, but a hassle none the less. Best Regards Fritz Koopman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Mitsuaki Kubota Subject: Re: Shinano Dear Mr. Bender, Hasegawa's Shinano was originally released some 30 or 40 years ago, and regrettably one of out of date kits. I built this kit 20 years ago, but I felt this kit didn't reach the Hasegawa's standards. One of the reasons of old Shinano kit's crudity is lack of official documents. But nowadays researches on Shinano have been progressed, although many details not yet solved. If you don't mind about scales, I recommend Tamiya's new 1:700 Shinano. Also Japanese Gakken Publishing has recently issued "Aircraft Carrier Taihou and Shinano"("Rekishi-Gunzou" History of Pacific War No. 22). Their adress is: 4-40-5 Kami-Ikedai, Ohta-ku Tokyo 145-8502, Japan Best regards Mitsuaki Kubota Tokyo, Japan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: James Corley Subject: Re: "What-if" models John (and everybody else), I would love to see which version of the CV-58 you did. Beware, tho, if you take it to am IPMS Nationals, it will be moved to the hypothetcial category and have to compete against all the Luftwaffe46 crowd, 1950-era Willy Ley spaceships and whatever else ends up in the category. I really hope Rusty will stick up for the ship guys and over-rule any overzealous judges who demand ships be moved to such a rediculously clumped-together category. There are too many kits on the market of proposed ships (IOWA Faces-II for one) and other neat projects that never made it out of the slipways for them to be cast off to a never-never land table. Would the USS United States count as hypothetical....construction was begun, but never completed. For that matter, what about an as-designed Forrestal. By the same token, strictly speaking, if somebody were to build the Revell Fleet Sub kit (Lionfish, etc.) OOTB it would have to go in the hypothetical category because no ship was ever built with to that particular design! JZ Indecision may or may not be my problem! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Ajax grill Hi Mike Try 5 amp fuse wire. It works pretty well, is easily shaped and straightened and looks quite authentic. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Ed Grune Subject: Retrain the Listmaster! ;-P Shane wrote: >> My apologies, I hit send accidently, before I had finished with today's posts. << Geez Louise, give the guy a few days off and he has to be retrained. Bring back Lorna! Ed Mansfield, TX where I "never" do anything like that! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: Shane Subject: Re: Blowing up the plastic!! When I was a kid we lived on a creek that was fairly deep at high tide. My father and I used to build plastic ship models and sink them. Then at low tide we'd go out in the row boat, pick them up and let them dry out so we could do it again. It was sick but really neat. We used lead to get them to ride at the water line and we would have a small hole in the bottom. Then once the model was pretty busted up, out came the .22s. I remember the Revell Arizona to be one of the best sinking due to it's large hull size. Shane Maloney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: mprager@juno.com Subject: Soviet OSA II Patrol Boat Hello to everyone in SMMLand. I remember seeing a kit of the Soviet OSA II Patrol Boat (1/200 scale I believe). Anyone out there know who manufactured it or if it is still available? Thanks for the help Matt Prager -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: louellet@uism.bu.edu Subject: USS Newport News Robert OConnor wrote: >> Just getting ready to start a few new projects and need some help with some details-not much really and this should be a piece of cake for you guys at USS Salem..During the late 60's and early 70's,what was the deck color of USS Newport News? Did she have wood decks or steel?If wood, were they painted grey or left natural. << USS Newport News had a teak deck just like SALEM and DES MOINES which was kept holystoned. I don't think it was ever painted. At some point wood was added to the 01 level around the 51 mount. This was never done on SALEM or DES MOINES. >> Also, are any of the etched stern deck cranes available on the market appropriate for her in that fit??I'm thinking one of the GMM cruiser cranes will do, but any suggestions will be welcome. << If you want to build a 1:350 scale NEWPORT NEWS there is the Classic Warship's USS Salem which depicts the 3 sisters in their 1950's fit. The crane is included as a fold-up photoetch part. See the kit at: http://classicwarships.simplenet.com/ To convert the kit to the NEWPORT NEWS after the 3 inch guns were removed, superstructure enlarged, and missiles added, you would have to do some scratch building and borrowing of missile parts from a DML or Tamiya modern ship kit. There was a 1:700 scale kit of the NEWPORT NEWS from Jim Shirley Productions but his entire line ships is out of production. There is a 1:700 scale waterline USS Salem by Accurate Image which are now part of the Commanders Models, Inc. Iron Shipwright Series. It is a nice little kit. Visit Chuck Zender's site: http://www.uss-newport-news.com/nn_models.htm for lots of information on the USS Newport News. Chuck built a radio controlled 1:144 scale NEWPORT NEWS that was featured in "Scale Ship Model" in 1996. While there, check out the Steve Grubbs page. The photos on his page are of his concept of what the Salem and Des Moines could have looked like if there were reactivated in 1986. These 2 were very close to being reactivated, but the Iowa class battleships were activated instead. There are even blueprints (which I haven't seen yet) of the proposed refit. Good luck. Larry Ouellette louellet@uism.bu.edu Volunteer, USS Salem (CA 139) United States Naval & Shipbuilding Museum Quincy, Massachusetts, USA http://www.uss-salem.org/ P.s. The USS Salem is finally going to have her hull painted. She should be moving to South Boston early Monday morning. The museum is now temporarily closed to visitors until she returns in February. See the web site for more details, and a ongoing photo-essay of the work being done. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Shane Subject: "Colour of war" - Video alert for NSW Hi gang, There appears to be a new short series starting on Sunday on Ch 9 at 1930 called: "Colour of war". Now this may also be shown around Australia, so check your guides. It purports to have unseen COLOUR footage of WWII, so could be interesting ;-). Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From : Mike Dunn