Subject: SMML15/12/99VOL760 Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 23:55:21 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: US naval ship photos and plastic subs 2: Re: Lindberg USS Yorktown/Boxer 3: R/N Camouflage 4: Re: What do they do at sea? & River Plate 5: Re: USS Indianapolis 6: Re: What do they do at Sea? 7: Lindberg 1/900 U.S.S. Antietam 8: Re: Enterprise lighting in the hangar deck 9: Thanks and lighting hangar decks 10: Re: Plastic Ship Modeller 11: Fwd: Humor 12: USS Missouri ;) 13: UK VCR alert - Thursday 14: Gato/Balao Plan Book? 15: Airfix Magazine 16: "Eilboat" 17: Re: More About Fujimi Carriers 18: Re: Cutting Metal Rod 19: HMAS ADELAIDE 20: The Short and Long of Essexes 21: 1/72 Scale Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Books for Sale -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Bergschöld Pelle Subject: US naval ship photos and plastic subs >> My decal set for the Lindberg Yorktown is actually for the USS Boxer CV-21. My note of the other day incorrectly stated CV-22. Some of you have mentioned "long-hull" and "short-hull" Essex Class CVs. I was unaware that there were two types. What are the vital statistics and example ship names of each type? I wish DANFS had pictures. Any web pages that might have pictures? << Roger, Try this page, the NavSource archives. An absolute splendid collection of photos of US surface assets. http://www.cityscope.net/~pry/Archives/ By the way, I have been trying to reach the JAG collective to find out whether their resin 1/700 USS Sturgeon sub is only waterline, or if there is a full hull option included. Anyone who knows? Best regards P Bergschold Sweden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Michael C. Smith" Subject: Re: Lindberg USS Yorktown/Boxer >> Some of you have mentioned "long-hull" and "short-hull" Essex Class CVs. I was unaware that there were two types. What are the vital statistics and example ship names of each type? I wish DANFS had pictures. Any web pages that might have pictures? << Roger, The second "batch" of Essex class ships had the bow redesigned to "poke out" further to allow two 40mm mounts tobe installed to provide more AA weapons at the bow (they also shortened the flight deck slightly). Several books list which ships are which - my book "Essex Class Carriers in action" by squadron/signal includes drawings of the bow section of each type showing the change, since this was a subject that always interested me. I intended for the drawings to be 1/700, but I think they ended up something else. If you're modifying the Hasegawa kit (the long hull kit is either Ticonderoga or Hancock) drop me a line - I can send you some photos showing the changes that need to be made to the bow and flight deck to accurately represent the long hull ships. The kit has the hull right, but the bow mounts and flight deck are wrong. The short hull kit (Essex or Yorktown) is fine as is as to this bow area (okay, the 40mm mount needs a little touching up, but let's not get picky). The Lindberg kit (like the Revell Intrepid) is an amalgam of the two bows. It has two 40mm mounts, but doesn't stick out any further than the "short hull" bow, so whichever ship you build, the abovewater bow has to be totally rebuilt. I'd cut it off above the waterline back to the the beginning of the forecastle and rebuild it using a sheet plastic forecastle deck and bow profile (the Raven or Roberts or my book or my book provide the right templates) and you might be able to get away without using hull sections, depending on how picky you are. Michael Smith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: R/N Camouflage I know that I am asking for the impossible, however; does anybody have or know of, a photo of the Whitshed as in 1939 early 1940, showing her disruptive scheme clearly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Polvi, Henry" Subject: Re: What do they do at sea? & River Plate Japanese Sailors in 1944 - I would reckon the sailors would be "closed up" during a transit at that stage of the war and there wouldn't be too many off-watch hands goofing around on the u/decks - probably lying in sweat in their racks/hammocks waiting for the klaxons to sound off and knowing it's their turn now... Canada's National paper "The Globe & Mail" is running a copy of the front page most newsworthy day of the century. Today, 14 Dec, the front page news was the Graf Spee/RN battle, they had file shots of the 3 RN cruisers and a grainy silouhette of the GS. But more interesting was a secondary article about a RN sub that had apparently given the German cruiser Bremen a free pass into safe harbour despite having it dead to rights - the Germans had quite rightly "jeered" the Brits once safe ashore. The Admiralty said the sub was being "chivalrous" (after 4 months of declared war!) - but that later the same unnamed sub sank another unnamed German cruiser and an unamed German u-boat to make up for it. Spin doctoring is one of the world's oldest you know whats. "come cheer up my lads, 'tis to glory we steer!" Henry W. Polvi Thornhill, ON -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: Re: USS Indianapolis From: thorstenwahl@t-online.de (Wahl, Thorsten L.) >> Just laid my eyes on a picture of USS Indianapolis. Well, I like the look and I´d like to build a WW2 CA for a change. Can anybody point me to a good model (larger scales preferred this time) and some good books on the subject? My regular area of expertise is modern USN/USCG, so any help sure is appreciated. << Classic Warships has a book out on the USS Indianapolis with some excellent pictures. The also offer the USS Indianapolis in /1350th scale and her sister ship USS Portland in 1/700th scale. Their website is: http://classicwarships.simplenet.com/ John Sheridan On the road this week in Seattle. (Yes, its raining here...., who would have guessed?) Bremerton is my mission for today! WooHoo! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "cpalfreeman" Subject: Re: What do they do at Sea? I simply can't wait to see those 1/700 Sumo wrestlers. A nice challenge, turning one of those tiddly little etched figures into someone with the, er, general configuration and stance of one of those guys!! Charlesw Palfreeman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Charles Stephanian Subject: Lindberg 1/900 U.S.S. Antietam I just picked up a copy of an old Lindberg kit, the Antietam carrier. The box says the scale is 1/900...are there any other plastic ship kits in this scale? Thanks, Charles -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Kelvin Mok" Subject: Re: Enterprise lighting in the hangar deck >> I want the lights to come through a zillion light fixtures in the ceiling as on the real thing. I thought about cutting many small rectangular hole to simulate the fixtures and then lay some "Lightsheets" over the top of the ceiling (which would have it sandwiched between the ceiling of the hangar deck and the bottom of the flight deck) << This is how they do the backlighting on notebook computer screens. The screen itself is a 1/8 in thick piece of glass reflective-silver backed on one surface. There is a tiny flourescent tube at the edge (the shorter side) that shines the light into the glass sheet. ................. For your flight deck you might use a thin perspex sheet silvered on one side. For the light source these may be those tiny Xenon bulbs used in Maglite flashlights. Perhaps drill recesses into the perspex to receive those bulbs and reduce light loss. May just work. Kelvin Mok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Jens H. Brandal" Subject: Thanks and lighting hangar decks Gee, madness has it's priveleges....thank you to all who suggested ideas for activities on board, and not to mention the Cher on board the BB. My final thought is to use a whole bunch of grain of wheat bulbs and just mount them into the ceiling and wire them all up, I think that is the way to go at this point. Grain of wheat bulbs are not recommended for this application. They give off lots of heat, or so I've been told. Light Emitting Diodes are far better, but they are rather big. Connecting them in parallell or series may require a lot of power. Anyone ever do this project? And if so, how did you do it? Any other ideas? Not having done this, but I am thinking along the same lines. One idea is to make the roof out of clear plexiglass (3-4 mm thick) and cover all sides except the ends with aluminium foil. Paint the roof white or whatever colour you want. Then, take a drill press and drill indentations in the roof side of the roof. You will not need to drill deeply, just make a small cone in the plastic. Light the ends of the plexiglass - you might need one or more lightbulbs at each end. The drilled indentations will break the light and create an illuminated deck, but don't expect a floodlighted appearance. The benefit is that you only require a few lightbulbs that will not generate excessive heat, but even so, you may with to consider to provide some sort of ventilation. Good luck with your project, and don't forget to share your experiences with the rest of us. Jens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: MetroLimo@aol.com Subject: Re: Plastic Ship Modeller Hi. John Regarding your letter about PSM: Model Ship Builder was sold to "Seaways' Ship In Scale" This is an excellent magazine devoted to wooden ship model building. I highly recommend it. You can contact them at Seaways' Publishing Inc. 2271 Constitution Drive San Jose, CA 95124 Regards, Barry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Jeffry J. Fontaine" Subject: Fwd: Humor Hi; I thought this was worth sharing, even though I have three cats that keep me company. If you have seen this before, sorry about recycling. Jeff Little Timmy was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was up to, he politely asked, "Whatcha doing, Timmy?" "My goldfish died," replied the boy tearfully, without looking up. "and, I've just buried him." The neighbor was concerned. "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it?" Timmy patted down the last heap of earth then replied, "That's because he's inside your cat." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Damian Pliszka Subject: USS Missouri ;) Hi, This is true radio call during maneuvers near New Founland in October 1995: Americans: Please change your course 15 degree south to avoid collision. Canadiens: We suggest that you change your course 15 degree north to avoid collision. A: This is commander of US Navy ship, repeat: change your course. C: No. That I repeat: you change your course. A: This is battleship USS Missouri. We are big US Navy ship. Change your couse at once. C: This is lighthouse. And what now?... Damian Pliszka Slupsk, Poland (looking for cover ;)))) Hi Damian, The old jokes are often the best ;->> Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "David Hathaway" Subject: UK VCR alert - Thursday People Another VCR alert for the UK - 8:00 Thursday 16 December - Channel 4 Underwater Secrets is on Why the Monitor sank. David -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: LYRAD801@cs.com Subject: Gato/Balao Plan Book? Hello, I've heard about a book of plans for the Gato and Balao class submarines. I think it's 130 pages long and has 70 A3 sized plans. Unfortunately, I don't have any more information. I would appreciate to know what the actual title is, and the pros and cons. Also, the price was $34.95 Thanks for all replies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Edward Brown" Subject: Airfix Magazine I would like to put together as many of the Airfix Magazine articles on converting Airfix warship kits. I already have the following: - Edit Subject 07.69 Battle Class Destoyers - P Hodges 11.70 Leander Class Frigates - P Hodges 01.71 Hunt Class Destroyers Pt 1- P Hodges 01.71 Black Swan Class Sloops Pt1- P Hodges 12.71 Black Swan Class Sloops Pt2 - P Hodges 08.76 Dido Class Cruisers- I M Fleming 05.77 RAN Leander & Arethusa Class Cruisers - I M Fleming 02.77 Town Class Cruisers - I M Fleming 03.78 Fiji & Swiftsure Class Cruisers - I M Fleming 06.78 County Class Cruisers- I M Fleming 10.78 Queen Elizabeth Class Battleships - I M Fleming 01.79 The Later "'Manxman" - R W Liddiard 03.79 Fast Minelayers - I M Fleming 12.79 A-I Class Destroyers - I M Fleming 02.81 J, K & N Class Destroyers - I M Fleming 03.81 L & M Class Destroyers - I M Fleming 11.81 Hood (1920) detailing - M W Williams 01.82 Hood (May 1941) detailing - M W Williams 01.82 Type 41 & Type 61 - I M Fleming Old editions of the magazine seem to be readily available but it is very tedious to plough through heaps of magazine looking for appropriate articles. If somebody has a list of the relevant editions it would make life much easier. Can anybody help? Edward Hi Edward, Well, you're in luck - well sorta ;-)). Check out the following sites for a list of Airfix Magazine articles: International Marine Modelling: http://members.tripod.com/~Febus65/imm.htm This has a list of Airfix magazine articles, as well as other publications. It's also a great site. The following two sites have my Shiplist on them: ModellerAl's site: http://www.up-link.net/~modeleral/ APMA Homepage: http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/apma.htm This is a list of all ship articles & reviews in my & others magazine collection. It's also due for a massive update very shortly, which will include amongst other things, entries from various modelling club magazines, Warship & Warship International. Regards, Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: d gregory Subject: "Eilboat" With the suggestion that the E in E-boat stood for Eil ("eel"), I would venture that this would refer to the German slang for torpedoes. The German sailors called the "eels" much like the US sailors referred to them as "fish." "Eilboat" would be a logical nick-name. Any German coastal veterans out there that can help with this? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: CBNJBB62@aol.com Subject: Re: More About Fujimi Carriers Dear Ralph: I had a chance to look at the new Fujimi kits the other night. I can answer some your questions. Well, there is no photo etch parts in the kits. The hangar deck is basically bare with no detail but the hull doesn't have the walls with the elevator openings molded in as one piece they are separate pieces. Also there are not just 2 kits but 4 kits of these 2 carriers. They cover the 60's and then the 90's with options for 70's and 80's depending which one you buy. Most of the instructions are in Japanese so I couldn't read everything except for the the few English words that were in the them like caution or option. I hope this helps. Sincerely, Craig Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Jim McLaughlin" Subject: Re: Cutting Metal Rod Pardon an observation from a newbie (I usually build airplanes) but in all the discussion of cutting metal rod, why hasn't anyone suggested plastic rod as a substitute for kit gun barrels? It comes in just about any diameter you could want and is much easier to cut, cleanup, and finish. Jim McLaughlin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: b29@ix.netcom.com Subject: HMAS ADELAIDE I am trying to find out how this cruiser was painted between Sept. 1939 and mid 1942, prior to her wartime refit. Was the ship grey all over, or did she have any camouflage during that time? If the latter, can anyone provide photos or drawings of the scheme. The only photos I have seen show her in over all light grey during that period. Paul Jacobs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: The Short and Long of Essexes Roger Pardon moi, but this isn't my field of expertise, but according to JFS 1954-55, the following units of the Essex class were referred to as being the early short hull types... Essex Yorktown Intrepid Hornet Franklin Lexington Bunker Hill Wasp Bennington Bon Homme Richard These ships were 876 ft overall, while the later long-hull Essex cl ships were 888 ft overall. Oriskany was even longer at 904 ft overall. The only other comment was that the later ships "were of an improved design, with stronger flight decks, and were more thoroughly sub-divided" At some point after WWII, the long hulled ships were redesignated as belonging to the Hancock cl. Yet, some books refer to those who only received the CVS refit as Essex cl ships while the ones that received a CVA were known as Handcock cl. To add to the confusion, "Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet 1965" includes listings for Oriskany cl, Hancock cl, Intrepid cl, and Essex cl. Those that were redesignated as LPHs though were also called Essex cl. Lots of confusion, and my guess is it has to do with the particular refit and designation a particular ship received at a given time. Consider the number and variety of refits during the 50's and 60s these ships received (SCB-27A, SCB-27C, SCB-125, SCB-125A, SCB-144 and FRAM II) That said, I'm going to leave. I've also seen references to a Ticonderoga cl mentioned during the 50s, 60s, and 70s time frame. Dasvidanya! _|_o_|_ Derek "Tiger" (/\)akefield /---(.](o)[.)---\ iscandar2@chatter.com o oo O oo o http://www.iscandar-66.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "Leslie Brown" Subject: 1/72 Scale Models A recent SMML posting regarding RAF Craft of WW2, led me to raise the subject of etched brass and fittings for the Airfix Vosper MTB & RAF Whaleback, and the Revell/Matchbox Flower Class Corvette, sets of which have been promised by the firm of David J Parkins for at least two years. There were about six responses - not really enough to start a major campaign with the company. Imagine my surprise on reading PSM 21 which contained a letter from 'Denis Keegan' who apparently has just completed the hull of a Round Table Class minesweeper for this company. He indicates a full kit should be available in early 2000 together with kits for Fairmile B & D, steam gunboat and HDML - all in 1/72 scale. I would be interested if anybody knows any more details. Regards Les Brown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: CBNJBB62@aol.com Subject: Books for Sale I have 3 books for sale 1. Life Magazine-August 11.1967 with the story of the USS FORRESTAL CVA-59 fire off North Vietnam. Very good condition. I'm asking $15.00 . 2. US NAVY WAR PHOTOGRAPHS published US Camera Co..Possibly 1945-7, it is a photo album book from the service to discharged veterans with a statement by Navy Secretary James FORRESTAL. It is 108 pages long with 105 photos in black and white. Good condition but not really a modelers reference but an honest account of life in that war. Price $15.00 3. Our Navy's Fighting Ships No. 3 of the Ships and Sailing Ships copyright 1947 by Kalmbach Publishing Co..... This book deals with the US Navy in World War II in a photo album layout that covers the fighting ships. They are done in B&W photos with some I never seen before such as the USS Portland in 1945. Price is $15.00 Sincerely, Craig Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume