Subject: SMML VOL 831 Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 23:44:54 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Whats new at the Naval Historical Center 2: Re: LEXINGTON 3: Re: R/C Plastic Models 4: Re: Dreadnought Kit 5: USS Kidd web site 6: WEM Aircraft 7: L/M Class destroyers 8: SHIPS-2 9: R/C in Tamiya Yamato 10: Rubber molds 11: Trumpeter 1/500 Nimitz & 1/144 Type 33 (Romeo) sub - part 2 12: Anchor chain and destroyer masts 13: Tamiya KGV corrections 14: NELSON and RODNEY 15: Victorious and MAS Boats 16: Re: 1:700 and silly questions 17: Dive Bomber 30 seconds 18: Re: Working Radar 19: Thanks... 20: New books from Poland 21: CW 1/700 USS Helena 22: OT: Scanning Graphics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: Re: Whats new at the Naval Historical Center >> One of the photos of the Lex was taken off San Diego in October 1942 and shows the False Bow Wave camoflage measure particularly well. Okay Paint Guys, is that the Sea Blue paint which chalked so badly? Is that supposed to be a green inside the white foam line? << Ed, The picture was taken in October 1941 and NOT October 1942. As for the camo, the photo shows lexington in MS 5 paint scheme (MS1 with false bow wave). Here is the URL from the shipcamouflage.com website describing MS 5: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/ships2_1_41_chapter2.htm Here is the description of painting the bow wave: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/ships2_1_41_chapter3.htm Be sure to check out plates 4,5,6,7, and 8 for a more detailed description. The descriptions come right out of the JANUARY 1941 SHIPS-2. 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 The last place on earth I would look for the Lumber Cartel(tm) is http://come.to/the.lumber.cartel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: LEXINGTON That photo of LEX leaving San Diego in October 1941 appears (operative word here is "appears") to show her in Measure 1/Measure 5. Note the light gray topmast, which was called for in Measure 1 but not in Measure 11 (Sea Blue). And I'm not sure that the Dark Gray 5-D paint on the hull is only chalked. It looks more to me like it has worn away to reveal the #5 Standard Navy Gray beneath. As for the false bow wave, it shouldn't have used green. None of the greens were in use that early, and Ships-2 called for the body of the wave to be dark gray or dark blue. In this photo, there appears to be some contrast between the body of the bow wave and the faded hull color, leading me to believe that the bow wave used dark blue, possibly Sea Blue 5-S, and had been newly applied at the time of the photo. It's an interesting photo in other ways. Look at the deckload of planes. There's a cocooned Hudson or Vega mixed in there, and what the heck is the little light-colored aircraft on the port side, aft of the planes spotted on the bow? Also note the midships elevator (lift for you Commonwealth types) appears to be lowered to the hangar deck, revealing white bulkheads. John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Kelvin Mok" Subject: Re: R/C Plastic Models Hi Loren, I have an unfinished Revell Fireboat and a Tamiya Vosper MTB which I will like to r/c 2 channel. Nothing fancy. Would you have any installation lay-outs or published articles I can refer to? In particular I recall coming across an article a long time ago about modifying the servo itself to power the propellars of a tiny boat like the MTB where space is at a premium. I can't remember how that was done. Thanks in advance. Kelvin Mok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: Re: Dreadnought Kit Hi All & Thanks..... ...to everyone who responded to my query regarding a kit of HMS Dreadnought....It looks like the Steel Navy 1/350th kit is the frontrunner for now. Thanks again. The one message that gets constantly reinforced from this list is "If you ask it,....... they will answer........" and CORRECTLY!!!!!! Also, my apologies for my other query regarding NAVIS E-zine that started a flamefest...... I joined the list AFTER the last flamefest!!!!!!! Keep up the great work, Shane. I know how much work maintaining a list like this can be. And to our resin manufacturer-friends; keep producing what sells.....The only hope we have of getting new kits is if you all stay in business!!!!! John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Cataldo Torelli Subject: USS Kidd web site Hi, I've just discovered the brand new USS Kidd (DD-661) web site and it's amazing. Try the virtual tour: it's full of information about Fletchers, equipment, fire control radars, etc. Point to: http://www.usskidd.com Regards, Cataldo Torelli. Madrid, Spain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Michael John Zwierko Subject: WEM Aircraft I seem to recall WEM announcing that they would be producing a BAe Nimrod MR2P in small scale (2 different scales?). Have these been released yet?? Price? Any info would be appreciated. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: L/M Class destroyers Hi Yohan The Matchbox Kelly is definitely the better bet - for a start the hull is bigger. Dimension wise it's still a bit small particularly in length. The L/M's were supposed to have power operated turrets and so needed to be bigger to take the extra weight. In the end Lance, Gurkha (ex Larne), Legion and Lively were completed with 8 x 4 inch AA guns instead (X and Y mounts being on top of a long rear deckhouse). All of the M's were completed with power operated turrets. Not an easy conversion especially as you'll need to modify the length, find or make power operated turrets and various other bits (they carried quadruple torpedo tubes instead of the quintuple of the J/K's). The Revell kit of the Ark Royal included a model of Legion. It's recently been reissued and I can't comment on its accuracy but from the box top photos it looks quite crude. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: SHIPS-2 For those of you interested in US Navy Camouflage in WWII, be sure to check-out all four releases of U.S. Navy SHIPS-2 manuals located on the www.shipcamouflage.com website. I have finished transcribing the text on all four and completed the graphics for the 1941 editions (I am still working on the finishing the graphics for the 1942 and 1943 editions). I will soon be uploading "Painting and cementing of U.S. Navy vessels 1943" to the website. This give great insight on how navel warship were painted inside and out during WWII. If you wanted to understand how a USN Warship was painted, this is the book to read! John R. Sheridan http://www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Mike" Subject: R/C in Tamiya Yamato Loren, I think you mis-understood me a little...... Apparently, Tamiya say that while you CAN motorise the Yamato, the R/C gear makes her too heavy, & will swamp, especially on turns. Same on the Enterprise........ However, this didn't deter a British modeler from doing just that! (As soon as I get the photos developed, I'll see about getting some onto the web site) They work well, but DO have to be handled carefully on turns. Indoor pools are best - a windy day would probably result in the Yamato sinking....again...... Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: Rubber molds I "scratchbuild" models. To help produce duplicate parts I make rubber molds. Now I need some parts that are smaller than my molds. Rather than make new molds, is there a hydrocal type casting material that shrinks in drying? Thank you for any help. JK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: James Corley Subject: Trumpeter 1/500 Nimitz & 1/144 Type 33 (Romeo) sub - part 2 I have built the majority of the sub kit (less the aft planes & props...gotta paint it) and it looks as good as I had said. The scale works out to right at 1/140 ... close enough for me. There are some slight problems with assembly, but none are too major. I built the island of my Stennis kit, went together ok, but beware some of the parts are mislabeled on the instructions, such as the 2 bridge levels! Luckily, these parts have locating tabs and can only go together one way. Two of the Mk99 platforms are switched, too. The Mk99 directors, like the aircraft, look toy like. The mast is fair, and no the 1/540 photoetch will not fit. There are not enough parts on the 1/500 warship to fit out a CVN, either. Maybe Loren will enlarge his 1/720 sets to fit this kit. I may come off sounding a little harsh, but the basics are there and the kit is definitely buildable but in need of some extra detailing and scratchbuilding. New ship kits Got the new FSM, saw the following new kit announcements (If I am being redundant here, please forgive me) from the manufacturers NOT members of SMML (R) = reissue AIRFIX 1/600 Queen Elizabeth (R) HELLER 1/75 LaReale de France (R) 1/125 Catamaran "Playstation" (video game tie-in?) 1/150 Pamir (R) 1/200 Bo Asteinur fishing trawler 1/400 Colbert (R) 1/400 Duguay Trouin (R) 1/400 Le Redoutable (R) 1/400 Maille Breze (R) 1/600 Eifel Tower (OK, not a ship, but could be put in a diorama) ICM (not new, but hey have $$ now) 1/350 Koenig $90 1/350 Groller Kurfurst $90 KANGNAM (reissues of other kits) 1/400 Bismark/Tirpitz 1/600 Enterprise MIRAGE HOBBY 1/400 Type IXA,B,C,C/40 Uboat 1/400 ORP Orzet (R) 1/400 ORP Wicher/Burza II/Qurgan MODELCRAFT 1/500 P&O Oriana MODELIK 1/100 ORP General Haller (paper model) OZMODS 1/350 HMAS Melbourne 1/350 HMAS Sydney PAPER MODELS INT'L (paper models) 1/200 Austrian BB Wien 1/250 HMS Dreadnought 1/250 DKM Derflinger 1/250 USS Alaska 1/400 IJN Yamato PIT ROAD/SKYWAVE (1/700) IJN Kimikaramaru AV IJN Chitose CV IJN Fuso BB 1941 USS Arleigh Burke DDG IJN Takao CA IJN Mutsuki DD IJN Kaidai-3 I-56 SS REVELL GERMANY 1/72 HMS Sowberry (R) 1/96 USS Constitution (R) 1/350 USS New Jersey (R) 1/700 Illustrious 1/700 USS Wasp LHD-1 1/1200 Aida cruise liner REVELL-MONOGRAM 1/400 RMS Titanic (Academy?) SEALS SHIPS (1/700) IJN Mikasa BB JSDF Hibiki AOS IJN Yoshino CL IJN Murasame DD IJN Fuji/Yamashira BB 1897 IJN Izazuchi DD 1900 IJN Shirakumo DD 1900 IJN Sinosome DD 1900 JSDF Asuka ASE-6102 TESTORS/ITALERI 1/720 Charles de Gaulle All in all, a pretty good year for ship modelers, and this doesn't include the 10 kits from Classic Warships, 16 from Iron Shiprights, 5 from Tom's Modelworks (all PH BBs) and 66 kits from White Ensign. That is a total of 145 ship kits (not counting waterline/full hull twin versions) for the next year!! I am looking forward to the Sydney/Melbourne the most, I think, but only if they are the post-war carriers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Anchor chain and destroyer masts According to the Floating Drydock book on the Fletchers, the chain used on those was of links 8.25" by 5". I don't have the Missouri book from the same source, but perhaps one SMMLie who does would find the size of battleship anchor chain in it and post the answer? The same Fletcher book states that the mast is parallel-sided 20" diameter from the deck to 6' above the top of the pilothouse. It then tapers to 7" diameter at the top where the SC radar platform is mounted. Very disappointed that you only want to make the radar rotate - I thought you were planning to make it radiate as well when I read the subject heading on your message....... Now that would be worth seeing! Robert Lockie Cambridge UK Who doesn't build models in several scales although full of good intentions when he buys them :o( -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Tamiya KGV corrections Jens I don't have too much on the Tamiya 1/350 kit specifically, although the series in Warship is good for the detail changes in the various refits, and the Ensign/Man of War book is good too. No doubt Raven & Roberts' British Battleships is useful but well outside the sort of budget I can justify for a second hand book at present. Anyway, I do have a review written by Mike Gould, who examined the KGV back in 1986. His comments were: * Fill in some of the portholes (lower row all plated over) * Add the square portholes to the rear quarters of the hull * Add three gash chutes each side * Omit second rearmost anchor on starboard side, filling the locating hole and removing the chain I will try to find the Warship articles which detailed the mods in the last refit but I am sure I did cover them in a previous post, so it might be quicker to search through the archives for 'KGV'. Robert Lockie Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Tim Stoneman Subject: NELSON and RODNEY I have always assumed (remembering that assumption is the mother of all disasters) that the two box-like structures just aft of the forward breakwater were paravane stowages - but I can't find the reference ATT! The nearest I can get is an article in Airfix Magazine Annual which speaks of the davits next to the structures as 'paravane davits'. (Paravanes were discussed in SMML 329,330,517,518,519,521.) Tim Stoneman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Victorious and MAS Boats There will be a port and starboard drawing of the Victorious as in 1941, and a plan view showing the flight deck camouflage. The pattern was prepared by one of the artists with a background in architecture. They had a tendency to produce straight lined designs. With a bit of luck there will also be the port and starboard 1941 design for the Formidable. I regret to say that the flight deck pattern for her will not be given due to lack of photograhic coverage. Question; Does anybody know what the deck colors might be for the MAS Boats,. and would those MAS Boats with ID stripes across the fore deck be in red and white? A final note; thank you Falk for the MAS data. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "feed" Subject: Re: 1:700 and silly questions I have really enjoyed all the comments posted after my post " Why 1:700 Scale ". Interesting stories about domestic accidents also differents points of view related to the kind of modeller you can be and so on. As an amateur fellow modeller It seems to me I fit into two categories of a modeller whether I like details as much as challenge in a new kit and like to see them lined up on the shelves. Here in Chile we don't have much a great assortment of models so I am starting to get mines through the internet despite the higher price i have to afford due to taxes and shipping and handling stuff. By the way Does anybody know? where can I get full hull IJN Battleships models to an affordable price (less than US $ 60 each), neither resin kits nor 1:700 scale. Thank you in advance. FEED (Fernando Enrique Espinoza Diaz) Valparaíso Chile. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "sctrtrash" Subject: Dive Bomber 30 seconds To all who shall see Dive Bomber and 30 seconds..... All of the shore scenes in Dive bomber, well most, were filmed at N.A.S. North Island. There is a scene in the beginning that is suposed to be Pearl Harbor. The crash is on the current site of the Navy Lodge. If you look in the distance there are two islands. These islands are clearly visible from the balcony of the Navy Lodge. There is a another scene of a car crash, this is on the road to the point Loma Light house. It is a spectacular film. I was at North Island in April 1999 and went to many of the areas the film was filmed, and spoke to a chief in the Public affairs office about any artifacts or photos of when the movie was made. He knew nothing about it. Many of the hangars and buildings are exactly as they were over 60 years ago. A great film. IN some of the flight scenes look for the famous Hotel Del Coronado. It is the White Structure with the red conical roofs on the very beach front.It has appeared in several movies to include Marylin Monroe's "Some Like It Hot", among others. They also make a great Bombay Martini there. Enjoy During filming of 30 seconds there was an oil fire in Richmond California, just north of San Francisco on the bay, and the film crews used this fire to fill in some of the bombing scenes in the movie. There still exists a storage facility that is clearly seen in the movie. Hollywood actually built a mock up of the Hornet's bridge and portion of the flight deck and had three or four B-25's in their sound stage for some of the deck scenes. During this time Van Johnson was in a serious car wreck, and the scars on his face are not from the make up department, but reality. Look for a young Robert Mitchum. There is also some stock footage of the aircraft being loaded on the carrier. These were at the docks at Naval Station Alameda, where I am sure the Current Hornet is piered. Another great movie. Just some background information for those interested. Mark Krumrey New RIchmond WI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: Re: Working Radar From: Andy Hampa >> I have two simple questions though. , and two, if I use the mast as the antenna and paint it, will the paint interfere with reception? << Andy, Paint will not affect the reception. I have used part of a model to replace the receiver antenna before. The important thing to keep in mind is that the antenna is a certain length for a reason. Make sure you keep the total length of the antenna the same, and you'll be OK. For example, I had a model with a 9 inch long brass rod as part of the mast. I cut 9 inches off the receiver's antenna, soldered it to the brass, and had no trouble with increased sensitivity to interference or with reduced range. (I also went through unnecessary work-- see below...) I've answered the question you asked "Can I do this?" Although you didn't ask, I'd like to answer "Should I do this?" My answer is "no". It just isn't worth the bother. There is really no reason to bring the antenna above deck at all. I had an RC submarine with the antenna inside the pressure hull, strung around the perimeter of the inside of the hull. When the model was on the surface, the antenna was below the water line. I ran the model submerged, to a max depth of about 5 feet, and never had a control problem. My advice: Install the receiver in the model. IN the hull, under the deck, run the antenna forward to the bow on one side of the model, then run it aft on the other side. You'll have no control problems, and the receiver will be easy to mode to another model if you ever decide to. RC boats are run close to shore-- receiver installation is not critical. Modern RC units can control the model at distance much greater than you'll ever be able to see the model. Bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Martin Short" Subject: Thanks... Hello everyone, 1) Yohan, thanks for your detailed description of your Scheer conversion. Whetted my appetite, so I will have to bring that one forward on my build list. 2) Jens, regarding your KGV request,(I thought you'd get truckloads on this one!), give me a couple of days (I'm busy interviewing for a replacement TS Chemist at the moment. Don't ya just hate it when the (my) boss poaches your best staff memeber for his Sales team) and I'll hunt out what you want this weekend from the Raven - Roberts book, which gives the AA positions and radar fits for the various refits. What I believe the scheme you want to finish your KGV in is the Admiralty Intermediate disruptive scheme worn by KGV mid 42 to mid 44. The R-R book has colour profiles of both sides. It is an attractive scheme for sure, did my OOB 1/700 KGV in it. 3) Tim, thought you were having a stir!. Not that we've met, but based on past evidence your comments were out of character!. I wholeheartedly agree with your comments and observations. The main reason the Japanese opted for 1/700 is that their homes are even smaller than the Brit's!!. Seriously though, that is why I am buying the Airfix re-releases of their 1/600 line, even the Liner's! (because I missed them first time around, when I only built pl***s and have since seen the light.), that and the forlorn hope that Airfix might actually be convinced to tool something, though I think I have more chance of winning the UK pools, and I don't have a ticket. 1/600 would have to be my favourite overall scale as it is a logical scale and offers the best balance vis-a-vis detail/size of all. Small enough to accomodate, but big enough to detail almost as highly as a 1/350 kit. (By way of an unsolicited brag, sorry troll....have to keep up with the Aussies after all, eh Shane.. managed to score a third in the maritime class at a recent Auck IPMS competition with my Airfix/WEM Warspite..lost out to a couple of 1/350's...'nuff said!. It is also hard evidence that I actually managed to finish something!) TTFN Martin (shorty) Short we can't play cricket, but WE can sail. Hi Martin, Congrats on your third place, well done. We'll all be expecting to see pictures shortly ;->. BTW, you're just lucky we didn't field a good team for that little bauble ;-). Anyway, give your cricket team a chance, they may just come up with the goods ;-). Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Damian Pliszka Subject: New books from Poland Hi all, AJ Press (Poland) released new book. It's Encyklopedia Okretow Wojennych (Warships Encyclopedia) - previous known as Maritime Monograph No14 - U-Bootwaffe part 4. This book covers late war U-Boots ex. type XXI. Many photos (close-ups from shipyards), camouflage schemes, Polish text and plans of U-Boot type XXI in 1:100. If you are going to build this ship you MUST have these plans. They have most detailed hull line I ever seen (very important in submarines). There is noted that in next book there will be Tirpitz (2 parts) and fifth part about U-Boots. Regards Damian Pliszka Slupsk, Poland -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Cataldo Torelli Subject: CW 1/700 USS Helena Hi, I've just received my CW 1/700 US Helena (CL-50) from Pacificfront and I'm very glad with the kit and with Bill's service. ¡¡ Bravo chicos!! A few weeks ago I asked here for PE sets to detail her. It seems that the GMM destroyer/cruiser set will fit the bill (mainly cranes, catapults, etc.). Also I have got USN railings from Eduard and 20mm from GMM, but what about the searchlights tower/platform? Maybe Tomsmodelwork? Any extra advice ? Thanks in advance, Cataldo Torelli. Madrid, Spain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: OT: Scanning Graphics I know there are a number of people here who run websites where you put up scanned images of photos of your models. I'm running into a problem in this regard, and I'm hoping I might get some offlist feedback from you. I use an Amiga for which there are no drivers available to interface with the hoards of low budget scanners now on the market. As such, I've been forced to go to a friend to get scans made of artwork for my website. The problem is, his only experience has been in the professional printing business, and everything he's done so far is huge (we're talking megabite size graphics). That, and because most of the material are line drawings (hand drawn art, comics, etc), when he lowers the dpi, so much detail is lost that they're unusable. Add to this that most of the scans he's done for me tend to be very large (over 1000x1000 pixels), which my old Amiga can't even display properly. I know there's gotta be a way to scan images and convert them down so they would be suitable for use on a website. The problem is, lacking any experience in this area, I'm clueless. If there's anyone here who might be able to shed some light on this, please contact me offlist. Go Navy! _|_o_|_ Derek "Tiger" (/\)akefield /---(.](o)[.)---\ iscandar@chatter.com o oo O oo o http://www.iscandar-66.org Hi Derek, Ok scanning 101 ;-) I'll be as basic as I can & others can pop in with words of advice & wisdom. Also, check the SMML archives for more info ie: for when I was in your shoes ;-). Now, the higher the dpi, the bigger it'll be, in both size (MB) & on your screen, but it will still print out at the same size as the original(depending on what % size you used). Your friend is most probably not used to shrinking the images down, as this will generally mean a smaller image on a printed out copy. I use Photoshop 4, once I've scanned the picture in, I then reduce the size of the picture (NOT the dpi), so that it will fit to my satisfaction on the page. Sometimes by as much as 80%, but it can be as big or as small as you like. I normally scan photos at 150-300dpi & line drawings at 600dpi & then re-size them. Regards, Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume