Subject: SMML VOL 832 Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 00:19:00 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: quotes 2: Re: New books from Poland 3: Re: USS Helena 4: New Hasegawa 1/700 Heian Maru 5: HMS Tiger 6: Re: 30 seconds sites 7: R/C plastic model propulsion 8: Re: OT: Scanning Graphics 9: 1941 Lexington 10: Re: scanning 11: L/M Class destroyers 12: Re: Scanning Graphic 13: Re: R/C Plastic Models 14: Dyslexia and the Lex 15: 1/96 FFG-7 query 16: Space Cruiser YAMATO Bandai NM model 80's Item #264796005 17: ISW 4-piper 18: Royal Navy Semaphore flags 19: Navy Policy (any)! 20: Scanning pictures 21: Ship camouflage website 22: MAS BOATS 23: Historic Marine Paints? 24: Pre-Dreadnought Picture in National Geographic 25: Rodney Camo Scheme 26: Motorised Vospers 27: Model Shipways Paints -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: BOOKS ARE FOR SALE 2: NEW ITEMS form Pacific Front Hobbies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Puckhead93@aol.com Subject: Re: quotes I was in my Nazi Germany class yesterday talking about trench warfare in WW1, and one quote that I have always admired come from General Patton. "Let the other guy die for his country," well I hope anyway that somebody gets a kick out of it! Josh Mayne Davenport, Ia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Jon Parshall Subject: Re: New books from Poland Damian, is it still possible to get the old AJ Press book on Shokaku? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Joe Costanzo Subject: Re: USS Helena Yes, Tom's Modelworks has a set for US Light cruisers that includes this searchlight platform. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Fernando, Yohan" Subject: New Hasegawa 1/700 Heian Maru Just saw a new Hasegawa 1/700 release on HobbyLink Japan of the IJN Heian Maru. Anyone have more information on this ship? All I can see from the small box art scan is that it is an auxiliery with an interesting paint scheme, and I think I can see a sub lying along side. So a sub tender is my guess. Now I like auxilieries and I like IJN ships, but why do these companies focus on releasing every little, obscure IJN ship while ignoring tons of other major combattants from other navies? I would imagine that modelers in Japan would be just as interested in other countries' ships as much as modelers in the rest of the world are interested in IJN ships. But maybe I am wrong? Of course, I will still get all these IJN obscurities but other releases would have been more exciting... Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: HMS Tiger Thanks to all the guys who offered me their help off list ! ! ! Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Shirley Sachsen Subject: Re: 30 seconds sites >> 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. << I'd heard that it was a fire in Oakland, and in one of the flyover scenes, I recognized the High St. offramp and the old gas tank that used to be there. But there were a lot of those tanks all over the place in those days. What is also a timewarp are the views of the North bay: Sausalito and North Berkeley without a lot of houses on the hills. It's hard to picture it as being the same bay area. 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. yes, the current Hornet is berthed at Pier 3 at NAS in Alameda (now Alameda Point). for more info, check out our website: uss-hornet.org s -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Loren Perry Subject: R/C plastic model propulsion The method for propelling small scale plastic models involves partially desassembling one or more servos (one per shaft), and connecting the servo's elecric motor to the propeller shaft. No wiring in the servo need be disconnected or cut, unless you want to extend the motor leads for more convenient positioning. Next, the servo's potentiometer is centered and locked in place - this must be done with the R/C transmitter and receiver activated so you'll be able to find exact dead center (the spot where the electric motor comes to a complete stop.) Now, by moving the transmitter's stick forward and backward, the motor will respond in kind, with full speed control in forwarfd and reverse. The R/C battery pack is now your propulsion battery in addition to powering the radio system. No need for separate batteries. Substituting larger battery cells (C or D) greatly increases running time. The 1/350 Yamato hull has plenty of draft and will support a lot of weight using this system. You'll actually have excess buoyancy available for added R/C effects like motorized turrets, etc. Have fun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Al Superczynski Subject: Re: OT: Scanning Graphics Computer monitors can only display at 72 or 75 dpi so it's pointless to scan images for web viewing at any higher resolution - they won't look any better and the file size will be unnecessarily large. Another point to keep in mind is that most users have their screens set to 800X600 pixels nowadays. Images more than ~750 pixels wide require horizontal scrolling and again cause excessively large files. Finally, there are programs available that can optimize image file sizes for web viewing with no loss of visual quality. Try searching for "image optimizer" on either http://www.northernlight.com or http://www.google.com and you should be able to come up with a few options, including some free web-based applications. HTH, Al http://www.up-link.net/~modeleral -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Summers,David" Subject: 1941 Lexington Looking at the photo at the Navy history site of the Lexington in Oct 1941 (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/whatsnew.htm), what I see on the deck are Brewster Buffalos on the bow, dauntlesses midship, and a mix of dautlesses & devastators on the stern (dauntless wings don't fold). D Summers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Conan35@aol.com Subject: Re: scanning Derek: In regards to reduce scans in size, tell your friend to use photoshop and convert the image to a 72 dpi file, and the screen size you prefer. If he is doing graphics already, he probably is using photoshop. I do suggest to you, to eventually get a newer computer, possibly an IMAC, as they are cheap and easy to use, if you are going to be doing this for a long time. The photoshop manuals explain this also, as does a lot of web books, including "Creating Killer Websites", found at Amazon. Best Regards Rob Finley Web Site Mgr. Model Expo, Inc. http://www.modelexpoinc.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Tim Stoneman Subject: L/M Class destroyers I support Chris' view that the Matchbox KELLY (if you can find one) is a better bet to convert to an 'L' or 'M' class destroyer, having tried both alternatives myself. The Nat Richards article he mentions is a good start although it has a couple of flaws. Another useful, though hard-to-find, reference is Airfix Magazine of March 1981, which has a conversion article, based largely on the Airfix COSSACK but mentioning the KELLY as an option. Sadly Chris is mistaken about the Revell ARK ROYAL kit - unless there has been a new version. The ARK ROYAL III kit (the 1:720 scale one!) includes a scale Tribal class destroyer (reasonable, but needs quite a lot to detail/accurize it). To my mind, it should have had LEGION in view of her involvement in the rescue of ARK's ship's company! Tim Stoneman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: Scanning Graphic One of the problem you are having is scanning as a line drawing - that takes up too much memory - scan it as a B & W (or color) photo. If you look on my site you can see a line drawing of the USS MISSOURI - and it looks fine as a B & W photo - a line drawing would eat up all of the memory for my site. Also get yourself a good graphics program such as Image Maker or PhotoShop so that you can further reduce the size of the scan and change it to a JPEG will will also reduce the memory size. Hope this helps Michael Donegan http://members.aol.com/navydaze/INDEX.HTML -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Re: R/C Plastic Models Kelvin Mok writes: >> 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. << Hi Kelvin, Years ago I wrote an article for Scale Ship Modeler on this subject. If you contact me off the list I can give you greater details, but in a nutshell, here it is: 1. Remove the output wheel of the servo 2. Remove the screws holding the case together, and pull the top of the case off 3. Remove the gear train 4. Locate the motor output shaft, if it is covered by a plastic half housing, pare that off with a hobby knife, while not disturbing the motor attachment screws 5. Using two small hobby screwdrivers, pry the small gear off the end of the shaft 6. Use a small rubber band to hold remaining assembly together. Note the shaft of the output potentiometer (opposite the motor shaft on the front of the case) - you will use this to adjust the neutral setting of your servo-drive 7. I usually coat the case with a thin film of silicone to reduce water infiltration if your boat takes on a bit of water 8. Mount in the boat - an open ended box made of styrene works well for this. 9. Couple the shaft of the servo motor to your propellor shaft with small diameter rubber tubing. If you cannot locate anything suitable Robbe sells a motor coupling pack. 10. Plug your servo motor into your receiver, turn on transmitter and receiver, and adjust the stick on the transmitter to neutral position. Now adjust the feedback potentiometer on the servo motor until the motor stops running. It is ready to use at this point. Have fun! Kurt Greiner SeaPhoto "Be sure to read, understand and follow all the safety rules for the use of your power tools. And remember, the most important tip is to have really expensive equipment donated to you " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Ed Grune Subject: Dyslexia and the Lex John Pointed out that I'm dyslexic: >> The picture was taken in October 1941 and NOT October 1942. << My keyboard has a one key next to the two key. Does any one have one which is diferent? ;-> Ed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Adrian Koh" Subject: 1/96 FFG-7 query Hi Shane, Where can I get a good 1/96 SPS 49 Radar? What size lifeboats and liferafts are used by FFG-7 class frigates? Is there a book published on the FiG, and if so where can I get a copy? Adrian Koh Singapore Hi Adrian, Not sure on where to get 1/96 radars, I "think" GMM puts out a set. As for books, well I'm not aware of any books dealing with the FFG, but , the APMA magazine has put out a three part series by Lindsay Charman on the Aussie FFG's. Check out the APMA website for more info on the back issues, plus you'll also find my Shiplist of ship related articles as well. Regards, Shane APMA VP & Asst Editor http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/apma.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Mark McKellar Subject: Space Cruiser YAMATO Bandai NM model 80's Item #264796005 Just to let you Space Cruiser Y*M*T* guys know.... Ebay's got one listed.... And no it's not mine...nor do I know the seller or any human being at ebay.I do not own stock in Ebay, any internet provider, the local or long distance telephone companies or any computer manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers or suppliers. I do not work in the shipping, packing material, cardboard box industries or the US Postal service. I just felt I ought to add that - to avoid any questions of my motives and thus starting another unfortunate flame war. Mark -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: Ed Grune Subject: ISW 4-piper Hello SMMLies: Iron Shipwright's new Decatur 4-stack destroyer arrived in today's mail. They beat their release date of March 1st by a week. I thought I'd share my first impressions as I opened the box. The full hull is molded in an olive green resin. It came wrapped in bubble wrap. The casting stub is still attached. The lower hull has some very fine - translucent bilge keels. One is broken from the hull for about an inch. I think the bubble wrap broke it.Its still in place so it will be an easy repair - but they're still very fragile and may be a hazard while the pour stub is cleaned up. There are a few bubbles on the underside of the hull, the worst are in the prop shaft housings. But they should all clean up fairly easily. On to the topside -- the gun shields and mid-ships gunwales are also so thin they're translucent. There is one pin-sized bubble in one of the deck ventilators - again an easy fix. Congratulations Jon and Ted - the hull looks first rate. Now if I can keep from breakung those keels and gun sheilds. The topside fittings come in a zip-lock bag. They're a tan resin. I haven't figured which which parts break-down goes with what configuration yet. The deck-houses may be the roughest part of the kit. The early configuration bridge has a couple of pin head bubbles and the mid-ships deck has a twist warp. It may be difficult to straighten that with hot water and weight because of the cast details on the underside. Another of the mid-ship decks have a pin-head sized bubble in a ready storage locker. The after-decks look pretty good. One of the life-boats has a hole in the stern. The small parts have flash - but should clean up easily. The etched brass fret is nicely done. Along with the rails, it has various towers and mast yardarms. I would have liked to seen the wireless radio spreaders too. Moving to the instructions -- there are 4 hand drawn and hand lettered pages, plus a cover sheet and a copy of the brass for reference. The first sheet is a parts break-down for each of the three configurations. Thats good - I can inventory the parts and see whats there and what might be missing. The next three sheets are exploded drawings. They're vague on exact locations. There is a scrap view of the bridge and fore mast - saying that it is drawn to correct scale to build the fore mast - however there is no such drawing for the aft mast. ISW - you need to work on your instructions. Overall - it looks neat and will be interesting to do. I'll have to send off to Floating Drydock for some plans of the Reuben James and use them as the detail source. The hull I'd give an A. Its well done - with some minor faults which I can live with or fix. The topside fixtures probably draw a B to C. The deck houses with cast support ribs are very good design idea - but there are some casting bubble problems. The instructions draw a D. They have a parts inventory - but the instructions are not good at all. Overall, I'd grade the kit a B-. Be prepared to get good secondary reference for the kit. Ed Mansfield, TX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: GKingzett@aol.com Subject: Royal Navy Semaphore flags To SMMLer's. Can anyone tell me the color(s) of Royal Navy semaphore flags during WW l, May 1916? I hope I have the terminology correct, I'm referring to the hand held wig-wag signal flags used to spell out visual messages ship to ship. Thanx. Gary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Charles Wegman" Subject: Navy Policy (any)! Start with a cage containing five monkeys. In the cage, hang a banana on a string and put a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when any monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, replace a third original monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys which have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? Because that's the way it's always been around here. And that's how Navy policy begins.. Chas Wegman Yes Sir, You're sharp as a marble sir! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Denis & Marilyn Campbell Subject: Scanning pictures >> 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. << Derek, your friend is probably saving the files in some exotic file format for greatest definition - and if he is scanning at more than about 350dpi that's a waste too because the computer monitor (and printer) can't use that high definition. Save the pictures in JPEG format - this is a compressed file format and pretty universally used on the web and it results in a high enough definition and a small file size (if you post anything over about 100kb it takes too long to download and people will pass it by. 50-80kb is best). By the way, hold on to the amiga - it is probably a collectors item now! Denis Campbell Avon MA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: isublett@home.com Subject: Ship camouflage website In the midst of all the hoopla and hooray on SMML, somebody ought to take time out to thank Snyder, Short and Sheridan for putting this site together. For modellers of the U.S. Navy in WWII, it is already indespensible. So, three cheers and a tiger, gentlemen, and may your work be an example to the rest of us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: "John Rule" Subject: MAS BOATS >> 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? << In the book Navi e Marinai Italiani by Elio Ando and Erminio Bagnasco, the colour profiles depict the MAS as having green decks but this may be questionable, especially the bright green depicted. Grey would seem more plausible. The stripes are depicted as red and white which I believe was the standard used. Hope this helps a little. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: SJantscher@aol.com Subject: Historic Marine Paints? Hi All, Like most of us no doubt, I am curious about the "new" line of paints being offered by Model Expo. Has anybody used them? Is Model Shipways a company owned by one of the big paint manufactures? Owned by Model Expo? Are they available from anybody other than Model Expo? I don't mean any offense, but the bottom line, are these paints any good? Are they a reformulation of Floquil, Polly Scale, Aeromaster paints? Here's to hoping that these paints are the real deal! Steve Jantscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: RCClem@aol.com Subject: Pre-Dreadnought Picture in National Geographic For those of you that subscribe to National Geographic, take a look at the February 2000 issue. They have a feature on ancient Greece. In one of the later pages, they show a replica of an old rowed wooden warship that the Greeks used to defeat the Persians and, later, each other. However, in the background, I swear there is an old steel navy ship with three stacks and at least one turret of some sort. Any clues as to which ship this is? I bet this is the one that is a museum ship near Athens. But that's all I know. Roger Clemens Hindale, Illinois -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Rodney Camo Scheme I've been meaning to ask this for quite some time, but it keeps slipping my mind. Can one of the RN experts here tell me the name or specification of the camoflauge scheme HMS Rodney was wearing in the photo printed on the back of the dust cover of Janes Fighting Ships of WWII? It appears to be a form of razzle dazzle designed to make the ship blend in with the horizon (as it has a cloud like appearance). I've had a facination/curiosity about that scheme ever since I got the book as it's so different from the typical USN three color gray schemes. I swear, it makes the ship look like a painting (very appealing to the eye). Almost makes me want to get a Tamiya 1:700 kit to see if I could model it. Go Navy! _|_o_|_ Derek "Tiger" (/\)akefield /---(.](o)[.)---\ iscandar@chatter.com o oo O oo o http://www.iscandar-66.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: "Rob Lockie" Subject: Motorised Vospers There was an article on motorising the Airfix Vosper in Airfix magazine in September 1972. It was only a single shaft installation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: "James Morley" Subject: Model Shipways Paints I've just made my first use of Model Shipways new paints (from ModelExpo), with some peculiar results. The paints themselves are very thick indeed - they look and smell like household emulsion (!), so obviously to use them, you'll need to thin them down. This is where my problem started. The label recommends thinning with water, but when you use enough water to airbrush the mixture (alot), the result is a very wet thin mess on the plastic. I think that if you are going to thin that much, you need to use a carrier that will properly dissolve the paint rather than just suspend it. With this in mind, I tried another trusty favourite..... cellulose thinners. Don't try that at home - trust me, just don't!!!!! Last (and partially successful) was Tamiya Acrylic Thinners (X-20A). The thin wet mess was still a thin wet mess, but it didn't run, and dried mercifully quickly so that I could recoat (again and again) in the same session. In the end, to build up an even finish I had to recoat more times than I would've liked, and this is starting to hide finer detail. There has got to be a better answer than this. There are a lot of people on this list with much more skill and experience with airbrushes and paint than me (I know, I've seen your work) - any ideas????? James Morley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: CokerRE@aol.com Subject: BOOKS ARE FOR SALE THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE FOR SALE Beigel, Battleship Country, The Battle Fleet at SanPedro--Long Beach 1919-40 $15 Cohen, East Wind Rain, A Pictoral History of the Pearl Harbor Attack $12. Enemy on Island, Issue in Doubt, the Capture of Wake Island Dec. 1941 $12 Ewing, USS Enterprise (CV-6) $12.00 The Lady Lex and the Blue Ghost, USS Lexington CV-2 and CV-16 $15. Harding, Gray Ghost, the RMS Queen Mary at War $12.00 Johnson, US PT-Boats of World War II, 1983 $25 Smith, Mountaineer Battlewagon, USS West Virginia (BB-48) $15.00 Lynch, Canada's Flowers, History of the Corvettes of Canada 1939-45 $15 Walkowiak, Fleet Submarines of World War II (Warship Data Series) $15. Historic Ship Exhibits in the United States, Navy Dept. 1969 $8 Please reply off list to PC Coker at cokerre@aol.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Bill Gruner Subject: NEW ITEMS form Pacific Front Hobbies We have received the following: NEW Book: by Pictorial Histories-"USS Los Angeles CA-135 - Cold War Sentinel", by Harvey Beigel. Softbound, 60 pp....$9.50 Just Arrived: Loose Cannon Productions 1/700 Haskell class Attack Transport, USS Montrose, resin....$49.00 Re-Stock: Samek Models Resin Kits USS Alaska 1/700..NEW LOWER Price...$69.00 Samek Models USS Guam 1/700 ....NEW LOWER PRICE....$69.00 Samek Models German River Monitor Bechelaren....$12.50 New Book..."Shades Of Blue - US Naval Air Power Since 1941". by Martin Bowman, Motorbooks. Hardbound, 140 pp....many nice pictures, including many great ones in color of USN carrier aircraft & ops, including WW2...NICE!....29.00 Coming Soon...Pitroad Brass Etched Flight Decks for 1/700 Shoho & Zuiho...these will be $36.00 each. Hasegawa 1/700 IJN WW2 Auxiliary Cargo Ship HEIAN MARU...(due 2 weeks)....$15.00 Samek Models 1/700 Resin French Battlecruiser DUNKERQUE and German Battleship TIRPITZ....due 2 weeks....$72.00 each. Thank you, Bill Gruner http://www.pacificfront.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume