Subject: SMML VOL 938 Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 00:19:23 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: What are you building 2: Heller paints 3: Re: What I'm Building 4: 1/700 French Battlecruisers 5: Re: Whatcha' buildin' 6: Tom's Arizona Kit 7: Re: Spanish Light cruisers and Fletcher DDs 8: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser 9: Friedman books 10: Re: Tamiya 1/350 Fletcher 11: White Glue 12: Re: IPMS/USA Nationals 13: Spanish Cruisers 14: Australian Blue Grey 15: J K & N class 16: Thanks 17: Leander Class Frigates 18: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser 19: Re: Scale Model Warships Book 20: Canadian Frigates 21: Getting Colors Right 22: Currently building... 23: Heller paints 24: For American members 25: Whatcha buildin? 26: BB 59 Big Mamie's fwd 40mm 27: HMS Sirus 28: Re: HMS Sirius 29: Re: What I'm Building 30: 1/700 CPF's & Oberon's 31: New Book "Scale Model Warships" 32: Book on Tacoma Class PF 33: Enterprise Carrier Aircraft 34: Friedman Books 35: Whatcha Building 36: Re: Italian ships on film 37: Re: Whatcha building? 38: What I'm building 39: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser 40: Re: Ship Model Reference Material 41: Re: CDN CPF -HMCS Halifax 330 42: Desperate Cry for help - Pullleeeze 43: Re: IPMS/US Nats 44: Friedman books 45: Re: Current Ops 46: Re: White Glue 47: Re: What Are You Building? 48: Re: Various 49: Re: Whatcha Buildin'? 50: Toms and White Ensign KGV sets 51: Whatcha' building 52: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser 53: What I am building -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: NEW BOOKS FROM POLAND (WW2 CAMOUFLAGE!) 2: Re: CDN city class frigates 3: Pibber photos 4: NEW ARRIVALS 5: Classic Warships New Kits 6: Status report on GMM's PE for ICM's Konig 7: NRG Website Update -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Denis L Johnson Subject: Re: What are you building I am building my first serious ship model - a Canadian corvette, HMCS Agassiz in early 1941 just after her commissioning. Scale 1:144. I started with a kit, but it was so bad (it was cheap) that I have ended up scratch- building almost the whole model. What a pain in the butt! If I had realized how much work it was going to be I probably never have started. I have done 56 depth charges, 2 winches, dozens of hatches,ladders,boats, rafts, platforms, davits....well, look at a picture of the deck of a real ship. At the moment I am trying to make a reasonable-looking block& falls setup for the boats. Well, back to work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "larsenal" Subject: Heller paints Hello all! Heller paints, vast subject, they changed so many times their numbers that it is very easy to get lost (better system than Enigma... ) 11= silver, 27= matt sea grey, 33= matt white, 34= matt black, 56= aluminium, 64= matt light grey, 71= satin oak, 73= matt wine, 98= matt chocolate, 99 matt yellow. I would interpret 98 as dark red. Best regards Jacques Druel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: John Philip Downing Subject: Re: What I'm Building A 1/200 Bismarck. This is an old multi-media kit from Germany. Just finished trimming the vacuform hull. Now to install the bulkheads and deck. I'm thinking of scratchbuilding an Invincible (1921) class battlecruiser. Does anyone know where to get plans that are better than those in books? Plans that show the hull shape would be nice. Thanks, John Philip... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: John Philip Downing Subject: 1/700 French Battlecruisers I notice that there are now two kits of these in 1/700, by WSW and Samek, both good companies. Has anyone compared the two, what are the differences, and is there any reason to choose one over the other? John Philip... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "David Miller" Subject: Re: Whatcha' buildin' I've just started on the Loose Cannon 1/700 "Eastwind" in WWII config. It is great little kit that should be available to all soon. I also drug out my Lindberg LSD which I first put glue to 30 years ago and have been hauling it around ever since. It is an interesting subject and certaining one of Lindberg's better models. This is one they should definitely re-issue! After these I hope to finish off two Matchbox Ariadne 1/700 minelayers. One will be out of the box and the other will be with WEM weapons and PE (as soon as I get the nerve to send Carolilne my credit card number again!). IPMS Nats I'll be there and I've got a table next to Loose Cannon so that I sell off all of my 1/48 winged kits which no longer are the love of my life. Dave Miller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: " " Subject: Tom's Arizona Kit >> Having a great time - I about 75% throught Toms Modelworks USS Arizona - early 1940 - phenominal kit - This is the special "limited edition " version that has another fret of fiddly bits to make your eyes bleed - but man! when they all come together it is truly a sight - Also finishing up a 1/72 DC-3 for a customer... << Ahhhh, someone with my next project underway. I actually started sanding the hull this past Memorial Day Weekend - the first work that I've done on the kit. You're right, it is an intimidating box of parts, but I'm really looking forward to finishing the O'Bannon and diving into the Arizona. If you've got any pictures, I would appreciate you sending me scans or any problems you've experienced thus far. Thanks Todd Henry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Les Pickstock Subject: Re: Spanish Light cruisers and Fletcher DDs Once more Airfix magazine comes to the rescue. I have an article about converting Airfix's AJAX to Spanish light cruisers. Contact me off-list and I'll be happy to post you a copy. The Gold Medal Models P/E set for the FLETCHERis super and also has plenty of spare bits for cock-ups and to outfox the carpet monster. You can also use the thin brass sheet from the fret to model 40mm and 20 mm gun tubs if you want to upgrade to her 1943 appearance. My only quibble with the kit itself was that the main deck turrets don't have the extra facet of the originals. But at 350 times smaller than life this may be splitting hairs. Les Pickstock. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser You have a good eye. ALMIRANTE CERVERA was designed under the direction of Sir Philip Watts, K.C.B., Director of Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd. for the Spanish government, and was, for all intents and purposes, a modification of the RN E-class but with certain gun positions and beam guns omitted. Source: Jane's Fighting Ships, 1941. John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys http://www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Friedman books I have been slowly increasing my library for about a year and bought the Friedman Cruiser book. I highly recommend it. It is comprehensive and covers all aspects of every class of cruiser ever built. It also has many very useful drawings. It was well worth the $32.00 plus S&H I paid for it. I would happily like to have his battleship and destroyer books or any of his other books. Anyone selling them for a reasonable price? I'm your buyer! Contact me off list. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Tamiya 1/350 Fletcher I just finished mine using my Flagship Models details set and looks pretty neat. I am somewhat biased of course. I have posted some close-up photos of the model as well close-ups of the photo etch on my web site if you wish to see the model with the parts on it. Just go to the URL below and scroll down to the Early War Fletcher destroyer set and click on the Gallery button. As to how good it is compared to other sets on the market, I'll leave that to others to decide. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Jim Johnson" Subject: White Glue White glue is a generic name for the water soluble glue that is white before it dries. Elmer's Glue All is the most common brand but there are numerous brands and deviations. It is generally used on porous material such as wood and paper. It will not "melt" plastic or resin and since these are not porous it will not bond strongly to these materials. Airplane modelers use it on clear parts because it will not craze or frost the clear plastic. The clear window makers such as Micro-Clear are a form of white glue. White glue works very well as a seam filler on certain types of joints. Perpendicular joints, such as where a deck and bulkhead intersect are a natural for white glue. A small bead laid along the seam will fill the gap very nicely. Too much will cause a radius to form between the surfaces. White glue can be smoothed with a wet finger, cotton swab, tooth pick or any number of small tools. Once it is dry, it can not be sanded with much success. Due to it's weak bond, sanding will most likely pull it out of the seam. The glue will shrink as it dries. For this reason, and the fact that it is hard to sand, what a welder would call a horizontal flat seam would be harder to do, but is within the realm of possibility. Several coats might have to be applied. It would probably not completely hide the seam but might be desirable as opposed to having to fill with putty and sanding off all the fine detail around the seam. The multi-part decks in Tamiya kits are one such example. If the two sides are level with each other, a bead of white glue might be better that sanding off the wood planking detail at the joint. The glue I use is Testors Clear Parts Cement. The glue is no better or worse than any other I have used, but the applicator is very handy. It has a long nozzle with a small opening allowing precise application of the glue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Ross Bruce-QBR000 Subject: Re: IPMS/USA Nationals Marc wrote: >> I'm hoping a bunch of us can get together for a lunch or something as was done last year in Orlando. I guess I'll start the list (in alphabetical order): Marc Flake Ed Grune Mike Quan Bruce Ross (Unless you're just sending your model in and not attending, lmk) << Marc you can count me in, just need to know when and where. I notified the social director(my wife) months ago not to even consider scheduling me for any husband/father duties during the nationals. As far as that wingy thing entry....I'll just have to suffer the embarrassment and bring it myself. Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Spanish Cruisers Hi Steve The Almirante Cervera was indeed based on the E class. There was an excellent website dedicated to their warships during the Civil War but I don't have the address. Whitley's Cruisers of World War Two also includes details of all the Spanish cruiser classes. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Australian Blue Grey Hi WRPRESS The Australian Navy had a ready stock of MS1, MS3, B5 and 507A available and would have used these. They later bothered with research and concluded that dark schemes were better at average concealment for Australian conditions which was what they'd been doing anyway. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: J K & N class Hi All I looking for a high quality set of plans for the J, K or N classes as built. Can anyone help? Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Thanks I'm posting my sincere thanks to Erik Erhardtsen and Mackenzie Gregory both of whom offered to help with my queries in an extremely generous manner. Many thanks to you both Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Leslie Brown" Subject: Leander Class Frigates A good source of data is 'Modern Combat Ships 1 - Leander Class' by Cdr C J Meyer OBE, RN, published by Ian Allen Ltd. There was also a good article in the June 1999 issue of Internet Modeller based on the White Ensign 1:350 kit. Les Brown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Jana & Pavel" Subject: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser Dear Steve, The Almiranta Cervera was indeed based on the British "E" class cruisers. The main design was by Sir Phillip Watts. The ships (Galicia ex Libertad, ex Principe Alfonso as well as Miguel de Cervante, Almiranta Cervera) were built in the El Ferrol shipyards. The main armament was the 6" / 50 Vickers - Carraca BL gun in three twin and two single mountings with a 35* elevation. A good reference would be " Cruisers of WW2, an International Encyclopedia" by M.J. Whitley. This gives the details of the class, including service, modifications and line drawings. Best of luck in your building. Regards Pavel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Jana & Pavel" Subject: Re: Scale Model Warships Book Dear Art, I have a copy of this publication, a soft bound book of 115 pages. This is a mostly "How To" book. The book deals mainly with the Radio Control World. It gives suppliers ete, and covers a lot of "basics" with the text telling you how to choose a subject, getting plans, picking a scale ete. The 3 (three) plans are too small to be of any good. However if you are in to British Type 22 and 23 Frigates there are a lot of detailed photographs. I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for more plans and a bit more on some small scale techniques. Regards Pavel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Jana & Pavel" Subject: Canadian Frigates Dear "Rolie in Halifax" I am VERY INTERESTED in your 1/700 Halifax Class Frigates. Any plans or other information would be welcome. PLEASE contact me off list if you wish to part with said info. Thank you in advance. Regards Pavel Regina, SK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "BearKat_Ind" Subject: Getting Colors Right Dear Shane: I am engineer and consider myself an amateur model builder. One of the things I have noticed in reading SMML is that like others, we share one common thought, get the colors right. In building the Scharnhorst, Heller 1:400 and using the photo-etch kit, have found that the traditional thoughts that the Scharnhorst is painted in traditional US thinking of battleship gray maybe in error. I say this based upon color photo's of the ship and other's within the Scharnhorst and Bismark class as they appear almost silver in color. To assist the membership and mailing list, am providing you with the following website, as a very detailed description of the vessals being built during actual construction and sea trial photos are available at the following: http://www.warships1.com/ The eye witness to the sinking of the Scharnhorst described her as being silver in color which is as the ship left port, in the color print. Now is it silver or a silver gray? Your thoughts? Jack Scharnhorst. P.E. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: David Bass Subject: Currently building... Greetings from a new subscriber... I'm currently finishing a Skywave Miura JMSDF landing ship. Up next will be either a JMSDF Shirane destroyer or a Sealsmodels JMSDF Shirase icebreaker. David -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "Mike" Subject: Heller paints >> The mystery could be unlocked if I had the key to this cryptic formula: PEINTURE HELLER: 11 - 27 - 33 - 34 - 56 - 64 - 71 - 73 - 98 - 99 << < > I would venture that the numbers you have in the kit's instructions might refer to paints in the Humbrol range. I have checked that they all seem plausible for a capouflaged Kriegsmarine destroyer. I have a Heller kit of a Z-31 in 1942 (kit nr 81010) that has painting instructions for Z-31 in Norway, using paints numbers 27, 64, 71, 73, 98 which are Humbrol's Matt Sea Grey, Matt Light Grey, Satin Oak, Matt Wine, Matt Chocolate respectively. Entirely plausible, I'd say. << The paints are Humbrol ones. Check the SMML site for a conversion table from Humbrol to 7 other paints (with luck, you will find the ones you want) Mike SMML Webmaster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: For American members I have just subscribed [$33.00] to the Navy League of the United States for one year. They need our help to increase our Navy's size. They claim that today's Navy is the smallest since 1917, the year before we entered WWI, yet the present administration has committed the Navy to 77 different deployments around the world. This is double the Regan administration [40] and almost three times the Bush admistration [27]. Our Navy is stretched way too thin and its ships and aircraft are way too old to maintain this. The Navy League is a civilian group to try to influence congress to be aware of these facts. They need funds to do this. For your $33.00 investment you get: 1. "Sea Power Magazine" - pictures and info on current Navy events on a monthly basis. 2. "Almanac of Seapower", published annually. 3. Four quarterly issues of "The Navy Leaguer" covering the activities of the Navy League. 4. Navy League lapel pin 5. A no-fee Affinity Platinum Master Card and assorted discounts on eye care, LD telephone service, hotels,travel,and rental cars, 6. Assorted insurance programs 7. Invitations to Navy League forums and expositions. 8. website www.navy league.org All of this includes info on the USMC. If you are interested send your check to: "NLUS" at: Astronaut James Lovell c/o Navy League of the U.S. PO Box 97065 Washington, D.C. 20090-2105 Regards, John - Seattle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: SAMI ARIM Subject: Whatcha buildin? Hi All, last night I sprayed the dullcoat to my Tamiya Hood, May of 1941 of course. I thought it would never finish. She is on her way to Sacramento Silverwings contest tomorrow. I detailed it with the WEM brass fittings. It was definitely a challenge, but what a difference. After taking couple of months off, next in line is the B-Resina Belfast in her famous camo-scheme. Regards Sami Arim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: Keith T Bender Subject: BB 59 Big Mamie's fwd 40mm The starboard side was pretty much a standard mount. the port side was built in the space that was to be ocupied by a sheet anchor. This anchor was removed before the ship was commissioned. She first had a 20mm mount in that space then in 1944 she was given the 40mm there. The port side was a foot taller then the stbd. and placed about 18" more aft then the stbd. side. There are a few photos of the bow but it is difficult to see the details of the mounts. I have her cruise book and it has a good overhead shot and you can see the port side is place aft a little. The reason for this I do not know. Keith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: "katzcom" Subject: HMS Sirus http://www.ships.co.uk/royalnavy/classes/frigates/leander.htm try this one -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: CBNJBB62@aol.com Subject: Re: HMS Sirius Hi Guys Concerning the HMS Sirius there is a book called Modern Combat Ships - 1'Leander Class' produced by Ian Allen of London UK ,1984 that gives excellent detail on the RN 's Leander class frigates. Ifs out of production then try the public library. I hope this is of use to you. Craig Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: "RON" Subject: Re: What I'm Building Everything is on hold-I'm still transfixed by all the sprues of parts in that big box containing ICM's Koenig and thinking - "I am not worthy, I am not worthy." Ron Schmitt Puyallup WA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30) From: "Velzora & Bill Daisley" Subject: 1/700 CPF's & Oberon's >> HMCS Halifax's number is 330 NOT 380.I work on her and her six East coast based sisters five days a week. The least the US makers of the 350 resin kit could do is get her number right. If anybody needs info on the Canadian Patrol Frigate ships for modeling, let me know, all I have to do is walk over to one. I also build them in 1:700 scale. They are great ships. rolie in Halifax,NS << HI... are the 1/700 CPF's scratch or based on kits ? And have you spotted any 1/700 Oberon subs lately? I was sure I talked to a chap in Dartmouth who was going to do a run of resin based on one he was displaying in New Brunswick a few years back...just cannot remember his name. Cheers Bill TGH BAD Productions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31) From: Kurt Van Dahm Subject: New Book "Scale Model Warships" I bought this book as soon as it came out. Here is a review I wrote for my r/c club newsletter. SCALE MODEL WARSHIPS, by Tim Morgan, 1999, Traplet Publications Ltd, UK 116 pages including appendix's, soft cover, 131 b/w photos, 7 drawings. $22.00. I saw this book advertised in the January 2000 issue of Marine Modeling Magazine from the UK and ordered it from Traplet's US office and eagerly awaited it's arrival which was promised for later that same week. Three weeks later I had it in hand and sat down to read it. This newly released book looked very promising by its cover…then I opened it. To say I am disappointed in the book is putting it very mildly. This is not a book on how to model warships though there is modeling content throughout. The author appears to be very knowledgeable concerning British warships and their armament. However, every chapter, regardless of it's title falls back to descriptions of full size craft rather than modeling techniques or areas that thechapter title suggests is being covered. The book is divided into Part 1 - The Ships, consisting of three chapters on historical background, today's Royal Navy and choosing your subject; Part 2 - The Methods, consisting of 11 chapters covering plans, working in plastic, superstructures, painting, etc.; and Part 3 - The Models with a chapter each on HMS Campbeltown and HMS Marlborough. This book is very disorganized in its layout and content. An example is that in Part 1 - The Ships, there are 40 photographs of which only 11 are photos of ships, while 29 are of models. In Part 2 - The Methods, there are 41 photos of models and 37 photos of ships. And finally in Part 3 - The Models there are 8 photographs of ships and only 5 photos of models. The photographs are all very clear, well detailed and are printed well. The photos of prototype ships do make excellent reference materials. However, most of the photographs do not illustrate what is being read on the page and most modeling techniques discussed are not illustrated. All the modeling techniques that are discussed are given inadequate description and only minor illustration in any form. An example of how little detail is given to actual modeling techniques is apparent in the section on Working with Brass. There are numerous photographs of both model and prototype masts though none of the photos actually compare a model mast and a prototype mast of the same vessel to show how the model compares to the real thing. The section on soldering, which in my opinion is a very important skill to master, tells a bit about preparation, cleaning, etc. but when it gets down to the actual "apply heat and…" the text completely falls apart. The vital subject of soldering is covered in eight paragraphs! And, while showing numerous examples of intricate soldering of many pieces of brass to make a mast, no mention of using heat sinks to avoid unsoldering previous work is made until eight paragraphs later in the final paragraph of the chapter under "More advanced work". Using different temperature solders is not even mentioned. The subject of making silicone rubber molds to duplicate parts is covered in a mere six paragraphs without the benefit of a single photograph or drawing. However it is nice that the author cautions that it is not nice to copy commercially made parts this way. A chapter (#8) covers plastics with most of the information presented being about styrene plastics. Very little useful information is presented concerning the use of this most important material. While the author covers the various uses for sheet, strip, rod and tube styrene he goes into very little detail on how to actually use the various types of styrene. The need to internally brace most superstructures and decks made from sheet styrene is not mentioned. Making rounded corners on superstructures is given a mere mention and the need to fill in seams at corners, etc. is never mentioned let alone how to do it. I would estimate that the actual "how to" content concerning models contained in this book consists of less than 25% of the 116 pages. If you were looking for a good source of clear photographs of Royal Navy vessels suitable to use for detailing your model, this book would be of interest to you. However, if you want to know how to do any sort of modeling of these ships you will be better off spending your money elsewhere. *** The photos in the book are great..but that's it. Kurt Van Dahm Westmont, IL NRG member -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Book on Tacoma Class PF The author of a softbound book, 104-pages and illustrated in color and black-and-white, is Ken Haney. "The USS New Bedford (PF-71)" is mainly about that vessel but also discusses the PF program in general and other ships of the type. Anybody interested may want to contact him about availability: ken.haney@worldnet.att.net I believe it sells for about US$20. Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33) From: BEN8800@aol.com Subject: Enterprise Carrier Aircraft For my WW1 friends this is an OT request, but you guys are also well informed. My question - I am not that well informed about modern day aircraft painting schemes. I have all the Tamiya plastic aircraft with color schemes noted. Most of the aircraft are painted a light gray on top of the aircraft and a darker gray on the bottom. However, a couple of the aircraft like the Hawkeye and Phantom are the opposite with light gray on the bottom and dark on top. I need an explanation of the difference. Is it because of the aircrafts function? Or what. Why sometimes light gray atop and others on the bottom. Appreciate any help. Ben Lankford Vienna, VA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Friedman Books John Impenna wrote - >> I was considering the Norman Freidman books on US BB's, Cruisers, Destroyers etc...These are still in print and I was wondering how good they are. << They are expensive, of course, but I've found the destroyer and cruiser books to be indispensible moideling references. The battleship book, on the other hand, didn't look like a good value to me, as it had far fewer photos and line drawings. The carrier title is so-so. I can't comment on the two submarine books, not having seen them. My 2 cents... Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35) From: Lisa and Bill Wiseman Subject: Whatcha Building Well let's see. On the bench currently, we have the following: 1/350 Tamiya USS Enterprise CVN-65 -About 1/2 finished. I'm scratchbuilding hangar deck sections for the openings in the hull. 1/350 US WWII PC sub hunter. Ready for Railings and rigging. 1/540 (?) USS Lexington AVT-16 . Conversion/correction from the rather bad Revell kit. Hull is done Sponsons and elevators are done just need to correct superstructure and flight deck. Then paint and detail work. 1/200 USS Olympia (another rather bad Revell kit) mostly still on sprue. Fold in to the mix a couple of Tanks (gasp!!) and a pair of Sci- Fi scratch builds (double gasp!!) All in all, a rather full plate. Cheers Doc Wiseman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36) From: "Fred Liedel" Subject: Re: Italian ships on film shane 22.30 to be correct forgot the p.m didn't i. as many people is australia wish to forget our P.M. FRED -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37) From: Donald P Morgan Subject: Re: Whatcha building? My latest efforts include two scratch-building projects.....both of which are Japanese aircraft carriers from WW2...... The first is KAGA, the second is HOSHO. Both models are in wood at 1/1200 scale. KAGA is finished except for mounting the dual 5" mounts. HOSHO is about 30 % complete. The hull is nearly complete, and the flight deck has been made but not yet attached to the hull. Since this little ship has a zillion small struts supporting the ends of the flight deck, i will be making great use of my Dremel tool for drilling all the small holes needed to mount those little struts which will be made from bits of brass rod in .025 inch diameter. The big problem here, will be cutting all the upper ends to the same elevation, but that's where a good finger nail clipper and a very fine file will come into play. More fun in research will follow, in trying to learn which shipyards built each ship. I have a friend here in San Antonio, who did a bit of research and he tells me that the Japanese never had a color standard such as Federal Standard 95 (unsure of the number). Apparently, each of the Japanese Navy''s shipyards had its own source for paint. The "dark grey" which the Japanese navy specified, apparently came in a number of shades. Anyway, the painting of KAGA must wait until those A.A. mounts are installed and primed. As my wife says, "I always know where he is." Don Morgan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38) From: Nick Wellington Subject: What I'm building I like these threads, I can see that I'm not the only one attempting to build multiple projects at once ;-) Here's what I'm doing now, and just to warn everybody, I'm doing two aircraft as well (gasp!). Don't worry though, they're naval aircraft! Here they are, in listing of priority: 1. Tamiya 1/48 A1-H Skyraider, I am finished everything except the weapons and want to get it out of the way so I can focus on #2 2. Classic Warships 1/350 Alaska, I've finished the sub-assemblies of the forward superstructure, 12"+5" guns and smokestack. I'm doing the kit waterline in a diorama type base, oh and the ship will be 1945, so Ms. 22. 3. Dragon 1/350 USS Ingersoll and Bunker Hill, I've just started and still need to order the GMM modern PE. I'm contemplating getting the Tamiya 1/350 Big E and have the three in a diorama. 4. Accurate Miniatures 1/48 TBM Avenger. It's finished except for the stencil decals, but on the backburner for now because I'm lazy :-) 5. Conversion of 1/700 Dragon USS Oakland in to USS Juneau (1950's) with the 3"/50RF guns. Future projects: 1. Classic Warships 1/350 USS Helena. Steve said this kit will be of the same quality of his Alaska. If so.... wow! 2. Classic Warships 1/350 Salem. The Des Moines CAs are my second favourite ship, after the Alaska class. I can't wait till I save up enough $ to buy this kit. 3. BWN 1/350 Massachuesetts. That is if I can ever afford it... Hmm, I guess that's about it! I decided not to mention all the unstarted models I have in by my workbench, that would triple the size of the list! Nick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser According to Conways 1922-1946, the Almirante Cervera and her sisters, Miguel De Cervantes adn Principe Alfonso, were designed by British naval architest Sir Phillip Law and based on the British "E" class light cruisers. The only difference was in the grouping of the boilers, which resulted in two funnels instead of three oddly spaced ones, and in the provision on one more 6-inch gun. Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Ship Model Reference Material John: I have found the Freidman books valuable in several models I have made, especially a couple of conversions. Well worth the expenditure. Here are some other titles I have found consistently useful for my purposes: The Conway series The Classic Warship series Schiffer's The German Navy at War Vol. 1 The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41) From: "Bill & Joanne Burns" Subject: Re: CDN CPF -HMCS Halifax 330 >> Patrol Frigate ships for modeling, let me know, all I have to do is walk over to one. I also build them in 1:700 scale. They are great ships. rolie in Halifax,NS << Did you say Canadian Frigates in 1/700!! Can you please tell me more. Who makes them? TIA Wm. (Bill) Burns London, Ont. ICQ # 9682543 http://www.ionline.net/~wburns If necessity is the mother of invention, then war must be the mother of necessity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42) From: "MJW" Subject: Desperate Cry for help - Pullleeeze After many weeks and no answer I cry for help from my fellow ship modelers - I asked in SMML VOL 898 (Entry number 11) for help on the colors of the corvette VANCOUVER (K240). She served in the Aleutians campaign, and that confused me about what colours she wore (i.e. American or Royal Navy colours??). Just as a time saver, here are the links to the pics again. I am particularly confused by item "D" (FOUR hull colours????) as well as items "M and "N" (is item "N" wooden decking?) http://www.mikedunn.freeserve.co.uk/smml/Pics/k240overhead.gif http://www.mikedunn.freeserve.co.uk/smml/Pics/k240docked.gif http://www.mikedunn.freeserve.co.uk/smml/Pics/k240underway.gif Mr Dean, Mr Raven, Mr Snyder, Mr Sheridan, Mr Van Dahm, Mr Ross and team SMML et al - I am sure someone among you folks have the answer! Humble begging and groveling now begins...... regards Malcolm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43) From: Allan and Crystal Plumb Subject: Re: IPMS/US Nats >> On behalf of Ed Grune, Mike Quan and other SMMLies in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I'd like to extend a warm Texas invitation for fellow listmemebers to attend this event. All three of us might even be decked out in the new SMML T-shirts. I'm hoping a bunch of us can get together for a lunch or something as was done last year in Orlando. << Plus Allan Plumb (and spousal unit). We've started a tradition of wandering up for the IPMS/NTX show, might as well continue with the Big One. So what do the SMML shirts look like? Saw the "for sale" sign, but never saw a picture. If not that, maybe the SMML propellor beanie. And since I'm here, what I'm working on: -- 1/48 Tamiya Wildcat, converting to FM-2 of VC-88 on USS Hoggatt Bay (ob. naval reference) -- 1/48 Tamiya Meteor Mk1 Hey, the Heller Z31 is at least near the active working area! Allan Plumb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44) From: isublett@home.com Subject: Friedman books For anyone interested in U.S.naval ships the Friedman books are indispensable. They have two faults: the awful typos and proofing typical of the Naval Institute Press, and they need a second volume - all of them! The material is so good that one always wants more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Re: Current Ops >> Modelkrak Russian battleship PEREVETS in 1/700 resin. Applied base coat to hull and deck. Fit stacks. << I am both interested in the early subject Perevets and in your experience with a Modelkrak kit. I expect that I will purchase a few of their kits (since they have many of the subjects I am interested in building) in the coming year. Would appreciate a short review of your experience with the Modelkrak Perevets. Also . . . what is your color scheme for the Perevets? If anyone has experience with similar Kombrig kits, that would be nice too! Regards, RhinoBones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Re: White Glue >> OK I hear about using white glue on the seams and other parts of model ships. Is this a general type of glue or are there different brands of this stuff? I am looking for clarification on the subject. << I’ve been using Elmer’s Craft Bond “Tackey Glue”. It holds things down and dries to a very durable bond. Most of my applications have been for mounting PE . . . sometimes as the primary adhesive and sometimes just to spot a piece of PE before securing it using a strong crazy/super glue. Rubber cement works in a similar fashion to Elmer’s . . . but Elmer’s seems to accept paint better than the rubber cements. Regards, RhinoBones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Re: What Are You Building? I’ll be another who votes that this is a wonderful thread . . . a quarterly installment wouldn’t be too much. But then again, maybe spontaneous reactions, such as the current series of responses is preferred to a predictable quarterly questionnaire. My current project is a Glencoe USS Oregon. I made an error in starting the project before I had Tom’s custom PE set in hand. I built, and painted to the point where I thought the PE would need to be applied . . . and then, to my surprise, I learn from Tom’s PE instructions that some rather significant alterations are suggested. Also, a very extent modification to the superstructure is needed just to make the kit even reasonably accurate. I’m not a builder who is usually hung up on accuracy, but this kit really needed a shot of accuracy. I’ve spent the past month taking the kit apart so that I can rebuild it more accurately. Messed up all my paint !! The biggest modification has been the cutting out of a false deck from the superstructure. I’ve purchased a back issue of Fine Scale Model in order to get Bob Santo’s article on his build of the Oregon (as the Massachusetts ) and even though it helped a great degree in getting started . . . there are still big questions remaining and I still need to research the details. I have taken a few pictures of the build (so far just the cutting on the superstructure) and intend to share them with anyone interested. I’ve seen on this page that another person or two are building a Glencoe Oregon . . . maybe we can collaborate on the build. Send. Talk. For the next project, I ordered the kind of a kit which does not get much press or visibility in the modeling forums . . . I ordered a 1:200 Paper Card kit of the Russian (1900’s) battleship Andriej Pierwozanny. Never built a paper kit before, not too sure what too expect, but I do know that the ship is from the era that I adore and that the paper kit makers have a good number of kits available that I don’t see in plastic or resin. Most of the these kits come in 200. 250 or 400 scale. Before I leave, I would appreciate hearing from any one who can suggest the type of equipment to build under the centerline bridge of a Glencoe Oregon . . . photos would be nice. I haven’t much of a clue as to what belongs under (and/or around) the centerline bridge. Also, would like to hear from anyone who has experience with any of the better quality card/paper model ships. Some of the photos I’ve seen look grand, but I would like to hear a first hand account of the experience of some builders. Regards, RhinoBones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48) From: "RICHARDSON, WILLIAM R [AG/1630]" Subject: Re: Various #3 - According to "Warships of the World", Almerante Cervera was patterned after the British E class cruisers. Built by the Spanish in Spain, but designed by Armstrong. There are some differences in the armament and design. "Warships of the World" says it was a better ship than the British E class. What I'm building: Wingy things. All 1/72 scale. Airfix F-86D Sabredog. Heller LeO 45 bomber. A6M2 Zero. A6M3 Zero. Testors Skyray (poor). Ships: 1/700 scale. Sub tender Katori (training cruiser by design). Nice ship. A little different, and I like that. Stocking up on ships (especially US WWII) for winter. (South Dakota, Massechusetts, Washington, Essex, Enterprise, Saratoga, Fletcher, more as I find them). The (maybe) soon to be released Indianapolis (Portland class according to NavSource.Org) has the mainmast astraddle the rear stack. It should be forward of the after control station. Unless it was moved late in the war (I doubt it, but the Navy is run by the government). Correct me if I am wrong about this. I really enjoy reading SMML. I have learned a lot from reading the newsletter. I am not as discerning a modeller as many of you. I'm looking for variety and overall effect. Perfect color shading and detail don't mean a lot to me. Color photos probably are not totally accurate anyway. Ink and paint are two different things. Weathering and battle damage have there effects, also. Just my opinion, or thoughts. Happy modelling and researching, Bill Ray -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 From: Chuck Messer Subject: Re: Whatcha Buildin'? I like this thread, too. I just got done with a major writing project, and now I can BUILD! I am almost finished with a 1/200 scale model of the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I'm basing the model on the descriptions of Jules Verne in the book itself (First you need a decent translation as the standard english version is so bad, it's been described as 'tantamount to character assasination'.) The Naval Insitute Press has put out a very good translation, and I'm basing the model on that, and the assumption that Verne was inspired in part by the Hunley, so there are a couple of Hunley-esque touches. I used an old Aurora Skipjack for the aft two thirds of the hull, and an Estes model rocket nose cone for the bow section. The nose piece of a busted Revell X-3 and parts from another Estes nose cone finished off the swordfish-like ram. Now, it's painting and weathering time. That could be almost as fun as building this thing. Chuck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Toms and White Ensign KGV sets Hi all Just some comments on the new etched brass sets for the Tamiya KGV from Toms Modelworks (OK its been out a bit) and White Ensign. Both sets are excellent quality and both on one sheet the White Ensign set is much larger. Toms set seems to have set out to provide additions rather than replacements and only covers the KGV and POW. For example you only get the shields for the Oerlikons whereas White Ensign give you the Oerlikons as well. White Ensign also give you lots of wonderful bits like 2 piece boat davits and their magnificent starfish assemblies. The White Ensign set in fact does give you more. Where the Toms set is useful is that it has a full radar complement for the KGV including the parts to build a Type 293, Type 274 and MFDF aerial (which is 3D and in 3 parts, much better than the flat offering from White Ensign). I would also use their 277 in preference as well. White Ensign cover all the ships of the class and provide all the extra platforms etc. For example they even include the rear funnel platform for the DOY and their cranes are truly magnificent (superior to the Toms offering). They also include the assemblies for the mast aerials and a full Oerlikon complement and both types of pom-pom though I replaced the etched brass versions with their wonderful resin ones. One thing disappointing about the 8 barrelled pom-poms though is that for the late fit of the class these received solid front and rear shields and whilst the 4 barrelled ones have these the 8 barrelled ones do not. Other parts included are doors and hatches, engine room vents and the syren platform. The instructions for both are clear and for the White Ensign set quite impressive with all the late war AA fits for each ship being illustrated. Both serve their purpose, the White Ensign being more extensive because it covers more ships. There is one mistake though, there were underslungplatforms fitted to the HACs towers of Anson, Howe and DOY (which are included) but the instructions say were also fitted to KGV. This is not the case KGV had platforms higher up either side of each of her secondary directors. But this is minor. Which set to buy? I would say for any late period KGV get them both, they do duplicate each other to some extent but they end up complementing each other. Toms treatment of the radars alone makes it worth the purchase price and if your modelling any other of the class you do need the White Ensign set. The only option is to buy them both and combine these excellent sets to truly enhance your model. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51) From: "James Kloek" Subject: Whatcha' building Might as well get into this thread late......I'm just finishing the ISW 1944 California (Tennessee). She is done in her dazzle, which took a lot of work, and a lot of masking tape. A nice kit, but not quite as good as the 1941 California. Still, they will look good together. I'm just starting a 1/700 long hull Essex to be the 1945 Ticonderoga. This is for my cousin's wife, whose father served on the ship in '45 and is turning 75 this year. They want to give it to him then. At the rate I build, plus all the 1:1 scale stuff I have to do, this should keep me busy all summer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52) From: Sanartjam@aol.com Subject: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser Hi, There are not a lot of sources in English on the Spanish light cruisers Almirante Cervera, Galicia, and Miguel de Cervantes (all sisters), other than Jane's Fighting Ships and the like, but one fairly good current reference is M.J. Whitley's "Cruisers of World War II: An International Encyclopedia." I understand there were some references in Spain on these and other ships of the Spanish Civil War, but I understand from our Spanish listmembers that they are out of print. Anyway, the ships were built in Spain but the design was largely British. I for one would be interested in knowing how to get a copy of the plans for the Almirante Cervera so I could spruce up a 1/1250 Argonaut model I have of her. Really handsome ships! Art Nicholson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: What I am building Hi folks Just to let you know that I am still alive: I was building three different German Flottentorpedoboote (so-called Elbing Class Destroyers) and the Russian pre-Dreadnought battleship POTEMKIN in 1/700 scale for WSW. At the very moment, I am just back from a visit at WSW where I delivered the master patterns. I guess they will be out after the summer break. In return I got their new models of LE TRIOMPHANT and STRASBOURG. That's what I will be building next. Before that, however, I will visit this year's Kiel Week where some 50 warships are expected to come. I'm sure this will become a very busy photo-hunting vacation. Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: NEW BOOKS FROM POLAND (WW2 CAMOUFLAGE!) Arrived today: As follows: **NEW SERIES** WARSHIP COLOURS (BARWY OKRETOW) Polish text, English headings Part One U.S. NAVY 1941-1945, A4 s/b, 56pp, Very similar lines to the "Monografie Morskie series. 55 photos in black and white (26 of which are full page!), illustrating all sorts of ships (naval and auxiliary), together with 3 in colour, and 22 nicely rendered colour profile drawings. The first of several in this new series 8.99 Pounds ($13.70) Also received: OKRIETY SWIATA NARVIK Class destroyers (german WW2) 9.99 Pounds ($15.55). Lots of photos, and many pages of plan and proile arrangements of the different ships. Shipping at cost overseas. Thanks! Caroline Carter http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/white.ensign.models White Ensign Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: SCALSHPYRD@aol.com Subject: Re: CDN city class frigates The Scale Shipyard Will be releasing in the near future fiberglass hulls with plans for the Halifax in both 1:96th and 1:72nd scale, specialized fittings for these ships will follow. So, for those of you out there with model building capacity for larger warship models....these may be of interest to you. Lee Upshaw The Scale Shipyard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Clem Jensen" Subject: Pibber photos Hi Does anyone have detail photos of " Pibber " boats for sale? I'm building the boat model and could use some detail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Bill Gruner Subject: NEW ARRIVALS New Arrivals from Pacific Front Hobbies: Books: 1. Profile Morskie USS Porter DD-356....$17.00 2. Profile Morskie HMS Roual Oak....$17.00 3. Wydawnictwo Militaria Profile "Reichsmarine-Kreigsmarine 1919-1939...$15.00 4. Okrety Swiata Iowa Class Part II.....$15.00 5. Profile Morskie IJN Yukikaze....$17.00 Thanks, Bill Gruner Pacific Front Hobbies http://www.pacificfront.com 541-464-8579 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: SteveWiper@aol.com Subject: Classic Warships New Kits The patterns for both the 1/350 USS Brooklyn and Helena are now finished and on their way to the casters. Both kits are to the standards you are used to getting from me, with the addition of the excellent casting services of Joe D'Amato and the rest of the crew at JAG. The resin is now a uniform gray, which really makes the kits look good. I will have both of these kits and the 1/350 USS Tennessee, 1/700 USS Wichita, and most of all other kits I produce at the IPMS Nation Convention in Dallas in July. Thanks, Steve - www.classicwarships.simplenet.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Loren Perry Subject: Status report on GMM's PE for ICM's Konig The design work for Gold Medal Model's all-new photoetched brass detail set for ICM's beautiful new 1/350 Konig and Grosser Kurfurst kits is now complete. The artwork was electronically transmitted to the etchers earlier today and it is on the fast track for prototype test pieces. These should be delivered in about a week. I am now starting on the remainder of the artwork for the instruction sheets. This will take about two weeks. Rest assured that I've gone beyond what I've managed to do in the past and this will be one of our best and most refined products ever. Our German and other European modeler friends are watching me closely on this job and I fully intend not to disappoint them. Normally I'd spill the beans here about what's going to be included. But because there are other makers out there nipping at my heels, I've decided that our design is now a bona fide military secret and will remain so classified until just a few days prior to general release. A few early test pieces will be sent to a small number reviewers for inclusion in magazine columns. One final not regarding this set - a writer for FineScale Modeler has contacted me about our new Konig set and a sample will be provided to them for a construction article they've scheduled for later this year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Vincent Mccullough" Subject: NRG Website Update I've just completed an update to the Nautical Research Guild's web site. We have two significant new additions that may be of interest to you. The first is the table of contents for the June 2000 issue of the Nautical Research Journal, which will go into the mail for members on June 15-th. This is a great issue! First, it's a COLOR issue. Second, and even more important, is the REASON that it's in color: we have secured permission to publish color photos of representative samples of The Mariners' Museum's Crabtree Collection of Miniature Ships. These never-before-published photos accompany an biography of August F. Crabtree by Vince Scott, a docent at The Mariners' Museum and long time acquaintance of Mr. & Mrs. Crabtree. For those of you have never seen the Crabtree collection, we've include an on line supplement of additional photos that do not appear in the Journal. Go the to the NRG's web page at http://www.naut-res-guild.org and follow the link to the Journal table of contents. The link to the photos is there. These photos will remain on the site for 90 days. The Journal doesn't stop there. It has a fascinating article of pleasure boat manufacturing in Racine, Wisconsin at the end of the last century, two modeling articles (one on the Kearsarge and one on HMS Cyane), nineteen book reviews and our regular features, Research Advice and The Photograph. See the table of contents for more information. Now, for the other treat. Joe McCleary, whom many of you know from the NRG's shipmodeling symposia at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, has added a shop note on brazing and soldering. Check it out if you're going to be doing any metal working in the near future. I've seen Joe's work, and it's great! The link to the shop note can be found at the bottom of the NRG's home page, along with the rest of our collection of shop notes. Happy Modeling! Vince McCullough NRG Webmaster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume