Subject: SMML VOL 941 Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 01:35:09 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Paper Models 2: Re: Friedman Books 3: Plans in commercial publications 4: Smit Rotterdam 5: Re: Trade offs between plastic and resin 6: Re: Bateau 7: Hosho Air Group 8: Kit Search - John C. Butler Class DE 9: Royal Oak 10: Re: whatcha buildn 11: Re: HOSHO Airwing 12: IPMS(USA) Nats 13: Glencoe's WW1 Subchaser and what's on the bench 14: Re: Old eyes. Dropped parts 15: what I'm building 16: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser 17: Re: The "Lindberg" WW I subchaser 18: What I'm building & reading 19: HOSHO Airwing 20: Graf Zeppelin Air Group 21: Goodies in the Mail 22: Re: In response to Bateaux Question 23: Sub chaser and missing parts 24: Re: Glencoe sub chaser 25: Re: IPMS/USA Dallas 26: 1/350 Model of WW1 German battleship Konig 27: Re: Trade offs between resin and plastic 28: Good ship books to buy? 29: Just Built 30: Plans In Books 31: Book on RAN Tribals & Battles 32: Re: Friedman Design History Books & things I am NOT building 33: Re: Whatcha Buidin? 34: Re: HOSHO air wing 35: Re: GZ Airgroup and Operations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SMMLcon Infomation & posts 1: SMML Northern California -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Summers David Col 56 MDG/SGPMI Subject: Paper Models "Rhinobones" recently mentioned the prospects of building a paper ship model; may I offer free advice... Paper Ship Modeling is a different experience--lots of very interesting subjects are available at larger scales. Less expensive and much lighter than equivalent wood or plastic construction. You'll be amazed at how good the final product looks! (The engineering of the kits is amazing--compound curves and all! Highly detailed!) The printed surface shows details not present in plastic models. You spend your time in actual construction, rather than painting! (Not to say they're simple to build--the hull may involve upwards of 50 parts, with ribs and all!) Models differ in construction: some are tab-and-slot; they could go together virtually without any glue. Most have pieces which are glued together a la plastic or resin. Key advice: DO NOT USE WHITE GLUE! (eg. Elmer's) White glue shrinks upon drying, resulting in rippling of the surface. There are lots of other non-shrinking glues available for porous materials, including super-glue. At times, tabs may induce artifact--adjoining pieces of paper are at different levels. Cut the tab off and glue backing on both sides of the seam, so the ends butt directly. Sharp folds are accomplished by scratching (partial cut) the backside of the seam with a needle or dull knife. --Use a straight edge! Just like plastic and resin, the biggest limitation of paper models is the creation of masts, aerials, and guns. Forget the paper: make them out of brass tubing and wire. A large piece of balsa or styrofoam hidden in strategic places inside the hull/superstructure will help support the weight of a brass mast--plan ahead when you're making the hull. Yes, PE railing & radar will add a lot to the model! Paper Models International offers a catalog including a wide variety of ships, zeppelins, aircraft, cathedrals, etc. from various manufacturers. See www.expresspages.com/papermodels or write to: 9910 SW Bonnie Brae Dr Beaverton, OR 97008-6045 David Summers (not affiliated in any way) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: Re: Friedman Books HI All, Thanks to everyone who responded on these. I have already ordered US Destroyers from Barnes & Noble.com. I found that between Amazon.com and B&N, both have them all available. Check both however, as the prices are different. They are all priced very reasonably at between $42 & $52 new(about what you would pay as a Naval Institute member), which also seems to be the asking price for them used! Again, thanks to all and I'll be adding the rest shortly to my reference library. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Plans in commercial publications Further to my note on ship plans, I thought it of some small service to mention the plans printed in Friedman's book in the design history series. Everyone of these plans were drawn using official plans of the booklet variety. For the destroyer, cruiser, battleship and carrier volumes, the originals were drawn to a scale of 1"=16', while those for the small combatents book were prerared to a larger scale. I am unaware where many of the originals reside, but I do know that those for the battleships were unfortunately destroyed. When using published commercial plans, especially those put between two covers, it greatly helps if one knows what references were used in their preparation. In the case of the titles published by W R PRESS :- Fletcher/Gearing and Sumner class destroyers, Atlanta class cruisers and Flower class corvettes, every set of general arrangement plans used the official plans as a foundation, and this guarantees a high degree of accuracy, which gives the model maker confidence. Of the above titles, the plans in Flower class corvettes are available at full size from the plans service run by the Author John Lambert. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: calvin Subject: Smit Rotterdam Dear All, I am building a salvage tugs -SMIT Rotterdam from Heller. Can someone tell me the colour of the colour giving by Heller. Colour Codes - 24,25,30,60,62,64,73,85,130. Best Regards Calvin Chui -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: Trade offs between plastic and resin >> 2) In painting these guys, how does one do a smooth waterline paint border? << >> I assume you mean the waterline boot? Paint the area where the boot will be black, let dry over night and mask the boot off with vinyl pin striping tape found at auto parts stores. Paint the hull and remove the masked off waterline boot tape last. << Rusty, Your technique is fine, but remember that not every navy used black boot topping... For instance, the Kriegsmarine used dark grey, which of course will be included in our Kreigsmarine set. John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys http://www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: Bateau >> Do you know of any web sites that have information on the bateau and pontoon boats and other types of boats used in the American Revolution? I did find a site bateau.com, but it did not have anything of that type. Got any ideas? << Try subscribing to As Ben Lankford (also of SMML) can tell you, the Seaways list is primarily made up of sailing vessel builders, with a few of us modern types as lurkers. John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys http://www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Paul Fontenoy" Subject: Hosho Air Group Hosho's air group in 1926 (which remained pretty mcuh the same through the 1920s) was 9 Type 10 Carrier Fighters, 2 Type 10 Reconnaissance Aircraft, and 3 Type 13 Carrier Attack Aircraft, all built by Mitsubishi. They were overall silver-grey with red Hinomarus in six positions and large black carrier identification codes on the upper and lower wing, fuselage sides, and tails. Hosho's ID was the Japanese character "ro" which is, fortunately for model builders, a hollow square. Fighters carried numbers in the range 1-199, reconnaissance aircraft in the range 200-299, and carrier attack planes (torpedo bombers) used the range 300-399. HTH Paul E. Fontenoy Curator of Maritime Research North Carolina Maritime Museum *The opinions expressed here may not reflect those of my agency* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Alan Simon Subject: Kit Search - John C. Butler Class DE Need your suggestions and recommendations: Planning to build USS Abercrombie DE343 (John C. Butler Class). Prefer 1/350 or larger scale, although would consider 1/700. Would also consider resin instead of plastic, although have virtually no resin experience. W/L or F/H OK. Is it possible to create accurate J.C Butler from Lindberg's 1/300 USS Holt DE706 (Rudderow Class)? Any other kit recommendations? Thanks in advance. Alan Simon Atlanta, Ga. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Royal Oak Hi Pat No I don't think she did so. She was in need of a refit and had been badly battered by North Sea gales when she was sunk. Incidently most of the Carley Floats had been smashed in the storm and the bits were piled up on the forecastle. There is a very good account of her sinking in Black Saturday by Alexander McKee (out of print). Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: whatcha buildn Still waiting for the replacement parts and marked up instructions for the Iron Shipwright Baltimore class cruiser kit. So I started a Bluejacket Ship Crafters Gambier Bay kit for a client. I have never built one of these wood models, but it doesn't look any tougher than some of those old vacuum formed kits I used to build. The quality of the Britannia castings is stunning as is the resin cast aircraft. Still sanding on the hull. Anyone want to loan me a Gambier Bay anatomy of the ship book? Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Donald P Morgan Subject: Re: HOSHO Airwing To Rick Heinbaugh, re Japanese aircraft aboard the light carrier Hosho For a full treatise on this subject, may I refer you to a book entitled JAPANESE AIRCRAFT 1910-1941 by Robert C Mikesh and Shorzoe Abe, published by Naval Institute Press. In short, there were three types of aircraft carried by Hosho in the early 1920s...these included a Type 10 carrier fighter, Mitsubishi model no. 1MF1-5, a Type 10 carrier reconnaissance aircraft, Mitsubishi model no. 2MR1 thru 2MRT3A, and the type 10 carrier torpedo aircraft, Mitsubishi model no. 1MT1N. The color of all these aircraft was silver dope over all, with occasional cases wherein aluminum panels were polished metal. The usual red insignia existed (the "meatballs), with black lettering, whether western or Japanese characters. Struts were usually gloss black. Propellers, being of wood were usually varnished mahogany. All three of these Mitsubishi airplanes were designed by the Semphill team, who were from the British Sopwith firm, working under contract in Japan. All these airplanes used a wooden airframe with fabric covering, except for metal panels over the engine and occasionally around the cockpit. If you need three-views of these airplanes, contact me direct, and I will send you xerox copies of drawings in 1/72 scale. Incidentally, the "Type 10" refers to the 10th year in the reign of the emperor Taisho (1921). I hope this will help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Clem Jensen" Subject: IPMS(USA) Nats Hi What is the date of the US Nationals in Dallas? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "aa8." Subject: Glencoe's WW1 Subchaser and what's on the bench Ladies and Gentlemen I have now had loads of feedback on Glencoe's WW1 Subchaser and now I want one. So can any kindly soul supply me with one for a reasonable fee. Is there anyone out the with one in loft or basement that they might feel the need to part company with? At the moment I am building HMS Repulse in 1/600th scale (Airfix kit, White Ensign brass) Does anyboby have any thoughts on brass soldering? I use Carrs 188 solder paste or similar heated with a gas iron fitted with a 1mm tip. Why a gas iron? It saves on the inconvenience of a lead (I always manage to swipe everything off the bench with the lead). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: John Philip Downing Subject: Re: Old eyes. Dropped parts Somebody wrote: >> My problem is with old eyes and a gray rug, I spend a lot of time on my knees with a spot light and magnifying glass looking for dropped parts, some of which seem to have been eaten by the rug. << Not that my eyes are all that bad, but I'm prettly clumsy, and it is a pain to find them before you step on them... But after knocking a few bottles of paint in my lap, it started wearing a plastic apron, and this worked pretty well. Then I found a BARVEL, a type of skirt apron the Swedes invented for fishing. It's water (paint) proof, and stays in place, and catches about 95% of errant parts. Kind of dorky, I guess, but saves a lot of effort (and clothes). John Philip... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: zwood@webtv.net (Zack Wood) Subject: what I'm building My current if somewhat neglected projects are the Tamiya 1/700 (new mold) Shinano and Yamato , and a couple of the old 1/700 Dragon SSN kits. My wife and I just had our first child (a boy) in march so I don't have a lot of spare time but it's not a bad trade off Zachary N. Wood -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Steve Sobieralski Subject: Re: Spanish Light Cruiser Thanks to those who responded to my questions regarding the Almirante Cervera. There was an inquiry about the plans of her that I have, they are from the Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval in Madrid, dated 1984. There are five sheets with hull lines, deck plans, outboard profile and miscellaneous details in 1/75 scale, making the overall length about 54". As I stated before they were a gift from a friend and I have no idea if they are still available. I also found some information on the Canarias, one of two Spanish heavy cruisers built in the mid-1930's. Like the Cervera, these were also designed by Sir Phillip Watt who utilized the hull and main armament of the British County class as the basis for their design. The superstructure was, however, totally different form their British cousins with a massive teardrop shaped bridge structure and a large single trunked funnel giving them a totally unique profile as originally built (they were later modified with two separate funnels). They were built in Spain and the Canarias served until 1975. The source of my information is an article that appeared in the No.2 1979 issue of Warship International. Interesting ships. Steve Sobieralski -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: dhjonespsm@juno.com Subject: Re: The "Lindberg" WW I subchaser Rusty White writes: >> 3) What scale is it? << >> I'm not sure. It was an old Lindbergh box scale kit. << WRONG! It was originally issued by ITC (Ideal Toy Corporation) in about 1955. >> 4) What is it's history (ie how old are the moulds? etc etc). << >> As I said, it's an old Lindberg kit that's been around or a long time. << Again - WRONG. This kit has been issued in several forms and under several names, but NEVER to my knowledge under the Lindberg label. After the initial run as ITC, some of their kits were issued under the Kleeware label - but I do not think this included the subchaser. In the seventies this kit was issued under the Ringo label - a thinly disguised way of getting around a previous restriction on ITC. They got into financial trouble in the late fifties - early sixties, and a condition of their restructuring was the elimination of the hobby line, which the receivers determined was losing money. These molds were not sold - also part of the restriction agreement. The "Ringo" company was ITC under a new name, the ONLY kits ever issued under this label were old ITC molds. Not all of the old kits came out under the Ringo label, but the Graf Spee and Subchaser were released, along with some of the old airplane kits! In 1987 the remaining ITC tooling was purchased by Glencoe. Many of their kits are from this source, including the recently discussed Oregon. The subchaser is again available. As for the scale, it is close to 1/74th. and was typical of the industry of that time, in that all the kits regardless of subject were designed to a common hull length to fit in a standard sized container - thus the term "box scale". >> The major drawback to the kit (according to him) was that the beam of the model was about three or four scale feet short. He noticed it when he noticed that the radar would sweep the crewmen off from their gun positions if it rotated. << RADAR???? What radar? There is no radar on these boats. Are we talking about the same ship kit here? Rusty, I think your supply of cheezy poofs has gone bad....... you are hallucinating.. Cheers, Dan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Procladius@aol.com Subject: What I'm building & reading I am currently working on two kits: First, the Matchbox Indianapolis, using the CW Warship Pictorial 1 as a reference to build her in the December 1944 configuration. I am repalacing most of the kit details (or lack thereof!) with Skywave parts and photoetch from Tom's and GMM. The hull and superstructure construction is complete and partly primed. I am currently trying to figure out how I am going to integrate final assembly, painting and photoetch. You know, we need some photetch floater net baskets for USN ships. I have been able to modify some other photoetch for this purpose, but need more of them. Second, The Aoshima IJN seaplane carrier Chitose. Construction is essentially finished and some photoetch is on. I am using the GMM auxilliary ship photoetch set, and I am really impressed with it. I am trying to get up the courage to tackle those nifty catapult assemblies! I have been doing some preliminary work and research on the Skywave CVL Independence kit. I would like to tackle one of those late war multi-color dazzle schemes, and a slab - sided carrier with minimal superstructure might be a good one to start on. As far as reading matter, recently obtained the Friedman battleship volume used for 40 bucks. It is a most interesting read. in addition, the photos and plan drawings look like they would be very helpful for building those US BB kits I have stashed away. It includes info on the nature and dates of modifications and AA refits that should help the modeler. I have the cruiser and carrier volumes, and feel the same way about them. They are a bit pricey new, but if you keep your eyes open, you should be able to find a used copy at a good price. I picked up the carrier volume for $25 at the Columbus Nationals a while back. I recently picked up the CW Warship Pictorial 3 on the Louisville at my local hobby shop in Cincinnati. I think it is very good, as are the other titles I have bought (Indianapolis, San Francisco, Omaha class). I like this series and hope there will be more. I collect IJN references and I currently have the Gakken volumes on Fubuki class DD's and Carrier Strike Force on the way from HobbyLink Japan. I do not yet have any of the Gakken books, and am looking forward to checking these out. Charles Watson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: Johan Myhrman Subject: HOSHO Airwing >> I just picked up the Fujimi HOSHO; didn't even know they had made this one. I like the 1923 appearance with the funny little island, but can't tell what those little blob airplanes are supposed to be. Chesnau's Aircraft Carriers of the World book doesn't get very specific, and neither do Jentschura, Jung & Mickel in Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Does anybody know what sort of aircraft were used by the IJN in the mid '20s and what colors they were? << Hi Rick! Maybe not providing answers for all your questions, but please do feel welcome to take a look at my web page where I have some information on early Japanese carrier aircrafts at: http://www2.gol.com/users/myhrman/1mf.htm There is also the excellent Japanese Aircraft Modelling site where you can get a lot of information and help on Japanese aircrafts at: http://www.j-aircraft.com/ All the best Johan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Peter K. H. Mispelkamp" Subject: Graf Zeppelin Air Group Hello again. Current standings are: Bf 109T Ju 87C Fi 167 Me: 4 3 3 Bob O'Conner 2 2 2 Doug Brown 2 2 2 Ned Barnett 3 3 3 Bill Colby 3 3 3 Totals: 14 13 13 Hey guys, we're almost there. Guess I'd better send Caroline that email soon. Sincerely Peter K. H. Mispelkamp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "James Kloek" Subject: Goodies in the Mail During the last week I received two new kits in the mail. Man, I love it when that happens. Anyway, I thought I would post quick in the box reviews of them. The first is the U.S.S. Chicago from Corsair Armada. The kit represents this Northampton class cruiser as of 1943, and is clearly up to Mike's good standards. The hull is nicely detailed, and sits almost dead flat. The hangar,etc are molded with the hull, but the rest of the superstructure must be constructed. The splinter shields are very fine and completely molded and the deck planking is also fine and in scale. You have to look closely to even see it is there. The rest of the superstructure parts come on two sheets of thin resin, cutting them out and cleaning them up should be a breeze. Again the moldings are crisp, and largely complete.....very nice. The weapons, rafts, and other small parts come on resin sprues, and are very typical of those parts from Mike's other kits. The main battery turrets and rifles are good. A nice surprise compared to his earlier cruiser kits is the inclusion of a Tom's Modelworks photoetched brass fret for the parts specific to this class. (You will still need a generic set for rails, etc.) Included are cranes, a CXAM radar, and the entire tripod mainmast assembly. The instructions are also typical of Mike's kits. They are five full pages, and have some generic steps for building any resin kit, plus some specifics for this one. There is a brief history, two drawings showing the location of all parts, some expanded drawings of specific details, and two pages of close up photographs of various parts of the ship after a refit. These are a nice touch. All in all, I like the kit out of the box, it looks to be as good as or better than his Phoenix and Detroit kits which I have built previously and won local contests with. Thanks, Mike. The second kit is the High Mold (Pit Road) Fuso. This represents Fuso in 1941, and the kit is very similar to the elegant Nagato kit which came out a couple of years ago. (I've built that kit, pictures were posted on Warship about a year ago.) The hull has excellent detail, but the stern is warped, and will require hot water treatment to straighten it. It is waterline of course, and in comparison to the old Aoshima kit, it has dramatically less freeboard. When I first looked at it, it looked so low in the water that I thought it could not be right, so I pulled out my copy of the Anatomy book on Fuso. Either the kit and the book came from the same original source, or the kit builder used the book, because the drawings in the book match the hull (and its waterline position) in the kit. From the book, it looks like the ship originally had more freeboard, but as that huge pagoda and other things were added, it seemed to ride lower in the water. I haven't prepared all the parts and dry fit them, but from the looks of the drawings on the instructions, I think the kit will get that unmistakeable profile of the pagoda just right. The pagoda components, the funnel and the main battery turrets are the remaining resin parts, and they are very well done. They are done from three dimensional molds, and have great detail both top and bottom. Turned metal barrels are provided for the main battery, a very nice touch. There is a small packet of white metal "bits" for some of the smaller parts, together with three injected styrene Skywave IJN weapons sprues. Brass rod is included for the masts and yards, plus a decal sheet with flags and aircraft markings. There is no photoetched fret included, but one is apparently available separately. Pacific Front has this on order. It is my understanding that this will be Fuso specific parts, and a generic fret will still be required. The instructions are entirely in Japanese, but have very well drawn exploded views showing where all the parts go. This again was similar to the Nagato kit, and I eventually mastered those. One worrisome thing was small piece of paper covered with Japanese writing which fell out of the instruction sheet. I'm guessing this is describing some sort of last minute correction, but who knows..... This is a very good, and very expensive kit. I have no doubt it will build up to look just as good as the Nagato, and be dramatically better than the old Aoshima kit. Now the only question is when will I get time to build them? What should I do first? One of these? The WEM Warspite? The Samek Bismarck? Decisions, decisions.........so many ships, so little time. Life is good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: AandMBlevins@gateway.net Subject: Re: In response to Bateaux Question I have two suggestions for books documenting bateaux used in the French-Indian War and the Revoloution. Both are by the same author, Russell P. Bellico, who is involved in underwater research in Upstate New York, particularly Lake George and Lake Champlain. They are: "Sail and Steam in the Mountains; A Maritime and Military History of Lake George and Lake Champlain" and "Chronicles of Lake George; Journeys in War and Peace", both published by Purple Mountain Press of Fleischmanns, NY. I did some research two years ago for an artist friend on mine who wanted to include a bateaux in a painting. After a trip to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where they have a recreation of a bateaux, as well as the gunboat "Philadelphia", I found that the books were quite accurate painting Al Blevins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "Melea/Mike Maynard" Subject: Sub chaser and missing parts The Glencoe sub chaser(like the BB Oregon) has it's roots in the old ITC(Ideal Toy Company) of the early 1960's. But going back even further, the model was offered as a wood model, same scale, white metal parts, circa late 1930's under the moniker of "The Ideal Aeroplane Company". I found the wooden kit in a hobby shop in 1972, built it and sold it 2 years ago(I kept the plans and drawings). Ideal Toy Co. manufactured a number of interesting kits including the liner "Normandie", the USCG cutter "Campbell" and the "USS Constitution", among others. The plastic "Oregon" of the 1950's was a horrible kit, the one I had was heavy with "flash" and the deck and superstructure so badly warped I doubt a microwave or even hot water could have corrected the problem. It eventually was "broken up on the ways" and tossed into the trash... While building the liner Queen Mary, I too lost quite a bit of PE parts to the basement floor. The solution- a white bib type apron. Most parts drop into one's lap and then are catapulted like a scout plane from a cruiser when you stand up to look for it. I use one of my old US Govt. issued cook's aprons, it acts like a net, and being white makes it easy to locate the errant part. Haven't lost any parts since. The aprons cost less than a jury rigged shop vac and can be purchased at most shops that specialize in cook type stuff. (hint- don't go using one of your wives pretty flowered aprons from holiday cooking. Besides the parts blending into the festive patterns, you'll get some strange looks if you forget to pull it off before answering the front door!) "A collision at sea can ruin your whole day" Mike M. USCG (ret) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: Kcompany@webtv.net (Marvin Reichman) Subject: Re: Glencoe sub chaser I believe the initiator of this kit was Ideal Toy Company; I built it back in the 1960' or 1970's. The scale I belive is 1/74th Since it was a model of a WWI suchaser it had no radar. Yes the kit is readably available -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: IPMS/USA Dallas Here's the updated list: John Collins Marc Flake Ed Grune Dave Miller Allan and Crystal Plumb Mike Quan Bruce Ross John Snyder Rusty White Derek Wakefield Steve Wiper It may be too soon to start thinking about a get together. I don't think all the seminar times have been set yet (Ed would know that better than I). A Saturday lunch might be too difficult for those with booths to man. We'll talk more about this later. Anyone else coming? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: NEVENGER@aol.com Subject: 1/350 Model of WW1 German battleship Konig I found an add for models of the WW1 German Battleship Konig and Grosser Kurfurst in 1/350 scale made by a company called ICM from the Ukraine. Can anyone tell me anything of the kits and quality that they may have. The kits seem expensive for regular plastic, but cheap if resin. Any information will be of interest to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Re: Trade offs between resin and plastic >> That's not to say plastic manufacturers don't care about accuracy and detail, but when a kit is engineered and planned by 20 or 30 people the personal touch for accuracy and detail is lost and things tend to slip through the cracks << Wow! The light bulb goes off over my head! Fantastic insight on this one. The reason so many plastic kits are so poor is that they were designed by a Committee!! The only known life form with 12 stomachs and no brain! Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: "Mike Taylor" Subject: Good ship books to buy? OK...so I've been spoiled by Skulski, I have Battleships by Whitley, Cruisers by Ewing..where to next? Norman Friedman? Warship perspectives? What's available? What's your favorite? Mike T -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: Mike Connelley Subject: Just Built Howdy: Aside from a physics degree, I finally finished a kit!!! WheeeHeeee!!! It was the Italeri 1/720 Constellation. Nice kit overall asside from the fact that it's the America. I had one of those "damn it!" moments. All the photos I found showed that the Connie didn't have the little finger things sticking out from the front of the angle deck, so I cut it off from the kit. When I presented the kit to my professor who served aboard her in Vietnam, he brought out a photo when he was aboard. Sure enough, the finger thingie was there. Damn it! Oh well, so it wasn't perfect. So, having just gone through the "whatcha building" thread, what has every else just built??? Any other little "damn it" moments? Cheers Mike Connelley -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Plans In Books I think it worth mentioning a book which although long out of print serves as a great source for model makers. Published in 1975 by the National Maritime Museum in four volumes, entitled The Denny List, and compiled by the late David Lyon, it covers every one of the over fifteen hundred vessels built by Denny from 1844 to 1963 when the yard went into liquidation. Every vessel is given a brief technical description and a listing of relevent documents that include general arrangement plans held at the museum. Additionally the color specification for each ship is given and a listing of photos. The main stimulus for the model maker is having the fully detailed profile of over 95% of the vessels listed, reproduced at the head of the page, and with a page size of 8" X 11 these profiles are shown with reasonable clarity. Among the gems in the book are the details of the Union liner Scot, others include the cargo liners Kanowa and Kyarra of 1902 and 03. In addition to liners, Denny built many utility vessels such as tugs, ferrys and barges, and for almost every listing there is the detailed profile to trigger the modelers interest. I realise that getting to see this book will be difficult, even for those who reside in the UK, however a book so complete and fascinating for the modeler should be mentioned. The only complaint is that the volumes (each of several hundred pages) are soft bound and cannot tolerate much handling. A second book, also of several volumes, listing those ships built and planned by Thornycroft was going to be published by the museum and had even gotten to the page proof stage, many of which I was able to view. Alas economics intervened and the book was shelved. What I personally found of great interest was looking at the hundreds of projected designs for warships. These of course are still held at the museum if anybody wishes to view them. I assume that the museum still has at least one copy of the Denny list in their library and that it is available to look at. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31) From: Sanartjam@aol.com Subject: Book on RAN Tribals & Battles Hi SMML, I just ran across an Antheil Booksellers listing for a 1999 book by "V. Fazio" called "Tribal and Battle Class Destroyers," and it says it a service history of RAN Tribal and Battle class destroyers including the RN and RCN ships of those classes. I was wondering if anyone had seen this book and what they thought of it. I was thinking of getting a Samek Eskimo (when it comes out) and painting it up like the Arunta or Warramunga in that neat two-color splinter pattern they carried. Thanks, Art Nicholson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32) From: Keith Butterley Subject: Re: Friedman Design History Books & things I am NOT building Hi Group, Dave Krakow wrote the following: >> For Destroyers, I recommend Bob Sumrall's book on the Sumner Gearing class. There are many detail photos and drawings useful for model building, as well as much interesting historical information. A very well-rounded book and worth the $65 list price. << From my site: SUMNER-GEARING Class Destroyers - Sumrall - 304pp - 225 photos - 25 illustrations - $85Cdn/$56US The US navy's Sumner-Gearing class destroyers served as a standard for post-World War II destroyer design and development. Their evolution over the course of nearly forty years and thre wars is fully covered in this handsomely illustrated book. >> BTW The Naval Institute Press offers a Membership deal: you get serious discounts on their publications and a subscription to their magazine. << True, but that is $34US per year. I suppose it may be worth it if you buy a lot of books. Then there is the WR Press book which is a whole lot cheaper yet. >> They aren't exactly speedy in filling orders so be prepared. << Most of the girls I know, say I work fast ;-) Since I have expanded my book business, modeling is something I only do in the theatre of my mind. If and when I ever get back to the workbench I have the following waiting for me: 700 scale Tamiya kit of the Ohsumi(Osumi??) 700 scale Tamiya HMS Rodney in her 1943 painted deck guise. 600 scale conversion of the Airfix Belfast to HMS Sheffield. Keith Butterley http://www3.telus.net/warshipbooks/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33) From: "peter webster" Subject: Re: Whatcha Buidin? As a form of self abuse I'm alternating between two scratchbuilds in 1:600 with full hulls; the U.S.S. Maine of the 1890's and the C.S.S. Virginia (I) - even on the first one which is only 6+ inches long, I never knew you could fit so much @#$% clutter! For sheltered workshop therapy I'm cutting at the Heller 1:180 Viking ship and the Airfix 1:180(?) Royal Sovereign (1635) Peter Webster Sydney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34) From: Roland Mar Subject: Re: HOSHO air wing Mr. Heinbaugh, I can't be sure about numbers in the wing or paint schemes, but I did come up with some types and specs on aircraft for HOSHO in the 1920's. The first Japanese carrier aircraft was the Mitsubishi 1MF1 single seat biplane fighter. Designed by Mitsubishi in collaboration with Herbert Smith of Sopwith, it first landed aboard HOSHO in late February 1923. Span-30'6", Length-21' 11 3/4", height-9' 6 1/8", 2513 lbs, max speed- 140 @ 6562', ceiling-22,996', endurance-2 1/2 hrs., armament- 2- 7.7 mm mg. on the forward fuselage. There were variants in radiator types and wing and tailplane areas. 128 total production. There was a two seat recce variant designed by the same engineers, the 2MR1/3, 159 production. There was an attack aircraft designed by the same collaboration, the Mitsubishi B1M a two seater biplane torpedo bomber. [there was also less successful single seat triplane torpedo bomber the Mitsubishi 1MT, but there is some question as to carrier deployment] A total of 442 variants were built between 1924 and 1933 that probably served aboard HOSHO. Span-48' 5 1/2", length- 32' 1/8", height- ?, weight- 5946 lbs, max speed- 130 mph, endurance- 2 1/2 hrs. armament- 1-18" torpedo or 1070 lbs. bombs. depending on variant either 2 or 4- 7.7 mm mg (cowling and ring mounts). The B1M3 variant was a 3 seater. It is possible, though I cannot confirm, that HOSHO may have at one time or another carried the Nakajima A1N [I know, Nakajima normally made army aircraft]. This apparently came from a license production deal with Gloster Aircraft, being based on the Gloster Gambet (sp?). Of duraluminum construction it had a span of 31' 9 7/8", length-21' 3 7/8", height- 10' 10", weight- 2205 lbs, max speed- 136 mph @ 9,840', ceiling- 23,000', endurance- 3 1/4 hrs., armament- 2 Vickers 7.7 mm mg in the cowling, 4-20 lbs bombs in a rack under the fuselage. Two variants (upgraded engine) with the latter having a sliding canopy over the cockpit. These are the ones I think were aboard during the 1920's. The early 30's brought another stable of aircraft, including the early monoplanes. The only pictures I have seen are grainy black and white, so colors are problematical. This is the best I can come up with on short notice, and if anyone has different or better information, I'd be glad to see it posted as I am sure that there are others who have better sources than mine on the list. At least with these designators, maybe you can track down pictures and match them to the "little blob airplanes" in the kit. Hope this helps. Roland Mar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35) From: Minadmiral@aol.com Subject: Re: GZ Airgroup and Operations Hi; Over the last 30 years of naval wargaming we HAVE wargamed GZ, BIZ., TIRP., SCH., GN., and various pocket battleships and cruisers in the N.Atlantic. It`s a horrible situation for the allies!! RN ships and convoys get gobbled up piecemeil. Usually the only hope is for the allies to get lucky and put GZ under with a sub, or get 1-2 more carriers with Force H and slip in a night or bad weather attack, radar helps here. Once the German force looses it`s air cover the Stringbags can go in and it`s usually all over. If the Germans get PS as well as GZ it`s even worse!! Makes an interesting "what if". Makes you glad that Mr. Schicklegruber was an infantryman in WWI, and not a seaman. He might have understood ships more that way. Chuck Duggie WoodenWalls Listmeister Naval wargamer, amateur naval historian, and ship modeler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SMMLcon Infomation & posts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SAMI ARIM Subject: SMML Northern California Hi All, The meeting for SMMLCon 2001 is now cancelled, because Duane left for Taipei. However we are planning to create a SMML Northern California group similar to IPMS USA parameters. Everyone who is interested to participate in the planning phase is invited to join me and John Snyder at my house on the 17th evening for barbecue and exchange ideas on how to do that. I live in Walnut Creek. Please send me an e-mail by friday to let me know if you are coming, so i can give you the adress. Best Sami Arim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume