Subject: SMML VOL 994 Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 00:23:09 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Painting portholes 2: Naval Fiction 3: Splinter Shields 4: Photography & Painting windows and potholes 5: Re: FSM and digital photos 6: Re: James Corley's judging observation 7: for Official use only 8: Re: Photographing models 9: Re: Photographing models the easy way & pin-hole photography 10: Hasegawa 1/700 Hiei 11: British Destroyers 12: Re: Craft Paints 13: Re: Russian sub down 14: Pearl Harbor and moon walks 15: Re: Fletchers 16: Re: Splinter sheilds 17: Re: Russian Oscar Sub Kit? 18: Mariners' Museum ethics & integrity 19: Re: Judging criteria 20: Pearl Harbor and "why"... 21: China 22: Re ship model photography.... 23: Re: CGC Eastwind 24: Russian sub colours, and loss of RNS Kursk 25: Re: IPMS judging criteria 26: Re: Russian sub and Pearl Harbour 27: USCG Anti-rum boats 28: Fletchers 29: Resin and Putty??? 30: Photographing models the easy way 31: Sea Shadow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: PACIFIC FRONT ON VACATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Painting portholes My favorite tool for this kind of work is a 1.0 draftsman's resivour pen. You can find them at architectural supply houses and some arts and crafts stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Naval Fiction Hi Marc Your book would be by Douglas Reeman who wrote (he might still do so) a series of books on the second world war. I don't remember the title though. He also did one about a British gunboat escaping from Singapore. To my mind the best is Nicholas Monsarrat who was a corvette officer on the Atlantic Convoys. His book the Cruel Sea has an authenticity that is difficult to match. Chris Langtree Hi Chris, The Reeman books would be: "HMS Saracen" & "The Pride & the Anguish". Both good books. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Splinter Shields Hi Rob White Ensign, Tom's Modelworks and Gold Medal all do lots of 20mm splinter sheilds all of which would be suitable. Failing that if you want to make them yourself I would recommend very thin brass sheet. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Chris Drage" Subject: Photography & Painting windows and potholes Rusty's advice on photogrphing models is exactly how |I achieve my results. One difference is that I tend to do it out of doors and thus am at the mercy of the sky colour. I use no lights of any correcting filters other than UV. However, this does not present a problem unless the sky is bright blue - your pictures will tend to have an unnatural blue cast. An overcast day is perfect. On the subject of painting windows and portholes the answer is simple - you don't! Windows should be 'coloured in' with a very sharp 4B pencil and portholes added with a Rotring Isograph pen (0.35mm) using black ink. Works a treat! Regards, Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo, tena he tao kupa kaore e taea te karo......(Te Reo Maori) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: FSM and digital photos Before take digital images and send them in on a disk with your FSM article, I would check with them first. I don't believe FSM will accept digital images. They aren't up to their standards photographically. I believe that was what Terry Thompson told me a couple off years back but I may have misunderstood. I would check with them first. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: James Corley's judging observation >> That may be true at the local/regional level, but Rusty rides us pretty hard over judging matters and criteria at the Nats. This year there was a model entered that had placed first in it's category, and at least myself and one other national judge had seen it at the lower levels of competition twice. To make a long story short, it was noticed that it has items missing, forcing a reevaluation of things. In the end, it was still a better model than #2. If Rusty wants to disclose more, I will defer to him and hope I haven't divulged too much here. << James, I came real close to telling that story in yesterdays post. As long as you brought it up, I wouldn't think of stealing your thunder. It's a little embarrassing, and a lot funny, but it illustrates how "human" we as judges are. As I said, we have nothing to hide and I'm sure everyone will get a kick out of it. Rusty White IPMS/USA Head ship judge http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Robert Fish" Subject: for Official use only For Official Use Only I found some rather old navy "Navy Training Course Books" Dated 1940 printed under the supervision of the "Bureau of Navigation" "Restricted" for carrier crews only, Aviation Machinist's mate and Mate1c as well as CHIEF', another find the "Pearl Harbor Story" by Capt. William T. Rice USNR {Ret} printed by both W.T. Rice & Sara J. Rice, 1965 - printed in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA and this jewel - "U.S.Navy at War" 1941 - 1945 - Official reports by Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King U.S.N. this book shows the status of "Combatant Vessels of the US Navy"- 1923-1944 first print, 1946 to the "Secretary of the Navy" covering and including combat operations up to 1 march 1944 - this book made passable by then Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations Ernest J.King with pull-out map of whole "Pacific Combat Zone" I just goes to show you what you might find when you clean an old wooden box, all Queries about the books plezze e mail me thanks all Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Terry Sumner" Subject: Re: Photographing models Rusty, Everything you say is okay except for the "letting the camera take care of the exposure" part. Remember that this will only work if the camera you're using is an "aperture priority" camera. Or, if you have a multi-mode camera, the camera is set on aperture priority mode. If the camera is a shutter speed priority camera, this method won't work. There's more to it than this also depending on how much light you have available for the exposure. If there's not much, the exposure may be a long one, in which case reciprocity failure will come into play. The exposure may have to be made a bit longer than what the in-camera meter calls for. For print film, you may not even see this difference as the processing labs have a lot of lattitude when exposing the paper to make an acceptable print. But do this with chromes and you'll definitely see the difference! Terry Sumner IPMS35079 President, Southern New England Scale Modelers Member, Bay Colony Historical Modelers Volunteer rec.models.scale FAQ Manager -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Jeffry Fontaine" Subject: Re: Photographing models the easy way & pin-hole photography Hi Shane & SMML; Dan Rutman's Pinhole Photography & Modeling Pages at URL: http://members.tripod.com/danrutman/Web/Index.html is a must see! I found this web page a couple of months back and found it to be very interesting and informative and there are some good references for all concerned to check out on photographing models with a "pin-hole" camera. He has it broken down into the following: Introduction to Photography How to Modify a Disposable Camera Theory of Physical Optics and Lenses Article References Photos to Aid in Camera Modifications There are also several galleries to check out as well which show his handiwork with this pin-hole camera modification. I personally think that it works quite well considering the quality of some of the pictures, they look very realistic. Hope this helps everyone that is trying to take pictures of their creations. afn, Jeffry Fontaine Bremerton, Washington Where the skies are blue and the clouds are few, and the temperatures are very comfortable! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Fernando, Yohan" Subject: Hasegawa 1/700 Hiei Hello, Does anyone know if the Hasegawa 1/700 Hiei has the correct superstructure or is it just a copy of their other three Kongo-class kits. The Hiei's bridge superstructure in particular was of a very different design than her three sisters, being a testbed for the Yamato-class bridge design. The after control tower was also quite different. Hope I don't have to scratchbuild these things... Thanks, Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "sel4853" Subject: British Destroyers Hi John, Just to let you (and anyone else who may belong to that great British "Freebie" namely their public Library), I have in my sticky little hands a copy of this book obtained on loan from my local library. Certainly a mine of information and well worth obtaining even if on loan ! Norman SELLS Tenterden Kent (UK) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: SMAtouche@aol.com Subject: Re: Craft Paints I have used Acrylic craft paints for many many years on all types of wooden projects, some non glazed terra cotta items and paper. Plastic is a problem, these products won't stick to surface. Some of the brands available at craft stores are...Ceramcoat, Americana and Apple Barrel.There are other brands also. And they all have a great range of colors. I believe the first two are best. All brush well on wood and terra cotta. Too thick to brush on plastic, shows brush marks and again won't stick. Must thin to air brush, using water to thin is a no no as it will raise the wood grain, but you can air brush on other surfaces where a strong water content won't bother the surface. Again won't stick on plastic. Have not tried any other type of thinner. Maybe Future as a thinner is an answer. Have never used Future in my model building, mostly use Polly Scale and now some Model Shipways paints and some Testors. Any suggestions on percentage of Future to use? Paul Shay -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Re: Russian sub down >> Given the half life of nuclear materials, the down ship must be raised to avoid a melt down and ultimately Atlantic Ocean and North Sea contamination. << Why would you expect an eventual meltdown from a shut down reactor? You do need to be concerned that eventually the submarine and reactor vessel will corrode and release radioactive material. >> We have recovered the USS Thresher as you recall at a much greater depth. << No, there is no Thresher to recover! Thresher imploded and is in thousands of pieces. Other than a few key objects that were recovered, both Thresher and Scorpion (which did not implode, and is in a few major pieces) lie where they sank. The only recovery attempts in modern times I am aware of were Squalus and the attempted lift of the Golf II from 17,000 feet by the Glomar Explorer (the subject, BTW, of a diorama I am currently working on). Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "O'Connor" Subject: Pearl Harbor and moon walks SMMLies, My good friend and model builder extrordinaire Joe "the doubter" Damato chimed in that Republicans and Law Enforcement officers (both of which I am proud to be) believe that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the many moon walks we enjoyed sharing with the world in the 60's and early 70's are works of Hollywood fiction. NOT SO!!! And to prove it, I'm willing to contact the captain of the USS NIMITZ via my Naval Criminal Investigative Service contacts and obtain the real records of the ship's actions on Dec.7th, 1941. Likewise, Luke Skywalker has the real poop on those moonwalks - He's a direct decendant of Buzz Aldrin. The truth will set you free!!! By the way, what about more recent naval history- the Tonkin Gulf Incident. We all know the Democratic Johnson administration fabricated the attack just to widen the Vietnam conflict........ On a more serious note, we all still await news of the fate of those unfortunate Russian submariners. I know we all hope for the best possible outcome in spite of the increasing probability of doom for them. Whatever your faith or lack thereof, keep them in your thoughts, and wish them the best. My outrage rests with the Russian hierarchy, who, even if foriegn assistance were futile, did little outwardly to show support and effort for rescuing thier valuable crew. Lets all hope that they really did more than what has been published, and if so, I stand humbly chastened. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Ed Grune Subject: Re: Fletchers Branko wrote: >> I am looking for any information on the Fletcher class Destroyers I'm not sure which ship I'm going to build yet. I have the Tamiya kit. Does anyone know of any inaccuracies in this kit? << The Tamiya Fletcher represents the "round-bridge" or early-war variant of this destroyer. The later variant is termed "square-bridge". This will need to be a deciding factor in your selection of a specific ship to do. Next will be period in the war. The weapons and sensors onboard were changed during yard periods throughout the war as the threat changed. An early-war Fletchers looked much different than when it was in its late-war emergency AAW guise. Recommended references would include the Jeff Herne book on Fletchers, Sumners, and Gearings published by WR Press; Fletchers in Action by Squadron; the Fletcher Plan Book by Floating Drydock, and the Anatomy of the Ship - The Sullivans {Naval Institute?}. All of the 1/700 styrene Fletchers lack bulkhead details. The Tamiya Fletcher may be yout best starting point. The other Fletchers have plusses and minuses from which you can work. The PitRoad Callaghan (W1) has options for round or square bridges and various gun refits. It suffers from having a solid mid-ships 40mm support structure (it should be an open passageway). Its 5 inch guns are not too bad, there is some detail - the basic shape is there. Its a workable kit and perhaps a source for parts for a kit-mingle. This kits parent is the Skywave Fletcher (SW-500). The part's breakout is similar, but it round-bridge option only. The molding isn't as crisp. The guns lack the shape and detail of the Callaghan. Matchbox has a round-bridge Fletcher also. It does have a minimum of raised details that don't look too bad. I'd stay away from the Matchbox guns. There are some resin Fletchers that I have not seen. About 2 years ago there was a series of reviews on SMML when we considered doing a build-the-same-ship project. Check the SMML archives. IIRC the Tamiya Fletcher's deck isn't encumbered by the wrong waist gun mount. The 5 inch guns are a basically correct but need some detailing. The stack platforms will need to be worked to match your specific ship. The torpedo tubes may need to be replaced. The 40mm mount between the X abd Y 5-inch mounts needs to be worked/corrected to your specific ship. Personally - if I'm looking to build a "generic" Fletcher without making a major project out of it -- I'd start with a Tamiya Fletcher. If Iwanted to do a square bridge I'd start with a Callaghan. If I was going to make it a project -- I'd start with a Tamiya and mingle Callaghan parts into it to make my desired specific ship. Hope this helps Ed Mansfield, TX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Splinter sheilds I use .10 X .080" (0.25 x 2.0 mm) strip styrene from Evergreen Scale Models. I just bend it around an appropriately sized rod. Or, you can roll it with a dowel until it reaches the correct curvature. Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: Ferdinand Miller Jr Subject: Re: Russian Oscar Sub Kit? Are there any kits available for a Russian Oscar Submarine? In 1/400 or larger? It looks like it would make a fascinating model. Ferd Miller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: BSteinIPMS@aol.com Subject: Mariners' Museum ethics & integrity Readers of this list will recall the unfortunate damage to my model of the USS KIDD which was entered in the "Scale Ship Model Competition and Exhibition 2000" at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, and the flurry of e-mail messages on the Internet pertaining to same. After I wrote a lengthy note to the various lists to which I subscribe, describing the situation and the great lengths to which the Museum went to make everything right, I felt the issue was (thankfully) put to bed. As an epilogue to this saga (which neither party had wished to happen) I've received two checks from the museum. One was for my expenses to travel to the museum to repair the model, the other was for insurance coverage for the damage sustained. In both cases the check was accompanied by a very nice letter from Mr. Gary Egan, their Vice President of Finance and Administration, which reiterated their dismay at this event and their determination to eliminate the possibility of this happening in the future. My purpose in writing this missive is to pass on to the ship modeling community that all of my interaction with The Mariners' Museum has been very positive: they have been exceptionally professional, outstandingly concerned, touchingly human, and just a pleasure to deal with. I'm looking forward to the "Scale Ship Model Competition and Exhibition 2005". I know I'll enjoy myself, and I hope to see many of you there, too. Bob Steinbrunn IPMS #3345 Member, Nautical Research Guild Louisiana Naval War Memorial - USS KIDD, DD 661 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "chisum" Subject: Re: Judging criteria Thanks Rusty for all the feed-back and guidance. I have judged in a model railroad contest and I was impressed by the judging sheet they provided. I don't think ours would have to be excrutiatingly detailed since criteria for models isn't that numerous. It would obviously have to be different for aircraft, tanks/afv's, etc., but still not lengthy. Our judging was pretty quick for the railroad models and they had basically the same criteria. Each criteria (seams, decaling ,etc) had a point value 1-10.All criteria were added up, giving a total point from that judge (each judge grading individually on each model). The highest total point from all the judges won. Each judge graded independently, because then it would be a decision based on what that judge saw, not what a group decided. The committee system was used for "Best In". I think this method would work and could be tested at a regional contest, at least in ships as a "test bed". Again, thanks for your input! Sincerely, Randy Chisum -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "dcarner1" Subject: Pearl Harbor and "why"... Been reading the threads relating to Roosevelt and the USN... Correct me if I am wrong, (and I oft times am), wasn't the Congress and the American public in a "neutrality mind-set"? This being the case, spending allocations for new warships and upgrading the naval forces/bases from the Phillipines to the Philadelphia Naval Yard would have been very scarce, would they not? How best to convince stubborn Congressman and Senators to "give-up" the pursestrings than to have to rebuild the entire Pacific Fleet and re-tool for modernization? Congress was haggeling over the fact that our Navy had plenty of combatants to "stem the tides" whatever the current World political climate. I think military intelligence, the Defense Secretary and the Oval Office crew knew of Japans spending/modernization frenzy. Hadn't we broken their codes? How best to get the public support for Congress to get off their collective arses than to simply allow the Imperial High Command to fulfill their war plans? Was it simply coincidence that our only true assests, (our carrier fleet in the Pacific) was absent on Dec. 7th. from Pearl? I really don't think so. By simply choosing to do nothing, (other than have those carriers out to sea) Roosevelt could have his cake and eat it, too....especially since he "loved the USN"... Didn't Churchill allow Coventry to happen to keep the German High Command from knowing the Allies had broken the Enigma codes???? It is dastardly to even think a US President would sacrifice thousands of US servicemen simply to gain political advantage. Remember though, those were the dark days of the 20th Century and desperate times would have called for desperate measures...IMO. Just my 2 cents worth... D. Carner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "George J. Stein" Subject: China While a student here at the USAF Air War College, CDR Borik wrote a wonderful research paper in which a mythical PRC sub commander applied the lessons of Sun Tzu to submarine warfare. I have seen the article also translated and commented on in PRC navy publications. So, rather than general comments on US/China relations, permit me to suggest that the readers of this particular list might enjoy Frank's creativity. Yes, the citation is correct: it is "Sub Tzu... ." CDR Frank C. Borik, USN, "Sub Tzu & the Art of Submarine Warfare," Proceedings of the US Naval Institute, November 1995, pp. 64-72. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: stillmo@mb.sympatico.ca Subject: Re ship model photography.... Hi Rusty, Very good camera hints regarding ship model shoots and here are some further hints and tips. If shooting your model indoors with tungsten lighting you can get a corrective blue filter to color correct at time of shoot rather than having the lab try and take out the yellow. Use a HIGH QUALITY 400 speed film like NPH 400. Now you can stop down your lens to F32 if you have and get a higher shutter speed if on program or automatic. The longer your shutter speed (iso 100 film) your film will suffer reciprocity failure (color shifting). iso 400 pro film will give you far greater depth of field range than 100 at a decent shutter speed...and the 400 iso films of today have far greater exposure range and quality when enlarging to an 8x10. Line the inside of the lamp housing with silver tinfoil and bounce the light off a white foam core card. Have one light at 100 watts and the other at 60 watts and arrange them at two 45 degree angles to the models to create less flat lighting and giving depth and shadow shading. As far as I am concerned, if you have spent $100.00 on a model and a hundred hours on it, don't skimp and compromise on the film or photofinishing. I would never ram a pro film through WalMart or Costco 1 hr. special for $3.99. Use good film, good photofinisher and spend a few extra bucks and do it right. Magazines love to receive color slides also, but your exposure must be 100% bang on, and there is a Tungsten balanced film for shooting with bare bulbs, but its 64 iso. One word of caution....when using the lights so close, there is tremendous heat generated by these bulbs and plastic or resin masts and rigging will wilt in front of you so after each exposure shut down the lights. If you have light stands and bowl reflectors (smith victor aluminimum bowl reflectors) you can use blue daylight balanced bulbs but word of warning here again...they burn intensely hot even if on for a short period of time. Ray D.Bean, M/PA, B/PA, PPOM, PPOC, PPOA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: Bruce Burden Subject: Re: CGC Eastwind >> The USCG Museum in Seattle does have Wind Class plans. I know, I got a set from them. << Alright already! I stand corrected. :-) >> Onother good sourse is the USCG Historian's office in Washington. They kind of specialize in USCG stuff. I received some incredible photos from them including close ups of the Duck mounting and of the Ms. 16 patterns on both the horizontal and vertical surfaces as well and stern configurations. << Cool! I think I will have to write a letter.... That would also explain why the National Archives didn't have any photos. Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: Bergschöld Pelle Subject: Russian sub colours, and loss of RNS Kursk To Bruce Buchner. AFAIK, the russians paint their subs in the same dark grey colour allover. Sometimes (most often) they also paint a white, or at least fairly light grey, line to mark the waterline. However, very often, that light ine is worn off, and as often, the sub appears more mat (and thereby illusionary in a lighter shade) below the waterline. I'm personally painting my subs in a lighter and mat grey shade "down under" and a slightly darker and semigloss colour on top. See for reference the docked Kilo here: http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4792/kilopics.html Good luck! I would also like to take the opportunity to second mr:s Perry and others in a prayer for the souls onboard the Kursk. Pelle SWE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: Bruce Burden Subject: Re: IPMS judging criteria >> ... how many pieces of armor have masts that need to align?! << Not masts, necessarily, but the tracks have to be straight (although I know of one exception), parallel and perpendicular to on another and the hull (generally. Some lower hulls were angled/sloped), and be evenly spaced from the hull at both the front and the back. :-) >> Accuracy is not specifically addressed by the "latest" Judges Handbook I have (1995), but these items are usually covered under the detailing and painting of the models. << At all of the National level judges meetings I have attended, "accuracy" is one of those criteria that is highly discouraged, for the reasons Rusty gave. His comparison of what is "correct" for a Egyptian reed boat and what is "correct" for CV-6 are spot on. CV-6 is fairly well docuented, while Egyptian reed boats are, er, somewhat less so! And, were all Egyptian reed boats built equally? Probably not. The problem with using "accuracy" as a measuring stick boils down to the issue of being fair. You are not being fair if you know that the USS Enterprise carried/didn't carry a particular aircraft, and ding the model because it carries the wrong aircraft (can you prove that said aircraft _never_ landed on CV-6? Perhaps the pilot made an ID error. Perhaps he was low on fuel. Perhaps his home carrier was damaged. Perhaps it was a test, or a CAG was visiting a friend on CV-6...) yet you have no idea if the size of the reeds used in the model of the Egyptian reed boat are in scale (what scale, for that matter? Could any of you verify the scale size is correct?). I doubt many of us have measured (and committed to memory!) the size of reeds that grow along the banks of the Nile, so what do you do, besides accept that the builder "probably" got that detail correct? You can laugh, but exactly these issues could unfold when it comes time to choose "Best Ship". Not to mention the minor point that "what is known" tends to change from time to time as new information is unearthed... Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: Les Pickstock Subject: Re: Russian sub and Pearl Harbour While it is true that most DSRVs can't mate with subs heeled over at an acute angle there is much that a rescue sub could do, including attaching air lines. On last nights news it show 20 Russian vessels in the diaster zone including a Russian submersible its hoped that they have some chance of recovering at least some of the crew. The rumour that only 30 or 40% of the crew were alive after the accident gives hope that the limited resources may sustain the survivors for long enough. The Australian Navy's DSRV has the capacity to link with subs at an angle but can only carry 4 or 5 survivors at a time. But whatever their Nationality DSRV operators are the most skilfull submariners, If anyone can do it these guys can! The USS THRESHER was mentioned, Unfortunatly the THRESHER was not recovered from 8000 ft of water, only small parts of her. This was done to identify the wreckage strewn over several square miles of seabed, a pressure gauge bearing the boat's number was recovered by the Bathyscaph TRIESTE which also photographed the wreckage. Wether or not particular people were aware of unfolding events prior to Pearl Harbour, the scenario had already been described. It emerged at the Court Martial of Army Aviator Billy Mitchell, tried for Conduct Prejudicial to Military Discipline, His description of a possible enemy air attack on Pearl Harbour was an uncanny prediction. Les Pickstock. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: Duane Fowler Subject: USCG Anti-rum boats Howdy, I believe that the old Reno/Glencoe 110' foot sub chaser model would make a great USCG boat for the period. They were built for WWI and several were transfered to the CG after the war for coastal patrols. You'll have to carve off the number that is embossed to the hull, though. Regards, Duane Fowler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Fletchers >> I am looking for any information on the Fletcher class Destroyers I'm not sure which ship I'm going to build yet. I have the Tamiya kit. Does anyone know of any inaccuracies in this kit? << I suggest Alan Raven's book, Fletcher-Class Destroyers, a Naval Institute Press book in their Warship Design Histories series (I bought mine used at $60 - I don't have any idea if that's a good price or not, but it's one hell of a book); or, if you're budget-limited, the Squadron-Signal "In Action" book for about $8 (a big difference). Similar to the Ravens book, but focusing on a single ship, is Al Ross' The Destroyer The Sullivans (USNI - mine came used at $50). Both have excellent photos and drawings. Both are pricey (or I really got ripped off ), but both are exceptional. Anthony Preston has a book, Destroyers, Prentice-Hall, that covers more than Fletchers (and more than USN), but has good photos. I got mine used for $17. Finally, United States Destroyers of World War II - In Action (Blandford) by John C. Reilly, Jr., has lots of good photos and information on USN destroyer development up through the Geering class. I got mine used for $20. Hope this helps. All of these should be available via interlibrary loan; you can buy them later if you want (I checked out Reilly's book 3 times before I bought it). Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Resin and Putty??? Hey, folks ... Still wondering what kind of putty works (or works best) with resin. I'm looking at the Jim Shirley Arsenal Ship - which looks remarkably like the DD-21 Zumwalt - and want to convert it from a ship that never was to a ship that will soon be ... but I need a much more pronounced cruiser bow (at least) and figure putty is the way to go. BTW - I did get a great offer for 1/350th scale Seahawks for this model from a list-member, but still don't have a clue as to sources for a 1/350th Oto Melara turret (or plans). Thanks for any insights. Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: Photographing models the easy way >> The hood clamp lights are just that. I found mine in the auto dept. at Wal Mart. They are what shade tree mechanics use to work on cars. They have a heavy duty clamp on the end to attach to a cars hood. They also have a large reflector that is perfect for model photography to insure even lighting. << Rusty, take this entire idea one-step further and use daylight photo bulbs! Simply go to your local photo shop and ask for Daylight Photo Floods. These bulbs cost about $10.00 each and are perfectly balanced for daylight film (5000k). This way you can eliminate any color correction filters and shorten the exposure time. I use this technique on all of my models you see displayed on WARSHIP. John Sheridan www.shipcamouflage.com I am not Unit# 631 of the Lumber Cartel (tinlc) If there were a Lumber Cartel, the last place on earth I would look for it would be: http://come.to/the.lumber.cartel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31) From: "mtilston" Subject: Sea Shadow Would like to converse with anyone who is building or knows about the stealth ship "Sea Shadow" built by Lockheed Martin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Bill Gruner Subject: PACIFIC FRONT ON VACATION We will be closed from August 18 to August 28. We have been trying our best to get all your backorders sent out, but some may have to wait until we re-open. We have had our biggest backlog of orders to fill in many months, and would ask for your patience. Thanks, hope to hear from you soon, we really appreciate your business. Bill Gruner Pacific Front Hobbies http://www.pacificfront.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for backissues, Member's models & reference pictures at: http://www.smml.org.uk Check out the APMA site for an index of ship articles in the Reference section at: http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/apma.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume