Subject: SMML VOL 1104 Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 01:21:12 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Help identify painter 2: Bismarck Site 3: Re: Identify painter 4: Happy Hogswatch 5: A model ship christmas story 6: Tosa/Amagi Colors? 7: Vibration 8: Re: Karlsruhe 9: Re: Floating Drydock Plans 10: SMMLies in Taipei? 11: Re: Chuck D's 1/1200 Christmas list 12: A Visit From St. Nick 13: Re: Derek W. ...................No. Cal forget it!!! 14: Deck camber in 1/192 scale 15: Ship awards and campaign ribbons 16: Re: French Carrier 17: Grey Ghost - Queen Mary in Warpaint (help) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: URUDOFSKY@aol.com Subject: Re: Help identify painter The Austro-Hungarian Navy (Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine) links are to be found at: www.links.parsimony.net/links8145/ page down and click on "The Austro-Hungarian Fleet" or any of the other links. Some are German or Hungarian, but still have interesting pictures. Ulrich H. Rudofsky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: GrafSpee34@aol.com Subject: Bismarck Site Nick writes: >> Something new from this fine website,called "The History of Bismarck and Tirpitz": http://home1.inet.tele.dk/asmussen/ << This is a cool site with some excellent photos, I have it bookmarked. Take a look at the Bismarck camo schemes section, here is an interpretation with the entire turrets painted yellow from 19 May to 21 May. It won't be long before somebody claims the entire ship was painted yellow (with grey turret tops for camouflage). Merry Christmas Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "J. London" Subject: Re: Identify painter Further to the very interesting answers to this question I would have to agree that it is a naval review that is depicted. Since VIRIBUS UNITIS was not completed until December 1912 the date 1913 appears the most probable. I had identified the ships in the middle distance as SANKT GEORG and her sister but agree that they could be ERZHERZG-KARL battleships whose profiles are very similar. It would appear more likely however that the battleships would be in the battleship line behind VIRIBUS UNITIS and following, I suspect, RADETSKY Class ships. As to the yacht the white ship looks too big to be the A-H Imperial yacht MIRAMAR which was, in any case, a paddle wheeler. It is more likely to be a warship painted white, say a light cruiser, such as the one (name escapes me) used to convey the bodies of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife following their assassination at Sarajevo in June 1914. Michael London -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Phil M. Gollin" Subject: Happy Hogswatch Hi Shane, I didn't know you were a discworld fan as well - it's good that the word has got to Four X. What about some modelling articles of the ships and boats of Ankhmorpork Have a wonderful Hogswatch, Phil Hi Phil, Sounds good to me - are you going to write em?? Mind you, you'd have to leave out the rivercraft ;-)) Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "John Sheridan" Subject: A model ship christmas story THE STORY At the end of November, I was contacted by someone who desperately wanted a 1/350th Scale USS Salem Model built for his dad who served on her from 1956-1959. He bought the kit thinking that he could fumble his way through assembling it since he did build models as a kid. Once he opened the box, he realised that this was way beyond his meger skillsets. He did a search and found my pictures of the USS Salem model I had built and displayed on the WARSHIP website. He then contacted Rob Mackie and asked him if he knew of anyone who could build a model of the USS Salem just like the one John Sheridan built on the WARSHIP website? Rob, being the nice guy he is, forwarded the request to me since he liked my work so much. The person was shocked when I contacted him directly. He explained his problem about building the model and asked if there was any way I could build it for him in time for Christmas. I told him that the kit is really a tough build but I will try to make the deadline. He then asked if I could also put it in a display case. Again, I explained that a case will take 2 weeks to create and ship to me to add it to the model. Another problem I have here is that I live in Boston Massachusetts, and this guy lives in San Francisco California. The date of this conversation was December 1st. 2000. I had no kit, no case, and 20 days to get, build, and ship a 1/350th scale model of the Classic Warship USS Salem. I also have to deal with a full-time job, 2 kids ages 5 and 8 mos, and the Holiday Season as well. BUILDING THE KIT The kit arrives by USPS Priority Mail on December 6th. I perform a quick examiniation of the kit and find that the hull is not bent, bowed, or hogged (whew!) and all of the parts are present. I do notice that the 2 of the 5"/38 guns are defective and will have to be replaced. Having no time to get Steve Wiper to cast me new ones, I cannabilize 2 from the USS Alaska kit. I spend the 6th, 7th, and 8th of December sanding and filing all of the resin and white metal parts. On the 8th, I glue the two hull halves together and begin the tedious task of filling and sanding the seam. While waiting for the filler to dry, I paint all of the photo-etch and smaller parts (serious multitasking going on here folks). With the smaller parts painted, I start to paint the hull the required 4 colors (Black, Hull Red, Haze Gray, and Wood Deck). Each time I needed to wait for paint to dry, I built other parts of the ship in subassemblies. I finished painting the hull on the 12th of December. I then focus on finishing all of the subassemblies so that I can save more time. During this week, I start to grow concerned that the display case has not arrived. Without the display case, I cannot even think of shipping the model unless I want the model to turn back into a kit again once it arrives in San Francisco. Also, if I start adding parts to the hull, it becomes more-and-more difficult to secure the model to the base without damaging the model. Once again, I call Steve Wiper and have him find out where the case is. He tells me the case is en-route to me and should arrive anytime. THE FINAL WEEKEND It is Friday, December 15th. I have a model that is about 50% complete. I have no display case. I have one week before I am to ship the model. Decision time. I decide to go ahead and finish the model without waiting for the display case to arrive. I add the guns, superstructure, Radars, Masts, and all of the zillions of small photo-etch parts of the kit to the hull. I save the masts for last since they are the most delicate. The last MONDAY DECEMBER 18th. The case arrives. Thank-god! For once, I think that I might actually make the deadline. I stop everthing and focus on securing the model to the base. I am extremely carefull in drilling the holes for the screws since I do not have time to repair either the ship or the base if I screw-up. Take note of the fact that the model is complete with the exception of adding the masts and rigging the ship. It takes me most of the evening to drill the holes and properly align and secure the ship to the display base. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19th. I add the masts and rig the ship. Also applied decals to the hull. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20th. Two coats of Future Floor Wax mixed with Tamiya X-21 Flat Base were applied to the model. I like my ships dead flat so that's how this one will be. I touch-up a few missed spots. THE MODEL IS FINISHED!!!!!! THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21st. I secure the plexiglass cover to the display base with clear packing tape. This is critical since if the cover shifts during shipping, it will petty much destroy the entire model. I wrap the entire model in bubble wrap and place it in the shipping box. I fill any voids with plastic peanuts so that the model cannot shift during shipping. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22nd. I will be shipping the model by Airline. I did not want to ship the model via UPS or Fed-Ex because I figured that the more hands touch the box, the more likely that the model will suffer shock damage from being tossed about (can you say: "Northwest" ?). With shipping it by Airline, the model is loaded onto the flight of my choice and is only handled by the handlers at Boston and San Francisco. I arrive at the American Airlines Cargo terminal at 5:00am with the model all secure in its box. There are 3 employees at the counter; none of them can help me because none of them know how to fill-out the Waybill for shipping. I have to wait an hour before someone can actually fill-out the waybill and take my package. They X-Ray the package, confirm that, yes indeed it is a model and no, it is not made of high explosives or toxic chemicals. I leave the box in their trusting hands but I am concerned a bit since they did not seem to be very capable personnel. But hey! this is a major airline and how could they possibly do any worse than any other airline? Due to snow, the flight that my box is on: FLT 195 direct to San Francisco is delayed 2 hours because of weather. I monitor the flight using flighttracker (http://www.flighttracker.com). The customer will be waiting at San Francisco for the flight to arrive so he can claim the box right away. Flt.195 arrives at 3:20pm (pst). My customer calls me. The model is not aboard the aircraft. I call American Airlines Cargo services to find out where my box is. I talk to some drone at the far end and they inform me that it did not make it on my chosen flight and it will arrive on the next flight in 3 hours (mind you, I paid a premimum fare so that it would get on my chosen flight). My customer waits at the airport for 3 hours for the next flight from Boston. The flight arrives: the box does not. Another phone call. They tell me that it is on the next flight due in 20 minutes and sorry for the mix-up. By now, I know I am getting the runaround from these people but I have the customer wait for this flight to arrive. The flight arrives and, you guessed it: no box. It is now 9:03pm (pst); 12:03am (est). Once again, I call the service center and after much badgering they finally admit, they have no idea where my box is and that they will start a trace to see if they can find it. I ask them how in the world they could lose a box that was supposed to be on a direct flight from A to B. Of course they have no idea but they did manage so how to do it. SATURDAY DECEMBER 23rd. I call the service center at 9:00am to see if they found the box yet. They inform me that no, they have not located it yet and that if they do not locate it in 5 days, I can fill out a claim form. I now have visions of my poor shipmodel, sitting on the tarmac somewhere in the country, being used as a wheelchock for a 747. I am now, shall we say, a tad on the miffed side of furious since I paid alot of money for them to send my package to my customer on the same day; in one piece hopefully. At 3:20 I call again and no, they still do not know where my box is or even have the slightest clue as to where it might have gone. It is somewhere at some airport waiting to be found. At 5:10pm my customer calls. American Airlines in San Francisco called him to let him know that the box arrived and that he can pick it up anytime thank-you. He rushes down to the airport and accepts the package. It looks to be o.k. to him. He brings it home and opens it. He slowly extracts the model from the box and unwraps the bubble packing. The model is 100% completely intact. No damage. No shattered case. No pieces flying loose around the inside of the case wreaking havoc on its neighboring pieces. He loves the work I did form him in such a short time. He thinks the model is the most beautful piece of work he has seen in a long time. He calls to tell me the good news. I am happy with the fact that the model arrived; in one piece. I am also happy that my work is going to make one retired sailor a very happy man come Christmas Morning. Kinda what Christmas is all about isn't it ? John Sheridan The only human to defeat the Minbari is behind me, you are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else. : Delenn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: dmarkley@wwhenry.com Subject: Tosa/Amagi Colors? Merry Christmas to all you great SMMLers! Looking for some paint scheme help. I just acquired four 1:1200 scale ships for my collection, a pair of Tosa class battleships and a pair of Amagi class battlecruisers from 1921. Can anyone suggest colors for these? I realize they were never built (at least not as intended!), so I could fairly well paint them as I please I suppose. But then I was struck with the idea of asking for help! Anyone want to make any conjectures? Dean -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "John Rule" Subject: Vibration Although the story about the vibrations from the laundry on the Charles de Gaulle may sound far fetched, it would not be such an unusual occurrence. On many an occasion I have been chased out of the laundry by my washing machine in spin cycle. If the machine is overloaded and, more importantly, the load is unbalanced a phenominal vibration can be started, due to the eccentric spinning. I've had to leap aboard the machine and wrestle it to a standstill, much to the consternation of my wife and children. On a ship vibrations are transmitted easily, as the ship itself is the only attachment for damping. Enough of this tech talk. I'm on holiday. Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel) to one and all and may the "Get It God" be with you on Christmas day. Thanks especially to the dedicated souls who make this list possible. Sincerely John Rule -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: SteveWiper@aol.com Subject: Re: Karlsruhe >> Is there anyone out there that can give me a bit on the cruise history of the Karlsruhe..lf so please contact me at my e-mail address: << You need to be a lot more specific. WHICH KARLSRUHE??????? Steve Wiper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: SteveWiper@aol.com Subject: Re: Floating Drydock Plans >> BTW - I think I wrote these were 1/92 - obviously, these plans are 1/96 - and I stand by my guns; these are great, first-rate plans and wonderful (if a bit large) reference sources for modelers who build these subjects. As always, my hat is off to Tom and Floating Drydock. << To all interested, the plans in question were traced directly from official USN documents. I talked to Tom W. about them, and that's when he told me he did that. They are really superb. Tom W. of the Floating Drydock is a good draftsman, and it shows in his drawings. I have written a few reviews for Model Ship Journal on various plan sets, and highly recommend all of the "TFW" series drawings from the Floating Drydock. Now, one may ask, Why would YOU take my word for the above statement, and how do YOU know that I know what I am talking about. When I got into this hobby as a business, I eliminated my hobby, so my new hobby became, collecting books on warships, and liners, and collecting plan sets, original or aftermarket. I now have over 500 sets of ship drawings. I have been able to compare the "TFW" sets with originals, in some cases, and they match up pretty good. I also do a fair amount of research at the US Archives, publish my own books on ships, so I do have some expertise in this area. I would never claim to be an expert, but would call myself a student of history. A good example of the effort and studying I put into my work is a case currently on hand. I have been contracted to build a finished model of the German WWI battlecruiser SMS Goeben, in 1/200 scale, for a client. I obtained, some time ago a set of plans, that were said to be quite good. They appear to be so, but upon comparing with what few photos of the original vessel, I started to find discrepancies. I have now obtained photos of the original 1/50 scale builders model from Blohm & Voss. I am finding more problems. The model appears to match the photos of the original ship, so I have to study all three references while constructing the model. I do the same for my kit design. That's how I do it, because I am trying to do it as right as I can. Steve Wiper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Duane Fowler Subject: SMMLies in Taipei? Hello All, I'd like to wish everyone a most Merry Christmas! This year I find myself in Taipei, Taiwan and was wondering if there were any other SMMLies near by who might want to get together. I will be here through New Year's Day. If anyone would like to contact me I am at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taipei. Best regards, Duane Fowler dlfowler@uscg.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: d gregory Subject: Re: Chuck D's 1/1200 Christmas list I sent Chuck a note but at the risk of having shoes and cans thrown at me for sticking my toe in the 1/1200 waters, I will make it public. The P.T. Dockyard is taking a vacation from making new 1/600 WW2 coastals to dabble in WW1 1/1200 smaller ships for wargaming. By smaller, I mean DDs, subs, etc. The first ones, a French 450 ton and the USS Allen, should slide down the stocks in the next few weeks. By "for wargaming" I mean the detail level will be akin to Superior and the like, not Navis/Neptun. These were intended for my collection, but Chuck's message made me think there may be more out there who, with Alnavco re-issuing their 1/1200 WW1 ships, may want some inexpensive DDs to keep some inexpensive subs away from their wargame fleet. If you are interested, drop me a line and/or stop in at the P.T. Dockyard site. Enough interest and I will have to come up with an new name for the line! Merry Christmas to all SMMLies! This year we celebrate (roughly) 2000 years of the greatest gift ever given to mankind- a little baby that opened the door for us all! All we have to do is go through! Dave Gregory CEO, Product Design Mgr, Marketing Mgr., Production Mgr., Distribution Mgr. The P.T. Dockyard http://homepage.altavista.com/ptdockyard Email: ptdockyard@juno.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Charlie Jarvis Subject: A Visit From St. Nick 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The kids, they were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugarplums, and video games, and CD-Roms, and Barbies, and scooters, and petchies, and, well, you get the idea, Danced through their heads. Mommy and Daddy were lying exhausted With flashbacks of instructions, assemblies, parts losted. The batteries bought and the extras all hidden At strategic locations, even the kitchen. And I in my sweatsuit, my spouse in her flannels Sat in front of the TV and numbly surfed channels. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter. I fell on the floor, and tripped over the cat, Knocked my head on the tree, and that's where I sat. The moon on the crest of the new fallen snow Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below. When what to my poor dizzy eyes would appear But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer With a little old driver so lively and quick I knew in in a minute it must be St. Nick. He peeked in the window, and saw all the stuff, And he said, "Holy cow! You you guys sure did enough!" I said to him, "Geez, I've got kids to make happy." "Well, golly," he said, "What can we do for Pappy?" I thought for a minute, and said to St. Nick, "A boatload of warships, and please make it quick!" "Well, what would you want?" said that jolly old elf. And I thought of real neat things, in spite of myself. "A Bagley, late Fletcher, a Paulding-class, too, A Hamilton cutter, post FRAM and brand new. A long-hulled class Essex, where my uncle had fought, And a good CV-6, Midway time, and cheap bought. Good photos, line drawings and documents, clear, And all of them color." (Steve Wiper, you hear?) "Is there anything else?" said that jolly St. Nick. "1/350 scale, 'cause my fingers got thick." And Santa, he said, "Some are here, some are not. But please, keep your hopes up, no matter what." So I went to my wife, asleep on the couch, Stubbed my toe on a present, and swore and said "Ouch!" I waked her and told her what happened. She said, "I think that last highball went straight to your head." Well, I peeked out the window, Santa flew out of site, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Lump518176@aol.com Subject: Re: Derek W. ...................No. Cal forget it!!! Any Southern Californian will tell you.......So Cal rules over No. Cal!!!! Besides, you cant't afford the cost of living up there. Sincerely, from San Diego, Jerry Phillips P.S. No. Cal. keep sending down the water..thanks! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: LUCASNER@aol.com Subject: Deck camber in 1/192 scale Hey everyone, I'm building a 1/192 scale Fletcher static model. Do any of you modeling veterans think its worthwhile to model camber into the decks in this scale. I've done the math on how much it shoal be, but can anyone tell me if its even noticeable in this scale? Thanks, Dave Lueck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: LUCASNER@aol.com Subject: Ship awards and campaign ribbons Is there anyway to find out which campaign awards and decorations were received by particular ships? I'm building the USS Pringle, DD-477 and would like to display these ribbons, but where do I find them? Thanks, Dave Lueck -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Ned Barnett" Subject: Grey Ghost - Queen Mary in Warpaint (help) For a bit of a twist on Christmas, my wife and I decided to visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach (when you live in Las Vegas, any excuse to get out of town on a holiday is a good excuse). This rekindled my desire to build the venerable Queen in warpaint - a desire spurred by purchasing a poster/aerial photo of the Queen in warpaint. Which means I need help! First, I'd like to find a general arrangement drawing of the Queen in warpaint, one that shows the positioning of the various weapons (mostly AA). From the photo, I can see the de-gaussing cables, but except for a few mounts over the foc'sl, I can't see what's there. I have a book on her wartime service, but while there are photos, there are no plans. I have the Modelcrafter kit (bought on a previous visit to the Queen) which is the same odd 1/568th (or whatever) scale as the more common Revell kit (coincidence? I think not ...). Anyway, while I already have the basic PE set for 1/600 liners, I will need a weapons set in 1/600th scale (Bofors twin-mounts in bandstands and Oerlikons, it looks like ... though there could be pom-poms, this being a Brit-ship and all). Does anybody have (or know of sources for) plans or right-scale light AA weapons-sets? I offer cash-money American (in reasonable quantities) for these ... (must I beg?) ... Thanks Ned PS - while there, I also took in the Foxtrot "Skorpion" - the ex-Soviet diesel-electric sub. My third visit, and still worthwhile. I'm amazed every time I go there at how cramped subs are. I've been in US Gato/Fleet boats and I've been in this Foxtrot (the technology of the Soviet subs, 30 years later, was so much like ours in the war that it's is remarkable) - and in both cases, it would help to be a midget ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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