Subject: SMML VOL 1119 Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 00:34:08 -0800 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: aircraft carrier deck vehicles 2: Model Ship Journal 3: white paint 4: Portholes 5: Higgins 78ft. PT boats 6: Visit London - come to Newcastle. Yer what????? 7: Re: RCN Gunshield artwork 8: Re: White Paint 9: Re: Chicago Blue etc 10: Re: References on the US Steel Navy in the Pre-Dreadnought era 11: Re: Submarine reference 12: Visiting the UK & e-mail 13: Arii 1/400 scale Iowa class ships -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: PSB Subject: aircraft carrier deck vehicles Can anyone point me to where I can find details on the various vehicles (mules? tractors?) used in modern aircraft/helo carriers?; I'm doing research so that I can start modelling a 1/144 scale LHA or LHD...or maybe even something based on the british CVF design. Thanks for your help. Regards, Pablo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "John Rule" Subject: Model Ship Journal Just received my copy of Model Ship Journal. An excellent issue. Well done Victor. Sincerely John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Shirley Sachsen Subject: white paint >> A question for the list: which brand of white paint gives best coverage? << in my experience, Humbrol flats cover the best in a very thin coat--even white--and the brush strokes are 'self healing' after the paint is applied. everything else, Pactra & Testors, you can apply it in thick ropey coats and they still won't cover. s -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: melee Subject: Portholes Here is the reply regarding portholes. LeeShackelford >> From: Paul Stillwell Subject: Portholes Dear Lee Errin Shackelford, Ann Hassinger passed your question along to me for reply. I'm am almost certain that the reason for welding plates over the portholes was for the sake of watertight integrity. When I served on board ship, we had heavy metal ports that we could do into place. They would keep the light from escaping and were also supposed to keep water from coming in. But welding the opening shut would be a sure way of making it watertight. Sincerely yours, Paul Stillwell Director, History Division << -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Friedrich Kappes Subject: Higgins 78ft. PT boats I have a drawing of "Higgins 78ft PT-boat", but I donīt know which. It could be the 71, 197, 265, 450, 625, 791 series. My boat shows a 40mm aft, 2x20mm; 2 MG; 4 torpedos without tubes and radar. Any ideas, photos for me to compare... I canīt send it around, because I have no scanner. Friedrich The FriedrichFiles http://sites.netscape.net/friedkappes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Michael Dunn" Subject: Visit London - come to Newcastle. Yer what????? Doug Wilde wrote :- >> I'd also visit Turbinia. Although a bit modified from her dash at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee at Spithead on June 26th, 1897, she resides at the Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne. I have no idea where NuT is in relation to London, but this small boat is incredibly important. And why we don't have a nice 1/72 scale model of it I'll never know. But I have the offsets for her and as soon as I finish with Wolverine and Sable I'll draw her up. << OK, OK, I'll bite ;-) Seeing as I'm from "up North, like"....... For those used to travelling several hundred miles for a quick visit somewhere (mention no names, but a certain Aussie springs to mind ;-)), a trip to Tyneside will be no problem. For the rest of us.......! Newcastle is 360 miles of (for the next 6 months) pretty poor railway, and not much better road from London - expect 5 hours travelling, maybe more. While Turbinia is there, and other very interesting items exist in Newcastle's Exhibition Park museum as well as the Science Museum's ship area (with builders models from Swan Hunters among others) not to mention the Maritime Museum I understand now exists on the Quayside, or even the ships area in the Sunderland Museum (again builders models, this time from the Wearside & South Shields builders), I can't honestly say "go for the ships" - you're better staying in the south-east of the country, not heading to the other end. But if you do go, put the above on your list, as well as Hartlepool (where they are currently restoring an old ship - Caroline @ WEM has more info on her).. And I recommend a trip up the coast to Blyth, specifically the first floor of the local library - they have a local history section with plenty of info on their yards (ship & breakers) as well as a wonderful oil painting of HMS Audacity sailing from Gib with her escort and Martlets. The artist? My late father in law - one of his wonderful paintings. Mike Hi Mike, Gee, 360 miles is just a stroll in the countryside. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Bob Pearson" Subject: Re: RCN Gunshield artwork I would like to thank all who replied to my query on RCN Gunshield art and who sent along samples. I have ordered the book Gunshield Graffiti from Schooner books in Halifax via abebooks.com. One other thing I noticed while searching for it was that Canada's Flowers is still available from many online shops for $15. . this is one of the three best Flower books I know of that are readily available. The others being the new volume by John Lambert and Corvettes of the RCN by MacPherson/Milner. Regards, Bob Pearson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Jim Johnson" Subject: Re: White Paint As I have admitted before on this forum, I build aircraft as well a ships (and things with wheels once in a great while). My favorite era is USN Vietnam. My service was during this time and the aircraft of this time were extremely colorful. The biggest problem I had with this was the white undersurfaces of the planes. I used to use Floquil Reefer White and mix my own Lt Gull Gray from Floquil (One full bottle of reefer white, 20 drops of engine black and 20 drops of reefer yellow). I tried all of the other whites on the market and a bunch that are no longer available. Floquil was the best of the lot, but still had problems. I have not tried the Revell white primer mentioned yesterday, but the others mentioned will work. But I have found a better white paint. It is the best I have ever used. There is an automotive restoration supply company called Eastwood Company that carries all kinds of strange and wondrous things, including paints. One brand they carry is Sign Painters 1 Shot lettering paint. It is designed for pinstriping full scale cars. It comes in a 8oz can. I bought a quart of reducer at the same time as I bought the paint. That was a mistake. I used it once and didn't like it. I tried thinning it with lacquer thinner 50/50 and immediately fell in love. The paint airbrushes on beautifully. It covers dark colors usually in one coat. It is thinner ratio tolerant. The mixture doesn't gum up when stored like Humbrol will when thinned with lacquer thinner. It was designed to brush paint so I would assume it would, althow I haven't tried it. The down side is that it is slow drying. It needs to set overnight before handling it. It is very glossy and any dust or dirt would show up in the finish. It would have to be overcoated with semi gloss or flat if that was what was needed. Any model should be overcoated no matter what kind it is. I would imagine that this paint could be found in a auto supply store that has a good selection of paints. Eastwood has it for $5.99 plus shipping. They can be reached at www.eastwoodcompany.com Give it a try, you'll like it. Jim Johnson IPMS 1788 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "M & R Brown" Subject: Re: Chicago Blue etc 1) The notes on Perth say Dark Green Grey and Dark Blue Grey on one side, sorry I can't read my own scribble, definitely not 507ADark Grey. 2) The photos I mentioned were ones taken by Dakin's people (not the RAN). Apparently they took photos of various vessels at different angles off of Sydney Heads to compare the effectiveness of the various schemes as well as in harbour photos. Ross Gillett's etc. photos are official RAN ones. I have copies of some of them. Michael Brown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: References on the US Steel Navy in the Pre-Dreadnought era A *must have* in this category is "The American Steel Navy" by John Alden (ISBN 0870212486). It has a couple of hundred clear,sharp black and white contemporary pictures (most of them full page). Lots of close-up detail shots of USN Pre-dreadnoughts, including many shots of sailors at work, drill and play. Has a gallery of admirals at the end as well as a cutaway of the Indiana class and line drawings of all the classes from battleships down to submarines. Mine cost $60 brand new and was worth every penny. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: Submarine reference I've done some searching on the web and have been attracted to three books written by Anthony Preston. I also have his volumes on "Battleships and Battlecruisers," "Cruisers," and "Destroyers." These are all good general backgrounders on their various subjects that are easy to read and informative. Something from Mr. Preston will certainly satisfy my submarine curiosity. I can always get more specific later. Anyway, here are the three books I've found. Would those of you who have these or who have paged through them at the book store, please give me your opinions? "Submarines," St. Martins Press (1982) 192 pages $25 "Submarines: The History and Evolution of Underwater Fighting Vessels," Octopus Books, (1975) 124 pages $23 "Submarine Warfare: An Illustrated History," Thunder Bay, (1998) 160 pages $17. TIA Marc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Stuart Batchelor" Subject: Visiting the UK & e-mail The UK, as someone pointed out, is one giant museum. Having flown accross the big puddle last May, I can vouch for the recomendations made here already. In addition, if your studies will permit, I can also reomend Bovington, the home of the Tank Musuem (where we could walk on them, crawl in them and RIDE in one during Tankfest 2000. Hint - keep the lawyers away). Another good place is RAF Duxford, part of the Imperial War Museum system. I spent a day and a half there and could have stayed even longer if our plans would have allowed. The National Maritime Museum could easily be a two day trip as could Portsmouth. As to the e-mail communication, I have an account set up with Hotmail (it's free - see www.hotmail.com for details) that I use when I travel. I used throught my trip to europe to keep up with SMML, talk to Robert Lockie (who I still missed at Tankfest), and torment my friends and coworkers. If you can access the net, you can access Hotmail, and your email. I hope you have fun, finish your studies, and remember, they drive on the wrong side of the road. Hope this helps Stuart Batchelor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Peter K. H. Mispelkamp Subject: Arii 1/400 scale Iowa class ships Joe: Did you ever get your Arii Missouri/New Jersey? What can you tell me about them? Are they in a WWII or modern fit? Are they enlarged versions of their 1/600 scale ships? Also, do you know if Heller's French minesweeper kit is a WWII vessel? (PS if you ever want to sell your IJN Tone - just drop me a line!) Thanks Sincerely Peter K. H. Mispelkamp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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