Subject: SMML VOL 1137 Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 22:32:58 -0800 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: WWII Color Trivia 2: Meeting old hands 3: Gray Uniforms 4: Too much information about screws 5: Re: Sea Ram 6: Re: Eyewitnesses -Allan Plumb 7: Re: more warships trivia 8: Peter Hall - Your Troubles are Just Beginning 9: Re: Hasegawa/Haguro 10: Sandpiper 11: Re: More Warship Trivia... 12: Re: an officer and a gentleman 13: Re: RAM 14: Re: RAM 15: Re: 1/4-28 NF screws 16: USN Grey Uniforms 17: RAM relacing CIWS? 18: Revell Invincible class carriers 19: Re: John Snyder 20: warship trivia 21: Re: Lamp Finials 22: Tamiya USS Enterprise CVN 65 23: 16" ricochets/Pocatello Id 24: Tamiya 1:350 Fletcher 25: Thread size 26: 1/4-28 SCREWS 27: Re: Lamp finials 28: More warships trivia (2) 29: Sub-Base Pier 30: Fletcher Facts 31: Another Trivial Question 32: Warship Trivia 33: HMAS Perth & Moskva Photoetch 34: Re: New Revell Kit USS SKIPJACK 35: RAF ASR Boat ASR102 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: HO & N scale Ships & Boats 2: Kurt R. Boyd -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Joel Labow Subject: WWII Color Trivia >> However, a light grey uniform (indistinguishable from Khaki in BW photos) was also very common. According to some veterans I met, the grey uniform was favored over the khakis. A friend who studies and collects WW2 uniforms explained that the grey colored uniform was introduced mid-war in order to economize on war-critical chemicals used in khaki dyes. It may also have been percieved as somewhat less conspicious by Kamakazi conscious men exposed on the upper decks. << The truth about the WWII grey uniform is a bit more prosaic.....it was the brainstorm of Admiral King, the domineering WWII Chief of Naval Operations. He insisted on the uniform in both working and dress forms (identical to Service Dress Khaki with a single-breasted 3-button blouse with shoulder boards). Both uniforms were discontinued a year after his departure as CNO. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: BSteinIPMS@aol.com Subject: Meeting old hands I also enjoyed Bob Santos' story of an "old hand" and his reminiscences. I had a similar experience when doing research for the building of my model of the FLETCHER class destroyer USS KIDD. The following is copied from the "Acknowledgments" section of the multi-part article I've written for Seaways' Ships in Scale magazine (http://www.seaways.com/) on the building of this model. (This series of articles started with the current issue (Jan/Feb 2001) and will span four or more issues.) "In September 1995 I was in Boston on board the USS Cassin Young, and while composing a close-up photograph of a deckhouse fire-fighting station, I heard a voice behind me asking "Now, why would anyone want a photo of that?" Turning to answer my inquisitor, I beheld an elderly gentleman in the deck uniform of the Cassin Young, a Mr. Sumner Wheeler, who had served on board this destroyer when both were much younger. After explaining this project to him, I was overwhelmed with his hospitality and was literally given the keys to the ship. All of the inaccessible places and spaces were opened up for me, including the 5"/38 caliber main gun director. As I sat in that lofty perch, I knew this project was going to be not only educational but emotional as well. Sumner followed up his graciousness with a packet of period black and white photographs that made the Cassin Young's history come alive for me. The wealth of detail in the photos, the extent of the Kamikaze damage, the personalities on board, all made a "living history" out of this project for which I am very grateful." Be nice to the next "older gentleman" you encounter: he just might have something interesting to tell you. Bob Steinbrunn Minneapolis Member, Nautical Research Guild -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Gray Uniforms Steve Holton noted- >> My late father politely described the grey uniforms as one of Admiral King's "innovations". << Apparently King was a major proponent, if not the creator, of the "slate gray" service dress introduced in mid-1943. According to 'Uniforms of the United States Navy 1900-1967', the rationale was to produce a uniform to complement shipboard camouflage and at the same time conserve metal (i.e., gold and brass) for the war effort. The uniform initially used black plastic in place of gilt buttons and black cloth instead of traditional gold braid, but these soon reappeared. The outfit was extremely unpopular (nicknamed the 'bus driver suit' among other things) and was discontinued when the war ended. It was formally abolished in 1949. MWL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: MDDoremus@aol.com Subject: Too much information about screws Mark Flake wrote: >> Okay, I got the finials at Home Depot. I also got some 1/4 inch screws -- they're close, but they don't fit. Where does one get "1/4-28 nf thread" screws? << American Engineering units are being used here. Typically screws come in two types; fine and course. There are others but only two described here. In the 1/4" variety, they are 1/4-20 UNC and 1/4-28 UNF. The 1/4 is the pitch diameter, a 4 decimal place number near .2500. UNC stands for Unified National Coarse and refers to a family of coarse threaded screws, in this case 20 threads per inch (for each complete revolution of the screw, it moves forward 1/20 of an inch). The UNF is for Unified National Fine, in this case 28 threads per inch. The "U" is often dropped on some packaging. The fine screw has some strength and torque advantages because there is slightly more material in it. Coarse screws are a bit cheaper to make since there are fewer threads in a given length. Whether a thread is fine or coarse is also a function of the pitch diameter, so for #10 screws (pitch diameter .1875 or .1900) 24 threads per inch (tpi) is considered coarse and 32 tpi is considered fine. A local hardware or auto parts store may be a little more help than your local building supply superstore. Mark Doremus Mechanical Engineer Eden Prairie, MN ----> Chesterfield, MO TCAH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: CA139JOHNF@aol.com Subject: Re: Sea Ram The November 2000 issue of Warship World Vol 7. No.2 has a two page article on this system with 1 pic showing the unit exterior. Looks like a straight forward modification to CWIS to me. It is scheduled to be installed on HMS York next month. John Frohock USNSM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "D.Przezdziecki" Subject: Re: Eyewitnesses -Allan Plumb Your point about eyewitnesses is well made Allan. Fog of war, excitement or fear can do strange things with the way we see and remember things. Looking throu archives how many times did I spot old WW II photos of proud soldiers posing in front of captured or destroyed German PzKpfw IV with a caption - "TIGER!!"?? As my uncle used to say: "each tank was a Tiger, each ship - a battleship". That's why the "Intel" types were so needed to sort the real from the imagined. Now I am not degrading those soldiers, sailors and airmen as liers, this is just the way our preception works,that's all. Regards D.P. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Pieter Cornelissen Subject: Re: more warships trivia >> Two questions to get the grey cells going: 1 which meeting between Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet also included an American squadron?? << That would be their last meeting at sea; the surrender of the High Seas Fleeet on the 21st of november 1918. Pieter Cornelissen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: DaveRiley1@aol.com Subject: Peter Hall - Your Troubles are Just Beginning >> In the end a complete clean out and new Mac OS sorted the problem out ... << How can that be??!!! It seems to me that having a Mac will be the beginning of your problems, not the end. :-) Dave Riley Portsmouth, Rhode Island - USA Hi dave, ROTFLMSAO - but I'm staying right out of this one - you're on your own ;-> Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Ramires, Filipe C" Subject: Re: Hasegawa/Haguro Hello RhinoBones and List I don't have the Haguro but I have Nachi (same class) already built with the same configuration with the one that you have write about Haguro. >> 1) are these extra sprues the same as the Skywave detailing sets? << Yes they are the same but with as little plastic quality inferiority then Skywave >> 2) do all of Hasegawa's 1:700 Water Line Series kits come with these extra sprues? << AFAIK only the so called re-tooled ones. The old boxes don't have this sets so if you want Hasegawa models with the Skywave sets try to get them brand new. >> 3) and if I purchased an IJN destroyer from the 1:700 Water Line Series would I also get the equivalent of the Skywave E-02 DD detailing set? << Most probably but take into account that the plastic quality it is not the same. Hope this helps. Regards Filipe C. Ramires Colchester, UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Art Herrick" Subject: Sandpiper Hi! Martin Subject: Your search for "Insect" class gunboat information. For the past 16 years I have been gathering information on the gunboats used by the U.S. Navy's Yangtze Patrol in China (1845/1941). Along the way I came across a book documenting the British navy's presence in China during the same period, and would recommend it to you. GUNBOATS ON THE GREAT RIVER - A history of the Royal Navy on the Yangtze, by Gregory Haines, Macdonald & Janes Publishers Limited, London, 1976. I first got this book through inter-library loan and then purchased a copy through www.abebooks.com HMS Sandpiper is one of the gunboats pictured in the book. There is an Epilogue telling of six of the Insect class gunboats that in 1940 made there way from Singapore to the Mediterranean, and fought there in WW 2. Appendix 1 lists all the British gunboats in China from 1897, as well as those from other countries. There is an extensive Bibliography and one book is noted that tells of this Mediterranean Service, ARMED WITH STINGS, by Cecil Hampshire, London, 1958. Have not seen this book. Art Herrick Westmoreland NH Member: Nautical Research Guild USS CONSTITUTION Ship Model Guild Yangtze River Patrol Assoc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Richa5011@aol.com Subject: Re: More Warship Trivia... >> 1 which meeting between Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet also included an American squadron?? << That would be what Admiral Beatty called "Der Tag" or the day when the German High Seas Fleet Surrendured itself to the Grand Fleet which included one squadron of USN battleships (New York, Texas, Arkansas, Wyoming and Florida). Though both USN and RN ships were battle ready, no shots were fired and the Germans were safely interned at Scapa Flow. Nat Richards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Pieter Cornelissen Subject: Re: an officer and a gentleman >> Now, with which ship did Nevada have its discussions? AFAIK, all French capital ships at Toulon were scuttled in 11/42. That would be Provence, Ocean, Dunkerque, and Strasbourg. Breyer says the pre-dreadnought Condorcet was damaged but not sunk in 11/42, was used by the Germans as a barracks ship, and was sunk by an Allied air raid. Which of these might have provided coast guns, or were they pre-existing? << I don'n know with which ship Nevada have this discussion, but I may have some other answers. After the scuttling of most of the French fleet in november 1942 the Italians started demolishing the battleships (while refloating some other ships). The 13'' guns form both Dunkerque and Strasbourg were taken from the ships and may have ended up in the Toulon fortifications, but other ex-ships guns were already there as some of the guns originally intended for the pre-WW1 Normandie (Bearn) class dreadnoughts were part of the Toulon fortifications. These guns had been destroyed by their crews in november 1942 and had been replaced by the Germans by guns taken from the sunken old battleship Provence. This may have been the battery the Nevada sailor talked about as it looked like a two barrel version of Richelieu's turrets. By the time of operation 'Dragoon' Strasbourg had been refloated by the Germans and sunk by an allied air raid, most of Dunkerque had been demolished, Provence still lay sunk and had been partly demolished and Condorcet had been in use as an barracks ship for years and could probably not fire any guns. AFAIK Condorcet was not sunk by a battleship. Source: H.J. Kowark; Das ende der Franzosischen Flotte im Zweiten Weltkrieg; Hamburg/Berlin/Bonn; Mittler verlag; 1998 Pieter Cornelissen Delft, The Netherlands -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: RAM >> There is a Raytheon artists impression in Janes' at: http://www.janes.com/defence/naval_forces/gallery/981209.jpg << This was obviously an early rendering. The photo of an operational RAM sent to me by an SMMLie looked nothing like the rendering. The rending includes the radar dome and optical/infra red sighting system as is found on all block 1 and block 2 CIWS. However, the photo of the operational RAM on the Oldendorf does not have the radar dome, and the launcher box is turned on its side and mounted between the pylons. This is a guess, but I'll bet the operational RAM uses the Oldendorf's Spy 1 phased array radar for targeting. Eliminating the need for the radar dome and associated radar on the mount itself. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. You can now pay using your Visa / MasterCard Flagship Models - Photo Etched Details for Warships -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: RAM >> Are you guys talking about the Rolling Airframe Missile system? I don't know if we are talking about the same item, but the RAM is mounted on a base similar to the Phalanx, but holds 21 missiles which cannot be reloaded at sea. Rusty, I have a few pictures of these if we are talking about the same thing here. << Same thing. Send the photos. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. You can now pay using your Visa / MasterCard Flagship Models - Photo Etched Details for Warships -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: GKingzett@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/4-28 NF screws Marc, Any decent local hardware store which has that rack of boxes of specialized hardware items behind the counter. Talk to the counterperson about the variety of things available. You will get lots of ideas for ways to build things. Stainless steel, nylon and brass hardware, all sorts of exotic stuff. The weird screws that electricians use to mount switches that you can't find anywhere else, etc. By the way, all solid cylindrical items with threads on the outside are defined as screws. You have to specify what type you want. You are looking for machine screws. Gary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Sean Obrien Subject: USN Grey Uniforms My dad said that sometime in 44 he got an issue of the greys. They were in for an overhaul and He needed a new uniform and thought he'd better get the new issues since the uniform was going to change. He said they were a slate grey and looked like crap. The only thing they might have been good for was night watch. He says he must have been one of only a 1000 people to get them, they were never popular, and were quickly gone. He was serving in the South Pacific, which may explain why he didn't see more of them. He does say he has a photo of himself in 44 wearing them and you can tell it's not khaki. He's going to dig it out for me to see. Sean O'B -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: RAM relacing CIWS? Is the Navy contemplating replacing the CIWS with the RAM? I'm curious because the Navy already is fitting ships with the improved Block 2 CIWS. This system includes longer heavier barrels, heavier barrel bracing, and an optical/infra red sighting system mounted on the side of the radar dome. It seems strange to replace a recently upgraded system so early in its operational life. However, there have been complaints about the CIWS's reliability due to it's complexity. The RAM it would seem, would be much simpler to operate and maintain. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. You can now pay using your Visa / MasterCard Flagship Models - Photo Etched Details for Warships -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Mike Dunn" Subject: Revell Invincible class carriers Craig wrote :- >> BTW the other day at local hobby shop I saw the HMS Illustrious by Dragon it looks like the Ark Royal kit with different masts and isn't the latest rebuild of this class with with the sea dart launcher removed to extend the hangar. It goes for $22.00 USD. << Yup, the Illustrious is in an earlier fit. As to the differences between this and the other two kits - see the SMML web site where we have a review of one of them, and a comparison review of all three. Mike SMML Webmaster Hmmmm, obviously Mike is feeling his age (afterall it's his birthday today ;-) ) & getting modest. The above reviews are actually written by him. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: John Snyder Subject: Re: John Snyder Sorry, you'll have to rent a copy of "Operation Petticoat," freeze the proper frame on-screen, and start matching. Of course, for the right price we could do custom work.... ;^)) Actually, the "pink" sub had some historical basis. The IJN kept reporting a "red" sub operating against them, which turned out to be true. The paintwork on one of the boats (sorry, don't remember which one at the moment) was so bad that she was mostly showing red-lead for at least one war patrol. John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys http://www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Alan Bickerton" Subject: warship trivia hello all SMMLlies queston one well it could hardly called a meeting the high seas fleet sailed to intercept scandanavian convoy wich unknown to speer had allready got back to the UK moltke lost a propeller broke radio silence Beatty put to sea The germans retired and in the night of the 23 april the two fleets crossed 2T ship wich the US wanted but did not get is the chilean battleship ALMIRANTE LATORRE after pearl harbor the us navy wanted her to repalce those lost there to wich the chileans repiled NO WAY Jose or wrods to that efect please excuse the allfull tiping i am new to this game dellexeia rules KO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Alan Simon Subject: Re: Lamp Finials For Marc and others trying to find SCREWS to fit threaded finials. Give up. Thread size is non-standard for either US or metric machine screws. But you can return to the very same display at retailer where you found finial pack and look for two or more harp assemblies (curved brass rod with threaded part at top). Remove rod from threaded part and disassemble same by hand. What remains is scrap brass and a flat (thin) headed screw (without slot or Phillips head) with about 9/16" of correct machine screw thread. Countersink your base, as required and secure in base with epoxy glue. Happy lighting (I mean modeling), Alan Simon Atlanta, Ga. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Texxn5@aol.com Subject: Tamiya USS Enterprise CVN 65 I have two questions concerning the Enterprise. someone makes a replacement airwing that consists of Viet Nam era aircraft, F4's EA3's; RA5's etc. Can someone tell me who is selling this as well as who makes the best PE for the kit. Any help for aftermarket parts would be helpful. Also I would like to purchase a Detail & Scale of the Big E, does anyone want to sell one. Please contact me. Thanks for any help. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "pwesty" Subject: 16" ricochets/Pocatello Id Yup, Doug Wilde pretty much describe Idaho and Pocatello to a tee. That's because I can walk out side my front door and see everything that he is talking about and it's just a quick drive to the old N.o.p.(Naval ordances plant). There are about five to six massive buildings there I can't remember just how many for sure that's just the form the top of my head but the navy has not been here from 40 plus years. Hey Doug are you still around here in the area or have you move on? Pwesty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: "DUCKMAN" Subject: Tamiya 1:350 Fletcher What will work well for the boot around the gun barrell where it enters the turret? I would appreciate some help on this. Thanx, David -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: "T. Stephen Rogers" Subject: Thread size >> Okay, I got the finials at Home Depot. I also got some 1/4 inch screws -- they're close, but they don't fit. Where does one get "1/4-28 nf thread" screws? << I bought mine at a machine tool and fastener supply house. A box of one hundred...cheap! Steve Rogers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: JVT7532@aol.com Subject: 1/4-28 SCREWS Marc, There should be absolutely no reason you could not get those screws at Home Depot also as they carry them in the Brass and stainless and plated sections of screw hardware. Best regards, Jon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: Mike Settle Subject: Re: Lamp finials The 1/4-28 threads on the finials is a pipe thread, and not the same as the 1/4-28 of a fine thread bolt. Confusing, isn't it? However, in the same section of Home Depot that you found the finials, they should also have the pipe (called nipples) and nuts that will match the threads of the finials. Or, you can do what I do. Drill all the way through the finial, and the keel of your model. Get a machine screw long enough to go through your base, the finial, and into the hull of the model. Exoxy a nut inside the hull for the machine screw to thread into. I countersink the hole on the underside of the base so that the screw is recessed. Use a flat washer under the head of the screw so the screw won't compress the wood. Good luck. Mike Settle I am not agent #1908 of the non-existent Lumber Cartel (tinlc)tm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: "Tony Ireland" Subject: More warships trivia (2) Hi D.P., I believe that Mr Churchill was willing to hand over the new K.G.5 battleship 'Duke of York' - which a wag suggested might be re-named 'U.S.S. Duke of New York'.... Would have made an interesting model for those insistent on getting every tiny detail and paint scheme correct. Cheers, Tony -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Sub-Base Pier >> OUCH!! With or without crew (remains)? Why didn't they save it?? << The crew was interred with the sub; they didn't save it because one washed up intact on Barber's Point and had already revealed all of its secrets. The one sunk in Pearl was not in good condition, and had nothing to offer us that we didn't already have. I suspect there were also some emotionally-driven patriotic reasons, too, but can only speculate there. Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Fletcher Facts >> Ok I know we have been over this a couple of times, I tried searching the SMML archives, but it doesn't seem to be working. It will be the first USN ship I have ever done, so I want to do it right: What changes are needed to be made to this kit? How many men do I need to show on deck/upper decks/bridge and where, if ship is represented in a gun action, AA action or depth charge action or torpedo attack? What color would the uniforms be? This is going to be a two-ship father-son diorama, so we are both eagerly awaiting the answers. << Keith, old man - Duane Fowler has a decal sheet of the no-skid tread areas that I got from him in October - it's impressive as all get-out (he also has it in 1/700); Rusty White has PE brass for Fletcher (see the FineScale Modeling 2001 for a photo, and the upcoming April 2001 issue for a how-to). Squadron's In-Action book on US DDs has a Fletcher (I think) with color - Guadalcanal era - and there are several good books by Anthony Preston on Destroyers that have color. Ross, Raven and Reilly have books out on Fletchers (or on DDs) - Raven's is the Fletcher Class, Ross' is the USS The Sullivans and Reilly's is US DDs. Don't recall on color, but those hold lots of shots - and the former two are Naval Institute Press books. Don't know about changes or crew - uniforms should be khaki (or alternatively khaki or gray after 1943) for officers and denim (light-blue shirts, dark-blue dungarees) for the enlisted men, including CPOs - some enlisted might be in white T-shirts or even bare-chested (don't forget the tattoos). Good luck - and let me know how it goes - I've got one on the shelf, just waiting ... (sigh) Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Another Trivial Question There was a US Cruiser (I won't mention class or name - that's part of the question) that served in more combat than any other - at least based on battle stars, etc. She managed to dodge three close calls with kamikazes late in the war - but her luck "almost" ran out when she was hit by a fourth kamikaze ... this one, however, was a dud - it was a direct hit: first it hit the water, then ricocheted upward, striking the ship on a vertical bulkhead, then bounced off the ship back into the water, then exploded far enough away to do no measurable damage. The only casualty was one enlisted man on the other side of the now-dented bulkhead, who apparently had one mother of a headache. My questions are: which ship, what location and what date ... (a hint - now that there is FINALLY a decent kit of the class out, I'm thinking about modeling this scene - something not really possible until now, unless you built that old Lindbergh dog). Any takers? Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32) From: "Jana & Pavel" Subject: Warship Trivia Hi all SMML'ies, In answer to the two new trivia questions, here are my answers: 1 which meeting between Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet also included an American squadron?? This is without fail the surrender of the High Seas Fleet to the Allies. On the 21 of November 1918 ( Der Tag as the Germans called it) the German High seas Fleet sailed to Scapa Flow to surrender. Waiting for them was a fleet of 370 warships comprising the British Grand Fleet, with detachments of the Channel Fleet and other stations. With this was a French Armored Cruiser and Two Destroyers. The Americans were represented by the 6th Battle Squadron consisting of the BB 28 Delaware, BB 30 Florida, BB 33 Arkansas, BB 34 New York and BB 35 Texas. 2 during WW II which British build ship did the US Navy want but did not get?? This one I am a little uncertain of but here goes: In February 1941 H.M.S. Duke of York (at the time fitting out) was to be swapped for eight new United States 8" cruisers. This idea was then scraped due to British Battleship loses in the Mediterranean and the fact that the cruisers could not be manned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33) From: Donald Bridge Subject: HMAS Perth & Moskva Photoetch Hi Guys. 1) DML HMAS Perth I saw somewhere that DML marketed their 1/700 Charles F Adams Kit (7019) as HMAS Perth (7019X). I know that the DML kit CFA has the decals for Perth but I do not know if it has parts for the Ikara conversion. Does the Perth kit have the Ikara parts and does anyone know where I can get one if it does. Are there any other regional variants on DML kits that are not in their catalog. 2) Moskva Photoetch I've seen the pictures of the WEM Moskva photoetch and it seems to be great. Question is how easy is it for a manufacturer to rescale photoetch? I've got the Kombrig Moskva and Leningrad and they are screaming out for this set in 1/700. But I do not know the difficulty/demand for the rescale however I think most people with these kombrig kits would be interested. Also whilst I'm rambling on does anyone out there know of a source for the old Skywave Soviet equipment set. Don Bridge Hi Don, Yup, the Dragon (ex Skywave) HMAS Perth does have parts for the Ikara conversion. you need to do some surgery on a few parts, but it's there ;-). It should still be widely available thru the usual suspects ;-) (check the SMML site for some vendors). They (Skywave - re-released by Revell) also did the CFA as the Rommel as well. They also did the OHPs in RAN guise as well. I think they're the only "regional" ones they did. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34) From: "michael thrupp" Subject: Re: New Revell Kit USS SKIPJACK WRT New Revell kit of USS Skipjack, I'm (almost) certain this is the old Aurora kit - I got my built model down from the loft and it works out at the ever-popular 1:233 scale (cf 1:230 scale as per catalog) - also remember that it had relatively few parts, including viewable nuclear reactor. It compares well with the side view drawing of USS Skipjack on Page 132 of Friedmans' 'U.S. Submarines since 1945 '. I wish that the old Aurora fit of the Russian G-class submarine could be re-issued - the sail/ conning tower bore more than a passing resemblance to the real thing. Cheers Mike Thrupp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35) From: "Edward Wyatt" Subject: RAF ASR Boat ASR102 Hi I would like to contact anyone who could help me with a RAF air sea rescue launch ASR102. I wish to build for my local Aircraft museum here in Malta, as this is where the boat operated from. Many thanks Edward Wyatt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Shaya Novak" Subject: HO & N scale Ships & Boats The Naval Base is now carrying HO & N scale ship goto http://www.navalbasehobbies.com/home.htm Shaya Novak Naval Base Hobbies The Store for The Model Ship Builder www.modelshipbuilding.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: John Snyder Subject: Kurt R. Boyd Kurt, If you're a SMML member, you placed an incomplete order with White Ensign Models. We lack your address, phone number, credit card info, etc. John Snyder White Ensign Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, 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