Subject: SMML VOL 1154 Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 20:15:26 -0800 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Inside RN gun tubs 2: HMS Fearless 3: Re: WOGS 4: Enterprise 1/350 hanger deck. Have you made one? 5: Tamiya Essex 6: Light Cruiser NAGARA 7: Re: Nautical mile 8: Re: USS DES MOINES 9: New Canadian website 10: Fwd: New Navy 11: Splinter Fleet Subchaser Book 12: Re: U.S. Aircraft carriers (and return loads) 13: Aircraft carriers 14: For the collector of the arcane and the novel 15: Re: ROYAL NAVAL ABLE SEA DOG 16: USS Des Moines 17: Re: K G V and Punjabi 18: U.S Navy Yachts in France 1917-18 19: Re: ICM Essex in 1:350? 20: Re: inside goop on carrier kit?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: IPMS/USA Competition Handbook -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Re: Audace -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Plato Software" Subject: Inside RN gun tubs Jens I have a copy of Warship 28, the cover of which has a colour shot from the bridge of Nelson just after WW2. The 20mm gun tubs on C turret are light grey outside and inside but the 8-barrel pom-pom on B turret seems to have dark blue outers and the inside looks pretty dark as well. No disruptive scheme is evident (most of the parts visible are horizontal surfaces) but it might give you an idea. The horizontals inside the tubs are the same colour as the turret roofs and metal deck fittings however (all dark blue - sorry, I can't recall the colour designation and all my references are temporarily buried, although B20 sounds familiar). Robert Lockie Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Nuno Andresen Portela" Subject: HMS Fearless Does someone knows reference books about HMS Fearless or sistership (Falklands war timeframe) thanks in advance Nuno Andresen Portela Porto PORTUGAL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "megden" Subject: Re: WOGS The original abreviation, WOG, meant Westernised Oriental Gentleman and was NOT a derogatory term at all. It has, unfortunately, come to have a lot of VERY nasty connotations Denis W Keegan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: PSmith6328@aol.com Subject: Enterprise 1/350 hanger deck. Have you made one? Hi listers Has anybody scratch built the hanger deck for the Tamiya 1/350 Enterprise, if so how did you do it and what materials did you use? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Phill Smith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Steven P. Allen" Subject: Tamiya Essex >> I was at the Hobby shop last night speaking with the plastics manager. The subject of the Tamiya and ICM 1/350 Essex came up. He seems quite sure that Tamiya is going to go ahead with the WWII and the 27C versions. The guy knew about the previous rumors and stated that this is "almost" a sure thing. Any one else on list heard this. << WWII and 27C, eh? Well, I guess that means I'll have to scratch the 125 modifications. Unless someone will consider a conversion kit . . . .? Steve Allen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Kerry Jang Subject: Light Cruiser NAGARA Hi All, Several years ago, I had a copy of plans of the IJN light cruiser Nagara (Nagara class) by Miyukikai (Myco?) in 1:200 scale. They were quite nice, and I have built a hull from them (wood planked over bulkhead mathod, covered with fibreglass). I would like to finish the model now (need to do the upperworks), but can't find my plans! Can anyone have a copy of these plans they could do a quick copy of? Does anyone know if they still exist? Thanks for any help! Kerry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Craig R Bennett Subject: Re: Nautical mile Hi Guys The replys concerning the nautical mile question have been interesting. I was wondering about the shape of the Earth. Some one wrote that the Earth isn't really globe shaped. So is it shaped like say in comparison to orange or pear? BTW Any know where I get books on Navajo class tugs. Has any one seen the new Squadron book on heavy cruisers. Craig -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: USS DES MOINES I did not mean to stir up anything but actually everyone is correct. The city of Duluth is the one that did not want the ship and voted it down - however, an appeal was made to Governor Jesse to help and or find a new location - he would not. But as I said another attempt will be made in another state and again we are thankful that the Navy has not turned her into razor blades. Mike Donegan NAVYDAZE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Phil Lord and Gayle Fink" Subject: New Canadian website Ron-- Thanks for pointing out this site-- >> ...Website is under construction, but very interesting! Even has some Fl*wer Class pics!" http://www.navy.dnd.ca/pride_html/index_e.htm << It truly has lots of terrific pictures, and even a number of printable diagrams on the techniques of minesweeping. And I only only had a chance to look at a couple of screens!! Great stuff! Phil -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: Fwd: New Navy >> WASHINGTON -- The new president wants a quicker, leaner military -- one built for the 21st century. But when George W. Bush drops in on the Norfolk Naval Base this week, he'll find forces strikingly similar to those his father commanded at the end of the Cold War a decade ago. The Navy that President Bush is looking for is far removed from the hulking aircraft carriers and Aegis destroyers tied up on the Norfolk waterfront. One place the president might find it, or at least a piece of it, is in a set of drawings and briefing slides quietly making the rounds in the Pentagon. The papers describe an unconventional craft dubbed ``Sea Lance'' by its designers, eight junior officers -- three of them from foreign navies -- who were studying ship systems engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. The students hatched Sea Lance in response to an assignment to come up with a fast, highly maneuverable ship able to operate in extremely shallow water and deliver an assortment of weapons and special forces troops to targets ashore. Their ship, which engineers who've studied it insist could be built and put to sea in substantial numbers by the end of the decade -- without straining Navy budgets -- would be one-tenth as expensive and one-third as long as a destroyer and would carry a crew of just 13. Its catamaran hull would let it navigate heavy seas and maneuver in harbors only 10 feet deep; its 38-knot top speed would make it perhaps America's fastest warship. ``It's a way to increase the size of the fleet without increasing its cost, a way to get to a more dispersed, networked fleet that would then be more politically responsive,'' said Vice Adm. Art Cebrowski, whose advocacy for several years of a ship concept he calls ``Streetfighter'' helped inspire the Sea Lance. Driving the Navy's interest in the idea is the conviction of service planners that, within a decade or less, fast and accurate anti-ship cruise missiles will be cheap enough for purchase by Third World states and terrorist groups. Positioned just inland, those weapons could keep America's aircraft carriers and other large ships far enough offshore to wipe out or diminish their ability to attack inland targets, said Rear Adm. Robert G. Sprigg, head of the Navy Warfare Development Command. Sea Lance is envisioned as a ship small and quick enough to elude detection and powerful enough to secure coastal areas for the arrival of larger combatants, Sprigg said. His command commissioned the students to design the ship. What has the Navy futurists most excited is a package of hundreds of sensors and dozens of weapons that Sea Lance would tow into position and deploy along unfriendly coasts. Carried in a trailer about the same size and shape as Sea Lance but without its own power, the package would be deployed in a grid that could cover hundreds of square miles. It could include missile tubes that would descend to the seabed, then launch their missiles against targets -- ashore or in the air -- on command from Sea Lance, and sensors that would float on the surface like bits of confetti to collect information about the battle zone. Wave-piercing catamarans like the Sea Lance design already are in use as high-speed ferries around the world. And the Australian Navy has adapted a large catamaran, the Jervis Bay, to carry up to 500 troops and equipment at up to 43 knots, faster than any U.S. ship, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a defense think tank. The 146-foot-long, 500-ton Sea Lance would rely on its trailer to carry extra fuel as well as weapons and sensors and would use a water jet propulsion system that is still under development. Engineers who've monitored the project say the seaworthiness of the catamaran design is well-established. On the open sea with the trailer tucked behind it, Sea Lance would be able to make just 15 knots, but once the grid was deployed, the ship could reach its 38-knot peak speed. ``There's a lot of thought that still needs to go into how the pieces would be deployed,'' said Robert C. Harney, a professor at the postgraduate school who helped oversee the project. The students received more than 100 suggestions for items to be carried in and deployed from the trailer, he said. ``It covered just about anything you could think of that might act to deter an enemy or chip away at pieces of his architecture,'' Harney said. Some of the ideas made sense, while others obviously need some work, he added. The students' concept calls for construction of at least three squadrons of Sea Lances, each with 10 ships and trailers. Each ship in a squadron and all the sensors and weapons in their trailers would be linked electronically through the Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability systems. The ships are not designed for independent operation in combat, said Dave Byers, another postgraduate school professor involved in the project, though they might be used that way on search and rescue and other specialized missions. Their small crews and low cost -- around $80 million for each Sea Lance/trailer combination -- would make the Sea Lances far more expendable than the Navy's larger ships. And because the squadron's capabilities would be spread over a group of ships, the loss of one or two members of the squadron would not force the whole package out of action. That feature is another way in which Sea Lance would be dramatically different from the Navy's traditional multi-mission platforms, such as the Zumwalt-class destroyers that the service plans to make the centerpiece of its surface force. Those ships, successors to today's Arleigh Burke destroyers, are designed for a host of missions. But as the Oct. 12 terrorist attack on the destroyer Cole demonstrated, they can be crippled and the fleet robbed of all their capabilities by a single hit. Though proponents see Sea Lance as the sort of ``leap-ahead'' weapon President Bush promised to work toward, they acknowledge privately that it faces major hurdles inside the service. The Zumwalt destroyer, still in the design stages, could be the most formidable of those obstacles. With a double hull and a radar-evading design, innovative electric drive propulsion plant and a crew one-third as large as the 300-plus sailors on today's destroyers, it is something of a leap-ahead itself, proponents note. Its stealth and double hull would let the Zumwalt operate in close quarters like the Streetfighter or Sea Lance, and it would be versatile enough for other, more traditional operations, they say. Cebrowski acknowledged that in a tight budget environment, the Sea Lance could be seen as a threat to the Zumwalt ships. ``The first thing that you do for a program like this is to develop compelling logic,'' he said. ``You have to have intellectual purity in this and you also have to have pure motives.'' Sea Lance is demonstrating all those attributes, he argued. ``Combat capability goes up,'' he said, ``overhead goes down. Deployability, versatility goes up, life cycle costs go down. This is a marvelous design.'' Harney said that as word spreads about the Sea Lance idea, he expects other junior officers to come forward with concepts for other ships and sensor nets. ``There's a growing recognition among the junior officers, not necessarily the brass, that things need to be done differently,'' he said. ``As we educate them to all the changes that are going on elsewhere in the world, they're recognizing that there need to be changes in their own organizations.'' << -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Victor M. Baca" Subject: Splinter Fleet Subchaser Book We just received a review copy of the U.S. Naval Institute's new release, "Splinter Fleet, The Wooden Subchasers Of World War II." This is a valuable book with personal stories, previously unpublished photos, and enough info to get you inspired to build a model. The Author, Theodore R. Treadwell, is an ex-SC skipper (SC 648) and that adds to the readability of the book. Splinter Fleet is arranged in sections by theater of war and includes sailors' personal stories with good research material. A special section looks at surviving SCs, although few are still recognizable as such. Of special interest would be the fully restored Norwegian KNM HIRRA homeported in Bergen, Norway. Splinter Fleet contains interesting photographic views of the WWII SCs (printed on an uncoated stock). I was hoping they'd appear in a glossy paper photo section as there is some "dot gain" image degradation when using uncoated text paper for photographic reproduction. Not to worry, though, author Treadwell gives sources for SC photos held by the U.S. National Archives, etc. (We have examples of these in our files and there are very fine images available). Theodore Treadwell, has also included an appendix for ship modelers and he 's building a scale model of an SC as well. It gives references for plans, fittings and historical info. He also lists a source for a large scale built-up replica that will interest model ship collectors. Theodore Treadwell beamoans the fact that plastic model companies have neglected the subchaser (discounting the old Ringo WWI kit) and I agree. If Revell can create a stir with an S-Boot, why not an SC? In any event-get this book and enjoy the read, it's a good one. The ISBN number for Splinter Fleet is 1-555750-817-8. Published by Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402 USA. Victor Baca Model Ship Journal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: R C Marelius Subject: Re: U.S. Aircraft carriers (and return loads) >> This may be true at a NAS, but for ship board operations I have heard that it is doctrine that aircraft carrying live weapons must jettison those weapons prior to landing. This includes not only the iron bombs but also exotic smart weapons. Anyone out there familiar with current US Navy doctrine who can set the record straight? << I can't speak for official US Navy policy, but I have worked on enough captive flown Phoenix rounds (I still have a problem with calling a megabuck missile a "round") in my time to know that they were normally brought back alive. When offloading a ship, it was readily apparant which rounds had been flown and which had not. With only a couple thousand in the inventory, it would not take long to expend them all on routine patrols. Rick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: SJantscher@aol.com Subject: Aircraft carriers >> This may be true at a NAS, but for ship board operations I have heard that it is doctrine that aircraft carrying live weapons must jettison those weapons prior to landing. This includes not only the iron bombs but also exotic smart weapons. I have also heard that quite a few fishing communities around the Adriatic Sea were quite upset with all of the ordnance which was dropped on the fishing grounds rather than Serbia. Weather conditions over the Balkans were not at all favorable to the air campaign. Anyone out there familiar with current US Navy doctrine who can set the record straight? << Rhino, Live munitions are often returned on board aircraft returning to the barn. The problem isn't "live" munitions as much as it is the specifics of maximum trap weight. Depending on where the carrier is relative to an emergency airfield (bingo divert), the amount of fuel required to land with may preclude a returning aircraft from bringing back more weight in terms of ordnance. If the combination of aircraft and fuel weight don't allow return of ordnance, then it must be jettisoned prior to recovery. Usually there will be a designated "box" to drop it in. As you might believe, this is of great concern as the cost of smart bombs have grown. This is also one of the design points the new F-18 D/E was made to. The ability to return with more unexpended ordnance as a percentage of total trap weight with any given bingo situation, as compared to the current "lawn dart". Hope this helps clarify things Steve Jantscher F-14 RIO, Ret. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Steven P. Allen" Subject: For the collector of the arcane and the novel Megows USS Lexington 1934 Model In Orig. Box Item #558556575 http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=558556575&r=0&t=0&showTutorial=0&ed=982433597&indexURL=0&rd=1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: HGYL@aol.com Subject: Re: ROYAL NAVAL ABLE SEA DOG You refer of course to Able Seaman Just Nuisance (a Great Dane) who was recruited into the R.N. at Simonstown, South Africa, during World War II. His expertise was getting sailors who had had one or two too many whilst on liberty in Cape Town onto the last train back to Simonstown. Anecdotes about Just Nuisance abound. One of my favourites is when he was shanghaied on board HMS Cumberland when she sailed from Simonstown in November 1940 and he had to be landed by tug off Roman Rock (fortunately that is while still in False Bay). Another is the three fight feud with Rex, the Alsation mascot of HMS Shropshire. Nuisance won the first, Rex the second and Nuisance the third. Rex was buried in Simonstown. When Just Nuisance finally went to the great rabbit hunting ground in the sky he was given a full Naval funeral. Harold Lincoln -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Drees Joe Subject: USS Des Moines At my reserve meeting this month the commitee in charge of finding a homeport for the USS Des Moines states that it will be in Milwaukee, Wi in about 18 months. The project has the full support of the mayor, both US Senators, and the govenor of Wisconsin. Only getting the paperwork for the US Navy and raising 2.6 million dollars stand in the way,and the committee members say that will not be a problem. My reserve unit will be working on the ship when it arrives in 2002. Joe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Re: K G V and Punjabi Covering force for PQ15 and QP11 consisted of :- K G V Washington Victorious Tuscaloosa Wichita Kenya Four destroyers (British) Four destroyers (American) That's it babycakes. No Counties, no Southamptons. All in bed at Scapa I would think, but I will make inquiries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: PT Dockyard Subject: U.S Navy Yachts in France 1917-18 Hi, Does anyone have pictures of the U.S. Navy yachts used for ASW patrol in Europe in WW1? Specifically I am looking for photos of the USS Aphrodite, Rambler, and Retalik but any are welcome, especially if they identify the craft.. I have a good shot of the USS Venetia- that's it. Thanks! Dave Gregory The P.T. Dockyard -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: NEVENGER@aol.com Subject: Re: ICM Essex in 1:350? If this is true that ICM will be making a 1/350 Essex I will be overjoyed. I wonder if perhaps the long begging and praying on this post may have had the effect that at least one plastic model maker may have listened to our pleas. If this is so it only proves that we as consumers have power and it also shows who is gonna listen to us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: stillmo@mb.sympatico.ca Subject: Re: inside goop on carrier kit?? Couldn't help smiling when reading your post......we have had mile long speculative threads on Tamiyas next 350th kit release and absolutely nobody has gotten the bottom line goop, skinny on actual top secret leaked 350th scale ship kit. Now you know, via your hobby shop "plasitcs kit guy" that not one type of ESSEX but now a 27 Charlie is coming in 350th plastic????? I don't think so unless you get the email from Mr. Tamiya himself. RD Bean -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Henry Blecha Subject: IPMS/USA Competition Handbook Shane This crossed my monitor this evening (yesterday to you!!). I know that Rusty White has alluded to it quite often. It looks like it is here. >> You may remember that Aris has mentioned at Chapter meetings and in his IPMS Journal "Competition Corner" column that the National Contest Committee was working on a new "Competition Handbook" to provide information on the National Convention model competition and how the models entered in that competition are judged. The idea was to replace the old "Judges Handbook" and, at the same time, make the information available to all members of the Society by putting the new Handbook on the IPMS/USA website. I'm happy to tell you that, after a lot of hard work on the part of the Contest Committee members and a huge helping hand from DC Chapter Vice President Dave Powell and his HTML skills, the "Competition Handbook" is now available on the Society's site. To view the Handbook, just go to www.ipmsusa.org , look for the red "NEW" flag under "IPMS/USA Information," and click on "Competition Handbook." We hope you'll find it both helpful and enjoyable. Ken Robert << v/e HBlecha RC-8 IPMS/USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: dhjonespsm@juno.com Subject: Re: Audace Falk Pletscher wrote: >> I wrote an article on the history and paint schemes of Audace for Plastic Ship Modeler some time ago. I can't remember, at the moment, if it was already published. If not, It should appear in one of the next issues. << I has not been published yet, but it will be VERY soon! It will be in the next one, PSM 24, going to the printers this month. And a very nice article it is too, don't miss it! Daniel Jones Plastic Ship Modeler magazine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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