Subject: SMML VOL 1189 Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 23:57:16 -0800 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Number of projects? 2: YYV-1 launcher 3: Re: CVNX Naming Contest 4: new carrier name 5: Re: U.S.S. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY 6: Decals 7: Re: Why a ship is called 'she' 8: Re: California NIMBY syndrome 9: Re: J K&N Class Destroyers 10: Re: Stars for display 11: Re: CVNX Name 12: Ronald Reagon class 13: Re: Matchbox Indy to Portland 14: Re: California Power Ships 15: Seaplanes for USS Cumberland Sound 16: Re: PT Boat cutaway questions/Ship power for California 17: PT 109 & PT 117 18: Deck Colors for German BB's 19: Airfix ASRL 20: Re: Two Re's 21: Re: Computer-generated Graf Spee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Info on new books from Classic Warships 2: New at the Naval Base 20% off SMMLer's -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "*Anderson, D, Doug (MSc)" Subject: Number of projects? A short time ago, there was a discussion in these pages about how many models one had stashed away. Well, how many project does one have going concurrently, including those that were started but never completed and now sit at the back of the cupboard gathering dust? To start you off here goes. Model of Dock system used at Normandy (small scale diorama) CAM ship SS Persia (Radio controlled) HMS Birkenhead (in a bottle) Galleas (Battle of Lepanto, in a bottle) Lawhill (in a bottle) Cutty Sark (1/100 Scale) Palma Nova (in the dark corner of my room) CSS Alabama (in a bottle) SB-17G with lifeboat (Plastic kit, in a draw) Not too bad, wonder how many I will eventually complete. Came across this web address, thought that I would share it with you pc-78-120.udac.se:8001/www/nautica/pointers/shipmodels.html Douglas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: dot Subject: YYV-1 launcher I've been searching the net in an attempt to find information on the U. S. S. YV-1 drone launcher. My brother-in-law served on this ship in 1954 and I was researching information on this particular vessel. Can you please direct me to some websites that would help in my efforts. Thank you for your assistance. Dorothy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Baumbach, Werner" Subject: Re: CVNX Naming Contest How about: USS Rodham-Clinton USS Monica Lewinsky -> Both are very "known" in the world and you wouldn't have the debate on calling a ship she or he. More seriously: USS Pearl Harbour USS Dharan (Can't remember the exact spelling. Or some other name derived from Desert Storm, as that was probably the biggest naval campaign in the last 20 years) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Shirley Sachsen Subject: new carrier name >> My vote for the first new CVNX off the rack if not ENTERPRISE..... a new MIDWAY. Unforgettable carrier battle... << >> "United States". Not tooting the horn, but that name needs to have its jinx (is it two or three CVs that were supposed to have that name? wonder about the Constellation battlecruisers?) broken.< my vote is for the USS US also. it is apolitical, a traditional name, non-regional, so anyone except those who have a problem with the USA and the military in general can like it, support it, and be willing to be seen in the caps and tshirts. I know Enterprise is a venerable name with a great deal of tradition and excellence behind it, but personally I'm sick and tired of hearing it because of the taint of Star Trek. when I hear the name, I think not of a heroic vessel, but of science fiction conventions populated by oddly dressed people with pointy ears. s -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Re: U.S.S. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY Stop the presses! I just got an advisory from SMMLer Art Herrick informing me that when he visited Battleship Cove last summer the Destroyer U.S.S. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY was not there. They had a Russian missle boat moored in her spot. I hope this is only temporary (for repairs or something). I will indeed try to find what the story is, and will turn inform SMML. Thanks, Art. Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Decals I recently faced the problem of applying decals to a surface which had been painted a flat gray. I was concerned that the clear film carrying the characters would stand out and be shiny in the area between the characters. I contacted Bob Santos, he of Santos Model division of Santos Miniatures and asked for help. He immediately advised me to first spray the area with Testor's Gloss Cote (or equivalent). After it had dried thouroughly, apply the decals. After the decals had dried thouroughly, spray the area with Testor's Dull Cote (or equivalent). It worked beautifully, the Dull Cote masked the shine and it looks like the characters had been painted on. Applying decals to a dull (flat) painted surface can cause problems as tiny air bubbles can hide in the micro grooves of the dull surface. The Gloss Cote tends to suppress this tendency. The Dull Cote hides the shiny area between the characters by a transparent masking process. When you go to buy the Gloss Cote and the Dull Cote, do not be concerned, as I was, about the lack of sound from the agitater ball in the Gloss Cote can. Bob Santos advised that there is none. The Dull Cote has some kind of particulate matter in suspension, much like pigments in color paints. It must be kept in suspension while using, and therefore has an agitater ball. The Gloss Cote has no such particulate matter, therefore no agitater ball is required. The store clerks didn't know about this, but were glad to find out. Why couldn't the manufacturers put this on the clear gloss cans? I submit this information to help other modelers to avoid this problem. Comments are invited, no swear words, please. I get enough of those already. Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Michael Bartel Subject: Re: Why a ship is called 'she' >> Why ships are referred to as 'she': It stems from an ancient Greek practice of naming their ships for goddesses. There are, of course, some exceptions to this practice over the years, notably the Germans and French, using the masculine form. For the German version: I am wrecking my brain but can't come up with a he-ship. I'd guess that all boats are a she for the Germans as well, but sometimes it's hard to determine rules in your own language, as you are just babbling, not really thinking. Anyway, it is die Bismarck (female, though named after the Chancellor), die Tirpitz, die Gneisenau, die Bluecher, die Prinz Eugen ... However it is der Schwere Kreuzer Prinz Eugen (male, as the article relates to Kreuzer = Cruiser), das Schlachtschiff Bismarck (neutral, because it is das Schlachtschiff = Battleship) and then it is die Fregatte Brandenburg again (female, die Fregatte = frigate). Dont ask me why Battleships are neutral, Destroyers male and frigates female (German language has gramatically three genders: male, female and neutral). If you just talk about the ship's name, it is female though. If anybody has an exception for this rule ... << I had read in 'Battle Ship Bismarck' by Baron von Rechburg, that the captain of the ship had told the crew to refer to the ship as 'he'. Perhaps this is an isolated case, and thanks to Werner for partially trying to set the record straight on this one. Mike Bartel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Roland Mar Subject: Re: California NIMBY syndrome Just for the sake of accuracy, the NIMBY designation is somewhat obsolete. The disease has progressed to the point of being denominated as BANANA: B-uild A-bsolutely N-othing, A-nywhere N-ear A-nything. I do have a certain curiousity about how this will come out. The state's population has grown 30% since they built their last power plant, their economy has become more energy intensive on a per capita basis, and their solution is to use $10 billion of tax money to keep consumers from having to pay anything near the actual cost of power, and STILL not build more power generating plants. The money should run out about the time high summer hits. I wonder how much of their economy is portable? Roland Mar [whose daughter is trying to use candles and D-Cells to run a non-portable company that maintains the cranes that unload container ships] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Re: J K&N Class Destroyers I understand that a person is currently preparing a volume on the above ships. If not already known, a valuable source of data can be found on the "ships cards". These give refit and docking dates along with the locations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: CA139JOHNF@aol.com Subject: Re: Stars for display >> I have this idea. For military ribbons, they have tiny plastic gold or silver stars that can be affixed to denote commendations, repeats of the same award, etc. I want to use something similar ............. << A few years ago I was in the same boat. I stumbled across sequins at a sewing supply shop. They come in many sizes, shapes and colors. I have noticed the similar items in craft supply stores. About $2 would give you more than you can use in several liftimes. John Frohock USNSM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: CA139JOHNF@aol.com Subject: Re: CVNX Name >> ..I'd love to see another Enterprise, but I think this one has to be stricken first, and I fear that won't happen in my lifetime due to the EPA issues surrounding a Nuke ship. << As the process now works, a ship is first prepared for de-commissioning by removal of all usable equipment and stores. If a ship is to be classified for sale or museum hold the a certain level of gear remains aboard. If a ship is slated for storage (mothballs)only a very basic level of equipment is left. If "for disposal" then she is pretty well stripped. There are exceptions too numerous to mention here. If retained in a mothballed mobilization catagory, the ship's name is retained. If "stricken" because the ship is up for disposal, the name becomes available for use again. A stricken ship can remain around for many years and is always refered to as the "Former (or ex) USS ....... For example, are not there two Yorktowns in existence? CVNX could be Enterprise if the Navy were to decomm her, declare her stricken from the Navy list and place her in PSNSY "for disposal". Just browse the NVR website and check out some names. John Frohock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "william k code" Subject: Ronald Reagon class I stand corrected...I thought he was to old to serve in WW2 ... Now that i really think about it he did make a bunch of films for the military...I still wouldn't name a class of Capital ships after him... We are besieged by the politians !No doubt they will go to corp. America looking for sponsors...I can hardly wait till the USS Taco Bell slides down the ways :) cheers Bill C. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: Re: Matchbox Indy to Portland Thanks for the replies to my inquiry. Steve Wiper writes >> Why would you use that very outdated kit when there is a very nice new kit of the Indy from Tamiya available? << Two reasons: I already have it and if I screw it up, it's only an $8 kit!! Not being made of money, I'll save the Tamiya Indy I just bought for the Indy!!!! He continues >> I have put out two good books on the twoships, so converting should not be a problem. << VERY, VERY TRUE!!!! I have the original Classic Warships Book on the Indianapolis and will be ordering up the new one!!! I have said it before and I will say it again: Steve's books are THE BEST reference material I have seen since starting modeling!! Looking at the Indy book got me thinking about converting the Matchbox kit. I don't know how you do it, Steve, but these books would be bargains at twice the price!!! Besides, not spending an additional $27 or so on another Tamiya kit allows me to buy more of your books!!!! Regards, John P.S. No interest in Classic Warships, just someone who knows excellent value for his money, unlike some other overpriced, garbage "reference" books on the market. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: tom Subject: Re: California Power Ships Paul writes: >> There are also several decommissioned destroyer sized vessels that have been striped down to floating auxiliary power sources. I believe that they were tried in California. I wonder if the "Greens" through a fit because of pollution from fossil fuels. In view of the current problems for electrical power in California could not this be a short-term solution for the lack of power plants that the NIMBYs shot down? << The project in question never got too far. I wonder if someone underestimated the cost and difficulty of running worn out high pressure steam plants 24x7 at high levels of output? Maybe they could be pressed into service for peak demands. Until a few weeks age one of those cut-down destroyers was up on the Napa River at Mare Island next to an Adams class DD. It was the same basic hull as the Adams class but had older higher style funnels. (Off-topic rant) Political claims that it was the Greens or environmental regulation that blocked power plant construction here over the last 10 years are just opportunistic bullshit by industry pimps like Bush and Cheney. Ten years ago there was a huge supply glut in California and the industry totally disagreed with the State's growth forecasts (which turned out to be accurate.) When California issued permits for other companies to build three large coal fired projects in 1996 PG&E, SoCal Ed and San Diego G&E successfully lobbied the Federal DOE to block the plants on the grounds that so much excess supply would collapse prices in the deregulated market. Tom K -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Fernando, Yohan" Subject: Seaplanes for USS Cumberland Sound Hello Everybody, I am building the USS Cumberland Sound in 1/700 and was wondering if there would have ever been any seaplanes stowed anywhere on the deck while underway (like on many IJN seaplane tenders) and if so, what types of planes? Could there have been something as large as a PBY on the aft deck near the large aircraft handling crane? I havn't been able to find any photos showing any planes on the deck at all. And does anyone know of any large USN seaplanes (like PBYs) in 1/700 ? I thought Skywave would have had some but doesn't seem like it... Thanks, Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: wem Subject: Re: PT Boat cutaway questions/Ship power for California Hi Nathan, Probably the two best PT references are Victor Chun's United States PT Boats in World War 2, and Al Ross'/John Lambert's Allied Coastal Forces (the latter out of print and hard to find). Of course, the redoubtable Al Ross IS a SMMLie and may weigh in here.... As to the question of using the reactors from decommissioned USN ships: get real folks! You need more than the reactors, and as a former member of the nuclear Navy, I can tell you it ain't gonna happen. California's problem isn't one of not enough power or not enough water....it's TOO MANY PEOPLE!! It isn't NIMBYism that has led to power shortages, it's administrations that haven't worried about the infrastructure needed to support all the businesses and people they were trying so hard to attract to the state. It's Pete Wilson and the then-legislative leaders jumping into bed with the power companies to cut back-room deals to de-regulate power to the then-benefit of the companies, only to have it backfire when out-of-state utilities artificially drove up the wholesale price of power.... John Snyder 4th-generation native Californian -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Shaya Novak" Subject: PT 109 & PT 117 Same kit diff decals. One made here one there. Shaya Novak Naval Base Hobbies The Store for The Model Ship Builder www.modelshipbuilding.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Rick Lundin Subject: Deck Colors for German BB's I am about to start painting my Superior 1/1200 scale German battleships: Bismark, Tripitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Can anyone suggest proper colors/shades for the wooden portions of the decks? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Bob Pearson" Subject: Airfix ASRL Does anyone have an Airfix ASRL heading for the scrap yard? If so I'm interested in the 20mm Oerlikon. I can offer either cash or a print of some sort in return. Check http://members.nbci.com/profileart for some samples Regards, Bob Pearson Visit my WW1 Aviation page http://members.nbci.com/Sopwith_5F1 For the CBR/RNP Profile page visit http://members.nbci.com/profileart/ Managing Editor / Internet Modeler http://www.internetmodeler.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Edd Pflum Subject: Re: Two Re's >> The reason that I understand a ship or craft of any sort is called a she is because "it" is a carrier. Just as a woman is a carrier of children. << This is a carry over of earlier forms of English where all nouns had a gender. In Spanish or French or German (don't quote me on the exact forms) you have: "the doorknob SHE needs polishing", or "the book, HE is torn." English has dropped most of its genders, but ships are still "She". Edd Pflum Westmont, IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Edd Pflum Subject: Re: Computer-generated Graf Spee >> This type of mathematical modeling may someday replace plastic kits and the associated storage problems! << Not unless there is a virtual bathtub to float it in! Edd Pflum Westmont, IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SteveWiper@aol.com Subject: Info on new books from Classic Warships Books number 11 and 13 are in the final proofreading stages, and should go to the printer about the First of April, no fooling! They are: Warship Pictorial #11 - Lexington Class Carriers Warship Pictorial #13 - IJN Kongo Class Battleships Both books are $13.95 US, and will be available about April 15th. Check with your favorite dealer for availability and ordering. Thanks, Steve Wiper www.classicwarships.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Shaya Novak" Subject: New at the Naval Base 20% off SMMLer's We have three new Linberkits in stock. 1) USS Gato 1/300 10.95 2) USS Nautilis 1/300 10.95 3) HMS Hood 1/400 21.95 (yes that kit is back) Shaya Novak Naval Base Hobbies The Store for The Model Ship Builder www.modelshipbuilding.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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