Subject: SMML VOL 1233 Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 18:32:08 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: When I saw this on Broadswords site I cried with laughter 2: ON and OFF my work bench 3: Flower Power.... 4: Re: Rules of Acquisition 5: MV Lenses 6: Workbench, Wives, Etc 7: D-Day 8: Back from Paris, whats on the bench, and supportive wives 9: Digital build up of Yamato 10: Re: Phil M.Gollin /"Flower" crew 11: AOTS Fairmile D 12: Re: Pacific Front: NEW ITEMS 13: On and under the bench 14: Re: Squadron colors 15: Revell Arkona - Plans and Thrusters 16: Triang RMS Franconia Ebay auction 17: New USNI book on WW2 Troopships 18: Caution!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Graham Walker" Subject: When I saw this on Broadswords site I cried with laughter When I saw this on Broadswords site I cried with laughter. >> From CPO WHIZZ, HMS BROADSWORD BFPO (SHIPS). To EM MODELS Ltd., 42 Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, KENT. Dear Sir, I recently purchased a model kit from you. Due to our operational circumstances in the South Atlantic, I have been unable to obtain the correct adhesive, and in its place used an impact adhesive made by your firm. I carried out tests with this impact adhesive on a small segment of the kit, and it seemed to work. Unfortunately, when I came to actually glueing bits together, on returning the next day I found that the plastic had melted! Could you please supply a new part for the one ruined, and also the correct type of adhesive - or perhaps you'd care to make the fuckin' thing for me, because I'm absolutely useless at model-making, and will never know what possessed me to buy it in the first place. Yours Faithfully, << -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Edward Wyatt" Subject: ON and OFF my work bench OFF ......Have over the last 5 years have built 3 models 1/96th approx 5ft 8in long of the T 2 "TEXACO " TANKER "OHIO" and which are now in the local MALTA Maritime and War Museums 2 of which are in the livery as in WAR ie Painted grey and with guns etc ,the third I have at Home in the livery as it was built in 1940, ON.......A model of the "OHIO" in a 4.5 Litre Bottle of Teachers Whisky {empty of course} Model approx 11inch long, Last year I made a trip to "Texaco's Head office In NEW YORK White Plains to see the Ship Builders Model they have, and managed to get a copy of the original plans, So if any person is interested they may contact me at elwyatt@onvol.net as I have made a large collection of interesting material covering "THE OHIO" and the Pedestal Convoy. Edward Wyatt Sunny Malta -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Chris Drage" Subject: Flower Power.... HI Phil, >> Real minor point, at that scale the lack of "people" really shows. It will have to be a "display" piece if I can't find a source of 1/72nd seamen for a diorama (probably alongside). << Far from being a minor point at this scale it's a model crew that will give it that final touch of reality. To obtain crew of thirty for my Flower I approached Airfix who sent me a number of of 1/72 crew member sprews from several kits. £2.50 the lot! I am delighted as these figures are in battledress (flash protection and all) and will look absolutely superb once painted and detailed. One figure holds a life ring (from the SAR launch kit) - it just begs a scene where the Flower is picking up survivors in the water..... I would be very interested in your more detailed views of the David Parkin sets as I too want to purchase the lot but have not had the intestinal fortitude to part with all that cash! Contact me off list to 'push' me into it..... Regards Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo kupu kaore e taea te karo (Te reo Maori) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Ken Goldman" Subject: Re: Rules of Acquisition Boat Builder's list of acquisition rules is a hoot. My only question is how much modeling time did you lose while coming up with such a long document? Ken Goldman THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER unique wood sculpture and fine scale models www.walruscarpenter.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: David Sepos Subject: MV Lenses May I suggest any good hobby shop that specializes (to some degree) in model railroad detailing supplies. The line started out as lens for various steam and diesel locomotive headlight castings. Regards, Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: TechnoInfidel@webtv.net (John Collins) Subject: Workbench, Wives, Etc Greetings: As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short in joining this thread. I am still plugging along on my Tamiya 350 Fletcher square bridge conversion. It has been quite a chore so far. I bought the conversion kit and found the much of it was did not match the fit of the ship I was making and the rest was simply not usable. So, ultimately, I had to scratchbuild most of the components. I only used four of the conversion kit parts and only one of those was not modified. But on the bright side, I found that scratchbuilding was not quite as difficult as I thought it would be. On the whole, it has been a satisfying build, if somewhat slow. Aside to Rusty White: You commented several issues ago about something being wrong with the Fletcher mast. Could you elaborate please? I was working on some Skywave 700 scale B-1s. One is awaiting paint, the other, as I predicted, flew into the wall. Apparently, terrain-following radar in 700 scale isn't up to spec. So there it is, imbedded in the wall. My wife has been supportive of my hobby. She'd rather that I work on models at home than spend money and time on wine, women and song. Although she wasn't adverse to that while we were courting. (Do we still court?) Books: I just finished Mike Ashey's "Building and Detailing Scale Ship Models." It's not as easy to read as his second book; nonetheless, it has some good, usable information contained therein. Although, the best book I've read recently is the "Gates of the Alamo" an historical novel by Steven Harrigan. Very illuminating, but I doubt that the Daughters of the Alamo would like it very much as it probably bears too much resemblence to the truth. I really enjoyed Btbldr's treatise on model acquisition. I pasted it into my bible. John Collins Atlanta, GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "John Rule" Subject: D-Day >> This coming anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, my wife and I will celebrate our 31st anniversary. My secret to happy modeling is to purchase models and research materials using, whenever possible, a credit card that gives frequent flyer miles. She loves to travel, a love that will, by the way, get me to the Musee de la Marine in Paris this year. << SNAP!!!!!! My dear Mr Goldman, I and my wife also celebrate our 31st anniversary on D-Day this year. I dedicate the longevity of our marriage to my wife being tolerant of my hobbies and collecting. In exchange I have fathered our six children, pandered to her every need and rebuilt our century home for her. She's a lucky woman to have me but not half as lucky as I am. Oh well... it's getting late. I better go pander to her needs. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "James Kloek" Subject: Back from Paris, whats on the bench, and supportive wives I'm back from Paris, and just catching up on a week's worth of reading on the list. First, to those of you who sent advice about what to see, thanks. The Musee de la Marine was well worth it, there were some outstanding models. What a lot of fun, even my wife (more about her later) and my son enjoyed. We also took in the Army museum. It was interesting, although the WWII section was closed for renovation. If you like armor and swords, it is the place to go. In terms of whats on the bench, a 1/350 Tamiya Missouri. I only build one at a time. This is one of my few 1/350 efforts, mostly I do 1/700, and my first full hull. Using a lot of photoetch with her. Its going slow. I definitely have the Mark I supportive wife. For various birthdays, Christmases, etc she has given me over the years my first airbrush, a compressor for it, an Ott light for mixing accurate colors, several kits, including both ISW Californias, a number of books (Lacroix and Wells IJN Cruisers for example) and a great bookcase to display my models on.....in our living room. We are coming up on 30 years of being married, and its been great. Next up I am looking to do the new Hasegawa Kate (yep an airplane, but hey its naval and has a prop) and then maybe the HiMold Fuso. Or maybe the WEM Dido. Or maybe the Samek Bismarck. So many models...... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: NEVENGER@aol.com Subject: Digital build up of Yamato Ok I was playing around looking for pictures of the space battleship Yamato and found a site that the rest of you might like. This is a digital build up of the WW2 version of the ship. I can not read Japanese so I have no idea what the site says, but hey the pictures looked cool. http://www6.freeweb.ne.jp/play/yamado/yam-main.html Sincerely, Richard -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "D.Przezdziecki" Subject: Re: Phil M.Gollin /"Flower" crew >> C: Real minor point, at that scale the lack of "people" really shows. It will have to be a "display" piece if I can't find a source of 1/72nd seamen for a diorama (probably alongside). << Hi Phil, My suggestion for a crew is to buy "Airfix" HO/00 box of "RAF personnel",some of the figures can be easily converted into sailors,another good source is gun crew provided with "Airfix" Bofors AA gun & tractor. Hope it helps. Regards D.P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: ALROSS2@aol.com Subject: AOTS Fairmile D A copy of John Lambert's AOTS on the Fairmile D has just appeared on that well-known online auction site. Price is currently US$9.95. Al Ross -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Re: Pacific Front: NEW ITEMS >> We should have a supply of the superb YS Miniatures 1/350 resin kit of Greek armored cruiser Averof . . . The next YS release will be USS Oregon BB-3 << An Oregon in 1:350 resin. This is almost too good to be true. Let us hope that they follow the actual ship drawings and do not add the extra deck. Those who have built the 1:225 Glencoe and 1:700 Classic kits know of what I speak. First the Averof, and now a projected release of the Oregon . . . this is a genuinely good omen. >> We have . . . Kombrig 1/700 resin kits . . . They have asked for our input, and we have suggested a number of turn-of-the-century Russian, British, American and French warships. Let us know what you would like, we can relay a consensus of requests to them. << Given an opportunity to suggest 1:350 Turn of the Century ship kits, I provide the following suggestions: Spanish American War Alfonso XII Infanta Maria Teresa - flag ship at Santiago Bay Cristobal Colon - ACR, has nine sister ships from Italy, Japan and Argentina USS Brooklyn French D'Entrecasteaux - CA Massena - BB Bouvet - BB, lost at the Dardanelles Italian Con di Covour - BB Austro-Hungarian SMS Babenburg/Hapsburg - BB SMS Wien - BB SMS Zrinyi - BB SMS Novara - CL I would really like to see some early French, Italian and Spanish ships. All of these countries had very progressive and modern navies during this time period and I feel that they are sadly underrepresented by the modeling community. From the list above my first choice would be the Bouvet with either the Con di Covour or Cristobal Colon in second. There are easily 50 other ships I could have listed. Many of the others would have been from the Japanese, Russian and Chinese fleets, however, these ships are at least represented in the 1:700 scale, and in a few other odd scales. Now all we need to do is hope that this is a legitimate survey of interest 1:350 scale ships and Kombrig is indeed interested in supporting this era. As a side note. I will be traveling back to Moscow next week and if anyone knows for certain that Kombrig is located in Moscow, please provide me with the address. It would be interesting to talk with these people first hand. Regards, RhinoBones PS to Andy - How would like to have another Oregon to go with your Averof? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Wilgossett@aol.com Subject: On and under the bench Currently have on the bench (beside it really) a 1/50 scale HMS Bounty by Billing and a 1/135 scale Liberty Ship in plank on bulkhead by Canav (not sure how accurate the hull is). Under the bench are Tamiya's Fletcher & Yamato in 1/350, Nichimo's Akizuki, I-19, and Type IX-C U-Boat in 1/200 (any PE on this one? it cries out for a set) and Revell's SMS Dresden in 1/350. I am reading Subchaser by Stafford and a great biography of Admiral Pratt who's career spaned from the late 1800s to just before WWII. And I have a very understanding mate! Married for 35 years and she still puts up with me. A question on the Liberty Ship.....the US navy acquired a few of these and I am curious as to any modifications that were made from the basic Maritime Commission Liberty Ship. For instance, the John G. Nicolay was launched 25 February 1943, acquired by the Navy on 9 March 1943, converted for naval service by the Matson Navigation Company, renamed USS Alberio (AK-90) on 17 March, and commissioned on 29 March 1943. What would the Matson Co. do to "convert" the ship for naval service? I was under the impression that all Liberty Ships were armed and otherwise made ready for naval service, even though operated by the Maratime Commission. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. My late father-in-law served on this ship and I have a few snapshots on her from the war. I would like this model to accurately reflect the deck layout, etc. If any ship modelers in the Atlanta, GA area would like to get together, please email me off site. Enough for now. This is a great site that I have been following for many months. Will -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Jeffon10@cs.com Subject: Re: Squadron colors Re squadron colors and what squadrons were assigned to what carriers: try US. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II, by Barrett Tillman, Specialty Press. It's about 8 x 10 by 0.5 inches with dark blue dust jacket. For frequenter of used book stores without dust covers, it's white. I got mine from Borders or some such large chain. R/Jeff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Btbldr" Subject: Revell Arkona - Plans and Thrusters Does anyone have a plan (even a rough outline of where the walls to each cabin are) of the main deck of the German DGzRS 27 meter class - any one of BERLIN, ARKONA, HERMANN HELMS, or VORMANN STEFFENS. The windows loom large and the empty room inside is obvious. Also any photographs of the bridge of one of the daughter/slave boats would be appreciated as well. Final question - promise! Do these ships have bow thrusters - I have a small pic which seems to show one, but I am not sure.... regards Boatbldr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "David Way" Subject: Triang RMS Franconia Ebay auction An interesting auction on Ebay was recently brought to my attention. A rare mint condition Triang 1/1200 cast metal model of the Cunard Liner RMS Franconia was purchased for..............get ready now......................$1,776. (Well, we know there is at least one dot.com person that cashed out at the right time). The Ebay listing commented that the models of the Franconia and sister ship, RMS Carmania, were manufactured in 1964 in a quantity of only 480 each. The Franconia seems to be the rarest of the two, because it was reported to have only been released in Canada, (where she sailed from). These two models are apparently very difficult for collectors to find. OK, let's all quickly run back to our old toy boxes and double check which Triang's we purchased XX years ago. I didn't get lucky and only have the basic QM, QE, etc. Gees, news like this makes the new resin kits seem much more affordable! Dave Way Huntington Beach -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "David Way" Subject: New USNI book on WW2 Troopships For those of us that are interested in the World War 2 troopships, there is a new book just released from the US Naval Institute on this lightly covered topic. The book is titled, "Running the Gauntlet - How Three Giant Liners Carried a Million Men to War". It is written by Alister Satchell, who served as cipher officer with the Royal Australian Navy aboard the Aquitania. The book seems to mainly focus on the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Aquitania and is 256 pages, with 125 illustrations. It's list price is $39.95, but USNI members receive a discount. I am looking forward to purchasing and reading this book. I worked aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA for 11 years, from opening day 1971 to 1982. We were very aware of her role in WW2 and enjoyed listening to the stories and experiences visiting vet's would share with us. I was always disappointed in the very few pictures that were taken and / or survived from that period of the ship's history. No doubt security concerns caused very little photography to take place. For example, there are just a handful of close up shots showing the different guns carried aboard the various liners.....a modeler's nightmare. Any new books on this subject, are always welcome in my book case. Dave Way Huntington Beach, CA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Minadmiral@aol.com Subject: Caution!! >> converting a Trible to a << Hi; Use EXTREME caution here. According to Gene Roddenberry (hope I spelled it right) you can very easily be overwhelmed with Tribles! I have no idea at all how to neuter the darn things. (8<)) Chuck Duggie WoodenWalls Listmeister http://www.egroups.com/group/WoodenWalls Naval wargamer, amateur naval historian, and ship modeler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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