Subject: SMML VOL 1296 Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 05:14:35 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Potiemkin 2: Re: USS ALBANY model 3: Re: Strasbourg floatplane 4: Figures for Matchbox/Revell Flower Class Corvette 5: Morison's history of the US Navy in WWII 6: Sweating out the WEM Ben Stoddart photo etch 7: Lorie 130 8: Modelkrak Kits 9: Re: Removing resin plugs 10: Kit instructions (or NOT) 11: maritime tours 12: Re: Agincourt query 13: Benson class USS Laffey (DD-459) 14: Re: PCs in Thailand 15: Scharnhorst colour scheme again 16: Imperial Russian Navy's flags 17: HMS Agincourt inquiry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: IPMS(USA) Nats-Chicago -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "D.Przezdziecki" Subject: Potiemkin Hi Peter, Firstly it is not "mononosiec" but "bronienosiec" (battleship) Potiemkin. The story about the making of the film that I have read also stated that hulked Dvienadtzat Apostolov was used with a mockup aft turret. This ship was not really a low freeboard ship but was what I would call straight deck, medium freeboard vessel. Now quaterdeck of Potiemkin was one deck lower than its top deck (vierchnaja paluba) and since hulk sits usually much highier in the water than fully loaded ship so, IMO, the difference between the two would not be really that great. Regards D.P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: URUDOFSKY@aol.com Subject: Re: USS ALBANY model The large USS ALBANY model is located in the lobby of the Leo W. O'Brien Federal Building in Albany, NY. It is easily accessible from Interstate 787 which is connected to Interstate 90 (Buffalo/Boston) and 87 (Montreal/New York City). I suggest you call the Naval Recruiting Office located in that building for further information: Commanding Officer 518-431-4721. Ulrich H. Rudofsky Delmar NY 12054-3306 USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Sanartjam@aol.com Subject: Re: Strasbourg floatplane Hi Yohan & SMML, For what it's worth, Marines Editions is supposed to reprint its book on the battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg in September of this year, and I would think it would have photos or drawings of the floatplane and its markings. Art Nicholson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Randall.J.O'malley@clarica.com Subject: Figures for Matchbox/Revell Flower Class Corvette This goes to the person trying to acquire figures for aforementioned kit: I will sell/trade you the set of figures (still on their sprues) from my kit. Contact me with a reasonable offer. If the completed model is to be donated to a museum or veteran's group I will provide the figures free of charge; simply give details of the project and intended recipient. Randy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Douglas Simpkin Subject: Morison's history of the US Navy in WWII Chris Neel wrote extolling the virtues of Samuel E. Morison's incomparable history of the US Navy in WWII, now rereleased in toto. Yes, Morison's was one of the first and remains one of the best histories of the Navy in that conflict. Yet because it was written (I believe) as an official history, and so soon after the conflict, much independent information has come to light in the 30-40 years since it was originally published. For example, I much prefer Eric Hammel's excellent triology on Guadalcanal (Vol. 1: Starvation Island. Vol. 2: The Carrier Battles. Vol. 3: Decision at Sea.) He's got not just the history, but the eyewitness descriptions that give that ultimate realism. (I can still feel my guts getting pounded with those poor SOBs bobbing around in the dark oily waters off Savo, having survived the Japanese onslaught only to have the concussion of their own exploding depth charges kill 'em.) My suggestion: go to your public library to sample Morison before dropping the $150. Doug -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Sweating out the WEM Ben Stoddart photo etch Finishing up on the 1/350 Ben Stoddart photo etch this evening (hopefully). MAN THIS STUFF IS DELICATE!!! The rails are so delicate, and thin you can't see them on the model unless you really look for them. Once you FINALLY get them on there they look so impressive and to scale. Of course, the trick is keeping one's sanity and composure long enough to get them on there. And don't get me started on that ^$$#@!(*& aft gun antennae! By the time I was finished with that, I was pulling my tongue snapping my ears together! I'll get ya someday for that Peter. I really will. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. You can now pay using your Visa / MasterCard http://okclive.com/flagship/ "That's mighty bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Jim Johnson" Subject: Lorie 130 A company named Azur makes a 1/72 scale Lorie 130. It is $13 USD at Squadron Shop. A picture of the box art is at: http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=AZ0004 It's a nice little kit. There are some flaws, but for a reference it will fill the bill. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "John Rule" Subject: Modelkrak Kits As someone said the Modelkrak kits do come with a huge amount of excess resin. Although this may sound brutal, it works. I hold the hull down on a table belt sander with pretty heavy duty paper (120 grit ) and keep checking for squareness. As it approaches the waterline, the excess becomes a very thin sliver. When it is wafer thin I stop and finish with a fine wet and dry paper by hand. The whole process only takes about a minute. YOU NEED TO WEAR A MASK!!! Sincerely, John PS: You will need a drawing to make any of the models and a bit of artist's licence might help too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Jim Johnson" Subject: Re: Removing resin plugs If you work with resin much, you need to spend some money. Sanding the plugs off of some things would take longer than completing the rest of the model. I bought a small Delta band saw, the type that mounts on a work bench. I think it is an 8" saw. That refers to the maximum piece that can be sawn. I paid $129 USD at a home improvement store. Micro Mark has them for $159 IIRC. Put the finest blade on that you can find. I bought one from Micro Mark. You can trim the plug to 1/4" without too much danger of cutting one side to far. It is hard to see where the blade is cutting on the bottom so I tilt the piece to make sure that it is cutting closer on top, where I can see it. You can go back several times and trim closer if you want. I then sand the piece to where it should be. This can be done by gluing sandpaper to a board, but on large pieces (1/350 BB or CA hulls for instance) this can still be a lot of sanding. I bought a power sander from Micro Mark. It has an 11" disc and self adhesive sanding discs. I ended up using a courser grade than I would have thought. A 100 or 120 IIRC. The nice thing about this sander is it is slow. It is variable speed and turns in the neighborhood of 400 to 600 PRM. This is fast enough to remove material at a reasonable rate but slow enough to keep heat down. Most disc/belt sanders are designed for wood and melt plastic and resin. Not this one. It's not cheep, (150 - 200 USD) but in my never to be humble opinion is a necessity when working on these materials. The final touches are put on with sandpaper glued to a board. Particle board shelves are flat, strong and cheep. For larger things, I use a 1' by 4' piece of board. I go to Sears or other tool/home improvement store and buy the largest sanding belt I can find. These are usually 12" wide by 3 to 4 ' long when cut. I then glue the cut belt to the board and accommodate large hulls with ease. As usual, protect your eyes and lungs from the dust. Also, using a band saw and power sander can be dangerous. They are designed to cut and remove hard materials so your fingers don't stand a chance. One more work of caution. Don't do like I did. My bandsaw and sander are mounted to the same bench that my spray booth is on. If you have the room, don't sand right next to where you paint. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Denis G Campbell Subject: Kit instructions (or NOT) Henry Chin ( asking about Modelrak kits) wrote; >> But it's so frustrating when I look at the instructions that come with the kits. I have bought 4 of them so far. Instructions are all worthless. Well, I hope I'm not starting a war here!! << With that track record, why did you ever buy FOUR of them? I bought my first resin model kit a few months ago ( had always worked with plastic kits). It was one of the better known "names" in resin kits (I won't name the manufacturer, because I don't want to, as Henry put it, start a war here) and am appalled at the instructions that came with it. They consist of three pages of photocopies of out-of-focus, overexposed photographs - some of the kit in subassemblies, some of the actual ship the kit represents - and a list of parts neatly numbered. Only thing is, the only parts that are numbered themselves are the parts on the PE fret - and some of those don't match the numbered parts list for PE! and some of the parts on the fret are not numbered at all!There are dozens of resin and white metal bits and pieces in the kit (two bags) - you would think a drawing of the part next to its name and number on the list would have been a good idea - 'cause, of course, the parts themselves are not numbered. I am building this kit as a surprise for a friend (one of my doctors, actually) and have spent the last two months searching the internet for pictures of the real ship (not too many around - it was not one the famous ships) and finally had to ruin the surprise and ask him if he had any pictures (he had some, but not very helpful for building a model virtually from scratch). Getting back to "why did you ever buy FOUR".... I certainly won't buy another of this manufacturer's kits. Not because of the severe warpage of the bottom half of the two part hull (which I cured by cutting it into pieces and then filling the spaces between pieces after glueing the pieces on), but because of the abysmal instructions. Instructions from say, Tamiya and GMM are a pleasure to work with. They are absolutely clear and, to me, are what instructions should be (in the case of GMM, educational as well) - clear enough for an ex airplane modeler to understand and produce a reasonable ship model. My advice, Henry, is, don't complain after buying 4 kits with the same result. Vote with your feet, as they say, and buy somewhere else. Denis Campbell Avon MA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: CokerRE@aol.com Subject: maritime tours On the Sharkhunters (U-boats) web site (sharkhunters.com) are advertising for a maritime tour in late July of the naval attractions in St. Petersburg, Russia. Has anyone taken one of Sharkhunters foreign tours and care to comment? Also does anyone know of any tour groups that do tours of naval museums and naval sites? Thanks PC Coker/Charleston -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "David Griffith" Subject: Re: Agincourt query >> Can anybody provide me with an information (preferably with a drawing and a photo or two) about appearance of HMS Agincourt from the time of the Jutland Battle?? I do have an article by MW Williams from Scale Models International about scratch-building the ship in 1/700 scale but it is in 1918 configuration. R.A.Burt shows how she looked in 1914 and in 1918 but only a brief description about 1916 appearance. All help will be gratefully received. << Dear D P, You could try going to: www.warships1.com/BRbb09_Agincourt.htm This site has some photos, a brief history and specifications, and a basic line drawing as at 1915. When I get home from work today, I'll have a look in Oscar Parkes and see what he has to say about the ship. Regards, David -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Poore, Devin" Subject: Benson class USS Laffey (DD-459) Has anyone out there done any research on the USS Laffey (DD-459), as far as building a model of her? I have some photos, and it looks like I can convert the Blue Water Navy USS Farenholt '42 kit- they both appear to have the square lower forward deckhouse with the forward positioned bridge, square stacks, etc. The main changes being more depth charge locations, and the slanted area of the 01 level needs to be squared instead of a slope down to the main deck. Does anyone know of any drawings, etc. of this ship? Floating Drydock and Taubman plans don't list anything, and I'm aware Classic Warships has their book on the Benson/Gleaves scheduled for release in August. Thanks, Devin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: WVeigele@aol.com Subject: Re: PCs in Thailand After World War II the US Navy transferred eight PC Patrol Craft to the navy of Thailand. The ships, with the names given to them by Thailand, were PCs: 495 Sarasin 570 Longlom 575 Thayanchon 609 Khamronsin 616 Tongpliu, PC 6 1185 Phali, PC 4 1218 Sukrip, PC 5 1253 Liulom, PC 7 These ships were among 110 PCs sent to 17 foreign countries after the war. During the war the US Navy transferred 45 PCs to 6 foreign countries. I would be grateful for further information on the status of the PCs in Thailand. Details about these ships, including their dates of keel, launch, commission, and deactivation, are in the book PC Patrol Craft of World War II. See the website www.astralpublishing.com Wm. J. Veigele -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: Scharnhorst colour scheme again I have been digging through my library (such as it is on Scharnhorst) and the only reference I have brought to light is the Koop and Schmolke tome in the Conway Maritime Modellers' Series (pub. 1998). It contains a side profile of Scharnhorst, described as 'Norway disrupted pattern' and clearly shows the central part of the ship as being dark grey and the bow and stern sections of the hull (and the turret crowns of the main battery) to be light grey. The forward demarcation line runs from the breakwater down to the waterline in a line approximately parallel to that of the bow. The stern demarcation line is from a point immediately below the muzzles of the after 28cm turret and angles forward at a similar angle to that of the stern. I do not know if this is what is shown in the Breyer book to which Shane referred in SMML 1290 (the bibliography does refer to a 1990 Breyer book called 'Grosskampfshiffe1905-1970' and his 1987 book 'Schlactschiff Scarnhorst' however). Unfortunately, the Koop and Schmolke volume does not show any photographic evidence to support the camouflage profile. However, the pattern described above is not what was shown on the TV documentary. The demarcation line on the wreck clearly ran to the deck where one of the single 15cm turrets was installed, which would be close to midships. Unfortunately, since the wreck is inverted, it is not that clear which mount is shown, although I believe it to be the after one on the port side (just forward of the torpedo tubes). If it is, then the demarcation line is sloping aft towards the waterline at a shallower angle than 45 degrees - measuring from the TV screen, it looks to be about 30 degrees, the line intersecting the deck edge just forward of the aft single 15cm turret. The darker shade is above and aft of the line. Any comments are welcome..... Robert Lockie Swindon UK Hi Robert, The book I referred to was the english translation of "Schlactschiff Scarnhorst", published by Schiffer in 1990 (just checked the credits). The picture I referred to does indeed have the stern demarcation line at the same angle as the stern, but it starts closer to the stern, I'd say approx 2-5m past the end of the 28cm barrels. Regards, Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Masashi Ito Subject: Imperial Russian Navy's flags Hi, I am looking for some decal set including Imperial Russian Navy's ensign and jack for my beloved Askold kit. If anyone knows such a decal set, please let me know. Thank you in advance, Masashi Ito -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "John W. Wressell" Subject: HMS Agincourt inquiry Dr. Oscar Parkes "British Battleships" has a very full write-up with pictures and drawings on her or get a reprint of "Jane's Fighting Ships" for the year your interested in. John Wressell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Jana & Pavel" Subject: IPMS(USA) Nats-Chicago Dear SMML'ies, I want to see how many of you out there are going to the USA Nationals in Chicago, July 4-7? A possible mini-con for SMML'ies?? I sure would like to meet the faces behind the e-mails. I have received a lot of help and advice from this forum and would like to say thanks in person. Quite a few Manufactures and Suppliers are going to be there, there goes the savings for this century!! Also is there anyone on this list from Chicago who could help out with some information? I would like to spend a bit more time in Chicago, as I have never been to that part of the USA. I need to know about some accommodation for about 2 weeks.(hotels are a bit pricey through the travel agency) If anyone could help, please contact me off list. Thank you all and to those going, best of luck and a safe trip. Regards Pavel Regina, Saskatchewan Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Backissues, Member's models & reference pictures at: http://smmlonline.com 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