Subject: SMML VOL 1371 Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 16:02:07 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Wire for railings 2: Re: USS OREGON COLORS 3: Re: BISMARCK colours 4: Hornet colours 5: Wasp 6: Re: brass wire 7: Iowa Class helipad markings 8: ICM Guest book 9: Re: Imex Catalog 10: Bismarck colours 11: Big Gun Monitors on Ebay 12: Tamiya 1:700 Fletcher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: ABC TV visits the Australian Battle Group -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: October Internet Modeler 2: NEW BOOKS and WEM 1/350 ARIZONA brass 3: Warship Books Special 48 Hour Offer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS Hi all, We've heard from Dave Krakow - he's fine and has resubbed ;-)) Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: Wire for railings I found that florist shops stock the sizes of thin wire to reinforce bouquets. Most will either just give you some or charge a very modest fee. They are straight and will bend very easily. Hope this is of some help. John - Seattle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: SantMin@aol.com Subject: Re: USS OREGON COLORS I can't give you the Humbrol colors but I have found that a very good match can be had in Testors Model Master paints. Flat White, Flat Black, Insignia Red, and Wood (for the buff areas). Cheers, Bob Santos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Operation Center ZAHNARZTPRAXIS 736TLV" Subject: Re: BISMARCK colours Hi all Thank you for your help. The retired captain, that was as an officer aboard PRINZ Eugen during operation RHEINUEBUNG thinks, that the photo in the book 'Bismarck' by Ulrich Elfrath and Bodo Herzog on page 83 is wrong, that it was dark, when BISMARCK weighed anchor and that it would have made tactically no sense to keep only the bow wave. But what do you think about the drawing I found in Monografie Morskie 1, Bismarck (a polish publication). I do not speak polish, but below the drawing, something is mentioned of 26 May. What's about the tops of the turrets (yellow or dark grey), what's about the swastikas (Ballard writes in his book, that they have been painted over!)? Sincerely Roger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Keith Bender" Subject: Hornet colours Hi SMMLies, Need more help on the hornet CV 8, This was answered over a year ago but some dummy here forget to save it on file. What would be the color of the two stripes painted on Hornet's deck for the B-25s during the Doolittle raid. We already discussed the deck would be Norfolk Blue Stain because she came from Norfolk and most likely didn't have her deck stained to match the Pacific blue stain upon arriving in the Pacific. Thanks SMMLies, Keith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Pieter Cornelissen Subject: Wasp I picked up the Revell Germany USS Wasp last week. First impression; this thing is BIG, about as large as an Essex class (WW2) carrier. It is a nice kit, much better than their 1/720 Tarawa (Revell mold). Details are not as fine as the ex-Dragen (and Revell and Italeri) Tarawa, nor does it hve the 'busy' appearacne of an ex-Dragon or ex-Skywave mold. Very nice RAM-units. Fit of the larger parts is not perfect and the hull halves have some small sink marks. The bridge (island) superstructure has been broken up in 10 parts co the fit is not good and it has rather thick bulkheads. Mast structures is nicely done but a bit thick, though according to my photographs the original mast structures are alse quite heavy. It does look like the photographs in Stephen Zaloga's Tarawa and Wasp (Dreagion publishing) The hull scales out well according to published diemensions, I do not have any drawings as my only references are said book and the website of the ships. Nice decals, but strangely there are also raised deck markings. There is a -simple- hangar deck but not a well deck. There are helicopters, V22 's and harriers provided in the kit which are not very good quality but no landing craft or Amtraks, the kit only contains some kind of special forces boats. In short; the kit can serve be a nice base for an accurate model of Wasp, and it is worth the 33 guilders (about $16) priec for which I picked it up. To get the most out of this kit one would have to invest in the GMM Tarawa, and Dragons' amphibious force set. And maybe scratchbuild a hangar deck You can also raid Tamiya's Ohsumi for one of its LCACs (it has more LCACs than you can use on Ohsumi anyway). Pieter Cornelissen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Masashi Ito Subject: Re: brass wire About where to get brass wire, Kitlink (at www.kitlink.com) carries brass wire of various diameters (they don't have .025 but they do have .010 and several others). They are listed under "Wire, Rod, & Tubing" of "Detail Parts." They also have stainless tube which would be good for gun barrels. My friend told me that Great Models has acquired Kitlink.com recently, but I do hope the former will carry all items of the latter (I liked Kitlink!!). Masashi Ito -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: annobon4@aol.com Subject: Iowa Class helipad markings Hi Guys I have a question about the Iowa class helo pad markings. When they were brought back in the 80's the landing area was expanded to have 4 copters on board at any time but the New Jersey's had a circle pad located on the left side near the front of the helo pad area. The others had this put in the center front of the helo pad. Did the Jersey ever have this done to her helo pad. Also I'm having trouble with white paint. It thins quickly after painting and I have to apply several more coats to make it look painted. This doesn't look good after drying. I've used Polly S paints, any one know a good white paint to use. Craig Bennett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: NEVENGER@aol.com Subject: ICM Guest book I saw last night that on the ICM web site they have a link to what they call their guest book. On this we can post some of our interest and questions (even if they do not reply) for all to see. Um just incase anyone needs the site http://www.icm.com.ua/ Now all they have to do is finish making those 1/350 ship kits that I have been waiting for. RD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Re: Imex Catalog From: "Mike Leonard" >> I spotted a new Imex-Eastern Express catalog in a local hobby shop today. It previewed the following tantalizing subjects in 1/350 scale: Imperial Russian battleships "Borodino"and "Peresvet", the early Soviet battleship "Gangut", and four Soviet submarine types: Project 665, 670, 670M, and 945. << Mike Please do me a small favor and buy me a copy of the catalog. I'll gladly pay you back in November when I return from Moscow. Regards, RhinoBones PS - How in the USS Maine coming along? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Baumbach, Werner" Subject: Bismarck colours Even though the pictures of the wreck show the swastika, I am not sure, whether the swastikas were visible during the North Atlantic leg of the operation. I discussed this with several folks. The picture I have in several books, do not show the swastikas on either Bismarck or Prinz Eugen for this part. The swastikas were meant as a help for the Luftwaffe fighters providing air coverage. After this was gone, the markings would only be a help for RA planes, so serving the enemy. So the theorie is, that once the ships were out of range for the Luftwaffe, the swastikas were painted over (alternate theory: covered with canvas). Then, after the Bismarck was sunk, the new coat of paint was less resistant to the water, thereby exposing the swastikas again. For accuracy, after entering the North Atlantic, the railings were removed and a white line painted on the deck. Happy Modelling Werner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Richard Simpson Subject: Big Gun Monitors on Ebay There is a copy of Buxton's "Big Gun Monitors" on Ebay UK at present if anyone want one. I now have two copies of the NIP version. This one appears to be a UK printing Please see: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1470209171 Regards Richard Simpson www.ausbg.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Tamiya 1:700 Fletcher So what's the best way to improve upon a Tamiya 1:700 Fletcher? I know this has come up here before, but I've slept since then and I'm rather brain dead after contemplating winged-thing projects the past few months. I know there's an aftermarket kit to convert the 1:350 kit to a square faced version. Any chance there's such a beastie for the 1:700 out there? I vaugely recall someone suggesting using a Skywave Fletcher for those parts. Likewise, I know Toms and GMM offer brass kits for this one. Which ones I'll need, I'll have to go look at their respective offerings. Beyond that, what else would I need to do one of these kits up right? Any major pitfalls I should consider? Thanks, Derek -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Richard Simpson Subject: ABC TV visits the Australian Battle Group Mid September the Australian Broadcasting Corporation visited a meeting of the Australian Battle Group in Canberra. This is the bunch of weirdos who arm their 1/144 scale models with C02 powered cannon and shoot at each other's ships till someone sinks. This video will be incorporated into the "On the move" program that shows at 6:30pm on Thursdays throughout Australia. With the current disruption to programming it is somewhat unclear when it will show but it should be around late October. They spent a whole day with us, even flying in people from interstate, for a < 10 minute segment. Really weird. Vessels sunk on the day were USS Houston (CA), USS South Dakota, VNS Strasbourg, VNS Jean Bart, USS Alabama (twice) plus a half dozen merchants. Lots of fun. I will let you know when we have a screening date. Regards Richard Simpson skipper of the twice sunk USS Alabama www.ausbg.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Bob Pearson" Subject: October Internet Modeler Hi all, Internet Modeler enters its fourth year with an article on converting the Matchbox/Revell Flower Class into an early short focsle variant. We also have a look at some flags for outfitting your 1/96 and 1/72 ships and books on the German pocket battleships and USN Heavy Cruisers. Finally, there are a half dozen profiles of some RN corvettes circa 1942. Regards, Bob Pearson http://www.internetmodeler.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "WEM" Subject: NEW BOOKS and WEM 1/350 ARIZONA brass Hi Guys, We are about to take delivery of the following new title on Friday this week: published by Mariitime Books, HMS VANGUARD 1944 - 1960, Britain's Last Battleship, McCart, Neil (of Fan Publications), h/b, 120pp, over 100 photographs 19.95 Pounds Also, Arriving in 2 weeks: Fan Publications HMS HERMES 1923 and 1959, by Neil McCart, h/b, 192pp, over 135 photos, includes colour photographs, 24.00 Pounds The WEM PE 3521 1/350 "ULTIMATE" USS ARIZONA etched brass detail sets will be with us inside 2 weeks we reckon. The set consists of two sheets of brass of different thicknesses, as in the "ULTIMATE" KGV CLASS BATTLESHIPS sets, having the rails etc on the thinner sheet and cranes/doors/hatches etc on the thicker sheet. The set will be sold together as one and will be prices at 27.66 Pounds post free (around $39.50). Details of the sets can be found at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/white.ensign.models/wembrass/wembrass.htm#ARIZONA Orders can be placed with me. For other update news, please check http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/white.ensign.models/news.htm Thanks! Caroline Snyder Business Manager White Ensign Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Keith Butterley Subject: Warship Books Special 48 Hour Offer Hi all, AJ Press: Polish Naval Aviation 1920-1956 Profile Morskie La Terrible Taszkient De Ruyter Caio Diulio Krasnyj Kawkaz The following prices INCLUDE shipping Canada $21Cdn USA $14US Intl $17 UK 10 GBP There is one catch, your order must be in to me by Wednesday October 3. Please respond to me directly with your order, do not go through the site. Credit card purchase's are now available through paypal.com. Remember: You can sell your used books or extra kits on the site at no cost or obligation, just email me with your ad. Regards Keith Butterley http://www.warshipbooks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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://apma.org.au/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume