Subject: SMML VOL 1406 Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 00:06:02 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Torpedo A/C Short 186A 2: Re: paint adherance to brass 3: Trumpeter 1/350 USS Enterprise-Origins 4: Home made decals 5: Re: Home Made Decals 6: Re: Trumpeter 1/350 USS Enterprise 7: Re: Trumpeter Enterprise 8: Re: 1/200 scale kits 9: Re: Trumpeter Enterprise? 10: russian carrier adrift 11: STANCHIONS 12: Dust question 13: Great Lakes Freighters 14: Home Made decals 15: Re: making decals 16: Re: home made decals 17: Re: Home made decals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: 10% off for SMML Members 2: New Reviews for November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Les Pickstock Subject: Torpedo A/C Short 186A Sometime ago someone expressed an interest in the Short 186A Bi-plane Torpedo bomber. I saw the Profile publication on this aeroplane at the UK nationals and bought it with this person in mind. If they would like the booklet contact me off list and I'd be happy to pass it on. Les Pickstock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Ron Wild" Subject: Re: paint adherance to brass In my experience, model paint, or any other paint for that matter, will adhere to brass if you prime it first with an automotive type primer. I find the best way to do this is to use a spray can. Once this is done no amount of handling will remove the final paint job. Ron Wild, Kelowna, British Columbia Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Rod Dauteuil Subject: Trumpeter 1/350 USS Enterprise-Origins Stephen, I suspect the models you saw are actually 1/400 versions offered not too long ago by Arii. They were both OK kits, but clumsy on the detail. Arii made both the original (beehive) and modern versions of the ship. I'm glad to hear that Trumpeter is releasing them, because I wanted one when Arii marketed it, but lost out. Rod -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Mike Kear" Subject: Home made decals >> I'm thinking about using my inkjet printer to do them. I have an Epson Stylus Color 670 printer, it can print at high resolutions, I'm very satisfied with it's output on high quality paper, but I don't know if it will work at all with blank decal sheets. Blank decal sheets are expensive, and I can find them only on the internet (no local stores carrying them). And worse: I have found no on-line store that guarantees that their decal sheets will work properly with inkjet printers, so I'm afraid to "blindly" buy those expensive sheets, and them noticing that they are not compatible with my printer. << You have another issue to deal with too - your printer doesn't print white. If you need white on the page it leaves a blank. So your decals will have nothing where you want white. This means you need to make allowance for that when you plan your painting. You will need to put your finished decals onto a white patch on the model. Mask off the outside area of your decal and paint it white. Then apply your homemade decal to that area. Only ALPS printers print white (Unless there's been developments in the six months since I last did the research) all the rest leave a gap in the toner or ink where white is needed. You will have to make sure you get decal sheet that matches the printer you have. I suggest you contact Epson in your area and ask them for brandnames of decal paper that is compatible. Lots of sheets will work - kinda - but there is likely one brand that's better than another. Epson's support department ought to be able to tell you. Don't bother going to the dealer you bought the printer from unless you happen to know whether they have made decals before. Go to the Epson company itself. Their support people have better access to the technical stuff and also to the technicians in Japan. Hope this helps you. Cheers, Mike Kear Windsor, NSW, Australia www.modelwarship.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: dlfowler@apple.com Subject: Re: Home Made Decals Hello Eduardo, If you are using an ink jet printer (like the Epson) you have to do one of two things - 1) purchase Ink Jet decal paper; or 2) coat standard decal paper with a rough matte finish. The problem with ink jets on decal paper is that the decal film is a glossy non-porous film. THe ink from an ink jet printer can not soak into it and will bead up on the surface. You have to have the film treated with some sort of coating that will allow the ink to adhere. Next, once you get the ink to stick, you have to spray it with an over coat. Since most inks from ink jet printers are water soluble they will come off when you put the decals into water unless there is a protective layer over them. One last note: When a computer send's its output to a printer, it assumes that the background will already be white. All the colors are mixed based on this assumption. If you print to a clear decal film and then transfer the decal to a model where the background is a different color (like haze gray) the colors will change and may even disappear. You can get white decal film but you will have to trim it very closely before applying it to your model since the edges will all be white. Best regards, Duane Fowler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Mike Petersen" Subject: Re: Trumpeter 1/350 USS Enterprise >> At the IPMS show in Telford held last weekend, White Ensign was displaying 2, 1/350 USS Enterprise kits from Trumpeter, one appeared to be the same as the Tamiya kit, the other showed the Enterprise with the 'Beehive' radar. Does anyone know the origin of these kits? Are they Chinese versions of the Tamiya kits? Has anyone reviewed the kits? << The Trumpeter Beehive kit is a second rate copy of the Tamiya Big E, supposedly in the beehive version. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you like customizing models) the changes are poor at best. The beehive is very, very badly modeled. (I am going to use an Arii 1:400 in it's place) They did square off the island like it should be(port rear of the island), but did not model the windows. There are no parts for the island radar panels. The ship still has the forward sponsons on it, but Big E didn't have them then. They used the Tamiya mold for everything, but used lighter weight plastic. The flight deck is warped. It is modeled with an engine (so you can float your model of hundreds of hours of work..yeah, right), so there are some modifications to fix that. It has for aircraft planes like the F18 which the Tamiya also had. The first F18's weren't on Big E until 1990, after the World Cruise and before the multi year shipyard visit. There are so many more items to list that are wrong, that I am sure none of you want to read that much ;). If you like detailing, get it, if you want to make it box stock, don't. I got my Trumpeter on ebay for $60. I am currently building a Tamiya Enterprise, circa 1989, and a Trumpeter Enterprise circa 1970ish. I have a few pictures of my progress of the Trumpeter version here. http://www.mnworld.com/temp/trump.html The Tamiya version is going along slowly as well. It is being super detailed with island lights and fiber optics, and more. Both will have a hangar deck as well. The Trumpeter. I hope to model the Tamiya in water during flight ops, and the Trumpeter at sea with the planes parked. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: ken.p.lemaster@exxonmobil.com Subject: Re: Trumpeter Enterprise Both of the 1/350 USS Enterprise kits are direct copies of the Tamiya kit. The beehive kit simply has a new B tree with most of the parts rearranged and the billboard radars missing. You will also have to backdate the kit since the sponsoons are still the ones for the mid 80s like the Tamiya. I have one of the beehive kits and it will take a lot of work to correct the obvious problems. Also, the plane set is the same as the Tamiya and does not include some of the planes that flew off the deck during the time while the beehive was in place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: ken.p.lemaster@exxonmobil.com Subject: Re: 1/200 scale kits If you look to the paper card kits, there are several 1/200 scale kits available including Japanese heavy cruiser Tone and Takao. The Shokaku and the Zuikaku have also been published although they are not in print at the present time. The other nice thing about paper, you can resize the kit to fit your needs and gain a larger selection of ships that way. Of course, if you do go this route, you should destroy any left over pages from the kit when you have finished the model. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Keith Bender" Subject: Re: Trumpeter Enterprise? Hi SMMLies, Is that right, did I read that there may be a 1:350 Trumpeter Enterprise or two. If so, here we go again. Do we really need another Enterprise. Come people in those manufacturing model co's. We don't need an Enterprise we need an Essex in 1:350. Yea I know it's a big pipe dream we probably won't see. Keith -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Andrew Jones" Subject: russian carrier adrift The old russian aircraft carrier "Varyag" has been adrift for 3 days after the tow ropes broke after strong winds hit the tugs. The carier drifted for 12 hours bfeore a tug managed to catch the carrier & now 2 other tugs are helping out but gale force winds are causing problems. The 55,000 tonne Varyag, inherited by Ukraine after the break up of Soviet Union, is on its way to China after problems with Turkey not allowing it passage through its waters. The carrier's chinese plans are that it wil be turned into a "fun place" a hotel & casino. Now 1 sailor (portugese) has been killed after falling 12ft (4m) while making efforts to control the carrier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Jim Fearn Subject: STANCHIONS Being a scratch builder of Scottish heritage I am determined not to spend my childrens inheritance on store bought three hole stanchions for my 1:96 model of the WW2 Cruiser HMS Newcastle. The commercial available cast stanchions are way out of scale, and the photo-etched ones are not suitable for the model. So how on earth do you make a 3/8" high stanchions using 0.030" brass rod with three holes that looks good enough to put on a model? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: NEVENGER@aol.com Subject: Dust question I was wondering what some of my fellow model lovers think is the bst way to remove dust off that model that sites on the shelf. I am thinking in terms of ships that have photo etch on them. I know the best way to prevent this problem is really to put a model under glass, but I do not have that kind of room. Sincerely, Rich -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "peewee" Subject: Great Lakes Freighters Are there any modelers out there working on models of Great Lakes Freighters? Esther -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Joel Labow Subject: Home Made decals I recommend that you get the current MicroMark catalog. They offer both white and clear decal paper for both laser and inkjet printers at reasonable prices. There is no need to buy their 'decal fixative' however...Dullkote or any similar product works fine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Bradford Chaucer Subject: Re: making decals >> Please, I would like to know if any of you can give me any tips on making my own decals. << Suggestion 1, get thee to Yahoo Alps-Decal group, a group of people who make their own decals >> I'm thinking about using my inkjet printer to do them. I have an Epson Stylus Color 670 printer, it can print at high resolutions, I'm very satisfied with it's output on high quality paper, but I don't know if it will work at all with blank decal sheets. << Remember that Yahoo group?? It's named Alps Decal, not because it originates in Switzerland, but because everyone who does decals used an - wait for it - ALPS printer!! :-) Seriously, the Alps is a thermal wax printer, not inkjet. That's why it works. The problems with ink-jets is one, the water soluble inks bead and don't adhere well to decal paper, even matt papers. Second, when you apply waterslide decals made on an inkjet, even if they have been overcoated, the inks bleed and run. Bottom line, even if you manage to make a simple decal with an inkjet, you won't be satisfied with the results. Note also that the Alps printers are higher res than the typical inkjets >> Blank decal sheets are expensive, and I can find them only on the internet (no local stores carrying them). << Everyone buys these supplies on line >> And worse: I have found no on-line store that guarantees that their decal sheets will work properly with inkjet printers, << That's because they generally don't Source of paper, Papa-Tango Source of Alps printers, Ebay (they're out of production but generally available surplus Seriously hang out for a while on the Yahoo Alps-decal group. Regards, Bradford Chaucer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Kenneth Perry Subject: Re: home made decals I have made a few decals on my home computer and had no luck with ink jet printers. They say that there is decal paper that will work with ink jets, but I have not bought any. I have been using an Alps 5000 printer with good results, having to coat the decal sheet after printing with a clear coat of paint. A friend suggested rubbing talcum powder onto the decal sheet before printing in the ink jet, but I've never tried this either. Another friend has had luck at the local copy store taking a print of his decal and having it copied onto decal paper using their color laser printer. Ken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Dirk Emmermacher" Subject: Re: Home made decals Hello Eduardo, your questions was a thread in another newsgroup. I'm forwarding your questions. Please stand by for an answer... Take care. Dirk IG Mikromodell http://www.mikromodell.de mailto:emmermacher@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Christopher Decker" Subject: 10% off for SMML Members All: To help out with those holiday budgets, NauticusModels is offering a special 10% off your order of $50 or more from our web site. Considering our already low prices, this is a fantastic offer. This offer will expire on December 15th. To receive your 10% discount, type in the following 'coupon code' when you checkout: SMML1406 You can use this coupon on as many orders as you like, but the offer does expire on December 15th. In stock now: Banners 1/350 Arizona Tamiya's complete 1/350 collection Trumpeters New 1/200 Sovremenny -- Fantastic new kit with photoetch included Entire Skywave line SWW, SWE, and SWM Soon to come, the complete line from Blue Water Navy! Happy Holiday Shopping Chris Decker President NauticusModels.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Timothy Dike" Subject: New Reviews for November New Reviews for November include: 1/700 Waveline USS New Orleans CA-32 (resin kit) 1/700 Pitroad Skywave USS Buckley DE-51 (plastic kit) 1/700 DML/Dragon USS Tarawa (Saipan) Amphibious Assault Ship A preview of JAG's new 1/700 Newport and Austin Skytrex 1/700 Meridian Line USS Constitution 44 Gun Frigate (cast metal kit) Squadron Signal Publications Fleet Air Arm British Carrier Aviation 1939-1945 Warship Perspectives Camouflage Volume III Royal Navy 1943-1944 Classic Warships Warship Pictorial #7 New Orleans Class Cruisers "Photo Album" Loyalhanna Dockyard 2001 Catalog Last month was busy, we added the following features since our last announcement: Building the Missouri BB-63 by Noel Carpio Building the USS Melvin by Noel Carpio Part 4 and 5 of Bill Waldorf's 1/72 Scale Gambier Bay Escort Carrier Buildup Feature. We also posted the October 2001 Pacific Front Update and added the following models to the Gallery: 1/350 USS New Jersey Tamiya by Steve Lee 1/700 Russian Ironclad Peter Velikiy by Ken Hoolihan 1/350 USS Atlanta CL-51 (BWN kit) by David Gatt 1/700 USSR Udaloy Guided Missile Destroyer by Gabor 1/700 USS Alabama BB-60 by Gabor 1/350 U-35 German U-Boat by Patrick Roach 1/600 HM Queen Elizabeth Troop Transport by Ken Hoolihan 1/700 SMS Seydlitz (May 1916) By Ken Hoolihan 1/700 Japanese LST Shimokita by Peter Van Buren 1/700 HMS Lion (May 1916) by Ken Hoolihan 1/350 USS Ward DD-139 by Patrick Roach 1/700 USS Newport LST by Peter Van Buren 1/700 USS Iowa by Peter Van Buren 1/700 IJN Yamato by Dr György Pék 1/700 IJN Mutsu by Dr György Pék 1/700 IJN Mogami (Tamiya) by Dr György Pék 1/700 DKM Scharnhorst (Tamiya) by Dr György Pék 1/700 HMS Hood (Tamiya) by Dr György Pék 1/720 HMS Hood (Italeri) by Patrick Roach 1/600 HMS Achilles (Airfix) by Dr György Pék 1/600 HMS Glamorgan (Airfix) by Dr György Pék 1/87 Great Lakes Amoco Tanker by Esther Beris 1/720 USS Arizona (Revell) by Dr György Pék I was able to add almost daily updates to the site, this month is shaping up to be another busy one. Just another reason to stop by and check in on a daily basis. Timothy Dike Webmaster and Editor ModelWarships.com http://www.modelwarships.com/index1.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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