Subject: SMML VOL 1463 Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2002 00:25:24 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Hasagawa HMS Vanguard 2: Large Caliber Naval Gun Loading 3: Camo scheme for Richelieu 4: Re: Re: Revell USCGC Campbell 5: IJN Haruna plans? 6: Saving the Minas Gerais(HMS VENGEANCE) 7: LST conversions 8: Trumpeter 9: RIGGING LINE 10: Re: Rigging Material 11: Trumpeter type 33G 12: Tamiya 1/350 Yamato 13: Re: Revell USCGC Campbell 14: Review of Jolly Roger 15: Trumpeter catalouge 16: HMS Fiji and Trinidad -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Re: Iowa class battleship -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: drwells@hogpb.mt.att.com (David R Wells) Subject: Re: Hasagawa HMS Vanguard "Peter Sketchley" wrote: >> I have received Neil Mc Carts book on HMS Vanguard for Christmas, which is excellent, and it has sparked my interest in acquiring the Hasagawa 1/450 model. I have read at various places that it has some major flaws. Can anyone tell me what these problems are? >> Indeed it does have some serious flaws. The aft superstructure is pretty seriously wrong. You'll have to do some major plastic surgery to correct it. The secondary guns don't fit together very well, and the light AA guns are kind of clumsy. The three-part deck (typical of 1/450 Hasegawa battleships) can be a real pain, since it is difficult to hide the seams. In general, there's not much detail. I recall making some measurements on my own, and the scale was more like 1/432 than 1/450. The kit is a fixer-upper, but I think it's salvageable. If you want an injection molded polystyrene kit, this is the only game in town. (except for the Hap Dong ripoff of the Hasegawa kit, which is worse!) If you're interested in trading some data on this HMS Vanguard kit, contact me off list. I think I have some information that can help you. David R. Wells "There seems to be something wrong | David R. Wells with our bloody ships today" | AT&T Labs, Middletown, NJ Adm. D. Beatty, May 31, 1916 | http://home.att.net/~WellsBrothers/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Mark Shannon" Subject: Large Caliber Naval Gun Loading While it is true that most of the large naval rifles were dropped to a flat angle for reloading (and some had to return to a certain bearing in the pre-dreadnought days), notable exceptions were the British battleships with 15"/42 guns, such as the Queen Elizabeths, R-Class, and Hood. These mountings were designed for 'all-angle' loading, to speed the cycle. When the turrets were modified to increase the maximum gun elevation to 30 degrees from 20 degrees in the between-wars period, the all-angle loading was left at the original range of motion, so the guns would have to be dropped a bit when firing at maximum range. In the Nelsons and all subsequent classes, other than the Vanguard, the all-angle design was dropped as an unnecessary complication. I am not certain, but I believe that at least the 13.5" mountings in the 'super-Dreadnaught' classes of WWI also used all-angle loading cycles, this engineering possibly extending back in time to the 12" mountings. I do not have my references at hand. Q.V.: Burt, _British Battleships of WWI_, and Raven and Scarborough, British Battleships of WWII_ Mark -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Poutre, Joseph A" Subject: Camo scheme for Richelieu When the Richelieu fought in the early part of the Indochina War, in 1946, what camo scheme was she wearing, if any? Was she still in US colors? I have Dulin and Garzke's Allied Battleships, but they don't include paint and marking schemes. (I plan to complain the next time I see Bill G.) Thanks! Joe Poutre -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: dlfowler@apple.com Subject: Re: Re: Revell USCGC Campbell Hello, The kit in question has been marketed by Revell as both the USCGC Campbell (WPG-32; WAGC-32; WHEC-32) and the USCGC Taney (WPG-37, WHEC-37). It actually represents the Campell in the early 50s in about 1/300 scale (actual length of the ship was 327'). When I first reviewed the kit I thought that it was an amalgamation of several eras and ships but then I found a photograph at the Coast Guard Museum of the Northwest in Seattle of the Campell in 1954 that looked very similar to the kit. I have to admit that I was surprised to see that the ship still had the depth charge rails and K-guns. Of course the Hamilton Class Cutters still had manual 5"/38s into the 1980s... Anyway, In researching the Campbell I found that the kit represents her (mostly) in 1954. I do not have my notes in front of me so I can not give you a complete rundown. However, I can tell you that the ship at that time would have been painted white with a large black "W32" on the bow and smaller numbers on either side of the stern. The ships name would have been painted in 12" high black letters on the stern directly between the depth charge racks. The ship in this configuration would have never had the current red white and blue racing stripe on the bow nor the Coast Guard logo on the bow or funnel. The funnel would be painted CG Spar as would the masts and the funnel top would be black. Unfortunately, due to the off scale, it would be difficult to salvage bits from other kits to outfit this one. The hull is quite nice and fairly accurate (the molded in cables on the sides of the hull are rather irritating though!) and the deck planking is another nice surprise. Most of the superstructure is OK but the molded railings are a major pain. Perhaps you can use the rails around the bridge to represent canvas but the stuff on the main deck has to go. (And as you mentioned, I can not understand why Revell chose to emboss their copyright information on the OUTSIDE of the bridge!) The weapons are also pretty bad and you would do best to manufacture your own. GMM makes a PE brass set that contains the parts for both this kit and the Revell Eastwind/Burton Island kit. The Secretary Class Cutters were around for an unusually long time (well, not for the Coast Guard). The Campbell was launched and commissioned in 1936 as the George W. Campbell and was finally decommissioned in 1982 (and sunk as a target ship in 1984). The Taney was launched and commissioned the same year as the Roger B. Taney and served until 1986 when she was decommissioned. The Taney is currently a museum ship in Baltimore, MD. Due to their long service life, the Secretary Class Cutters went through a number of refits with various superstructure and weapon changes. Though they all were launched in similar configurations, at any particular time they may have appeared considerably different. As John Snyder mentioned, they were all launched with open 5"/38 and 3"/50 mounts. They were also designed to carry a Grumman J2F "Duck" on the stern. This was soon given up to extra gun positions. The Taney at one time was the most heavily armed with four enclosed 5"/38 mounts. My favorite - WPG-33, USCGC Duane - was reclasified as a WAGC (Air Group Command) and had all heavy guns removed and replaced with four quad 40s. They all ended their careers with a single enclosed 5"/38 on the bow. The only ship of this class to be lost in action was the Hamilton (WPG-34) which was sunk by a U-boat torpedo in 1942 while on North Atlantic convoy duty. You can get a set of plans for the Campell from the Coast Guard Museum of the Northwest (1519 Alaskan Way South, Seattle, WA 98134, (206) 286-9608 (9-5 PST, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only) or from Taubman's Plan service. You can also get a good rundown of the history from either the US Coast Guard Historian's "Cutters, Craft, and Coast Guard Manned Vessels" page at "http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/CutterList.html" or Ken Laesser's "Coast Guard History Page" at "http://laesser.11net.com/index1.html" Hope that helps. Best regards, Duane Fowler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Erwin Van Deynze Subject: IJN Haruna plans? Hi, all Does anybody know where to get plans of the IJN Haruna (Kongo-class battleship)? A friend shipmodel-builder who's not online has been in search for these for some time now, but was unable to find any... Erwin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Darren Subject: Saving the Minas Gerais(HMS VENGEANCE) Dave Shirlaw posted this on the Canadian Navy news group. I thought he might post it here as well, but since he hasn't, here it is. A campaign has started to in the UK to preserve the ex HMS Vengeance For more information, see: http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/vengeance/ Darren Scannell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Robert Morris" Subject: LST conversions Floating Drydock has General plans for the Sphinx ARL 24. Robert Morris North Benton OH USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Bill Daisley" Subject: Trumpeter Mr Snyder, thanks for the scoop from Conway's... Now, about the Trumpeter Kiev... does it live up to the quality of the subs or the destroyer? Its listed here in Ontario at about three times the price of the sub, which I thought an excellent buy at 25.00CDN (and for which I traded a RUBIS, U-boat & Avro Clunk to my 7 year old, so closer to 45.00 before I actually start building) Is it a rescaled clone ? cheers Bill TGH {VP & CEO} not wearing skimpies on my head in the basement @ BAD Productions Est. F'ton '94 MAD R&D Brewing Trouble since '98 * Business Cards have been printed.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "DUCKMAN" Subject: RIGGING LINE I USE 2LB. TEST STREN, WHICH IS .005 IN DIAMETER. THIS WORKS OUT TO BE 1 3/4", IN 1/350. WOULDN'T 8LB. BE TOO LARGE, OR AM I GOING TOO SMALL? DAVID IN DIXIE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: " Harvey Low" Subject: Re: Rigging Material I suppose one method works for some but not for others. I prefer simple thin "stretched sprue". I use clear sprue (the stuff that airplane canopies come attached on) for small scale such as 1/700. Anything larger and I prefer using a dark grey sprue. While sprue may not be strong, it gets taunt with the simple addition (as some have mentioned) of low heat, and will NOT change with temperature. I once used fishing line rigged taunt on a 1/72 A2N2 biplane. Well after moving from a warm to cold climate and back, the lines started to sag - maybe not noticable to some but in 1/72 or 1/700 there's a big difference! So be carfeful using fishing line if you want a taunt appearance. Harvey Low -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Bill Daisley" Subject: Trumpeter type 33G hi hi, John Snyder's reference to Conway's book led me to a few more references.. http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/ has more on various Chinese ships (no pics or drawings) but had this to say about the Missile sub depicted by Trumpeter. 'Wuhan' class guided missile trials submarine (1 ship) (Project 033G) Concept/Program: A Chinese 'Romeo' class submarine extensively rebuilt as a trials platform for sub-launched SSMs. Must surface to launch missiles; lacks any over-the-horizon targeting. Not a combat-capable unit. Builders: Rebuilt by Wuhan SY. Number Year FLT Homeport Notes 351 19??/87 YEL cheers Bill TGH {VP & CEO} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Wilgossett@aol.com Subject: Tamiya 1/350 Yamato Hello all and Happy New Year: Can anyone point me to an in-depth article about building the 1/350 scale Yamato? The more detailed the article the better. I am familiar with the article by Len Roberto on the ModelWarships website but am looking for more than that if possible. If all else fails, I will keep track of my progress and try to put something together for the future, but I have to believe that someone has already been there. Thanks, Will Gossett -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Bill & Kaja Michaels" Subject: Re: Revell USCGC Campbell The kit is a decent representation of a Secretary-class cutter, as far as it goes. The big problem with the kit (whether boxed as Campbell or Taney) is that it is a mish-mash of armament from different periods. (Korean war -era 5 inch gun with WW-2 fit depth charges, that sort of thing.) Some of the ships of this class (i.e. Taney, Ingham, Bibb, Duane, etc.) served for 45-50 years. Over that time, they saw a number of different armament and deckhouse changes. The Revell kit is a good starting point, but doesn't really represent any of the ships from a particular time period. (Duane Fowler did a writeup on this kit.) My personal favorite is the 1940-ish configuration, with a Grumman J2F Duck floatplane carried on a cradle aft. (According to Scheina's book, all the 327s carried an aircraft at one point or another...) Bill Check out my US Coast Guard subjects model list at: http://www.tiac.net/users/billkaja/kitlist.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Review of Jolly Roger I'm getting behind in my email. Someone here asked me if I get the model if I'd write a review of the kit. From the feedback here, I'd have to say you have quite a bit of material for such a review already. I did opt to get the kit...just haven't received it yet. Derek Wakefield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Björn Bäcklundx1bmQ= Subject: Trumpeter catalouge Trumpeter seems to have a rather long shiplist. http://trumpeter.cool.ne.jp/Kitlist3.html Björn Bäcklund, Sweden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: John Currie Subject: HMS Fiji and Trinidad Hi all, I hope everyone had a good Xmas and got what they wanted in their stockings, well that was Xmas, so Happy New Year everyone. I have spent my Xmas in Aksaz in Turkey along with the ships in my SNFL group, which are the NRP Corte Real, HMCS Toronto, HMNoS Narvik and the HMDS Niels Jules. I will be glad when we sail, i think we all will, Brits, Canadians, Portuguese, Norwegians along with the Danes mix them together with John Smiths, Guinness, Moosemilk, Stella and you get one hell of a headache, Good party though. Well my question is can anybody out there help me with the positions of the 4 x Quad 0.5" on the Fiji at her time of sinking in May 41, and the position of the 2 x Quad 0.5" and 2 x Single 20mm on the Trinidad at her time of sinking in May 42. Also can anyone hazard a guess at the colours that Fiji was wearing at the time, i am thinking that possibly MS1, MS2, B5 and 507C. Are there any good books available on the Colony Class. VMT John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: dlfowler@apple.com Subject: Re: Iowa class battleship Hello, No one that I know of makes a detail set to convert the 1/350 scale modern USS New Jerey kits into any of the other Iowa Class ships. As was noted, the top of the tower would have to change radically. There are a number of other changes too - such as the length and shape of the wood planking on near the helicopter pad. I am trying to put together a list of the alterations needed but haven't finished it yet. I do produce a set of decals designed to detail any of the Iowa Class ships in the early 1990s. It includes the bridge awards, proficiency marks, turret marks, helicopter landing pad and warning lines, hull numbers and draft marks for all four ships. They are available from several mail order retailers including Naval Base Hobbies, Pacific Front Hobbies, and White Ensign Models. Best regards, Duane Fowler Dunagain Decals US Computer Graphics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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