Subject: SMML VOL 1513 Date: Sun, 03 Feb 2002 11:50:53 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: BB Texas 2: Re: Blue Water Navy Decals 3: South Carolina Attractions 4: TIGER - The E-Boat Attack 5: Model paints and colors 6: AO 64 7: Loss of Lancastria WWII -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Michael C. Smith" Subject: Re: BB Texas Oh that happened years ago - read Daniel Da Cruz' "The Ayes of Texas" sometime about the reconstruction of the old battleship as a marvel of modern high tech warfare which then engages the entire Soviet fleet and... oh wait, that was a science fiction novel. Still, if you're interested in the ultimate reconstruction of a historical warship, the book is the ultimate answer to the question of what would happen if Ross Perot ever got interested in spending his fortune modernizing the USS Constitution to allow to rejoin the active fleet as its most powerful unit (while not changing the appearance at all). Michael Smith Marshall, Texas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Devin J. Poore" Subject: Re: Blue Water Navy Decals From what I've heard, the Blue Water Navy decals are currently out of production and I don't know of any shop that has any. However... with the upcoming USS Lexington kit from BWN, there will be a new decal sheet released; hopefully it will also be available for purchase without having to buy the Lexington. Also, it also might be possible that the upcoming Commanders USS Langley kit might include decals. Devin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Devin J. Poore" Subject: South Carolina Attractions I'm going to be taking a 5 day trip to South Carolina the end of March. Flying into Myrtle Beach, and then driving up to Wilmington, NC to visit the USS North Carolina, and then heading down to Charleston to see Patriots Point and Fort Sumter. Are there any other sights, hobby shops, or attractions that are "must see" in this region? Is there any way to get in to see the Hunley? Any places with artifacts from the sunken ironclads that have been pulled from the bay? It's been many years since I've been in that region, and will probably be many more until I'll get back, so I want to see as much as I can. Thanks, Devin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Boatbldr Subject: TIGER - The E-Boat Attack Hi folks Here is a link to a website that says there were 749 casualties - it has an interesting discussion towards the end about the findings regarding the incident. http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/d-day/tiger.htm At the bottom of this article are the following two links - especially one that says there never was a cover up, just secrecy for the two months until DDay.... Operation Tiger Overview Naval Historical Center 'Slapton Sands: The Cover-up That Never Was' Naval Historical Center regards Malcolm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Randy Short Subject: Model paints and colors Hi everybody. I'm going to weigh in on the cottage industry subject, specifically paints. White Ensign has brought out a high quality line of accurate colors at financial risk to themselves. The risk is not so much the market, but rather supply. The paints have to be put into the tins, and this is a slow process. The machines to do this are no longer being made. So what's out there is all there is. John, Caroline, and Dave are working their tails off to try and get the process streamlined as much as possible. But in the long run supplies may be a bit spotty. In this case, try to keep a little extra on hand. WEM, and those of us who deal the paints may not have them on hand or be able to get them quickly when you need them because of the supply problem. As Snyder and Short Enterprises, it is painful if we can't fill orders 100%. I just want to let you know that WEM is tyring to move heaven and earth to get the job done. AS with all new ventures, there will be teething problems. One is never sure what the demand will be within a time frame. But from what I hear, they are very good paints. And as with Humbrols, good old paint thinner is all you need to airbrush them, and clean up. As to all this hubbub about "Naval Base Hobbies", listen to the people who buy from him. He is not one of our paint chip dealers, so I've had no dealings with the man. If he was a bad dealer, though, he would be long out of business. As for us at Snyder and Short, we are very much the kitchen-table business. As I have to concentrate on financial survival there is little time to devote to S&S. I encourage those of you who are our customers to include an e-mail or phone # so we can contact you right away if there is a problem with your order. This is especially true with the paints, as supply is spotty and there are some gaping holes on some of the USN colors right now. We are also experiencing problems with the mail. The Bermuda Triangle has moved to the LA-Sacramento-SF triangle. Packages sent to real addresses are getting returned as no such address and have to be reshipped. Also, many items turned into the Post Office (anything over a pound) haven't even been postmarked days after we give them to the Post Office and pay the shipping. Some of your letters are taking 10-12 days to get here from the East Coast. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve with me and has gone on now for about 1 1/2 years. No wonder the Post Office is losing money-none or terrible service! And I'm sure we are not the only small business that suffers from this kind of treatment. We all try to keep the shipping costs down. I remember when I thought that what was charged for shipping was awfully high. Now I have a lot more sympathy for the shippers, as we struggle to try to charge no more than what we absolutely have too. I suppose when huge businesses can't get the Post Office to deliver the mail, we cottage industry folks haven't got a prayer. So there you have my soapbox. My congressman said that if enough people around the country complained to congress, that efforts would be made. He said complaining to the P.O. is like "fa..ing into a hurricane". Randy Short at Snyder and Short Enterprises: www.shipcamouflage.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: GKingzett@aol.com Subject: AO 64 I just received my copy of The Daybook, the publication of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. This is where the USS Wisconsin is moored and open to the public. The magazine features the Wisconsin; In Korea, Wisconsin refueled so many ships her crew wanted to paint AO-64 on her bow. For you diaramists (new word?) there is a great picture of Wisconsin refueling USS St. Paul CA-73 and USS Buck, DD-761, off Korea in 1952. It looks like the Buck may be 40' off the Wisconsin's starboard side, the St. Paul no more than 50' off the port side. Could you old (or not so old) salts tell me, would those distances be typical? To me it looks awful close. Lots of tonnage in motion in a very small space. Gary BTW, subscriptions to the Daybook are free. The museum can be found at: http://www.hrnm.navy.mil -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Simon Wolff" Subject: Loss of Lancastria WWII Hi folks BBC online has a story and pictures of the sinking of the Lancastria, loss of life is mentioned as being around 3,000: "The evacuation of British troops from France in 1940 did not end with Dunkirk. British forces were still being rescued two weeks later when Britain's worst maritime disaster of World War II took place. On 17 June, 1940 the British troopship Lancastria was sunk off the Brittany port of Saint-Nazaire. More than 3,000 people lost their lives. A unique record of the disaster was captured by amateur photographer Frank Clements." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_768000/768384.stm regards Simon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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