Subject: SMML VOL 1528 Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 01:38:57 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: Airbrushes 2: Re: RN "T" Class Submarines 3: Re: NON MARITIME 4: Back 40 5: Re: classic waships books #15 and #16 6: Airbrushes 7: Anybody seen the new Revell S-Boat for sale in the USA yet? 8: Back 40 9: RN "T" class submarines 10: AOG 11: the back 40 12: French colours 13: Submarine UNREP 14: Back 40 15: The Joys of Ship Modelling 16: Re: Tamiya Heavy/Light Equipment sets -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: SMML site update -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Books for sale -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Bill Livingston" Subject: Re: Airbrushes Hi John, You are probably going to get as many opinions on airbrushes as there are people reading SMML!!!! Just for the record, I use the Aztek airbrush. The one I have is the top of the range (I think it is the A370, but I can't remember). It is very good providing you keep it very clean - and it IS easy to clean thankfully. I have had far more success spraying enamels than acrylics but that seems to be a common point of discussion. Acrylics tend to dry on the nozzle, probably a question of thinning which I never seem to be able to master. There is an special 'acrylic nozzle' which I have now bought, but as luck would have it, I have moved back to enamels because the paints I am now using happen to be enamels - so can't tell you whether the acrylic nozzle cures the problems I had. I have been spraying the new WEM Colourcoats paints recently and they spray brilliantly with the thinners I have been using (Hannants supplied Extracolor thinners). I have also airbrushed Precision Paints enamels using the Precision Paints thinners and they spray really well too. The compressor I use is absolutely brilliant. I think it is now sold under the Revell label, but I bought it a few years back for around £200. Quite expensive but worth every penny. I am firmly convinced that a decent compressor is more than half the way towards successful airbrushing. Good luck with your investigation - as I said, you will have lots of differing views on this. Everyone eventually finds an airbrush that suits them - and we are all different - so really it is a matter of trying a few and see how you get on. You may end up buying one or two over the coming years, but once you have settled on one that suits you, you will stick with it and recommend it to everyone who asks a similar question! All the best, Bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Marc Flake Subject: Re: RN "T" Class Submarines The book "Submarines of World War Two," by Bagnasco, has several good shots of these boats, some with railings, some without. There is one very good shot of the railings from off the starboard bow. Of 10 pictures, only four show railings in place. Must not have been common. Marc Flake (who is planning a Canyon Lake, Texas, vacation next month) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: NON MARITIME What is Back 40? Well having lived in Oklahoma many years of my life I may be a little more qualified to answer that question having had my own back 40. Actually it is a termed used for land, usually a certain designated parcel on your property - designated by you yourself. It does not have to be any certain amount of land and can actually just be your back yard. So to say" I have to plow the back 40 or I went hunting in the back 40 just refers to some sort of land behind your house. It can also be a part of land that has no house, meaning the rear or back part of a larger acreage. So I guess it is a term of unknown acreage in an unknown location that is determined by you. Hope that helps you all (Oklahoma talk) Mike Donegan NAVYDAZE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: AAA Hobby Subject: Back 40 >> Hi you guys over the big pound. What does "BACK 40" Mean << Out where the family is from (Oklahoma & Texas), the Back 40 was simply the back yard, of course my family once owned several hundred acres! Some of them still do, but not being from the firstborn of the firstborn, etc., "my" family line didn't get any of it! I have a distant cousin (Verrry distant - G.G.G. grandparents!!) named Bill Braum, famous for his line of Braums Ice Cream stores throughout the American South and Southwest. Oh, well ... I digress. James -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Loren Perry Subject: Re: classic waships books #15 and #16 The two latest books from Classic Warships are now available: WW2 German Schnellboote and USS New Jersey battleship. Both of these books are likely the finest work from this company thus far. Rare color photos of schnellbootes along with highly detailed German technical drawings of these vessels make this book a must-have for modelers building any version of these fast torpedo craft. The New Jersey volume covers this ship from the beginning to the present day with lots of never-before-published detail photos included. The Viet Nam version is particularly well covered. Modelers working on any of the current kits representing this dreadnought are strongly advised to acquire a copy of this excellent reference. To Steve Wiper of Classic Warships: a hearty Well Done! Loren Perry/GMM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: david_l._miller@ccmail.wiu.edu Subject: Airbrushes I do not think you will regret getting an airbrush. In many respects my airbrush is my most important and frequently used hobby tool. You can pay from 20$-400$ for an airbrush. I have used a Paache VL for several years. These are currently running about 60$. They are good quality and will work for your needs. The current issue of Fine Scale Model magaizine has a number of good articles on airbrushes that you would find interesting. I am thinking of getting a new and "better" (i.e. more $$$$) airbrush, but all things considered, I just may get a new Paasche VL. I do not use a compressor. I use CO2. Advantages: silent and dry. 80lb cylinders and pressure regulator. Set up is about $200.00 including cylinder deposit. Right now, refils cost me 8.00$ and a cylinder lasts a long time. Only problem is that I ssometimes forget to shut the main valve, and loose CO2. Over the years, I think I have lost just about as much CO2 as I've used painting. Oh well..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "RAY MEHLBERGER" Subject: Anybody seen the new Revell S-Boat for sale in the USA yet? Just wondering if the Revell/Monogram 1/72nd S-Boat is at any shop in the USA yet?? I know that Greatmodels is taking pre-orders on it...but beyond them?? Regards, Ray Mehlberger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Ron Hillsden Subject: Back 40 I haven't heard 'back 40' for a long time, so I assume I have just welcomed myself to 'the old farts club'. Farm land is measured in sections. A section is a square mile, or 640 acres. Colloquially, the 'back 40' was the leftover, untended or furthest away. It is where you would go if you didn't want to be found, or where you kept your best junk. Hope that fits into your context.... Ron Hillsden Victoria BC Canada http://members.shaw.ca/modelflags/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Hugh Letterly" Subject: AOG With all this chat about UNNREPS and such has peaked my curiosity about AOG's. The Mettawee in particular, I've always been intrigued by their ungainly appearance. Do any of you have any experiences with them and how they operated? Hugh -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Tom Kremer Subject: the back 40 >> Hi you guys over the big pound. What does "BACK 40" Mean << It is a farm phrase, the "back 40" (40 acres) meaning a remote field or pasture. When you say someone was "out in the back 40" you are saying that they were way off in some out of the way spot. Tom K -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Lars Scharff" Subject: French colours Here is a link to a collection of photos and post cards of French ships of the period 1880-1910: http://francois.delboca.free.fr/fstorpi1.html Does someone knows something about French schemes and their colours of this period? Their is one with black hull and light coloured superstructure and funnels, perhaps buff. Other colour schemes are gray overall and dark gray hull and light gray (?) superstructure. When are this schemes in use and what are their colours? Regards Lars -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: nd.ward@virgin.net Subject: Submarine UNREP Nobody has mentioned the 'Milch Kuh' tankers operated with success by the Kriegsmarine. An in-depth study , 'U Boat Tankers 1941-45' by John F. White( ISBN 1 85310 999 1), was published by Airlife in 1998. This gives great detail of how UNREP took place, and even a few details of refuelling underwater! The tankers were unwieldy and vulnerable to most forms of attack, and having no TT couldn't take part directly in any offensive action.They were however well armed with AA guns. The book is a good read, and there are good photographs and a few thumbnail plans. Dave Ward -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: URUDOFSKY@aol.com Subject: Back 40 I think it refers to "the back 40 acres", a very remote piece of terrain. "Hinterland" in German. Ulrich Rudofsky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Raymond Guy" Subject: The Joys of Ship Modelling Hi Shane. After various misadventures that took place over many years of modelling I decided for the record to do a biography of these occurrences as some within in the group may recall similar incidents and what could be nostalgia. My early models consisted of the usual collection of battlewagons of various countries and makes, all painted in high gloss enamel because it looked nice! I came in for some criticism from the old man who said my artistic efforts were unrealistic, "but Dad can you imagine how it would have confused the enemy if they had to look at these ships in bright sunlight"! His reply is unprintable. I stopped my construction efforts for a few years thereafter. My uncle from the UK sent me some cash for Xmas the one year ,this when we were living in Northern Rhodesia,and I manage to find a Revell Cutty Sark in one of the few department store that existed in Lusaka at that time. The construction work commenced at a furious pace until I reached the stage of the running rigging when things came to a dramatic halt. This ship has had its travels, it was moved from Lusaka in Zambia to Durban in South Africa, and thence to Johannesburg and once again back to Durban. It now resides in Capetown along with the rest of the fleet in being. Needless to say a fair amount of damage was sustained in each move along with smaller components going missing and guess what, the running rigging is still incomplete. I commenced my serious ship modelling during our second Durban sojurn.I managed to find a Matchbox HMS Bluebell kit which I painted and assembled whilst spending a month recovering from being hit by a bus on the way to work one morning. I had a visit from a fellow modeller on one or two occassions, I say fellow and not friend for reasons that will become apparent. The Bluebell was more or less completed with a few minor items of rigging to be completed when this bundle of joy descended on my den. The conversation went something like this " Why has the prop got indentations on it?" "Because the sodding German Sheperd thought it was his lunch when I accidently dropped it on the floor."" Your camouflage and colours are not accurate", "Why don't you piss off and annoy someone else!!" This was my pride and joy he was talking about complete with glue smears on the deck etc etc. I assembled a collection of the Airfix RN ships ranging from the Hood to the new Ark Royal a collection of twenty odd ships in all. One of my old bad habits crept into my creations again, I ran out of red hull paint and ended up using LMS Crimson Lake on some of the hulls. Hell man it really looked smart even if it was a little out of place. The old Bluebell is currently undergoing a refit with accurately scaled resin moulded parts and white metal fitting. The glue smears are disappearing and the camouflage adjusted to the correct position and who cares if the colours are not entirely the right shade of grey etc, she looks good to me! The Airfix models have now been repainted with the correct hull colours and also look good. I don't Know how many of you have tried the hobby in a house full of four legged pests commonly known as dogs and cats. The German Sheperd was bad enough with his seemingly insatiable appetite for things plastic and the like, but the bloody cat took pride of place when it came to outright vandalism. We were in between moving houses and I stored the Airfix collection in several open cardboard boxes with tissue paper packing to prevent any damage, and placed the whole lot in the attic over the garage for "safe-keeping". When the time came for the final move,as usual on these occassions the damn cat was nowhere to be found, so we called it a day and decided to come back later and look for her. It was inevitable like a scene out of a movie where every member of the audience knows exactly what is going to happen next. I went up into the attic to retrieve my prized possesions to transport them safely to the new home and the blasted feline was asleep in one of the boxes on top of the Nelson, Warspite Belfast,etc Have your ever come close to murdering something in cold blood? My next modelling venture, which I believe have taken several years off my life, is my passage into the world of PE. I acquired the Tamiya KGV and POW and purchased the PE components from John. I am also rebuilding the Belfast with parts from another kit to replace those destroyed in the cat impact and have the PE components from the same source. In a world of diminishing eyesight I purchased a head magnifying glass to assist in the location of the components. The first thing that happened was due to the restricted side vision of the glasses my elbow came into contact with a brand new open tin of Humbrol matt black which spread itself over a vast area. I never knew those little tins could hold so much. Having read about PE components disappearing into black holes and flying off under the pressure of a cutting blade into the vast reaches of space, I approached this new avenue of my hobby a great deal of trepidation. I picked up a tip from another modeller of temporarily attaching the severed PE parts to a piece of masking tape for painting etc. I used this method when I started the reconstruction of the Belfast but an incident occured which can only be described as surrealistic. I duly organised my piece of tape and attached various components to it, and then went on to do other odd painting jobs. When I came to start work on the taped components I could not find it anywhere. I searched the den high and low picking up boxes etc in case the tape had adhered itself to some other item. In the end I gave up looking, deeming the search hopeless and considering ordering another Belfast PE sheet from John. Some days later my wife called me to the laundry to show me a piece of tape with some small shiny brass things stuck to the sleeve of a jersey that I had previously dumped the wash basket. Dropping minute parts on the floor of the den is another action guaranteed to bring on nightmares of giant insects and their droppings. I had to use the magnifying glasses to find one such item and ended up with a pile of dust and sundry gunge in the middle of the floor which I had to examine in detail to find the wayward piece. I never knew floor sweepings could look so gross under a magnifying glass. The last and most sad part of this tale, is when you get to a point where you feel you are losing all contact with reality. I was using the method described by Robert in a previous edition to attach the railings to the deck of the Belfast when the phone rang. After taking the call I went back to my railings only to find they were no longer in position on the deck. Another one of those frustrating searches with the air becoming progressively bluer. In the end I decided to call it quits and gave up any further ideas of modelling that day. A couple of days later I decided to pick up where I had left off having a spare sheet of railings purchased some time previously to replace the now vanished originals. I picked-up the tube of CA and attached to it, do I have to say anymore! It is very sad to see a grown man reduced to a gibbering wreck. One last story concerning the actions of one Fred Owen AB who was a very wayward cousin of mine. Fred joined the navy on the outbreak of WW11 and ended up on the Renown. He had a couple of very near misses in the form of transfers firstly to the Hood when she went after the Bismark and then to the POW before she sailed to the Far East, but managed to survive the war. During one voyage after returning from repairs in the Brooklyn Navy Yard Fred decided to grow a full set (moustache and beard for the uninitiated) and sought the skippers permission to do so. He eventually arrived at Gibraltar for the first time and duly obtained shore leave,the "full set" now having grown to its maximum permissable. Those of you who have been to Gib will no doubt recall the string of pubs in Main Street. There is one of doubtful reputation known as the Trocadero which had a resident band which performed from a balconey overlooking the pub, supposedly out of harms way. Fred and a couple of his buddies made their way to the "Troc" which was full of pongos and fly boys and other naval types. The proceedings seemed somewhat dull to this young man who decided to liven things up by propelling an empty beer bottle at the band which for some reason was annoying him with their musical outpourings. This precipated a major conflict in the form of a punch-up involving all branches of the services and members of the Commonwealth. The "red bands" and shore patrols descended on the pub in strength with a view to restoring some semblance of order and invoking some form of damage control. Fred was escorted by a "red band" to the front door of the pub fully expecting to be in the brig within a short while. At the front door the "red band" looked at him and said "You know dad you are far to old to be involved in this sort of nonsense,you'd better head back to your ship!" As Nelson said at Trafalgar " I see no ships only hardships." Yours Ray -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: " Bill Oreto" Subject: Re: Tamiya Heavy/Light Equipment sets I'm familiar with the Skywave equipment sets but what is this about Tamiya equipment sets? Never heard of them. What scale are they? Does Tamiya produce USN equipment and weaponry and if so what era? Does anybody have a web site where they can be reviewed or purchased? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bill Oreto NYC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Mistress Lorna Subject: SMML site update Added a new Mainbrace gallery for Chris Hughes and Adam (AJ) Owens More photos added to John Cobb's Mainbrace gallery Book reviews on the following: "Find and Destroy" by Franklyn Brown, N Class and RN Camouflage Vol 3 by Shane Jenkins Article on the USS Canberra Ships Bell by Mackenzie Gregory Review of the Poseidon Nanuchka 1 by Dean Markley RAS pictures and USS Asheville model paper clipping added to Misc ships page USS Carl Vinson added to Walkarounds More pictures added to the SS Jeremiah O'Brien in dry-dock page Link page updated Archives 1454 - 1528 added Regards, Lorna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Bob Pearson" Subject: Books for sale Hi all, I am forced to part with some of my books, therefore the following are up for grabs Warship I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX - these are the bound quarterly volumes. I will sell them only as a set for $200 USD plus shipping Garzke, Dulin et al US Battleships $60 Axis/Neutral Battleships $60 I also have 40+ WWI biographies that I can send the list upon request. Regards, Bob Pearson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Subject: RN "T" class submarines Hi all For those interested in "T" Boats, I have a few drawn out showing the location of guard rails etc. See my web site www.john-lambert-plans.com Not having served in boats, I have a feeling that the stanchions were stowed away at sea, due to underwater noise and the strain imposed by forward motion. However I may be wrong here as I have an official Post War Admiralty issue pamphlet that provides information on how to fair in projections, anchors, stanchions, windows in the sail etc to reduce under water eddies. Yours "Aye" John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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