Subject: SMML VOL 1543 Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 01:10:07 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: 1/96 scale lifeboats 2: U.S. Navy - Around the Fleet 3: SECNAV hosts German Navy CO whose ship gestured support after terrorist attacks 4: Don't worry about the Navy budget request 5: Re: 1/96 scale lifeboats 6: Re: PLANS for German S-100 Boat 7: Re: Green Putty 8: Re: PLANS for German S-100 Boat 9: Re: Waterline Hulls 10: 31-knot Burke's DesRon 23 11: Cranky ole MM 12: Re: Ship's boats 13: Re: "Smoke on Number Four Hatch" 14: Painting Figures 15: Putty 16: wooden deck 17: Talcum Powder for super flat finish 18: Color Cross-references 19: Hobby shops in Paris -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/96 scale lifeboats Both Masterpieces in Minature and Scale Shipyard make 26' USN motor whaleboats in 1/96 that might work for your project. M in M also has other boats too in the same scale. The Scale Shipyard www.scaleshipyard.com Masterpieces in MInature http://www.minmbox387.com/ Cordially, Kurt SeaPhoto Maritime Photography www.warshipphotos.com Order via our online catalog...now taking credit cards via Paypal Warship Models Underway www.warshipmodelsunderway.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: U.S. Navy - Around the Fleet http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/images/in-news.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: SECNAV hosts German Navy CO whose ship gestured support after terrorist attacks http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/pentstruck23.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: AAA Hobby Subject: Don't worry about the Navy budget request >> Seems that the new US Navy CVNX class carrier is to be postphoned from 2006 to 2007/8 which could leave the US navy 1 carrier short when the Enterprise will retire. Also Navy leaders say they must buy eight to 10 ships a year just to sustain today's fleet. But President Bush's budget request for 2003 calls for buying only five ships. << As of 01DEC01, the navy had 33 ships under construction, including 2 CVNs, 4 LPD17S, 17 DDGs AND 5 SSNs. The new budget does indeed call for fewer new construction, but as the force needs are under review this can be expected. Another problem is paying for the current force projection needs without running up huge deficits and being politically forced into raising taxes. To boot, right now there isn't an adversarial navy out there in our league. The closest potential foe is the PLAN, but they are aiming more for a cross-channel operation than anything else. They might impede our assistance to Taiwan but they would not survive long enough to pose a serious threat to the US. The next closest foe, capability-wise, would be either North Korea (24 SS, 1 FF, 2 FFL, 40 PGM - all of which are 1960 generation at best) or Pakistan (9 SS, 4 DD, 3 FFG, 11 FF, 16 PGM - all older, some WW2 vintage). No other credible threat we might currently face could survive very long against a single CVBG if they dared to sortie. Otherwise, they would perish at the piers. The other arab navies are more modern, but built around the PGM/FFL. Of the "friendly" nations out there, Russia & China are behind us because they have to deal with their own Islamic problems. NATO will support us, as they are, for the foreseen future. Most of the Arab nations are on our side, at least for now. Africa has two navies of any stature (Egypt and S Africa) either of which would pose a greater political problem than a military one. The same goes for any of the potentially hostile nations of Islamic Asia. This little war could become the focal point for a larger us-v-them war pitting the developed countries against the third world, but those battles have always ended the same - we (The West) eventually have our fill, go home and take our money while they starve. Look at Vietnam, Afghanistan and Africa for proof. I guess everybody assumed a Republican would just dive right in and spend untold trillions on defense just to spend it. I for one am reassured by the calm and calculated approach the administration is taking - they are looking at what we need to buy. A 300-ship navy isn't worth much if the ships cannot fulfill a national security role and fulfill the missions assigned due to a lack of sailors. The plain fact is that fewer sailors are staying in as deployments are extended. This can become a vicious cycle where everybody losses because the hulls are worn out. Our navy can accomplish more with less if the time is taken to redesign what we have to do a better job more effectively. Smart Ship is just one program where efficient use of commercial systems has lowered initial costs, total ownership costs and manpower costs. Look at what the DD-21 program was wanting to accomplish and you wont be surprised by what will eventually happen. A large ship with a seagoing crew in the dozens instead of the hundreds. It can be done, it will take time and leadership. On the other hand, I am worried that the services may be focusing too much on aerial assets (F-22, Super Hornet, JSF, V-22) and will neglect to use the time allocated to address the sea power asset question. Of course there is always the disparity between the USAF budget and the sea services budget. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: ALROSS2@aol.com Subject: Re: 1/96 scale lifeboats >> I'm looking for a source for 1:96 scale ship's lifeboats....preferably in wood or resin, double-ended, and open (detailed or not) << You can get some wonderfully-detailed resin 1/96 fters (www.bluejacketincscale 26' motor whaleboats created by John Haynes from the Floating Drydock (www.floatingdrydock.com). While neither resin nor wood, BlueJacket Shipcra.com) offers cast britannia ships' boats in a variety of scales and types. Al Ross -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Doug Wilde" Subject: Re: PLANS for German S-100 Boat Wonderful S-100 (and S-38) plans are available from Christian-Schmdit. Although not marked on my copies the scale looks about 1:25. Very nice detail. Recently received my copy of Harald Fock's "Die deutschen Schnellboote: 1914-1945". Copyright 2001, in german. Pretty much a repeat of the material in his "Fast Fighting Boats". The former contains many photographs that help although a little washed out. Three fold-out drawings as well as many other illustrations. Because FFB is OOP and may be difficult to obtain, one may consider this "new" book. Or wait and hope USNI comes out with an english translation. Also received two other sets of plans from Christian-Schmidt. The first is labeled "U.S. Torpedoboot III. Klasse", Beiboot fur U.S.S. Maine, 1895. Scale is 1:25. Outboard profile, hull lines (plan, profile, body), detail sheet of machine gun, anchor, tubes and folding stack, detail sheet of open cockpits, and a sheet of plan with six cross sections. Very nice plans. The second is "Torpedoboot B 98" drawn in 1:100 scale. Sheet one has hull plans in profile, plan, and body plus nine sectional views. Much text in german underneath the sections. Sheet two is the deck layout with items keyed by numbers to 3-view drawings of EVERYTHING on deck: hatches, chocks, bollards, everything in three views. Sheet three is the full profile and plan view. These are absolutely wonderful drawings and I am very pleased with the value. Doug Wilde -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Re: Green Putty >> I found the product "GREEN PUTTY" which is produced by Squadron Products 1115 Crowley Drive Carrollton, Texas 75011-5010 is very useful in hiding seams, filling unwanted gaps and making small parts. When building up a ship hull, by laminating layers of basswood, it is very useful in hiding the seams between layers. Use sparingly, as it will soften plastic if applied in heavycoats. I have never built a resin model, so I'm unsure of how well it would work on such material, but if nothing else is available............... << AARRGGHHH!!!! Many of us have been fleeing from Green Putty for years! Seriously, there are several products that work better on the market. I have been using Bondo Glazing putty for a number of years. The 3M Acryl Blue putty is also excellent, as is Nitro-Stan putty (all are car repair products). Also, the "carrier" in Squadron Green is toluene, same as in tube glue. I don't believe that Green putty would stick at all to resin. Certainly standard toluene based tube glue doesn't work on resin kits. I usually use either CA glue or the aforementioned Bondo putty for resin parts. Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: SeaPhoto@aol.com Subject: Re: PLANS for German S-100 Boat Metcalf Moudlings makes a 1/24 scale hull for the German Schnellboot that comes with a set of plans http://business.virgin.net/metcalf.mouldings/catalogue.htm Cordially, Kurt SeaPhoto Maritime Photography www.warshipphotos.com Order via our online catalog...now taking credit cards via Paypal Warship Models Underway www.warshipmodelsunderway.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Re: Waterline Hulls >> Making the shaped hole in the glass, to fit the hull, will be a lot more difficult, however << You can also use styrofoam.. Place the hull on a large piece of styrofoam, draw a line around it, and cut that portion out. Then you can texture the surface of the styrofoam and use acrylic gel, sculpty, whatever to create the wave effects. The styrofoam can then be placed in a shadow box to form a display base. This is what Dan Jones suggested in an article I read on improving the flat-bottomed Revell Mission Capistrano kit to avoid the need to cut off the bottom of the hull. Derek Wakefield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Mike Potter Subject: 31-knot Burke's DesRon 23 I spoke with VAdm Ray Peet about the 31-knot question. He was a young officer in DesRon 23 and later was Arleigh Burke's aide when he was CNO. He said that Burke restricted his DesRon to 31 knots for transits because that speed allowed the ships' engineers to run the plants with watch sections, so that off-watch personnel could rest. Burke knew from Ultra messages when his ships would be in battle. He didn't want to arrive with exhausted engineers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Jeremiah O. Coughlin" Subject: Cranky ole MM >> Consider the "engine problem" on the ship in Desron 23: The ship's maximum available speed can be limited by lots of _engineering_ problems, anything from a condenser that has too many plugged or leaky tubes to a weak feed pump to a bad bearing and many points in between. The contents of the Engine Rooms and the Fire Rooms are all part of the whole propulsion unit. This discussion almost has my interest piqued enough to go and read up on which ship had the problem and what it was. Almost, but not quite. :-) By the way, when I started out as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT), "dumb snipe" referred to all MMs and BTs, as well as HTs and EMs. It was only poetic justice that after being commissioned, I had more Engineering Department jobs that topside jobs. << Hard to tell an "airdale" anything but will try. Bad condenser tubes mean poor vacuum at anyspeed would show up gradually not instantaneously, in a pinch could use the "hoggers" (starting jets) very heavy stm. usage. Weak feed pump? that's why there are doubles of each as well as condensate pumps. Use #1, #2. or both, very unlikely to starve the boilers of feed water. WE would run a fire hose over on a hot bearing, we aimed at keeping the temps @ 120 D.F. never came close to frying. And yes, Bt's are people also, and Boilers constitute part of the engines, I was having a little sport, seeing whose balls I could bust. Some of my best friends never had clean finger nails nor unspotted dungarees, never had an Officer for a friend though. Long ago and far away. jeremiah... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: CDRSKI@aol.com Subject: Re: Ship's boats >> I'm looking for a source for 1:96 scale ship's lifeboats....preferably in wood or resin, double-ended, and open (detailed or not). Loyalhanna has some, but in 1:48 scale....anyone know of any others? An old Dromedary catalog has several, but I'm told they're no longer available. << Doug, Try the Scale Shipyard, Warship Hulls Unlimited. They deal mainly in 1/96 scale and have just sent me their new catalog. It cost me $12.00 but well worth it. They have a huge selection of fittings and weapons available. If you want more info you can contact me off line at CDRSKI@aol.com or go to the Scale Shipyard web site and order a catalog. (They do not take orders from the net) Their website is http://members.aol.com/ssyweb/SSYMain.htm if you are interested. Jim Skowronski Honolulu, Hi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Don Simon" Subject: Re: "Smoke on Number Four Hatch" This incident goes a long way towards explaining a recuring nightmare the CO of my first ship (USS SOUTH CAROLINA CGN 37, a nuclear powered guided missile cruiser) frequently had, namely some catastrophic engineering plant casualty was occurring and, for some devilish reason, the Disbursing Officer was the Engineering Officer of the Watch in Main Control. Don Simon Troy, VA USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Kelvin Mok" Subject: Painting Figures >> when painting figures (and this applies to those on ships, too, as long as the scale is big enough) I would mix the paint with a little bit of talcum powder when painting clothing. It would give you a flat that was way beyond dull-coat flat. Look at your clothes and you will see that they don't reflect ANY light at all (unless you're wearing leather pants, and that's another story.) By varying the gloss/flatness ratio on the figure, they became much more realistic. Shiny sunglasses, semi-gloss equipment, flat flesh, ultra flat clothing and satchels, etc. << I use Flesh straight out of the bottle and then give the figure a wash of thinned Tamiya Red Brown. If you have acrylic retarder add a bit of that to the wash mix to make it flow and adhere better. Have a damp kleenex to pick up the excess wash. The wash should run into the recesses of the sculpted face and the hands to bring out all the right highlights that goes into creating a recognizable face. It also brings out 3D shading for the face and hands. This technique is very forgiving in that you don't have to paint the eyes and the lips in detail. Finally use artists' tube acrylics White to give it a light dry brush of white. That white dry brush creates just the right amount of counter shading and reflectance to simulate flesh, not glossy and not too matte. Try the white dry brush technique on the rest of the figure after it is painted the corrrect uniform colours. I do this to all my figures as the white counter shading simulates the fading as well as the play of light on the raised folds of the clothing very realistically. And because the whole figure has been drybrushed by now the reflectance for the whole figure is uniform and just right with no part more glosssy or too matte. Kelvin Mok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Kelvin Mok" Subject: Putty >> I found the product "GREEN PUTTY" which is produced by (Squadron Products) is very useful in hiding seams, filling unwanted gaps and making small parts. When building up a ship hull, by laminating layers of basswood, it is very useful in hiding the seams between layers. Once dried, it can be sandpapered like wood. Once the primer and paint are applied, you can't tell that the stuff is there, as in sanding, the edge can be feathered out nicely. << In the GOLDEN line of artists' tube acrylic paints are acrylic modifiers such as acrylic extender/retarder gel (see archives). There is one more very useful product every modeller should have. This is their Molding Paste. It is a smooth thick paste in acrylic gel, the filler is a white powder that may be talcum powder or a diatomaceous earth. The Molding paste is water soluble and is barely milky white when dry. As it is a gel it does not shrink or crack when dry. This medium takes any kind of paint. It can be brushed into the seam like thick paint to fill any gaps. The excess can be removed by a wet finger, a wet brush or wet tissue paper. Therefore it is quite easy to confine the filler to only the gap with very little sanding or clean-up needed for the surrounding areas. Kelvin Mok -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Jansen, Matthijs" Subject: wooden deck Can anybody tell me how the deck of the prince of wales was build? Were all the planks laid in a straight line, or did they follow the shape of the hull, like you can see on a sailing boat? I am building a 1/350 model of the ship and I want to paint a detailed deck instead of using just one colour. Greetings from matthijs from the Netherlands!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Susan Cowardin" Subject: Talcum Powder for super flat finish I am intrigued about using talcum powder to flatten the finish on clothing. You're right, no amount of sheen is acceptable when painting cloth unless leather. How does the talcum perform when using an airbrush? Just thinking about larger surfaces. Thanks, Steve -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "Pletscher-Lenz-Schneider" Subject: Color Cross-references Hi all Recently I came upon a list of RAL colors and their corresponding FS tones in an old magazine. So for those who are interested, here it is: RAL: designation: FS: 1007 Narzissgelb 13432 1012 Zitronengelb 33481 2000 Gelborange (32246) 2001 Rotorange 22203 2004 Reinorange 32203 3000 Feuerrot 21105 3004 Purpurrot (31136) 5008 Graublau 35045 6003 Olivgruen 34102 6014 Gelboliv 34087 6015 Schwarzoliv 34052 6020 Chromoxidgruen (34079) 7000 Fehgrau 35237 7001 Silbergrau (36373) 7009 Gruengrau 34159 7011 Eisengrau 36118 7012 Basaltgrau 26152 7021 Schwarzgrau 26044 7032 Kieselgrau 26408 7033 Zementgrau 34159 7035 Lichtgrau 35630 9001 Cremeweiss 37886 9005 Tiefschwarz 37038 9006 Weissaluminium 17178 Those FS-numbers in brackets are only close matches. Falk Pletscher -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "=?utf-8?Q?enrico=5Fvilla@libero.it?=" Subject: Hobby shops in Paris Does anyone of you know of some good hobby shop in Paris or surroundings (Ile de France)? Thanks a lot! Enrico -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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