Subject: SMML VOL 1549 Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 00:33:51 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: FUTURE CARRIERS 2: Tamiya 1/72 PT-15 JMSDF boat 3: NZ navy attacked by WARBIRDS 4: Re: Flight Deck Fires 5: Roosevelt becomes Navy's new Iron Man 6: U505 7: Quarterdeck/Fantail Model 8: What color were they 9: Chinese Companies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Looking for the Arizona -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Andrew Jones" Subject: FUTURE CARRIERS I seem to re-call a photo a few years ago of a diorama of the Truman or similar carier with its island sitting next to a 1/2 complete carrier, maybe I was mistaken & remember seeing a phot of the ship being bult, yet I re-call it was in a model magazine or im just going crazy well too late for that im afraid As for modified, I re-call in a defense magazien that the future carriers were to be "delayed" for budget restrictions & I think there was some choice yet to be made in who was to build them & they were to be stealth carriers so a lot more expensive & design difficulties, so what they did was offer a contract to one of the ship builders to make an "interim" version, not quite Nimitz class & not quite XCVN. So when the new ships are built they will sort of pave the way for the next total re-design of carrier fleet. Someone earlier mentioned going back to the old names lexington etc, I saw not so long a ago someone did a stealth carrier model with the name "William Jefferson Clinton" (this will probably start the ball rolling for jokes names ..maybe not naming william jeferson but naming it Hillary Clinton.. or the ship that will never go down) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Kelvin Mok" Subject: Tamiya 1/72 PT-15 JMSDF boat >> I believe that this boat is a derivative of the Brave Borderer boats designed by Vosper. The "other" Tamiya 1/72 Perkasa is an absolute Vosper boat, and I think that the Japanese worked from that model to attain PT15. << They are separate hull and deck designs. The attached line drawing scans are for the Tamiya Perkasa. The one for the Japanese boat is from Scale Ship Modeller Fall 1979 (vol.2 no3.) issue Kelvin Mok Hi all, The Line drawings are on the SMML site under Misc Reference. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Andrew Jones" Subject: NZ navy attacked by WARBIRDS In a situation more akin to the whims of a Hollywood screen writer than a serious idea from defence chiefs, the latest sea trials in New Zealand of the country's frigates have cast more doubt on the wisdom of last year's decision by the Government to scrap its Air Force. The vessels Canterbury and Te Kaha carried out battle training exercises last week in the Bay of Plenty, their "enemy" - three elderly aircraft flown by members of the Warbirds Association, who restore and preserve classic aircraft. The events of the last week can only have cast further aspersion on the current state of New Zealand's defensive capabilities. The aircraft - a Hawker Hunter which first flew with the Singapore air force in 1957, a Fouga Magister which entered service with the French military in 1960, and a Cessna A37B built in 1972 and used during the Vietnam War - took the role of enemy aircraft in mock attacks on the two warships. Quite how this will have prepared the ships and their crew for the realities of modern warfare is unclear, but no doubt Ms Clark will be pleased that the humorous traditions of HMS Petticoat have been well served. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: Flight Deck Fires Ya correct John - Hawk did have a fire I just cannot remember where it was - I know it had something to do with the aviation but I do know it was not on the flight deck but I think on just under it. They were tied up to the pier in the Philippines when it happened. I have been checKing on some of the other forum to see if anyone remembers. Mike NAVYDAZE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Andrew Jones" Subject: Roosevelt becomes Navy's new Iron Man A 22-year-old Navy record for the most days at sea -- 153 -- was broken Tuesday by the crew aboard the Norfolk-based carrier Theodore Roosevelt. For the crew, the at-sea record signifies that no one has set foot on any shore since leaving the pier at the Norfolk Naval Station. The feat earned the 5,500 TR crew members a dinner of prime rib and king crab legs, as well as a hearty thanks from its captain Tuesday. But beyond the special dinner and a cake-cutting ceremony, little else has gotten in the way of the carrier's critical war mission. It is to be relieved by the Florida-based carrier John F. Kennedy, which was delayed several weeks after having to make $15 million in unexpected repairs. The Kennedy left East Coast waters late last week for deployment, which includes a 9,000-mile cruise to the Arabian Sea. Previous endurance records include the Nimitz's 144 days at sea, set in 1979, when the carrier, then homeported in Norfolk, plied practically the same waters after the seizure of American hostages in Iran. The Nimitz record was broken by the Norfolk-based carrier Dwight D.Eisenhower during its 1980 deployment to the same area; it spent 152 consecutive days at sea. On that deployment, the Eisenhower spent a total of 251 days away from home, according to Navy officials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Kurt Van Dahm Subject: U505 Ahoy: The curator of the U505 is a great guy named Keith Gill. Keith has talked to our local (Chicago area) model clubs about the U505 and about its upcoming renovation. Keith has some stories of the sub told to him by former crew members as well as the guys on our side who were in on the capture. Makes for a very interesting talk. The sub's main problems are due to the exhaled humidity from the many visitors each day. The sub is outside the museum and its heat comes from within the museum and it is shut off at night. The moisture in the air inside the sub freezes to the hull once the lights go off and then in the morning it warms up and drains down into the bilge area. The worst area with the most damage from this is the conning tower. It is in bad shape. Also, the areas under the wood deck catches leaves and dirt and when it rains the water is trapped on the top of the hull causing problems. They plan to build an addition to close off the south end of the 3 sided nook the submarine sets in and then roof it all over. This will eliminate most of the problems caused by the exposure tot he elements as well as the freezing of the condensation inside the sub. Some simple dehumidifiers will handle the problem after the building work is done. They need to do a lot of scraping and painting internally and externally, but right now it is not in too bad a condition. They need to raise the necessary money for the project and things are about a year behind schedule right now. Initially they were going to move the sub and build a building around it but they have decided to leave it in place and roof over it where it sits. When it was first brought to the museum and for many years after it was sitting right in the side yard just off Lake Shore Drive which is separated from Lake Michigan by about 50 feet of beech at that point. Looked like some crazy U-Boat drive just beached her there! Then they built the annex for the space exhibits between the sub and Lake Shore Drive cutting it off from outside view except for those who park on the south side of the museum (free and mostly unknown except to locals) and then you can see the stern as you approach the museum. They are talking some big money to do the job but I am sure they will get it done. The museum can be contacted at 773-684-9844 and they have a special fund if you want to send some $$ to help the cause. Take care, Kurt Van Dahm Westmont, IL (26 miles due west of the U505) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Quarterdeck/Fantail Model I've been discussing this idea with a friend for some time, and the topic raised it's head again the other day, so I thought I'd ask some advise for future reference (not quite ready to attempt this one yet). A number of years back, in an issue of FSM (can't recall yr/issue) there was a photo of a model someone did of the West Virginia's (I believe) fantail/quarterdeck deck c.1940/41. I believe it was in 1:72 scale. It featured the hull from the waterline up with the catapult, crane, and a seaplane. I've considered a similar project of the California's fantail c.1944/45. I believe I have enough plans of the ship's hull to do something along these lines. Likewise, I know there are 1:72 scale kits of both Kingfishers and Seahawks available. This leaves the immediate questions of... 1) Where can I find information on the markings said planes would carry during this period of time? I seem to recall there is a book on this subject, but I don't recall the name/author/publisher. 2) Where could I find detailed plans of the crane and catapult type that would've been employed aboard the ship at that time (and were they any different from those carried in '41). I know FDD carries plans, but I'm curious if there are specific models of catapults I need to seek out (something ya just don't always notice in smaller scales). I'm sort of interested to hear anyone's ideas on the best way to construct these as well. 3) Given there's no such thing as 72nd scale PE railings... 4) Does anyone produce single 20mm mounts in 1:72 scale? I'm open to any ideas, suggestions, etc on this one, as this is the largest ship based project (scale wise) I've ever contemplated. Derek Wakefield Denton, TX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: AAA Hobby Subject: What color were they >> I am just finishing up the Banner USS Arizona, and I am at a quandary, I need to know what color the planes were that she carried on 7DEC 41. I want them to be accurate so I really need to know. << Doesn't matter, I had found some information that the planes were aboard USS Curtiss on the morning of the attack. Either that or they were aboard NAS Ford Island. They were not aboard USS Arizona. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: AAA Hobby Subject: Chinese Companies >> The kits sold under the Banner, Trumpeter and Mini Hobby labels are all from the same company. << Not quite true. Banner is the label applied to Chinese kits imported to the US by Marco Polo Imports. Trumpeter has a supposedly exclusive import agreement with Steven's International. Trumpeter is the label chosen by the "Peoples Liberation Model Company" for their top of the line model kits. Seeing what they have and how they do it is amazing, even in brochures! They do no make a single master model to cut the molds from. THey have managed to steal enough technology (well, Clinton did give it to them) to allow them to use top-line CAD CAM machines to make a 3-d computer model of the parts, use a virtual assembly process to assure they fit, and then use the program to directly mill the molds. This is why each new release is better than the rest - they are getting really good at it. Mini Hobby Models is the label they are using for their middle quality kits, good copies of other kits and kits they have coproduced for other companies. Zhengdefu is one of the names they use for their totally toy like kits. Usually these are not copied from anybody because nobody else makes models this bad! All of the Chinese kits out there are from the same company, the Peoples Republic of China. Except the Taiwanese kits, of course. Trumpeter kits are now all original molds - no copying of existing models (except for the blueprints of the item they are making.) James Corley AAA Hobby Supply email: aaahobby@earthlink.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Shaya Novak" Subject: Looking for the Arizona I have a customer in the St. Louis area who is willing to pay around 500. to 600. for a built Revell Arizona with photoetch. If interested contact me at shaya@erols.com Shaya Novak Naval Base Hobbies The Store for The Model Ship Builder www.modelshipbuilding.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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