Subject: SMML VOL 1725 Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 00:53:44 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Re: relics 2: Color of Yamato Decking 3: Dublin hobby shops 4: Re: German sub-peroxide propulsion 5: LSSCs 6: Re: Relics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: relics One thing I think we left out was ship & station patches. I have about 500 but I cannot take credit for compiling them - they were give to me by nephew who passed away several years ago. The were given to him when he was very young and a story was written about him in the Navy Times asking ships and stations to please send patches to him as he was diagnosed with hemophilia with a limited life span. As you would expect from our guys the response was overwhelming including other Nations such as the South Vietnamese Navy. So I guess patches would count as they are part of the history of the ship and represent the ship/station themselves. I have framed some of them as they were really beautiful. USS WILTSIE takes the prize from me with a roaring tigers head. And to our purest modeler friends I do apologized for this thread but when we do this we usually hear from people that do not always participate in the conversations. Give everyone a chance to comment Mike NAVYDAZE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Peter Subject: Color of Yamato Decking I am working on an early-war version of the Musashi and like others on the SMML am trying to get the deck color right. Here's something of what I have found that might help. I live in Japan and by accident noticed a wooden bridge in a park made of Japanese cypress. In chatting with the gardener, I learned the bridge is about 3 years old and the wood was untreated as best he knew. The color was warm yellow, almost heading toward orange. The bridge was in direct sunlight most of the day. I also (different place) saw a traditional bath tub made out of Japanese cypress. I don't know how/if that wood had been treated, but the areas that stayed wet most of the time (albeit fresh water) had turned more towards a brown than yellow, while the parts that did not get wet all the time stayed browish-yellow but without the orange tone. The tub was never exposed to sunlight. I don't know if this helps or confuses things, but on my ship I am starting with a mustardly-yellow (Tamiya Sand) and working pastels in brown and orange onto the base to try and come close to that orangy bridge cypress color. Given that the deck would be flat-out in the semi-tropical sun, I am going to soften the color with white pastels as well. I'll let you all know how it works out. Peter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Subject: Dublin hobby shops Hi all. Does someone now if there is any hobby shop worth the name in Dublin, Ireland? I'll be there over this upcoming weekend and have a few hours to spend on my own. Björn Dahlberg, Sweden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Edd Pflum Subject: Re: German sub-peroxide propulsion Eberhard Rossler's The U-Boat has has extensive coverage of these types (and all other U-Boats) with many pictures and drawings. Dr. Walter proposed this system in the early '40s to provide high underwater speed. Originally, Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) was passed over a catalyst (often a platinum grid) which caused it to decompose into oxygen (O2) and steam (H2O). It was planned that the mixture would be fed into diesel engines (instead of air) for underwater running. When the concentration of hydrogen peroxide was raised from 45% (the highest commercially available at first) to 85%, it was found the decomposition process created high temperatures that made this scheme unworkable. A new scheme was developed where diesel fuel was injected to the steam/oxygen mixture and burned, increasing the temperature further. Water was then injected to decrease the temperature and create more steam, and this was fed into a turbine. The exhaust (water and CO2) was dumped overboard, the CO2 dissolving in the water to eliminate the bubble trail. The initial version was the Type XVII. For high speed, this had a "fish" hull form with a single screw, cruciform tail and round bow. It looked much like the original Holland sub, but with a conning tower added and a flattened (vertical ellipse) cross section. Early on, a ship-style bow was added to improve sea keeping on the surface. Two experimental boats were built in 1942 (Wa201 and WK202) to test the concept. As the Type XVII design progressed, the hull was extended to fain into the upper and lower rudders, producing a vertical blade stern, and increasing the deck area for still better surface performance. The Type XVIII was larger, but of essentially the same form. It was the inability of German industry to produce vast quantities of high concentration H2O2 that doomed the concept (as I recall). By replacing the H2O2 storage with additional batteries, the Type XXI evolved. Late in the war, the Type XXVI revived the design, but as far as I can tell from a quick review, only the two test boats ever sailed (steamed?) The British built two subs, Explorer and Excaliper, using the system, but they were not successful (as noted.) Walter also designed the rocket engine for the Me 163 Komet, which used H2O2 as oxidizer. H2O2 has been used since in reaction control systems (attitude thrusters) for spacecraft. Other wartime projects used gaseous or liquid oxygen to run the diesels while submerged. Edd -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Robert Lockie" Subject: LSSCs I am unfamiliar with the Dragon kit but Friedman's "US Small Combatants" has a few photos and some text. They were all built by Grafton Boats, who may still be in business and may have a website (sorry, I haven't checked). The book does not have any drawings of the beast, so is probably not worth acquiring if that is all you want. Robert Lockie Swindon UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Re: Relics I just remembered, I have a couple of original builder's detail drawings of the monitor U.S.S Shawnee, dated around 1863 or 1864. The draftsmanship is absolutely exquisite. These are the semi-transparent linen originals from which blueprints were made for the shops. Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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