Subject: SMML VOL 1740 Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 12:24:30 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Nichimo 1:500 Yamato 2: Ships at sea diorama 3: Re: 1942 flags and ensigns 4: "Battleship Texas Scheduled to Get Another Face-lift" Fort Worth Star-Telegram 5: Re: Warship Profile Volumes 6: Re: modernized New Jersey 7: Re: Scale: HO, what's with that? 8: Cartridge paper: the pond etc 9: RhinoBones missing 'blighty' 10: Plans Source in 1/144th 11: Brazil's Sao Paulo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: 1:500 "Teacher" Models -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Mike Bartel Subject: Nichimo 1:500 Yamato >> Also was there a Yamato or Musashi in this series and are they still available? << There was at least one Nichimo Yamato, but I've never seen it out of the box. Some boxes say 1/500, others say 1/550. I don't know if they are different molds. Nichimo produced the Yamato in 1:200, 1:300, 1:400, 1:500, 1:550, 1:600, 1:700, and 1:800, not to mention the 30cm bathtub version. I have all of them except for the 1:300 scale kit, which is difficult to find over here. The ones in question here, the 1:500 and 1:550 versions, are two different kits, and both are currently available at reasonable retail prices ($20-$30 each, depending on where you get them). Both are motorized. The 1:500 scale model is not a very accurate model. It also has moulded-on railings, so it's from the same era as the Nagato and Takao classes of kits. Lots of flash, the armour belts are separate pieces, and I don't think you'd want to tackle them as a rebuilding project. If you can live with the fact that most of the details aren't totally accurate, it can stand on its own on your shelf when built. The Musashi is the same as the Yamato with different midships AA parts to model the 1944 Leyte Gulf version (sorry, no midships 6in triple turrets for these kits!). The 1:550 version, on the other hand, is much nicer, with a more accurate hull form and everything else is more accurate too, but it still has those blasted moulded-on railings! As an aside, Fujimi offered a 1:550 Yamato of their own that wasn't too bad looking, and it had optional railings and 1:550 crew members! Keep in mind that we're dealing with old tooling here when you're talking about Nichimo. However, they seem to have done their homework when it comes to the Yamato, as most of the kits compare favorably with more recent Yamato discoveries and kits in terms of overall proportions and major details (even the 30cm toy kit!). Only the 1:500 Yamato kit from Nichimo seems to be lacking. Mike Bartel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Chuck Evans" Subject: Ships at sea diorama Hello all, I have a number of 1:350 ship models I've built and I would like to build a diorama for some of them as if they were at sea (waves, wakes, etc). I don't know where to start. Can you help? Thanks gang, Chuck Evans Minneapolis, MN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Joel Labow Subject: Re: 1942 flags and ensigns >> The USN rank flags have not changed over the last century, as far as I know. The 1913 "Seaman's Handbook" shows the same flags. << This is true as far as it goes. However, Commodores flew a flag with one star and and Fleet Admirals had five stars. Staff corps flag officers (Medical Corps, Supply Corps, Civil Engineering Corps etc.) flew (and still fly) white flags with dark blue stars. Joel Labow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Edward F Grune" Subject: "Battleship Texas Scheduled to Get Another Face-lift" Fort Worth Star-Telegram The following article appeared in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram ... Battleship Texas scheduled to get another face-lift by Art Chapman The Battleship Texas is getting ready for another face-lift. This time, there is no commotion about it. There are no screaming legislators, no children with tons of aluminum cans to donate or piggy banks crammed with pennies, no fight for control. In November, voters approved $850 million in bonds for 13 state agencies, including $100 million for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. About $12.5 million of that is earmarked for repairs on the USS Texas. That's about what the last renovations cost in 1988. Those were darker times for the battleship. For 40 years it had settled into the muddy bottom of the Houston Ship Channel, and its inner core rusted away beneath the brackish water. There was talk of sinking the ship that served in both world wars. People had tired of the bickering associated with the battleship, and the commission that was responsible for it. The commission was axed, and the ship was turned over to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Children helped raise funds for the repairs by selling aluminum cans and sending in all the pennies they could gather. A few corporate donors were found as well. The Navy stepped in and gave the most - more than $5 million - but there were problems there, too. A professional fund-raiser wanted a commission on the grant, and the state said no. The Legislature probably would have sunk the ship if it hadn't been already sitting at the bottom of the channel. They talked about it but decided that if it was going to be towed away, it might as well be for repairs. The battleship was given to the people of Texas in 1948 and was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is the flagship of the honorary Texas Navy. Now, the USS Texas is scheduled to be pulled from its berth at the San Jacinto Battleground in early 2005. Preparations have already begun. Moving the immense vessel isn't easy work. The last time it was wrestled from its berth was on Dec. 13, 1988. It took six tugboats and a combined 19,000 horsepower to pull the 35,000-ton ship out of the mud and silt. It wouldn't budge at first, but after several attempts, the big dreadnought - the last of its kind - finally moved, and a dockside crowd cheered. Two years later, when it returned, the Battleship Texas was grand again. As one writer exclaimed: "Almost eight decades after her launching in 1912, fresh from a $12 million restoration and bristling with the guns that fired nearly 15,000 rounds at Nazis and the Japanese, she's still an awesome reminder of the brute strength that made the United States a superpower." No one knows for sure how long this latest refurbishing will take. It isn't even certain where the Texas will be towed for repairs. The old shipyards in Galveston can no longer handle a ship that size, and there is talk that it might have to be towed to Florida. The $12 million won't go as far this time as it did in 1988. But the Texas will get a new coat of paint, a new wooden deck and additional steel plating on its aging hull. The ship's berth at the edge of the ship channel will also be refurbished. There are plans to move the parking lot, gift shops and information centers away from the actual San Jacinto Battlefield, and give the Texas a well-deserved presence all its own. ONLINE: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/battlesh/battlesh.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: WRPRESSINC@aol.com Subject: Re: Warship Profile Volumes They went bust mate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Poutre, Joseph A" Subject: Re: modernized New Jersey From: Gernot Hassenpflug >> Both Pitroad/Skywave and Tamiya do modernized Iowa class ships by now. The Pitroad kits are sold only inside Japan, but after a couple of weeks the Tamiya ones should be available worldwide. Pitroad produces the individual ships, with their differences (how much detail I cannot say), price is 3800yen in Japan. Tamiya price I did not remember, but it will be around the same mark. << While Tamiya hasn't officially announced theirs yet, it is supposed to be a WW2 version, not a modern one, replacing the Fujimi stinker. Pitroad/Skywave's version will be marketed by Trumpeter outside Japan. If you must have the Skywave box, HobbyLink Japan lists it for sale. I'm hoping my local shop picks up the Trumpeter, since I always try to go local first. Joe Poutre -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "John Rule" Subject: Re: Scale: HO, what's with that? >> In Europe, the corresponding metric "O" scales (to provide roughly the same size model) were 8mm to the foot in the Commonwealth (why did the English adopt a metric scale to begin with?) and 7mm to the foot on the continent. 7mm to the foot is closest to 1/48. Don't ask me why the difference in choosing 7 & 8, I don't know. As with most scales, somebody may have just picked an arbitrary starting point? Well, getting back to scales, 8mm (1:38.1) and 7mm (1:43.54) to the foot are kind of big for trains so someone decided to halve the scale to reduce the size. Eureka! << Actually the British O gauge is actually 7mm to the foot, as with the Continental. On the Continent they adopted HO (Half O) for their smaller scale. The British adopted the HO track (3.5mm to 1' scale) but because their prototype locomotives were generally smaller and due to the limitation (then) in the size of motors, they increased the scale of the locomotives and stock to 4mm = 1' and named it OO. As you will now have noted OO is not a scale but a concept with 4mm equipment running on 3.5mm scale track. Safe this situation is a complete SNAFU. I won't bother telling you how much more complicated it became with the introduction of truer scale modelling. With regard to ship modelling the scales 1:1250, 1:700, 1:350, 1:100, 1:35 are all semi metric scales or derivations thereof from old imperial scales of the 1"= x' variety. How complicated life can be made! Well "Box Scale" is how much. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "John Rule" Subject: Cartridge paper: the pond etc Cartridge Paper when I was an apprentice in Scotland was a white paper of varying thickness we used for plotting surveys, before tracing them onto vellum. The paper did not shrink and so had archive possibilities. I also used it in art class at school for painting and drawing. It wasn't brown wrapping paper. I don't know how it got its name but maybe it was used at one time for wrapping gunpowder for rifles. Although if that were the case they would have had to soak the paper in tallow. But no. If they had done that they could have caused a mutiny in India due to the Indian soldiers' inability to tell the difference between tallow and good cow meat. Anyway on a more serious note could people be specific when they use the expression, "the other side of the pond", which side they are talking about. John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: NeilTaylor54@aol.com Subject: RhinoBones missing 'blighty' Rhino the football can only get better if we can beat Argentina on Friday! The Jubilee events have been fantastic and it strenghtened my affection for the Queen. Back to more importent matters. I recently purchased five more Profile Morskie which I think are really good value and are the best publication for modellers on the market. I also purchased my first copy of Vom Original zum Modell on the Bayern class. Well what a contrast, usually any publication that is connected with Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke, who edit the series, is top class but this one is the same price as the Profile Morskie, yet only two decent line drawings and only one photo is even in focus. There are photographs of a model that looks inaccurate! Now I got that off my chest, I need some information, please. I only model In 1.600 scale and the brilliant drawings in the Profile Morskie series are in 1.400 and 1.700. I converted via the photocopier a set on the Royal Oak to 1:600 but I have forgotten the % I increased the 1:700 sheets. Could some kind soul out there save me hours of work messing about with % and remind me of the amount. Many thanks. Neil Taylor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Warren Yaun" Subject: Plans Source in 1/144th Thanks, Lou for the prompt response. Sorry to learn the prints won't help the scale modeler. I'm looking for drawings of the IJN Nagato. Though this might fill the bill. Thanks again Warren -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: "Bill TGH" Subject: Brazil's Sao Paulo Folks, Brazil has a model of the FOCH (1:1, no photo-etched) I have a FOCH (1:400)(alas no photo-etched) has anyone jumped on the bandwagon? I've just seen one reversed image with Skyhawks parked on the wrong side, a caption noting how this was the first time NAVAL pilots have flown naval planes from a carrier (some legal issues, like Italy's) and was VERY intrigued... So, what has changed? Weapons, Radar, colours etc? cheers Bill TGH {VP & CEO} banished to the basement @ BAD Productions Est. F'ton '94 MAD R&D Brewing Trouble since '98 'There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Bill Gruner Subject: 1:500 "Teacher" Models I have 4 World War II era 1:500 scale "teacher" models, in very good to excellent condition, by Framburg and Comet. Thet are: HMS Renown, HMS Dorsetshire, KM Prinz Eugen and IJN Nachi. I am interested in selling them, and will entertain serious offers. If you are looking for bargains to turn them over to make money, forget it. Thanks, Bill Gruner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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