Subject: SMML VOL 1804 Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 12:00:50 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Ports getting top-notch security 2: Ballard Announces His Discovery of Kennedy's PT-109 3: Re: HMS NOTTINGHAM 4: new Ise/Hyuga 5: Re: accurate 5" twin gun mountings 6: Lutzow, Derfflinger kits 7: micro modelling and ballistic photoetch! 8: Inchon Decom ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information 1: IPMS ATTENDEES 11 JULY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Online Contest from Roll Models ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: Ports getting top-notch security http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/78067_ports11.shtml ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: Ballard Announces His Discovery of Kennedy's PT-109 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52423-2002Jul10.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Michael London" Subject: Re: HMS NOTTINGHAM >> Also I noted that on Channel Nine news last night, a reporter who had been on the island for two days by then had not discovered yet that the ship wasn't a battleship. He referred to the "battleship HMS Nottingham". << When will the media learn that "battleship" is NOT synonymous with "warship"? This error occurs quite frequently and in sources that one would think know better. By their definition an armed trawler would also deserve to be called a battleship! Michael London ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Gernot Hassenpflug Subject: new Ise/Hyuga Phil Stewart wrote in SMML 1803 about accurizing the 1/700 Hasegawa BB/C Ise. Yes, a forbidding task. Hopefully that will be made a lot easier in the near future, now that Hasegawa have released new molds of Ise and Hyuga, notable before conversion to just as useless floatplane carriers. I daresay they have made only one set of molds, since the only difference between the two ships in kit form is that the mainmast is fitted in opposite directions. I hope to give a short review over the weekend. I guess that the second molds, i.e. for the converted ships, will grace the shelves after, say, the October _Japan Hobby Show_..... Phil also mentions spending a few nights fixing up the shape of a pile of IJN 12.7cm 40cal AA Gun "89 Shiki,Model A-1," bought in a generically marked kit from the 1/700 Waterline Model Consortium. Do you mean the the guns in the generic WL weapons sprues that come with all newer kits replacing the original (usually poor) molds? In that case, is there really anything to improve? Can you give a couple of details? Cheers, Gernot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Gernot Hassenpflug Subject: Re: accurate 5" twin gun mountings Thanks for the tip on Loose Cannon Productions, Mr. George Cost. PFH will see some of my scholarship funds then - Bill Gruner offered me the first decent reference books on the IJN, before I could get them from Japan, something for which I will always remember him (as will my bank account). I am happy to be able to use his services again for products pertaining to the US! Regards, Gernot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Gernot Hassenpflug Subject: Lutzow, Derfflinger kits I wonder if anyone can give me an opinion on the HP and WSW kits of Derfflinger and Lutzow? I am considering buying a Derfflinger, and am quite prepared to scratchbuild a lot of the small parts. Inaccuracies though should be fairly small or easily fixed....I notice a fair price difference (about 15 to 20 US$) so I imagine one might have photo-etch parts with it, or a higher level of accuracy/casting. Anyone venture an opinion? Regards, Gernot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "James Baumann" Subject: micro modelling and ballistic photoetch! Hello all those fellow obsessive 1/700 modellers( and those fellow 1/350 obsessives who try to cram detail onto models that you barely find in the Anatomy of the Ship book...) Sound familiar? Here is a tip or two that I have used succesfully in my (am I lucky or what?!) dedicated modelling room work bench. Firstly if anything does hit the floor so to prevent it from entering carpet pile or being rendered invisible I have covered the floor around the dropping zone with white cloth( polyethelene sheeting, dead cheap in builders merchants) so that if I do need to cawl around on hands and knees the search action is usually immediately succesful (mind your head on underside of modelling table...) HOWEVER to prevent the aforementioned crawling as a result of the drop zone being at the edge of table or indeed in mid air (I have a huge modelling table covered in massive amounts of boxes of PE ships in progress etc but nevertheless build in about 12 sqaure inches of actually clear table right at the edge (poor planning!) I have constructed for myself a soft cotton bib which has an aperture cut for the head and neck, has a droop with tight sides (shape sewn in for the seamstresses amongst us) so as to give flexibility and to act as a gaiter when I rock back and forth on the chair...The table end of this bib is attached to the underside of the table with velcro; the table end being a strip of selfadhesive 50mm loop (so as not to scratch your legs, catch in jumper? fleece jackets etc when bib is not in place) and the coressponding hook velcro sewn to the bib. I have cut the amount of time crawiling around on floor by about 80 per cent and find that as the table area that was clear gets smaller that tweezers pliers etc can sit in the bottom of the bib. Just a thought, I borrowed the idea from my mothers workbench (she was a goldsmith/jewellery designer) and was always very sniffy about it until I was building small guns for the 1/700 Tsessaravitch (scratch) and was losing more than I saved and then tried it. I will now attempt to spread the bib gospel!!! Kind regards to all JIM BAUMANN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: Inchon Decom USS Inchon Decommissioned after 32 Years of Service by Lt. Marc Boyd, Mine Warfare Command Public Affairs, and Journalist 1st Class Victor Brabble, USS Inchon Public Affairs INGLESIDE, Texas (NNS) -- "Officer of the Deck, haul down my pennant and debark the crew." With that order from USS Inchon (MCS 12) Commanding Officer Capt. Charles E. Smith, the legacy of a proud warrior came to an end. USS Inchon, America's only mine countermeasures command and support ship was decommissioned June 20, during ceremonies held in the ship's home port of Ingleside, Texas. Hundreds of local government officials, former crewmembers and sailors from around the area gathered under sunny skies to say farewell to a ship that had served the fleet for more than three decades. "We had sailors from the past 32 years here today to say goodbye to their warship," Smith observed. "Every sailor, every captain, every crewmember, gets certain attachments to their ship and their shipmates. That's why we're out here today -- to formally render honor and respect for this warship." Vice Adm. Albert Konetzni, deputy commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, echoed those remarks. "When we decommission the ship, it's not so much that we honor the gray steal and equipment on board, we really honor those that have served. Here's a ship that been around for three decades, with thousands of sailors who have served aboard her. We're talking about a real legacy here of Americana, nationalism and national defense," he said. Inchon sailors, past and present, had similar sentiments. Jim Long, a former Boatswain's Mate Third Class who served aboard Inchon from 1981-1984, said the ship would never be forgotten. "I feel it's a sad day when any sailor's ship is put out of commission," Long said. "I know she has served our country well. But as all great things must come to an end, so will Inchon. The Inchon will live in our hearts forever." "I'm very sad to see this ship go," Smith expressed. "These shipmates have been through good times and bad times. We've been at sea nearly nine of the last 18 months with all of us sailing together, halfway around the world, in fact. That is a permanent part of your life, and to see her go away today, and disband this tremendous crew, is a very sad time for us." Inchon was named in honor of the highly successful historic amphibious landing by Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Inchon, Korea on Sept. 15, 1950. The 600-foot, 20,000-ton warship was one of a series of amphibious assault ships built by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss., and was the first to bear the name Inchon. The keel was laid on April 8, 1968, launched May 24, 1969, and was commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., on June 20, 1970. Cmdr. Jaime Navarro, Inchon's operations officer, agreed about the ship's historic significance. "Inchon will be remembered in the same manner as the event from which she was named," he said. "She impacted naval history and tradition in a positive and enduring way." Steve Gramlich, a former operations specialist third class aboard Inchon from 1976-1978, said the ship not only held historic value, but it was also vital to national security. "The decommissioning of Inchon brings to an end a era in naval history," he said. "She was of definite importance to national security as she proved to be -- time and time again." The ship was originally designed to conduct amphibious force landings by providing helicopter support to transport troops and assist in establishing air superiority in the designated landing area. In 1994, Inchon deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean to conduct Operation Continue Hope off the coast of Somalia and Operation Deny Flight off the coast of Bosnia. Following a six-month deployment, Inchon remained in homeport for only two weeks before it was called upon to assist in Operation Support Democracy off the coast of Haiti. In March 1995, Inchon commenced a 15-month conversion/overhaul by Ingalls Shipbuilding to assume a new mission as the Navy's only mine countermeasures command and support ship. In July 1996, Inchon changed homeports to Ingleside, Texas, home of the U.S. Navy's Mine Warfare Center of Excellence. From March-July 1997, Inchon made its first deployment in its new capacity, successfully demonstrating its capabilities. Inchon once again deployed in 1999 and the crew provided critical heavy lift support to Operation Shining Hope, part of the humanitarian relief effort for Kosovar refugees in the Balkans. "Since it's conversion, Inchon has been the key element of the dedicated mine countermeasures triad, which provided an ability to meld surface mine countermeasures, airborne mine countermeasures, and undersea mine countermeasures forces into the most capable MCM force worldwide," Maj. Gen. Bill Whitlow, director, Expeditionary Warfare Division (N75), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, explained in a citation read at the decommissioning ceremony. "Serving as the Navy's first mine countermeasures command and support ships was a daunting task at best. Inchon always faced this challenge head on and excelled." In April 2001, Inchon set out for what would be its last deployment. It steamed 28,000 nautical miles to the western Pacific Ocean, accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours, conducted seven replenishments at sea, visited seven ports on three continents, evaded a typhoon, and made 27 restricted transits including two separate trips through the complex waters of the Panama Canal. Capt. Smith said the final crew performed flawlessly until the end and lived up to Inchon's reputation as a warship. "If the Navy is indeed an expeditionary force that goes in harm's way to project power as directed in foreign lands, then this crew earned their right to be shoulder to shoulder with the best we have to offer," he said. "I am pleased with their performance and extremely proud to be their commanding officer. "The warship has an impressive history and has made her mark over time by contributing significantly for the past 30 years of service," Smith said. "From Vietnam to the Gulf War and Somalia -- in peacetime to an armed conflict, Inchon has answered the call. There is a sense of sadness and pride and a feeling that it is time to move on. But the Inchon's spirit now lives on throughout the fleet, and this nation's fleet is taking care of business." For more information about Mine Warfare Command, go to www.cmwc.navy.mil. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: BECJPARKER@aol.com Subject: IPMS ATTENDEES 11 JULY ATTENDEES AS OF JULY 11 CHARLIE PARKER BRADFORD CHAUCER BOB HEALY JAMES CORLEY RAY BEAN TED PARIS JON WARNEKE MIKE BISHOP HUGH LETTERLY DAVID ANGELO STEVE LAU VINCENT MCCULLOUGH SKIP HASSLER MIKE SETTLE JEFF FENTON LON HEIDLER BRUCE BUCHNER JAY SHERER DAVE JUDY JOHN SHERIDAN STEVE BACKER ED GRUNE BOB SANTOS BOB LAPADURA RUSTY WHITE STEVE COWARDIN JOE SUSZYNSKI MELVIN SMITH WARREN YAUN BOB REDDY CRAIG BENNETT RON MILLAR DARREN SCANNELL MIKE LEONARD JOHN COLLINS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Brent Theobald Subject: Online Contest from Roll Models Howdy Gang, It's been a while, but I have finally gotten around to starting a new Online Contest for ships. The prize this time is the 1/700 Prince of Wales from Tamiya. To make the deal a little sweeter we are including a set of photo etch for the PoW from Gold Medal Models. The contest is now open for entries. Please mail them to me at: brent@rollmodels.com For complete rules (there's not many) please visit the contest site: http://www.rollmodels.net/ncontest/pow/pow.php You can also visit the Roll Models Online Catalog and/or Review Site. http://www.rollmodels.com - Catalog http://www.rollmodels.net - Reviews Have fun! Brent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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