Subject: SMML VOL 1850 Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2002 13:18:20 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: 1/570 Revell Bismarck 2: Re: Getting Kids Involved 3: Re: Tamiya/Hasegawa releases 4: Japanese plan-view ship drawings & Old merchant ship deck colors 5: Re: Prinz Eugen 6: Re: German WW II deck colors and camouflage in general 7: Re: Prinz Eugen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information 1: need to find Alberto García -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: New From Tom's Modelworks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Robert Hernandez" Subject: 1/570 Revell Bismarck >> I imagine we are all familiar with the Revell 1:570 Bismarck. I bought it some time ago, and also bought PE to detail it. In examining the kit, the wood planking seems way out of scale- way too wide. Any opinions about this, and any suggestions about how to fix it (other than buying the Tamiya kit!!) << The 1/570 Revell Bismarck takes work to fix up but can be made into a reasonable Bismarck. Take off the plastic railing off and sand off the planking. Drill out and add the missing port holes with a pin vise. Modification of the superstructure will improve the look of the ship. Add any detail you can. The bow is not quite right and should be made more pointed. The secondary armament is weak but is usable. Replace it if you can. Once completed, it will look good with the 1/600 scale PE even without great modification. The 1/600 scale Airfix someone mentioned is an even older kit and takes far more work to correct. Build your ship kit and enjoy the hobby! Before Tamiya, modelers took these older kits and enjoyed correcting their weaknesses. It is part of the challenge of modelling. See modelwarships.com for reviews of these kits. Robert ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: NAVYDAZE@aol.com Subject: Re: Getting Kids Involved I have held off on making comments on this subject because at lot of what I think has already been said. As a "Baby Boomer" growing up in the 50s we had very little to keep us occupied. Black and white TV, we had are sports that we could play (baseball, basket ball and so on in the neighborhood). Tinker Toys, Erector sets and stuff like that, which was minimal. BUT a scale model was soooooo detailed and "state-of-the-art" to us and so full of excitement at the thought of putting it together and then having a "real" models of a Navy ship (past or present) had a lot to do with us becoming modelers. Of course the addition interest in the Navy and history was an additional factor, such as myself being a "Navy Brat." Today there are just too many things for kids to do, too much money for them to spend - AND too many companies tried to get their attention to get this money they have, via TV, Radio or other means of advertisements even peer pressure. Bottom line it is not the fault of the kids it is the fault of society and what we have turned this generation of kids into. Michael Donegan NAVYDAZE Naval & Aviation Artist http://www.navydaze.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "GH" Subject: Re: Tamiya/Hasegawa releases Richard wrote in SMML 1849: >> Are Tamiya Mogami and Hasegawa Hyuga "New version" from new molds or rereleases? << New yes, the Tamiya Mogami is absolutely exquisite. I hope we get a backdated version and a Mikuma to go with her. The Ise/Hyuga too are new molds from Hasegawa, also very nice indeed. The photo-etch set that you can buy separately has single 25mm guns, catapults and aircraft trolleys, radars for the late-war hybrid carrier conversions so it seems likely that we will see these versions within a few months. There is a rumour that Pitroad will produce a large IJN warship by the end of the year. I hope this means either Soryu or Hiryu. Wishfully, Gernot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Tom Burns" Subject: Japanese plan-view ship drawings & Old merchant ship deck colors Hello all, I have been lurking here for some time now, and I have been delighted by the amount and detail of historical information that has appeared on this list. Given that, I have a couple of questions on which I hope someone may be able to shed some light: 1) Can anyone recommend a comprehensive source for *plan-view* drawings of the gunboats and cruisers of the IJN for the period 1870-1910? Similarly, is there a similar source for plan-view drawings of Japanese passenger vessels from that same time? What I have in mind are 1:1200 scale or so drawings similar to those in Jentschura's WARSHIPS OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY, but more detailed plans will also certainly do. Volumes which are still in print or are not *too* difficult to locate would be preferred, but they need not be in English. 2) Can anyone comment on the colors of the horizontal (deck) surfaces of merchant vessels during the period 1895-1920? Prior to these years, all deck surfaces tended to be wood planked but at some time during this period I believe that deck planking began to be omitted for certain portions of cargo ship decks. When did this begin to happen? Does anyone know specifically which portions of the deck tended to be left bare, and what the typical colors were for these areas? What about the tops of deckhouses and hatch covers? Any help with these would be greatly appreciated. Tom Burns Houston ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Sab1156@aol.com Subject: Re: Prinz Eugen I have to disagree with Daves statements,that the german surface ships were in general of poor design! The light cruisers of the K-class were indeed not good, but due to the construction/tonnage limit of the Washinton-agreement! Prins Eugen was not planed to go to Russia,it was her sistership Luetzow,which was sold for oel imports! P.E.hat the same range as Hipper, but 40 tons of oel more. All german light and heavy cruisers had a new type of engines (high pressure/high temperature boilers/turbines), which gave a lot of problems during the years. The diesel engines of the "Panzerschiffe" had their problems too for several years, but it still made them good ships. Thelack of success was in the most cases not due to the ships designs, but the clinging on orders from high command! Scharnhorst/Gneisenau had the same tonnage-restriction problems and when they were build, there was no higher caliber gun available than the 28cm. Their reconstruction with 38cm guns would have made them good ships. It speaks for the solid construction,that the Scharnhorst went only down after many art. & torpedo hits! Even our british friends may still believe,they sank the Bismarck, it was proven,that the open flood ventils and detonations in the engine rooms sank her! I am always open for discussions. Detlef Hartwig ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Sab1156@aol.com Subject: Re: German WW II deck colors and camouflage in general Concerning german paints and camouflage:There was a nice little book on the market in Germany: Jung/Abendroth/Kelling: Anstriche und Tarnanstriche der deutschen Kriegsmarine from the publisher Bernard & Graefe in Munich. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: JFR1945@aol.com Subject: Re: Prinz Eugen >> The Prinz Eugen could be looked at as a lucky ship, but as a warship she was hardly cost effective! The most useful period of her life was supporting the retreating German Army in the Baltic. During the war she spent most time anchored, or in dock under repair - mine, bomb, torpedo damage and especially cranky machinery, and her poor range really limited her usefulness for commerce raiding. I believe that pre 1939, it was being planned to sell her to the Russians, as it was realized by the German navy that she did not really fit in with the surface navy plans. It's a curious feature that the German surface ships were in general poorly designed, and in most areas old fashioned, given the general excellence of German Engineering << Dave's comments should start an interesting line of discussion. I would like to hear more about why he thinks they were poorly designed; I've always thought they compared favorably with contemporary designs of the late 30s. I do agree that both their high-pressure steam plants and high-power diesels were unreliable; the technology had not been adequately tested and debugged. It is worth noting that the U.S. Navy went through great pain when it moved to high pressure steam plants in the 50 and 60s. John Reeder ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "graham and melanie" Subject: need to find Alberto García Can Alberto García please contact me reguarding the Cruiser SIG newsletters. Your mail server keeps returning my mails all the best graham ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Tom & Carolyn Harrison" Subject: New From Tom's Modelworks 1/400 Scale set #4008 Prinz Eugen. this set contains rails, ladders, catapults, various radar fits, cranes, and more. $24.00 1/400 Scale set #4012 Scharnhorst / Gneisenau. This set similar to set 4008 in the types of parts provided. $22.00 The Heller kits were used for size references. Both can be viewed on our web site www.tomsmodelworks.com Also note that we will be closed from September 7th through September 29th ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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