Subject: SMML VOL 2090 Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 17:28:13 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Acrylic white paint 2: Re: the naming of ships and what-ifs 3: Re: Pests 4: Re: Cutty Sark 5: Re: carrier flight decks 6: Re: Geckos 7: Saipan 8: qe2 by gunze sanyo 9: Gunze QE2 10: Re: 1/350 B-25's 11: Re: Britannic 12: Re: ENTERPRISE Flight deck 13: ORISKANY 14: Re: Small-scale cockroaches 15: SHELL WELDER and Trumpeter AC 16: Re: IJN Yamato Class 4th hull/turret armour 17: Re: IJN Tone 18: Re: IJN Yamato Class 4th hull/turret armour 19: U.S.Navy Submarines 20: E-Bay Ship Plan Alert 21: Gator Navy Kits? 22: African Queen 23: Re: various 24: Enterprise/Bainbridge tan deck 25: GHQ, Pfc-CinC 1/285th micro-armor 26: Re: Benjamin Stoddert kit one of the best EVER 27: Fictional Ships and Spare Parts Pit Road/Dragon 28: Gunze QE-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Interesting item on eBay ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: VONJERSEY Subject: Acrylic white paint can anyone recomend a good acrylic white paint for an air brush? the paint i am using now does not cover well over gray plastic. ken auslander ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Poutre, Joseph A" Subject: Re: the naming of ships and what-ifs From: Flt Hrbr Mstr RNN >> I was given a second kit of the,one of, Japanese Destroyer Shimakaze. Now I have no real problem with having two of a ship in the fleet, you can never have too many destroyers real or model, but I have decided to use some of those extra Dragon parts and address the historic weakness of IJN anti aircraft artillery. So I will soon be "launching" the "SABRIKAZI" (named in honor of my daughter,Sabrina). She (the ship not my daughter) will retain the powerful 15 tube Long Lance battery,but is being armed to the teeth with the best of American AAA and directors! << Randy, Welcome to the group! We're always happy to have new members. Welcome, also, to the alluring but dangerous world of "what-if" modeling. Those of us who do it aren't certain if it is a blessing or a curse. You'll find you have fun rebuilding your models into versions or ships that never were, but you'll also find yourself wanting to convert _all_ your models, even those you bought to build as is. :-) I have created some what-ifs of my own, and I find that they make a good diversion when a "regular" model becomes difficult. Joe Poutre ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Dizzydismal Subject: Re: Pests News you may find hard to believe NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense No. 011-03 (703)697-5131(media) IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2003 (703)428-0711(public/industry) EPA NAMES DOD "CHAMPION" FOR PESTICIDE MANAGEMENT The Department of Defense (DoD) Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB) has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a "Champion" in their Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. EPA recognized AFPMB for its extraordinary level of commitment and outstanding efforts to reduce pesticide risks and protect human health and the environment. The AFPMB is one of more than 130 members of the program established in 1994 to reduce risks associated with pesticides. Dr. Janet Anderson, director of EPA's Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, said that DoD, the only federal agency awarded Champion status in 2002, deserved the award for "pushing the envelope by setting ambitious goals and implementing strategies for reducing pesticide risk." The AFPMB works to ensure that deployed ground forces and military installations have effective control of pests and insects that carry diseases. It also works to incorporate the use of biopesticides and non-chemical or least-toxic chemical techniques to control pests and disease vectors. The board is the lead advocate for the use of personal protective measures against vector-borne diseases, further reducing reliance on pesticides. More information about the DoD Armed Forces Pest Management Board and its mission may be found at http://www.afpmb.org. [Web version: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2003/b01092003_bt011-03.html] Dennis Disbrow Euclid OH ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: billkaja Subject: Re: Cutty Sark >> Theres a real nice kit in 1/120 scale its been produced by several companys. Ertl, Imai,and Monogram. All three companys used the same molds.You can find it usally on E bay. its got very good detail. Also Revell did one in the seventies that was 24" long. But the detail is not as good as the 1/120. You can also find that on E bay. << I've never seen the 1/120 scale kit-- I'll look for it. I've found my search for a good Cutty Sark to be more confusing than I first expected. For example, there's the 24 inch long Revell kit you mentioned. WHat scale is that? The Revell 1/96 scale kit is listed at 36 inches, which means the original was about 288 LOA, I think. Using the above numbers, this means that the 24" model is in 1/144 scale, if my math is right. But then there's the Heller kit, which claims to be 1/130 scale (I'm assuming it is a rebox of the Airfix 1/130 kit). The kit claims it to be about 520mm long, which is about 21 inches in length. Something is not right here- either the kit is really about 1/160 scale, or the model is really about 26.5 inches/675mm. (Does anyone have the Heller or Airfix kit?) Just wondering..... Bill One last question- what sort of ratlines does the 1/120 scale kit have? Hi Bill, I have the Airfix kit & it measures out at approx 520mm - hard to get an exact measurement as it's slightly worse for shape with the bowspar (??) bent out of shape. It's been sitting in a box waiting refurbishment for the past twenty or so years. Mind you the Revell 1/96 is a wonderful kit & worth thinking about getting! Shane - who crawled all over the Cutty Sark in 2001 taking a heap of photos ;-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Bradford Chaucer Subject: Re: carrier flight decks >> The whole point of their design was to have a US carrier with an armored flight deck (and adequate protection in general). Trivia: They had << I suspect that it also had something to do with those big blow torches they started lighting off on deck!!! As I recall, there was initially great concern about jets off wood decked carriers. Regards, Bradford Chaucer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Bradford Chaucer Subject: Re: Geckos >> In '76 & '77, I was stationed at the Naval Hospital on Okinawa, which was an older facility and had an unfortunate problem with cockroaches. I had a gecko that did an excellent job of keeping MY quarters vermin-free. It wasn't nearly as big as Bradford describes, only a couple of inches long. I would leave a small tin of water out for it, and in return it kept my room a 'cockroach-free' zone. It lived behind a loosely-hung Eric Clapton poster. It was darn near the perfect pet. << There are several hundred species of gecko and often a single species contains a host of subspecies. Geckos are probably the only species of reptile that is found throughout the world. They vary from ones as big or bigger than the Tokays to some that are not much more than an inch long. The "Geico" gecko now famed of the TV commercials is actually a type of day gecko, largely native to Madagascar Regards, Bradford Chaucer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Edd Pflum Subject: Saipan Fox News Channel showed a brief clip of the USS Saipan leaving port tonight. On the port side of the deck, forward of the covered well deck, was a large object like a squashed cylinder (like an auto muffler). What is this? Vehicle fuel storage? Thanks, Edd ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: "Roger Buckley" Subject: qe2 by gunze sanyo I made that particular model about 1986 after my parents cruised on the ship cost £30 then(45USD) - saw it recently on one of the online hobby sites at 99 bucks US. My dad's pride and joy as it builds to a really impressive kit regards roger ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: raisingirl Subject: Gunze QE2 hello all -- Gernot Hassenpflug asked: >> than those excellent 1:1000 Myoko class cruisers. Is QE2 a Gunze Sangyo kit, or a rebox of a foreign make? If a rebox, what is the original maker, is the kit any good, is it in production, and what kind of price would it go for. I don't usually go for liners, but am prepared to make an exception :-) << It's a pretty good kit. IIRC, it represents the ship as she appeared in the late 1970s, with the first group of apartments built on her upper levels. To convert her to her appearance after her 1980s "refit" is quite a chore (ask me how I know) but for a sort of "first generation" QE2 you can build a beautiful model from this kit. The only thing I didn't really like was the funky scale -- nothing else in my collection was really 1:450 scale! Buy it and have fun with it. You won't be disappointed. jodie ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: SantMin Subject: Re: 1/350 B-25's >> Anybody know where I can purchase the extra B25s needed to make the trumpter Hornet kit match what she carried on the Doolittle raid...thank you << I have several of those kits. Conatct me off list santmin@aol.com Bob ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Fkbrown90 Subject: Re: Britannic A short while ago someone on SMML was asking about the Britannic. At the time I had no information, but I have just acquired a book containing some information that may be of interest. It is a large "coffee table" book, the data is: Title: Lost Liners Authors: Robert Ballard and Rick Archbold Publisher: Hyperion Lib. of Congress No. 0-7868-6296-3 The Britannic chapter deals mostly with the background and the history of the vessel, but it also has some excellent and well-researched (you can bet on that, if Ballard is involved) ship portrait paintings by Ken Marschall and a few photos "now and then". As a matter of fact, this book will be of interest to any SMML modeler of the famous and infamous passenger liners. Your library should be able to obtain a copy for you. Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Starline / Fleetline Subject: Re: ENTERPRISE Flight deck Bit late getting into this but finally got around to doing a bit of digging, I have the Big Es first cruise book (the Med Deployment) After careful study of the photos and the few dates included it would clearly indicate that prior to deployment she did have a brownish (very brownish) flight deck. This was changed just prior to deployment. She was operating off the Virginia Capes at the end of January ('63) and was alongside Pier 12 at Norfolk from the 1st to the 5th of February. Unless the photos showing the brown deck were taken late '62 during her work-up period (she has what looks like her partial airwing aboard in these shots - A4s, F4s & Vigilantes) She deployed Feb 6th, and a clear aerial shot taken on Memorial day (she was between Greece & Italy) clearly shows the more usual grey deck. Something to note from this period is when she had a brown deck (it is no optical illusion or strange colour shift) the tie downs were painted the same colour. The photos in the book show rather little wear at that time, very little rubber/scorching evident. Pics from Vultures show the deck non-skid had been applied in the usual quilt work pattern (i.e. in panels about 12 ft x 6ft), not pvc and definitely not wood. Also of interest when she was re-painted they then painted in the pad-eyes and the '65' went from solid to outlined style. Also of interest, when the grey was fresh it appeared a fair bit lighter than on current CVNs. With both deck colours the angled landing strip was very dark grey. This leads me to believe that on trials and work-up she was indeed brown and was re-painted or surfaced either late '62 or in January '63. Kevin FLEETLINE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Sam Pullig Subject: ORISKANY The ship is still at Beaumont MARD fleet. They ran me off while I was taking the photos. They might (note might) let a group come on board but I do not think they would let individuals come on board. Probably only on the outer decks also. If a group wanted to come down this spring/summer I will check and see if we could get aboard. There is also the ORLECK in Orange (25 Miles) TEXAS at San Jacinto (80 miles) COLE at Baton Rouge (200 +) and a sub and DE at Galveston (85miles)(poor shape) and LEXINGTON at Corpus Christi (340 miles) and ALABAMA at Mobil. Let me know if there is any group intrest. Sam Pullig Beaumont Texas ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Fkbrown90 Subject: Re: Small-scale cockroaches Small-scale cockroaches can indeed by made with realism by the method suggested by paulship37, but it is a lot of time consuming work. The shellac must be spread into a correct scale thickness, and after it has dried it must be scraped up and cut into correct size and shape. Then you have to glue them in place. A better way is to lay out a small amount of talcum powder and separate the grains. Then you can glue each individual grain wherever you think it should be placed for realism. Gotta go now, I hear my keeper coming down the hall. Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "David N. Lombard" Subject: SHELL WELDER and Trumpeter AC Thanks for the responses on the Welder. I'd *love* to have a copy of that article of the real vessel. I too find this model to be a great addition suiting my eclectic (OK, odd) interests... I do have the PE (nice job Peter), and the kit's coming along nicely, with a lot of filling, thinning, and shaping being done along the way. The hobby isn't called "part assembling", is it ;^) The planking went well, but I did have some problems with adhesion. I first tried white glue with mixed results. But I then tried some "Bond 527" tube cement I found somewhere, with better results (but more difficult gluing). I didn't make any attempt to simulate caulking, but the planks seem to have sufficient edge definition, and I'm hoping some extremely thin, somewhat darkened, varnish coats will maintain the definition. My snailmail address is: 11181 Kensington Rd, Los Alamitos, CA 90720 BTW, both Brookhurst Hobbies in Garden Grove and The Military Shop Hobbies in Long Beach have various Trumpeter AC. Brookhurst has a fairly large supply, and do worldwide mailorder. Brookhurst Hobbies, +1.714.636.3580, http://www.brookhursthobbies.com/ Military Shop Hobbies & Books, +1.562.493.1612 David N. Lombard Rossmoor, Orange County, CA N 33 deg, 48', W 118 deg, 5' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Brooks Rowlett Subject: Re: IJN Yamato Class 4th hull/turret armour >> Does anyone know if the fourth hull was given a name? << No, there is no confirmed name for the 4th hull. >> Also I've heard/read that the secondary turrets where actually the original triple 6 inch ones off of the Mogami class cruisers. << True. >> Therefore they would represent a fundemental weakness in the armour of the ship. ie the armour of the turrets was only up to cruiser battles, and in BB to BB gun duels, the 6 inch ammunition chain would have been very vunerable. Is this true? << FIRSTLY, you must remember that despite the figures in Jane's, the truth was that *no* Japanese cruiser turret had armor thicker than one inch. So all their cruisers had a weakness as well. SECOND, while it *was* vulnerable, it was in some ways no more vulnerable than the 1.25 inch secondary 5 inch mounts on the US battleships, right? ON THE OTHER HAND, reportedly a bomb penetrated the top of one of the 6 inch turrets during YAMATO's last battle. Note that her after magazines - where there was perhaps a fire burning from this hit - blew up when she sank. Brooks A Rowlett ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: SteveWiper Subject: Re: IJN Tone >> Anyone have any information on the 1/350 resin kit of the IJN Tone that's coming available in Japan? All I know is that she's 44,000 yen, which equates to about $365 dollars...but I'm still interested... Anyone have any intel? << Jeff, I have seen an advertizement in the back of the Japanese publication of Model Art #5 for ship modeling, specifically on the Kriegsmarine. The advertizement shows photos of the resin and a few of the white metal kit components, but I see no photo etch. Some Japanese kits do not come as complete kits, so this may be one of those. The quality and accuracy look to be good. I would suggest going to the SteelNavy.com message board and try to contac a Japanese person by the name of Momoko? I think that is his name. He posted something about this kit in the last couple of days. You might also try posting to the IJN Ships message board, which, by the way is the best place for info on the IJN, @ www.combinedfleet.com Please post the results of your search to this message board, as I think I am not the only other person interested in this kit. Steve Wiper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Roland Mar Subject: Re: IJN Yamato Class 4th hull/turret armour TO: Flt Hrbr Mstr RRN From the references I have, the 4th Yamato Class hull [Hull No. 111] was never named. She was laid down on 7 November 1940, work stopped in March 1942, and the contract was cancelled in September 1942 and she was broken up. Incidentally, there was a 5th Yamato Class that never reached beyond the paper stage. It was awarded the Hull No. 797, but no contract was ever awarded for construction. As far as the "controversy" over any theoretical weakness of reusing Mogami triple 6.1" turrets on the Yamato is concerned, I am dubious about any additional danger. Armor is not placed equally over the entire ship, but instead is placed where the designer assumes it is most needed. I think that the placement of armor on the secondary armament ammunition chain would be the same regardless of the turret on top. As for the armor on the turret itself, secondary turrets are not armored to the same level as the main turrets for a number of reasons involving weight and standardization of production. IIRC the twin 5" 38 cal. turrets on our BB's, CV's, CA's, CL's, and later DD's had the same level of protection. Warship design being a series of compromises, the risk of a major caliber hit on the secondary armament seems to have been a trade off acceptable to most designers. Hope this helps, Roland Mar ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: BOOTSIEBUR Subject: U.S.Navy Submarines May 14, 1945 was the Capture of U-858 in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape May/Fort Miles After it's capture, an American Navy Submarine Crew was placed on board. I am searching for the NAMES of the American Crew. Can you help? Deloris Stevens ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Victor M. Baca" Subject: E-Bay Ship Plan Alert There are several ship modeler's plans up for sale on e-Bay. Best method is to hit the "Seller Search" button and type in "telescopeguy" Lists Royal Naval ships, tugs etc. Right now, prices are fairly modest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Gator Navy Kits? I'm unaccountably interested in Brown Water Navy and Amphibious Forces vessels. This ranges from assault craft intended to hit the beach to the Weasels and Water Buffalos and such used by ground-pounders on wet ground (or to cross rivers) - plus all the littoral warfare craft from PTs to RAG boats. I guess I love the sea but don't want to get out of sight of land. Anybody know of any good list-sources showing what's available in the market? Websites, or personal lists you can cut-and-paste, or even just memory? Also, always looking for reference sources. Thanks Ned ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Ned Barnett Subject: African Queen More years ago than I'd like to count, I got a box-less kit (I think it was a Monogram Rag or Swift boat - one of those two) and noticed that the hull seemed to have the same lines and proportions as the African Queen, star of that great movie that also co-starred Bogart and Hepburn. So I set it aside thinking I'd do the "conversion" some day. Well, day is fast drawing near. So I'm looking for: 1. Accessories that would match the African Queen's fit (boiler, deck gear, etc.) 2. Good references (in books - or better, online) of the Queen herself. With those, I think I could make a nice-looking, nostalgic and certainly one-off kit or diorama. The Louisa, however, is another story Thanks Ned ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "Jeffry Fontaine" Subject: Re: various IRT Ned Barnett and pontoon bridges, you have at least two choices, one from DML/Dragon that is injection molded styrene plastic that provides two pontoons, and a bridge section. There is also an engineer power boat that is available as a separate kit with figures that can be used to display the pontoon bridge section "underway" or as another component of a diorama. The other pontoon bridge section is available from Verlinden Productions http://www.verlinden-productions.com/ and represents an American Class 50 pontoon bridge. Verlinden Product number 1705 1:35 US WWII Steel Treadway Bridge M2. From my own observations of the finished model on the Verlinden site, it is very impressive and you have enough to build a standard pontoon bridge ferry or the option to purchase several kits and create a nice anchored pontoon bridge. If you decide on the ferry, you will need to find a suitable prime mover for it, something that Verlinden does not have at the moment. Or opt out for the DML/Dragon engineer power boats. Image of Bridge is at URL http://www.verlinden-productions.com/vp_htm_1601_2000/vp1705.htm IRT David R. Wells comments on "what if" modeling, I would recommend you check into having some of your work displayed on a model page that is devoted to modeling what if types of subjects of aircraft, armor, and ships. Go to URL: http://kithobbyist.com/whatif/ and take a look. Any naval subjects would be a nice addition to the collection. IRT Cockroaches, interesting subject, remember all too well the Panama cockroach; so large they were that you could hear them scurrying across the floor at night in the dark. Wonderful memories, thank you, from a traumatized childhood. IRT colo(u)r images discussions. I was always happy with black and white images with the endless shades of gray, no arguments on what the color of anything was, just what shade of gray it turned out to be on the image. Some of you guys are taking this colo(u)r thing a bit too far at times, spending more time in argument here on SMML than is considered healthy. Get back to the original purpose of this hobby, build it, enjoy building it and enjoy it even more when it is finished and residing on your shelf or in your display case. Granted there are valid questions to be asked but remember the technology of the period that some of these ships were built there was no Federal Standard colo(u)r fan and if the color called for was a bit off, I imagine there were steps to be taken to resolve the difference immediately using the eyeball as the final judge of whether the colo(u)r was too dark, too light, or just right. Colo(u)r of "X" vs "Y" is starting to look like a regular installment that appears in each volume of SMML. Research is good thing, as is discussion, but this continuous argument on colo(u)rs is getting to be a real space filler on the SMML. Now that I have expended my inflated 0.02 centavos worth of opinion, I shall not duck for cover... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Enterprise/Bainbridge tan deck >> I've got that issue. Check your eye, Mate: that's red-lead on the foc'sl. Don't know whether they were repainting the foc'sl around the ground tackle (likely) ore experimenting with a Soviet-like deck red (unlikely!). << John, I respectfully disagree. That's the tannest (is that a word?) red-lead I've ever seen! In fact it is almost the exact shade of tan as the ENTERPRISE flight deck in the photo I've sent to Shane from the other issue of NG (Vol. 123, No.3, March 1963, Pg 431). Besides, why would they be doing a major job of recoating such a large section of deck while underway, especially when they are showing their stuff for a photo op? During a very public world cruise? And there are no swabbies on deck painting, although they would have been told to get below for the pic, but again, why? There doesn't seem to be any wood on ENTERPRISE, and this is the shakedown cruise. Interestingly, there are other photos in this same article with the grey deck, but I think the plane complement is different, so it's a later cruise. (no phantoms or vigilantes on the tan deck) Those who wish to form their own opinions may check both photos when Shane posts them on SMML. Cheers, Darren Scannell HELP! It's been snowing almost non stop since Christmas! And it very very white outside. Hi all, Photos posted to Misc Photos page. Shane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: M.C. Linson Subject: GHQ, Pfc-CinC 1/285th micro-armor Large thanks to Brooks Rowlett for added, better, information on GHQ & CinC. It's great to find CinC on the web. For any (rick1454) who may have missed it: http://www.pfc-cinc.shoppingcartsplus.com/page/page/292434.htm Current geographical address: Pfc-CinC 1202 State Highway 95 Princeton, MN 55371 No recent information on their (his) customer service is known at this time (a purchase last year was received in very good order). Perhaps someone else has (Brooks Rowlett?) an update... A last note: even though GHQ's detail is wrong & way over scale, e.g. wood deck lines on 1/2400 ships, the "scale effect" makes an interesting model. The potential 'can of worms' opened in the above statement is a matter of personal/artistic taste. For those who prefer accuracy to the n-th degree scratch building is the best option. Otherwise, manufacturers on both sides of 'the pond' [is the Pacific considered 'the lake' to Australians? :) ] provide good models/material to start working with. Kind Regards, Mike Loveland, CO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: SHIPMDLR Subject: Re: Benjamin Stoddert kit one of the best EVER >> Thank you for the kind words Rusty, now you have me blushing too. << As well you should be. Your innovative master pattern design creates an almost perfect fit on resin parts. Quite an accomplishment. I look forward to more modern US subjects. Rusty White IPMS/USA #20181 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From:Flt Hrbr Mstr RRN Subject: Fictional Ships and Spare Parts Pit Road/Dragon David wrote: >> I do this sort of thing all the time, usually with "wrecks". Some of them have turned out to be quite interesting. Anyhow, these spare parts and the Skywave parts packs make it easy to make various "never built" ships, whether of ships that were actually planned or ships from my own sick imagination. I personally find it fairly easy to scratchbuild small hulls, so I can have fun just sticking weapons and directors on said hulls. Lots of fun to be had...... And Timothy Dike wrote: >> "Welcome to the hobby. Now that you have those extra parts, it is time to start stocking your spare parts box. this is essential for any 1/700 ship modeler. Don't throw anything away, even the sprues the parts come on can be useful for making parts. The kit you mentioned "USS Oakland" was originally produced as a Skywave kit (Pit-Road). They were well known for producing sprues of extra parts so they could use one mold to make many different kits. They later started producing weapons sets so we could replace the usually inaccurate and poorly shaped parts in our other kits. The Oakland includes two of what was originally called the Skywave E-6 weapons set packed with just about everything needed to build a USN ship. When Dragon bought the molds they added a special sprue with a lower hull option and an extra bridge for the late war Oakland. You can find a review of that kit << Well thank-you for the warm welcome! I feel as if I've found the "promised land"!! I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who "creates" ships. I've long since decided that any scatchbuilt ships that are at all prototypical, will be of stange civilian vessals, cranes etc. And that any warships will be from my strange imagination. Somewhat based on my wargaming experience and the ideas of all those "what ifs". Hence my query regarding the possible name for the fourth Yamato hull. This is were the two posts I'm responding to blend together. First,I guess I wasn't clear. I'm brand new to this computer/email thing. It took me 1 hour to get it so that I could type new and delete old parts of the List! Don't even get me started on clip and paste! New to email-old to model building! Oldest surviving completed kit: 1/35 Airfix Humber completed 1976. Yes I have a large parts collection. And a stange imagination. When recently doing final assembly on current Fleet Flagship Hyuga, I discovered that I had negleted to fill two of the mounting holes in the deck for the flight deck version! Simple solution: a pair of harpoon missle mounts firing cross deck. I figure the resultant loss of "firing arc" for Q? turret is more than made up for by the increase in combat cabability! I come from a Model RailRoading Background. And as such I believe that one should be able to "play" with the finished product! OK I'll pause a moment while some of you pick yourselves up off the floor. About 12 years ago I realized that my hobby had really become "collecting Hobbies! "Something had to go. The trains were fun but my lifetime interest has been Naval history and a youth "misspent" wargaming. the "old" way before computers dried up an alredy small player pool. As a kid I had been frustrated by miltary "sets" with 1/2400 ships, 1/35 figures, and 1/72 vehicles. Then I found 1/700 land in the early 90,s! I had a 75% completed Scharnhorst from 10 years before but had been in the far North and was unaware that a person could build a balanced fleet in this scale. Long story much shorter, I sold off the !/165 model railway, gave up on 1/35 armour(they just scream out for way too much detailing work!),and got rid of all "side scales" The Fleet is now my main interest with sidelines in Airfix Armour and 1/72 aircraft, mostly biplanes these days. But the Fleet is far and away the centre, literally and figuratively, of my hobby life. I build scenery and "action" scenes on small thin bases, so that they and the ships can be endlessly repositioned into diferent"scenes", inside a 1 square meter by 6 inch high display case. The "ground" is represented by loose sand. Scale "dirt" is also known by the common term "DUST", so fine sands are the way to go. I use clear plastic and cotton batten to make moveble actioncreating pieces such as wakes and shell splashes. I could go on and on but I'm really interested if there are any likeminded souls out there? Maybe someone wants to particepate in an "arms race"? Thank-you to Timothy for explaining the history of those molds. Great to know.I also acquired the USS Princeton (mint condition secondhand <$20.00!), same extra parts! Re 1/285 armour-great source of 1/700 aircraft decals. That's how my Russian B-25s came about. A gloss black painted HE 111 with the red swastica flag off the German sheet, put sideways on the wing ala prewar schemes, is now the German flottilas squadron hack/VIP aircraft, plus a real eyegrabber on the "airfield". Safe Journies Randy/Canada ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: Richard Sweeney Subject: Gunze QE-2 Hello Gernot. The only QE-2 by Gunze that I know is one that I thought was 1/350th scale, it is a repop of the old Entex kit. When Entex went under Minicraft got their RMS Titanic, Gunze got their RMS Lusitania and QE-2, I always found it interesting that eventually Minicraft re-cut the Titanic mold to upgrade the kit and still sells it almost the same cost as before the the upgrade, While Gunze doubled the cost, molds untouched. If this is the kit, that is the heritage. These kits were really good to begin with, they should be no worse now, but that's where they come from. Take care. Rich Sweeney ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Interesting item on eBay I've got this item for sale at eBay, and thought that you might be interested. RARE WWI AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN BATTLESHIP http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3105833780 Item Description: Kuk Radetzky 1/700 resin waterline kit w/ P.E., NNT Modell S.N. 70001, complete in box I've got some other truly excellent NNT and other brand waterline models - BB-61, a SKS torpedo-boat destroyer and an Imperial German battlecruiser - please check out seller "mojavescribe" (my wife). Thanks Ned ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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