Subject: SMML VOL 2101 Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 16:38:17 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: GEORGII P 2: Nichrome 80 3: Ship Plans 4: USS Iowa deck markings 5: Gowland & Gowland 6: Re: CAMPBELLTOWN 7: VHS to DVD 8: Beginers 9: Re: VHS to DVD 10: USS WARD, HMS CAMPBELTOWN 11: Re: Campbeltown 12: VHS to DVD 13: Re: Campbelltown 14: Beginners 15: Re: Mountbatten Pink & Cambeltown 16: USS Iowa markings 17: Re: Beginners 18: Nichrome Wire 19: VHS to DVD 20: Save the USS Salem ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information 1: IPMS/USA President -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: New group for Scratchbuilding created 2: Warship Books announcement ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Brooks Rowlett Subject: GEORGII P I forwarded the question on the Russian pre-dreadnought planking to Steve McLaughlin, whose book on Russian battleships should come out from the US Naval Institute this year. He says: >> There are a few photos of GEORGII P. in Arbuzov's "Bronenostsy tipa EKATERINA II" that hint at the deck planking, but nothing conclusive. What's visible are wide strips along the deck -- they look too wide for planking -- and there is no evidence of the athwartship strips seen in later Russian predreadnoughts and dreadnoughts. I have some reason to believe that the "parquet" pattern, with athwartship strips, was a relatively late development, but I don't when it was introduced (or what its purpose was). At any rate, I suspect that ships of GEORGII P.'s vintage would NOT have had the athwartship strips in their deck planking. Steve McLaughlin << Brooks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: John Wressell Subject: Nichrome 80 In all the discussion on Nichrome 80 wire, haven't seen the gauge that is recommended for 1/350 scale. Any thoughts? Thanks, John Wressell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Peter Crandall" Subject: Ship Plans I am looking for pictures, ship plans of the Saipan(CVL-48) and Wright(CVL-49). I understand the hulls were based on the Baltimore class cruisers and I already have several pictures of the ships. I am looking for any information relating to how the ships appeared in 1945. Ship plans or profile shots would be most helpful. Thank You. Peter ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Jowfx Subject: USS Iowa deck markings Hi Does anyone know when the US flag was painted on the #1 turret of the Iowa after she was recommissioned in 1984? Also, during the summer of '84, when she was down in the Carribean with the UNITAS XXV exercise off Venezuala, what was the position of the circle on the helideck? Was the circle on the center line or offset to port? Thanks. John Fox ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Paul & Renee Jacobs" Subject: Gowland & Gowland Jim, just about the same time that you started with the GOLDEN HIND, I built my first plastic model, by G & G, the SANTA MARIA. I still recall that it had acetate ratlines, and I loved the plastic water. My dad helped me build it, and I still remember how he rubbed the paint off the water base to make the wave tops white, and how realistic I thought it was. 50 years later, I'm still building ship models. Paul Jacobs 1250 SCALE editor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Brooks Rowlett Subject: Re: CAMPBELLTOWN The Warship profile for her specifically states, and shows her, in St. Nazaire config in Mountbatten Pink. Note that since the attack was at night, it would not necessarily be a distinctive British camo, since she would seem to just be grey. Brooks A Rowlett ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: andrew jones Subject: VHS to DVD I think that VHS is not the way of the Dodo yet...maybe in a 5+ years, but dont give up the VHS yet, as there still is a fair few movies etc in VHS that are not in DVD, but slowly they are being transfered ..and anyhow, you still need that VHS to tape some documentary on TV or your favourite sport (ships shooting down enemy planes????) Andrew Oz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Terry Wiltshire Subject: Beginers >> a friend of mine and I were talking about how to get kids ages 9+ into ship modeling. Car and airplane modelers have snap kits. Are there such things as snap together ships? If not, what do some of u suggest to get kids into ship modeling, wathcing while u work? << Justin The Revell Miniships which I believe used to be made by an Italian manufacturer and are now produced by Revell are for sale in my local supermarket here in Budapest. On the box it says "The model kit can either be glued or snapped together". They are cheap about HUF800 which translates to about US$3 and I've knocked a few together quickly over a coffee as a cure for AMS (Accurate Modeller Syndrome). For info the list on the Boxes is (* means I've seens them in the supermarket) 06801* USS Enterprise 06802* USS Missouri 06803 IJN Yamato 06804 Roma 06805* DKM Bismarck 06806 HMS King George V 06807* USS Yorktown 06808* USS Iowa 06809 IJN Musashi 06810 Vittorio Veneto 06811* DKM Scharnhorst 06812 HMS Prince of Wales 06814* USS Hornet 06815 IJN Shinano 06816* DKM Tirpitz 06817* DKM Gneisenau 06818 HMS Duke of York 06819* RMS Titanic 06820 Adia (Cruise Ship) 06821 Queen Elizabeth II Any idea what 06813 or was it missed for superstitious reasons? Terry Budapest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: David Gatt Subject: Re: VHS to DVD This is easy if you have three pieces of equipment. 1 a VHS player. (I assume you already have this.) 2. A digital video camera or DV player with firewire output (some call it iLink) (I have a JVC unit which has both super VHS and miniDV in the one deck) 3. A DVD burner equipped Apple Macintosh, either, eMac, iMac, G4 Powerbook or Power Mac. All the software needed comes free with the Macs. I'm in the process of doing this at the Moment. Easy as pie. Steps basically are to transfer your VHS recordings onto DV tape then import these into an Apple program called iMovie. These are exported into DVD formate (before which you can add extra titles etc etc) and then you use another Apple program called iDVD to create menu links etc. In Australia each blank DVD costs about $6.00. You can burn about 1&1/2 hours of video onto each DVD so if you have videos shorter than this you can combine them onto more than one DVD. The process is a little time consuming, however once the system is set up and recording say from VHS to DV just leave it and go glue a few pieces together:) You can also add photos onto the DVD in the form of say slide shows. Can this be done with Windblows? Yes but no way as easily as it is on the Mac. David Gatt ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: ED LARYEH Subject: USS WARD, HMS CAMPBELTOWN 1. For Ned Barnett; USS WARD (Not AARON WARD, must've been a major typo) Was not in the same configuration as REUBEN JAMES at the time of her loss. I don't have the kit, but assume from what I've seen here that it might take a bit of work to convert (funnels, different guns, etc). It could be interesting to do. 2 HMS CAMPBELTOWN at ST Nazaire My model (1/1200) is in Mountbatten Pink. At the time of the raid most Plymouth Command vessels operating in the Channel were so painted. Alan Raven lists her as carrying the color on p 19 of vol 1 RN Camouflage and so does the first volume of the old Warships in Profile bound collection. If you're thinking of modeling a diorama, or the whole force, the only vessel in the attack force that was not pink was MTB 74. She carried a three color wavy pattern and had her torpedo tubes relocated to fire over the forecastle/bow (another unique conversion for a model). I have no specific source, but suspect that the other supporting Hunt class ships, ATHERSTONE and TYNEDALE, might also have been in pink at the time. One of the things that makes camouflage so fascinating to me is the tremendous influence of the local commanders in applying it, whether mandated by the Admiralty or not. Regarding the idea that "British camouflage" would negate the effect of changing her profile; This is simply not true. Mountbatten Pink had a reputation (deserved or not) for hiding the ship during dusk and dawn. The profile change would affect the silhouette of the ship, especially when viewed with lighting from behind. Even when illuminated directly, a solid color is NOT a factor in disguising shape, The "Pink" in question is just a reddish shade of grey, and would not stand out as "British", especially at a distance and in low light conditions. Aryeh Wetherhorn Elazar, Israel ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: John Snyder Subject: Re: Campbeltown >> I'll be looking for answers - I'd also like to know if anyone has sources for the Airfix kit, or either/both of the books, plus after-market PE/Resin or anything else that might help building the project. I could look on eBay and Amazon (and may have to do so), but I thought I'd check here first. << Hi Ned: PE 630 and 631 from WEM will give you all the photoetch you need for the 4 destroyers in the Airfix set. >> Taken a step further, logic would also decree that, if they went to the trouble of modifying her to Mowe class configuration, they wouldn't then nullify the work of conversion by using a distinctly British camoflage. << Not necessarily. The modifications to Campbeltown were to disguise her once she had been sighted. The use of Mountbatten Pink, as cited at length in today's SMML, was to render the ship less visible in the first place. The idea was to get as far up channel as possible without being sighted (hence the Mountbatten Pink) and, once sighted, then add confusion as to exactly what ship she was (hence the modifications). Best, John Snyder The Token Yank White Ensign Models Home Page for WEM, http://WhiteEnsignModels.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "James Morley" Subject: VHS to DVD There are three ways to get your VHS tapes on to DVD. 1) Buy a DVD recorder (available now for £400 in the UK and probably less in the US). Hook the VHS to it and direct record using SCART or S-VHS cables. Note also that a DVD recorder will also play DVD's, respond to VideoPlus and other timer commands, and in every way operate like a very sophisticated Video Recorder. Many types can also "slave" themselves to satelite receivers allowing you to set the satelite program reminder and this will kick off the recording automatically. 2) Buy a DVD-R drive for your PC (about 1/2 the cost of a Recorder) and a Video input card. Wire the Video player to the input card (using an S-VHS cable) and "capture" the video to the hard drive and then write it to Disk. This is more effort than the option above, and obviously the DVD-R drive isn't really a replacement for the video recorder 3) Go and ask a professional firm to do it for you.... there are plenty about One thing I should point out. Most commercial video tapes are protected by Macrovision and various derivative systems. Recording appliances have hardware in them to detect these signals and refuse to record. There are ways around this (and if you go for option 2, there is software that will strip the signal out before writing back to the DVD), but in most cases it is not simple. Try a web search for some advice - but bear in mind it may not be legal. A professional firm obviously won't do this for you. If the videos you want to copy are your own recordings, or are fairly obscure reference stuff you won't have a problem Regards James Morley ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: RDChesneau Subject: Re: Campbelltown >> I'll be looking for answers - I'd also like to know if anyone has sources for the Airfix kit, or either/both of the books, plus after-market PE/Resin or anything else that might help building the project. I could look on eBay and Amazon (and may have to do so), but I thought I'd check here first. << Ned I produced an illustrated article on the Campbeltown for Airfix Magazine Annual way back in about 1967, and this might be of some use to you. I'm darned if I can lay my hands on my copy at the moment, but I'll keep looking. Contact me offline. Roger ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "James M. Pasquill, II" Subject: Beginners >> a friend of mine and I were talking about how to get kids ages 9+ into ship modeling. Car and airplane modelers have snap kits. Are there such things as snap together ships? If not, what do some of u suggest to get kids into ship modeling, watching while u work? << 3 words, "build with them." Pick a kit or better yet let the child pick it after discussing pros and cons of various kits. Start the project right away. Don't let it sit for weeks and say, "we'll start tomorrow", or we need to buy this thing or that thing first before we start. When the child comes to you and says, "Dad, let's work on this", don't say in a minute and then forget until it's bedtime. Don't sweat the small stuff. It doesn't matter if there is a glue smear or other imperfections. Try to do a little bit everyday so that the process has a timeline and progress is visible. Don't show how nervous you might be about the "right" way to do something and don't show disappointment if it's done wrong. Whenever you introduce a new tool or technique explain the proper safety procedures and philosophy behind the use or technique. Kids like explanations for things. Don't yell, "Don't touch that" every time they reach for a tool on your sacred workbench. :) Do some simple research to better the kit but don't get bogged down on it. If the kit you chose is of something that still exists or something similar exists try to visit the real thing and pick out details to add to your model. After starting a project if they sit down at the computer or in front of the tv and seem uninterested in the kit, sit next to them and work on the kit and talk to them while you build. They may become interested in the kit again. Kids jump in and out of things and not being interested one day doesn't me they won't come back to it. However, they likely won't come back to it if they feel like they are being forced to get back to it. Words of wisdom based on some successes and more failures with 5 sons. Jim ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: WRPRESSINC Subject: Re: Mountbatten Pink & Cambeltown When the profile on the Cambeltown was being put together about thirty years ago. I was asked (because I was a paid consultant), what the colour of the ship was. I did not know and informed the artists accordingly Wingate, who was the editor at the time, said that he knew that the ship had been painted in Mountbatten Pink especially for the operation. This had come from "old hands" and an officer or two that he was still in touch with. In the early seventies I had contact with an ex officer who had taken an interest in the colour to the extent of compiling for his own use, a list of those ships so painted. As one can imagine this task (which began soon after the war) was not easy, and took many years. It was done by listing his own observaqtions and by contacting old officer friends of which he had many. The list was made up into three groups as follows:- i those that were definately in Mountbatten Pink ii those probably in Mountbatten Pink iii those possibly in Mountbatten Pink I was able to add to and make this list more accurate from my own research. Those that remained on the probably and possible list I did not list in Camouflage Volume One. One ship that remained in the possible colume was the battleship Nelson, which has been described as being PINK in colour, rather than Mountbatten Pink. The origin of this I was unable to trace to a reliable conclusion, but one of the people who had the data was the author Edgar March, who apparently obtained it from an officer that had served on the ship. There is evidence that the pink colour may have been used as part of a disruptive pattern, the other colours being standard admiralty. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Jowfx Subject: USS Iowa markings Hi Does anyone know when the US flag was painted on the #1 turret of the Iowa after she was recommissioned in 1984? Also, during the summer of '84, when she was down in the Carribean with the UNITAS XXV exercise off Venezuala, what was the position of the circle on the helideck? Was the circle on the center line or offset to port? Thanks. John Fox ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Fox, John" Subject: Re: Beginners >> a friend of mine and I were talking about how to get kids ages 9+ into ship modeling. Car and airplane modelers have snap kits. Are there such things as snap together ships? If not, what do some of u suggest to get kids into ship modeling, wathcing while u work? << Revell has a line of Miniships which are 1/1200 and snap together. They have Yorktown and Hornet (same kit, different decals) Enterprise, Missouri, some of the German BB's and even a modern cruise ship and Titanic. I'm a cub scout den leader (3rd graders) and one of the boy's achievements this year for their Bear rank is to build a model from a kit and to make a base for it. We did this just last week. The kits are really cheap ($4 US) so they were perfect for the scouts as we don't have a much of a budget. As for the quick and easy bases, I had them use blue painters masking tape, taped onto bass wood for the water. It has some ripple texture to it. White craft paint (easy clean up) was then painted around the outline of the hull and feathered out with a paper towel for the wakes. Then a couple of coats of Future acrylic for the wet look. We used fun tack to attach the models so they can pull them off and play with them when they like. The boys loved building the models and all were looking to build some more. John Fox ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: John Wressell Subject: Nichrome Wire Must have missed suggestions in the Nichrome 80 discussion, but what gage is recommened for 1/350 scale rigging? John Wressell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Jim McNeil" Subject: VHS to DVD hello annobon4: so you want to put your VHS tape onto DVD. Well it can be done. You need a computer, but if your reading this you have one. next you need to have a video capture device, such as an "All In Wonder" video card in your computer. And third, you need a DVD burner. You connect your VCR into the Video card and record onto the hard drive. Then burn the file using the DVD burner. Currently the DVD burner is quite expensive but will hold several hours of video. Another option is to burn the video file on a CD and play on your computer. The DVD will hold, I think, about 4 gig of video while a CD will only hold .7 gig. So a Cd may not hold the whole program you want to record. Another possibility is that there is a business that will do the transfer to DVD,for a price. Jim @ Slackers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Ouellette, Lawrence M" Subject: Save the USS Salem With all the talk of the sale of the majority of the former Fore River Shipyard, I want to bring up the subject of the USS Salem and her stay here in Quincy. The sale of 130+ acres of the former shipyard has no direct impact on the fate of the USS Salem. A separate 13-14 acre portion of the shipyard, adjacent to the Salem, is also being sold. This portion, and the 7 acres that the USS Salem rents, are owned by the MWRA which is a quasi-state agency that provides the Greater Boston area with water and sewer services. The 14 acres adjacent to the USS Salem was put out to bid in December, but the sale was put on hold until the MARAD auction of the much larger parcel was complete. A few weeks ago the MWRA told the USS Salem that they were not renewing the '10 year' lease and that the Salem must be moved by July 1, 2003. The MWRA claims that the USS Salem has made many late rent payments, and still owes a large amount of back rent. Both statements are absolutely false. The December 2001 rent payment was the one and only late rent payment in the 8+ years the USS Salem has been at this berth. This payment was delayed (less than 30 days) due to the late rent payment of Harbor Express, the water ferry that subleases a portion property from the USS Salem. While the 'eviction' of the USS Salem has made the newspapers, what they fail to report is that the MBTA-owned Harbor Express water shuttle will also be forced out of business. Also, the MBTA just renewed Harbor Express's contract to run the service for 4 more years. How can you run a water shuttle when you are being 'evicted' too???? The MWRA is using the late payment as an excuse to sell the property. They say they are not in the real estate business and they should sell it. When asked if the sale will reduce the water and sewer rates, even just a little, the answer was 'no.' For those interested in Naval history, and the history of the Fore River Shipyard, please help save the USS Salem by writing letters and letting the politicians and MWRA hacks know what a resource the ship is. Go to the Salem's website and look at this page: http://www.uss-salem.org/help_support.htm Write a letter to each of the people listed. For those of you who attended the first SMMLCon, or who have visited over the last 8 years, please relate your experiences aboard the ship. Non Massachusetts, and non US visitors are especially welcome to show your support. Do not send email, paper is always the most effective tool when dealing with politicians. Please cc: the Patriot Ledger, Boston Globe and Boston Herald The Patriot Ledger 400 Crown Colony Drive P.O. Box 699159, Quincy, MA 02269-9159 Telephone: (617) 786-7000 The Boston Globe 135 Morrissey Boulevard P.O. Box 2378 Dorchester, MA 02107-2378 617-929-2000 The Boston Herald One Herald Square P.O. Box 2096 Boston MA 02106-2096 Just a reminder, that the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum is a private, non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. The museum receives no Federal, State or City monies. The support of ship lovers like SMMLies, the US Navy Cruiser Sailors Association, the USS Salem Association, the USS Newport News Association, and the many Scout organizations who stay aboard are what keeps the museum open. Contrary to the doom and gloom that the local newspaper "The Patriot Ledger" always seems to report, the USS Salem is a viable museum. The USS Salem always passes the US Navy annual inspections with flying colors (colours). The museum is 99% staffed by volunteers who have put in 10's of thousands of hours in the upkeep of the ship and in running it's programs. Over 15,000 youth have been through the Overnight Adventure program which is rated (by the groups themselves) as the best overnight program they have ever attended. The former Fore River Shipyard will eventually be redeveloped, and the equipment sold off. The only remaining legacy of almost 100 years of shipbuilding history could be the USS Salem. Please help keep her in her birthplace. Write a letter, or two, or ten! Thank you for your support. Larry Ouellette Proud Volunteer since October of 1994 USS Salem (CA 139) United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum 739 Washington Street Quincy, Massachusetts, USA http://www.uss-salem.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: IPMS/USA President This is a little off topic here. However this will effect many of you as modelers and IPMS/USA members. As some of you know, I am running for President of IPMS/USA this year. So if you guys want a ship modeler in the head office, here's your chance. This will be the last time I post this here, so if you haven't endorsed my candidacy for office and wish to, I would really appreciate your help. IPMS/USA has yet to rule that I can't run, so I am going on the assumption that I can. Fortunately, IPMS/USA will allow us to do this electronically (via Internet). You MUST have a CURRENT IPMS number to vote. If you wish to endorse my candidacy for Pres., you need to send me the following info required by IPMS/USA to make your electronic signatures valid: (1) Name (2) address (3) IPMS # (4) Written indication that you are endorsing my petition for President. i.e. I am endorsing Rusty White's petition for President. Any help I can get will be most appreciated. I will send a copy of our goals as the "Oklahoma Team" if we get in office to anyone who wants it. Rusty White IPMS/USA #20181 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Terry Sumner" Subject: New group for Scratchbuilding created Hi all, I created a new group called "PlasticScratchbuilder" This group is for those Plastic Scale Modelers who wish to share and learn about scratchbuilding. The emphasis in this group is for the plastic scale modeler, making parts in styrene, machined metal, poured or cast metal, cast resin, clay or Sculpey, and/or any other medium necessary to scratchbuild either parts or entire kits. In addition, the group is for all sub-types of plastic scale modelers including cars, aircraft, armor, ships, figures, sci-fi and any other sub-type I may have forgotten. It is hoped that with all types of modelers participating, knowledge can be cross-learned from one sub-type to another. To join, just go here... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plasticscratchbuilding/ and join as you would any other Yahoo group. Hope to see you there if you want to learn about scratchbuilding or have knowledge and expertise you could share with fellow modelers. Thanks, Terry Sumner ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Keith Butterley Subject: Warship Books announcement Hi all, I have simplified the shipping table and have raised the limit for base shipping. This means you can buy more for less shipping. I have also lowered the price level on free shipping. I am taking pre-orders for two new 700 scale kits from IHP. HMS Invincible 1921 and HMS Wild Goose 1943. The Invincible is a limited production run kit, there will only be 30 produced. HMS Invincible (Battlecruiser) The IHP kit is designed as a craftsman kit in 1:700 scale. Some of the parts have undergone upgrading and extra detailing has been added. The kit is now designed to be built and completed using a Tamiya 1:700 Rodney or Nelson kit. KIT FEATURES: *Resin waterline hull *Resin Superstructure pieces (parts specific to design) *Metal parts for 6" turrets (make-up quantities for parts not included in Tamiya Rodney/Nelson kits) *Instructions Price is TBA, but it should be around $130US and it will be available in May. HMS Wild Goose (Black Swan Class Sloop) The IHP kit of this ship consists of resin hull and superstructure, and metal detail parts. The kit represents Wild Goose as she appeared in 1943. As completed, she had two 20mm mounts on the bridge wings, but these were replaced by twin 40mm Bofors mounts when they were available. The kit includes both types of weapons Price is TBA and it will be available in April. Regards Keith Butterley http://www.warshipbooks.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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