Subject: SMML VOL 2267 Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 03:55:23 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Columbia, SC area hobby shops 2: Some comments on recent books 3: USN Standard Navy Gray #5 4: Re: Prinz Eugen 5: Weapon Alpha - Help needed 6: Re: Hobby Stores in the Columbia SC area 7: Re: 1/48 Queen Mary model 8: Re: Hey ya'll, watch this! 9: 1:400 scale clunkiness -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: New books ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Ralph Nardone" Subject: Columbia, SC area hobby shops Hello, all...... John McNutt asked: >> I just moved to Columbia SC and was wondering if anyone knew of a good hobby store in the area. << Hello, John.... Not too much in Columbia proper--on State Street in West Columbia you'll find New Brookland Train and Hobby. A small store, mostly catering to the RR crowd, it does stock some plastic kits. In Irmo (Harbison Blvd.) there is an A.C. Moore that also has some kits, as does the Michael's down the street. Now for a shop with a large selection, you'll need to either go to Simpsonville and Greenville or Augusta (Georgia). In Simpsonville, there is Golden Strip Hobbies on Fairview Road. Nice store, the owner tries to have a good selection. She mostly stocks NASCAR and car kits, but she does have a selection of military models--not too many ships, though. In Greenville, there are two shops--a HobbyTown USA (good selection for a HobbyTown) and The Great Escape (a bicycle shop, but they have a hobby section too). The Great Escape has a decent selection of aircraft, armor, and cars, but few ships. The HobbyTown USA in Augusta is a great shop--the owner carries a good selection of all kinds of models. Well worth the trip--he is on the Bobby Jones Freeway. I'm sure you can get directions from the HobbyTown USA website. Augusta also has a Ryder's--not a lot for the model builder, but we stop in every now and then just to see what's up. Also, a Hobby Lobby just opened in Aiken--not a great stock of kits, but it does have some at good prices, even more when you get a 50% off deal.... E-mail me if you wish, I can elaborate on directions. I moved to the area in 2001 and have found the hobby selections to be fair....nothing like South Florida (I moved up from Ft. Lauderdale), but if you know where to shop you can get pretty much anything you need. Cheers! R ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: ALROSS2 Subject: Some comments on recent books Last week, I bought a couple of what I hoped would be intriguing new books. One was "S-Boote" by Dallies-Labourdette; the other was "British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939-1945" by Konstam. "S-Boote" is a hard-bound, largely-pictorial work covering the various types of schnellbooten used by the Kriegsmarine. Because of the quality coated paper used, photo-reproduction is excellent and includes a few contemporary color photos. From a modeler's standpoint, the wealth of detail included in the photos is well worth the very reasonable price. There are a number of color renderings and line drawings included in this book. With the exception of those line drawings credited to Lurrsen, the renderings and other drawings suggest that the artist had little more than a passing knowledge of the boats. In fact, the 80' ELCO drawing (credited to ELCO) is actually a poorly modified version of my PT109 drawing. This I know because he removed the 37mm gun but left the trailing arms for the mount in his drawing. The rendering of the 73' VOSPER (identified as MTB 384 but having 391 on the hull) has the twin 20mm mount hanging in mid-air. Ah, well....it's still a fine addition to any library on small combatants. "British Motor Torpedo Boats" is another story. It is a soft cover published by Osprey in their usual format. It too is printed on coated paper and photo-reproduction is quite nice. There are no line drawings, but a number of nice profile renderings are provided (including one of MTB 315 lifted from another of my drawings). Unfortunately, the text is full of errors which indicate the author apparently doesn't know much about the boats or didn't pay much attention to his sources. He has George Selman working for ELCO (he worked for British Power Boat), identifies MTB 396-411 as 77' ELCOs (they were license-built Vospers) and has them fitted with a "...single Canadian-built 40mm Bofors..."(not!), combines the 71' 6" BPB MGBs and MTBs as a single class (which they weren't), identifies 77' ELCOs as 70' ELCOs and vice-versa, identifies MTB 269-272 as Higgins boats (first two, ex PT5 and 6 were; next two, ex-PT7 and 8, weren't), etc., etc., etc. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! For under $11.00, it's worth the photos, but be wary of the text and photo captions. Al Ross ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Randy Short Subject: USN Standard Navy Gray #5 Dear Craig Bennett, email me directly and I will sort you out on the color, and why we used it. Randy Short PS> a phone # and a time to call would be cool. It's better to talk in person. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: SteveWiper Subject: Re: Prinz Eugen >> Yes, he has a web site... seems feasible except it would probably be cheaper to build a new one from scratch see > I just moved to Columbia SC and was wondering if anyone knew of a good hobby store in the area. << The best one by far closed several years ago. The guy lives here in Atlanta now. I think the Hobby Hive is still around. There is a good one over in the Charleston area, but I can't remember the name. If you're ever in Atlanta, come on by! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Mike Toole" Subject: Re: 1/48 Queen Mary model On building a 1/48 scale model ship, Have you considered foam insulation board? (And a strong back, both for the model and yourself?) We at Task Force-50 have over 200 hulls in various stages of construction using this system. In short, you make a plywood deck template, cut foam to general shape, glue it up like a "bread and butter" hull, then go at it with shaping tools. It goes pretty quick, is a stable base for fiber glass, and dare I say it, mostly unsinkable. If anyone wants more details, contact me at micjt@hotmail.com and I will fill you in. And, I gotta see pictures of this... Mike Toole Lancaster, PA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Phil Stewart Subject: Re: Hey ya'll, watch this! Lou wrote with tongue in cheek: >> Makes me think of the saying "What are the last words a redneck says?...."Hey ya'll, watch this!" << If this weren't a scale modeling list, I'd tell a little second-hand story about a guy who had trouble starting his barbecue with plain ol' lighter fluid, and in frustration gave it a go with some home-made black powder... Phil Stewart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Phil Stewart Subject: 1:400 scale clunkiness Edward Grune wrote, in reference to new Mirage kits: >> but they suffer from some "1:400 scale clunkiness" << How 'bout 1:700 clunkiness! That's the scale I've chosen to work with, and I look in awe upon the un-clunkiness of the 1:400 models I find pictures of! :) Clunk, Phil ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Randy Short Subject: New books Hello, Snyder and Short indeed has the WR Press RN Camo Vol 4 for $16. The Classic Warships #18 New Mexico is $13. The last few months have been a problem for us as I have a nasty pinched nerve in my back caused by a bad disk. I have also tried to fill a position with Coke doing quality control, while barely being able to walk-for 50-70 hours a week. That has been a nightmare that would make Freddy Kruger look like the good-humor ice cream man. The Coke job has gone South on me, so I will be able to get back to answering your questions and giving you decent service on your orders-color chips, paints, and the CW and WR Press books. Thank you all who have been supportive and have not given up on us during what has, and still is, a living hell for me. Randy Short @ Snyder and Short www.shipcamouflage.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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