Subject: SMML VOL 2382 Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 04:08:19 +1100 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http//sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1 Bye, bye County destroyer 2 Marine Corp Officers 3 RN 1960s Flight Deck Colours 4 French to retire new carrier? 5 Revell U-boat in the shops 6 Dragon 1/700 Ticonderoga Class 7 Off the subject but of interest 8 Re Marine Corps Officers 9 Modern USN colors 10 Small Combatant book 11 HMS Dreadnought armament 12 Format for navigational coordinates 13 Merry Christmas II 14 Bye, bye County destroyer 15 Re Modelfest at Runnemeade 16 Marine Corps officers 17 Italian Turret Ram L'Affondatore - plans? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 Trade Art prints for Resin ships ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS Hi all, My apologies for the lack of SMMLs over the past 3 days - I was unable to send them out due to needing to upgrade the email program and being away visiting two country Model clubs - ACTSMS & Orange model clubs (well the ACT is in the country isn't it ;-) ). Shane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Roberto Paredes" Subject Bye, bye County destroyer Hi SMMLies, Today (December 12th), the Blanco Encalada destroyer (ex-HMS Fife) will be retired from the Chilean Navy. This is the second County destroyer retired, the first was Latorre (ex-HMS Glamorgan), 1999. This County destroyer was purchased to RN in 1987. In 1988, the Seaslug launcher was removed and it was replaced for a big helo deck. In 90's, the old SeaCat were replaced for the newer Barak 1 (from Israel). It was the first chilean ship to receive the new Command and Control System (made in Chile). Bye, bye old Lady. Roberto. Please, visit my site and this page http//www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/3389/english/destroye.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From WILLIAM ORETO Subject Marine Corp Officers There is an interesting article in the Naval History magazine of Oct. 2003. According to the article 89 West Pointers have been commissioned as Marine Corp Lts as of the class of 2003. Commandant of the Corps General Zelin was dismissed from the Academy for for academic deficiencies in 1825 and commissioned a Lt in the Marines in 1831. He was made Commandant of the Corp in 1864. It is permitted by law for a USMA graduate to accept a Marine Corp commission. 19 USMA graduates accepted Marine Corp commissions between 1975 and 2003. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From "Chris Burton" Subject RN 1960s Flight Deck Colours I have a question regarding the colours used on the flight decks of Royal Navy aircraft carriers in the 1960s and, I suppose, on the Ark Royal in the 1970s. Earlier SMML messages identified the colour used on RN flight decks from the end of the 1950s through to the late 1970s as Dark Admiralty Grey, or BS381C 632. However, RN carriers used two dark shades on their flight decks, one for the rectangular angled landing area, the other for the rest of the deck. Assuming that the Dark Admiralty Grey was used for the angled area, could anyone advise what the second colour used was? Was it Dark Sea Grey (BS381C 638), Extra Dark Sea Grey, or some other colour? Or was the angled area actually black, with the rest of the deck being Dark Admiralty Grey? Chris Burton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From Steve Singlar Subject French to retire new carrier? This was sent to me from a friend. Can it be true? >> December 4, 2003 France is considering quietly retiring their new nuclear powered aircraft carrier and joining with Britain to buy a new carrier of British design. Actually, the French had planned to built a second nuclear powered carrier, but they are having so many problems with the first one that they are reluctant to build a second of the same design. Britain is building two 50,000 ton conventionally powered carriers, at a cost of $2.5 billion each. France would order a third of this class, and bring down the cost of all three a bit. The new French nuclear carrier "Charles de Gaulle" has suffered from a seemingly endless string of problems. The 40,000 ton ship has cost over four billion dollars so far and is slower than the diesel powered carrier it replaced. Flaws in the "de Gaulle" have led to the use of propellers from it predecessor, the "Foch," because the ones built for "de Gaulle" never worked right. Worse, the nuclear reactor installation was done poorly, exposing the engine crew to five times the allowable annual dose of radiation. There were also problems with the design of the deck, making it impossible to operate the E-2 radar aircraft that are essential to defending the ship and controlling offensive operations. Many other key components of the ship did not work correctly, and the carrier has been under constant repair and modification. The "de Gaulle" took eleven years to build (1988-99) and was not ready for service until late 2000. It's been downhill ever since. So the plan is to buy into the new British carrier building program and keep the "de Gaulle" in port and out of trouble as much as possible. << Steve Pelham, NH ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From "Michiel Woort" Subject Revell U-boat in the shops The Revell U-boat is now in the shops in The Netherlands. Just arrived are the new Revell U-boats, the price will be around the euro 55,-. What you get is a box the same size as for the Flowers Class kit, only the box-art is not that good. But it is not the box-art we want to have, inside are both hulls nice sealed and two bags with the other kit parts. The instructions are from the standard Revell lay-out, you get one decalsheet for 5 boats (U 69, U 82, U 203, U 253 and the U 552)and some thread. In the instructions Revell tells you what to do for each boat, most differences are in the tower. Also two are camoflaged boats. Parts looks nice (no parts fit yet), the tower is a basic type one. Perhaps Revell will bring out some types with the "wintergarten" or perhaps will some conversion kits come for that at the after market. For what I can see in this short time every thing is in it to build the early war boats till 1943. Revell also makes parts if you decided to open the forward torpedo tubes, and it appears to me that Revell is also thinking on the RC people, because a lot of holes must be drilled. The deck is in three parts nice moulded. And the periscoop (almost) as long as in the original boat, I mean the tube goes through the deck. The tower is build up in two layers (makes conversions or other types easier?). Greetings, Michiel Woort The Netherlands ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From Michael McMurtrey Subject Dragon 1/700 Ticonderoga Class Okay, Smellies, I need some help. How many different versions of this kit are there? I have USS Normandy, which has extra parts marked 'not used' on the instruction sheet. It's obvious these parts are for a different subclass of this type, but which ones? I need a copy of the instruction sheet for the other version(s) of this kit, if it/they exist (presumably USS Ticonderoga, per Rajendra's list of ship kit reviews, but I'm just guessing). Can anyone out there help me out? Thanks. Michael McMurtrey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From URUDOFSKY@aol.com Subject Off the subject but of interest The Dutch flagged, Swiss owned heavy lifter of the Jumbo Line "Stellamare" has capsized in the frozen Hudson River at the Port of Albany, NY, while loading GE generators the weight of 50 elephants. Three sailors are presumed dead. See photos at http//www.timesunion.com/photogalleries/pics_ship/gallery.htm Ulrich H. Rudofsky Delmar, NY, USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From CaptainOD@aol.com Subject Re Marine Corps Officers Finally, a subject that I have some real experience with! -) As a Marine Corps Officer, and I might add, also having served on active duty as an Officer in the USA and USN. The Marines by law for a long time, as in a recent US Naval History article, were not allowed to take officers from other academies. The mission was not the same as the Army, and although different from the Navy, at least had several points in common, service at sea and rapid deployment, but short term staying power. And I know that in these days the missions between the Army and Marines are being very blurred, as are their equipment and tactics. And if I remember correctly, Midshipmen were often threatened with service in the Corps if they didn't tow the line at the Academy. I did however, have the pleasure to serve with several officers who were from West Point as opposed to Annapolis. Although unusual, they wanted to be Marines but could not secure an appointment to Annapolis. The fact that one of the guy's father was a two star Marine general may have had something to do it! -) The Corps does send its tankers and artillery types to the Army's schools for training, and the maintenance guys go to Navy schools. And by the way, I think most of us Marines would have an objection to the "Ring Knockers" as being the only career-oriented types! -) Bob OD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From "Craig Bennett" Subject Modern USN colors Hi Does the USN paint it's ships in a new scheme? I recently looked at photos of the destroyer Roosevelt, it appears the hull is dark gray with main deck as a separator to light gray upper works. Or was this light reflectations. Craig ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From "Millen, Alan R." Subject Small Combatant book Came across a book in a pet store, of all places. “Mighty Midget, U.S.S. LCS 82”, by John Rooney. It’s a self-published book on the exploits of the LCS(L)(3) 82 in the Pacific theater of World War 2. Mr. Rooney served with the owner of the pet store, which is how there came to be a small stack of the books. Haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I can give a very brief overview. 200 pages, all text, the only pictures being on the front cover and inside the back cover. Covers the period January 1944 through August 1945. Over half of the text is crew reminiscences. I paid US$10. Hope to get a chance to read it soon. Any interest out there in my obtaining any other copies? Alan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From "Michael D'Silva" Subject HMS Dreadnought armament Hi fellow modellers! Are there any resin or PE 12-pdr guns available in 1700? I would like to replace the kit version supplied with the Kobo Hiryu 1700 HMS Dreadnought. The kit is supposed to depict her in 1910. Without complaining too much, most of the kit parts, except the hull and larger superstructure parts, leave a great deal to be desired. Therefore, I plan to replace as many items as I can with PE or resin upgrade parts from WEM, etc. Thanks, Michael D'Silva Victoria, Australia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject Format for navigational coordinates I am making a plaque to give to my son for Christmas. It will be simply an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of copper onto which I have traced the navigational coordinates of his house, and then stippled the background with a center punch. This will leave the characters smooth and polishable. I want to get the coordinates in the correct format. Can you please check into this and advise the currently correct way to specify (U.S. standard) the data? I trust that the readout of a hand-held GPS unit would be correctly stated, but I do not have one. For instance, which (if any) of the following is correct ? Let X represent the degree symbol. 42X 28.24' N (note the space before the letter N), or 42X 28.24'N (note no space before the letter N), or N 42X 28.24' (note the space following the letter N), or N42X 28.24' (note no space following the letter N), or ???what???(should there be a comma following the degree symbol ?)??? I have seen coordinates noted different ways, but I want mine to be currently correctly stated, and I value your opinion. Thanks. Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject Merry Christmas II MERRY CHRISTMAS Takes awhile to load, but what the hey -- 'tis the season, right? http//holidays.blastcomm.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From "Roberto Paredes" Subject Bye, bye County destroyer Hi SMMLies, Today (December 12th), the Blanco Encalada destroyer (ex-HMS Fife) will be retired from the Chilean Navy. This is the second County destroyer retired, the first was Latorre (ex-HMS Glamorgan), 1999. This County destroyer was purchased to RN in 1987. In 1988, the Seaslug launcher was removed and it was replaced for a big helo deck. In 90's, the old SeaCat were replaced for the newer Barak 1 (from Israel). It was the first chilean ship to receive the new Command and Control System (made in Chile). Bye, bye old Lady. Roberto. Please, visit my site and this page http//www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/3389/english/destroye.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From "Craig Bennett" Subject Re Modelfest at Runnemeade Hi For Gene Katz Yes I was at the Modelfest in Runnemeade NJ. There was a low turnout of contestants. Not more than a dozen. A few tanks, planes, ships, cars, and monsters. Some of the winners were with WW1 planes,2 battleship kits won with photoetch sets ,a tank diaroma. Oh by the way I bought the Ark Royal(1/700 1950's era Fujimi) and watched you buy your kits. Craig ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From "Vess Irvine" Subject Marine Corps officers The Naval Academy has always been slightly less rigerous academically then West Point and the AFA. So the jarheads are a bit more comfortable in these surroundings. I believe once all West Point students had to study engineering, a very hard major. Not so at Annapolis. Also, the Naval Academy is a bit more focused on athletics. I went to my 40th high school reunion this summer and met up with an Annapolis graduate who I competed against in college baseball. They beat us 17 to 3, ran up the score, and thought that was terrific fun. My teammates were all pre-med and science majors; you know, future Nobel Prize winners. We all wore glasses, for example. Nerds one and all. Real sliderule jockeys ...... LOL. So at the reunion I meet this sailer, and the first thing he says to me, after 40 years, is, "We beat the snot out of you guys." And he said this with a big smile, like it was the funniest comment he ever uttered. Hmmmmm. Not a good way to make friends, influence people and get along with civilians. Maybe I was just having a bad day, but this made a very poor impression. Perhaps this kind of attitude is what we want in the people who have to fight and win our wars. It is exactly what we want in our Marine Corp officers. As a total OT aside, the most interesting grad at the reunion was not this Admiral, but a person who was not particularly noticable in high school. He skipped college and went directly into the Navy, shipping off to Vietnam as the lowest of the low deck swabbies. Well he just retired as a Captain in the NYPD, and is teaching grad school law enforcement classes in his retirement. Now there was an interesting fellow with stories to tell!!!! LOL. Just goes to show, you can never tell what some people will accomplish in life when you only know them at age 17, and when your own skills at recognizing talent are still undeveloped. Vess Irvine Estes Park, Colorado, USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From "David Hathaway" Subject Italian Turret Ram L'Affondatore - plans? People I am trying to find some good references for and, if possible, some decent scale drawings/plans of the Italian ironclad turret ram L'Affondatore - the Italian flagship at the battle of Lissa. Can anyone help? David Hathaway ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From airartcsb@juno.com Subject Trade Art prints for Resin ships Greetings All! I understand this is akin to asking you to give up your first born child or even your right hand but. . . Does anyone have resin ship kits 1/700 or 1/350 they would like to trade for some good art prints? go to www.airartcsbailey.com and see what I have to trade. please e-mail me at www.airartcsb@juno.com Best wishes and seasons greetings all. C.S.Bailey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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