Subject: SMML VOL 2604 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 01:21:08 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http//sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1 Re 1/600 2 Re Swift Boats 3 Mediterranean Maritime Museums 4 Re Swift boat model 5 HMS Exeter 6 Re SWIFT boat 7 Motorizing the Bismark 8 Navy NewsStand - Eye on the Fleet 9 Scale 1/48 parts 10 Model shops in Nashville 11 CV 12 USS Hornet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 Re motorizing the bismarck 2 OzMod's web site update ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Leslie D. Foran" Subject Re 1/600 Re Allan Plumb's letter in Volume 2597 1/600 is my primary modelling scale. I like it because models of large ships are a reasonable size, and I prefer full-hull models. Airfix has indeed the largest range of ships in this scale, but they are by no means alone. Currently, I am building the 1/600 Arii model of the Battleship Yamato, and have Kangnam and Lindberg 1/600 ships in my collection as well. The Chinese firm of Zhendefu has brought out a line of simple kits of Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Spruance-class destroyers that appear to be 1/600 or very close to it. Revell of course has some excellent 1/570 scale ships that look good displayed with 1/600 scale ships. Les Foran On the Rim of America's Outback ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From "Leslie D. Foran" Subject Re Swift Boats Re Ned Barnett's request in Volume 2503 My "local" hobby shop in North Platte had a couple of Monogram Swift Boat kits on hand when I was in there last week. He is Jim's Hobby 401 S. Dewey St. North Platte, NE USA 69101 Phone 308-534-3225 I don't recall the price.. Les Foran On the Rim of America's Outback ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From CokerRE@aol.com Subject Mediterranean Maritime Museums I am going to be taking a cruise around the western Mediterranenan in late Septemeber/early October. Can anyone direct me to maritime museums and ship model displays in Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo, Malta, and Rome. Any tips/recommendations would be appreciated. Please contact me off line at cokerre@aol.com PC Coker/Charleston ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From BGMarshall@aol.com Subject Re Swift boat model Ned Right now, eBay would be the best bet. There are several offerings as we "speak." If you miss one, oh well, try for another. Chip Marshall Silver Spring, Maryland USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From "Chris and Kayo Amano-Langtree" Subject HMS Exeter Dear Chris Exeter was in overall AP507B. Jupiter was carrying her Mediterranean camouflage scheme of AP507A and AP07C. Christopher Amano-Langtree ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From ALROSS2@aol.com Subject Re SWIFT boat The old Monogram/Revell PCF is rereleased off and on and is currently available (I think). You can get a 1/32 fiberglass hull for one from Microglass (www.microglass.net) and I drew a set of plans for PCF 94 in 1/16 scale years ago. The plans are available from The Floating Drydock (www.floatingdrydock.com). I've been trying to interest a certain wood kit manufacturer in a 1/35 scale version, but am not having any luck. Al Ross ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From Kelvin Mok Subject Motorizing the Bismark >> i am building the tamiya 1/350 bismarck, and i want to motorize it. is there a motorizing kit that i can purchase to accomplish this. << (updated from an email I recently sent to a SMMLie.) I was in the States in July and came across an in-store toy promotion from Sharper Image . Use their search box and Enter "Boats." The mini-speedster RC boats will be on the bottom of the page. At $19.95 a kit it was pretty affordable and I very much wanted the props anyway to motorize the 1/72 MTBs. As a bonus the kit even had a packet of 6 extra propellers, therefore ideal for three or four shaft boats. The prop's size is similar to the 1/72 Revell's PT 109. The toy was ready to run out of the box. The charger pack takes 4 AA cells and its pigtail plugs into a socket on the mini-speedster'ss control panel. It takes only 2 to 3 minutes to charge up a NiCad (black lump) pack inside the boat which is sealed watertight. The charger even has a red LED that will go off when the mini-speedster's's battery is fully charged. One charge is good for an approx. 10 minute run. The two channel RC transmitter takes a 9V battery. The range is probably 30 feet. I had cut open the boat to see the insides and everything is really tiny. Thus there will be lots of room to transfer and install the unit into any 172 scale MTB (or even a 1350 ship including the Tamiya Fletcher.) I will leave the electronics, wiring and battery pack as they are mounted in the toy, cut off the unnecessary parts, and mount them as a package onto the plastic model (S-100). I will probably have to remove and remount the motors to fit the S-100 model's propeller shafts positions. As a bonus I have a stock of cellphone motors from another source*. I can envisage installing extra batteries for ballast and for longer running. [Correction - the charger contains circuitry so its not just a 4 cell battery pack. But a 1/350 Bismark should be able to accommodate the charger so that it can be left plugged to the NiCad. This allows for a longer run.] *(Canada - Princess Auto, $9.99 for a pack of 10 motors; or salvage them from discarded cell phones.) The two tiny motors, I think they are cellphone vibrator types, can run forward or reverse independently and therefore the boat will not need a rudder for making turns. This is great as I won't need a separate servo and the complexity of an installation for the rudders. My plan is to link the rudders with aft facing tillers. They will freely swivel on their rudder posts but will normally be self-centered by a pendulum. The rudders will stay straight on straight runs and swivel the rudder into a turn when the boat banks. That's the design concept anyway. Each kit comes complete with two boats, two transmitters and one charger. That works out to $10 to RC the S-boote and with minimal installation complications. [It shouldn't be too hard to hard to add two more motors for the four shaft Bismark.] For a three shaft MTB my design solution is to use an OR logic gate to switch ON the middle shaft. So long as either one of the left or right motor is on Fwd the middle shaft will run. Should both the side motors be OFF or in Rev. the middle motor won't run. The mini-speedster is a cheap toy and the motors burp frequently likely on account of "dirty" signals from the transmitter and inadequate receiver performance. The desirable performance will be for the Tx signal to turn ON and latch the motor until the next signal toggles it OFF. This can be done by using a flip flop logic chip. The flip flop turns on another logic switch that will carry current to the motor from a separate battery pack. I had ideas about using counters and registers to get more functions out of one channel but I think its best to keep things simple. With the motor latched on it will run at a constant speed and thereby eliminate the burps and do away with the need to keep the control button pressed down at all times. The ship will sail smoothly on its own until a control signal is received. The control will be imprecise and even sporadic but there will be some control. If the boat does go out of range it will continue cruising but will be relatively easy to catch up with. Motorizing the Revell 1/72 U-Boat There is a current thread on motorizing the Revell 1/72 U-Boat in that I had posted. Basically I propose taking the guts out of a Radio Shack RC submarine MAKO stock number 6004354. The MAKO has a pair of sealed motor pods that can be swivelled to dive or to surface. When the Tx is turned ON both motors rotate Fwd. There is no Rev. Pressing the left turn button stops the left motor leaving the right motor running and effect a left turn. Releasing the turn button lets the idled motor run again. There is no rudder. That's everything needed for a bare bones RC sub in one package. I took the MAKO apart. The Rx PCB, the pod servo and the battery pack (4 AA cells) are housed in a 2 inch diameter by 7 inch long cylinder. I'll have to find some end caps to seal off the cylinder ends. This cylinder will fit (tested dry fit) snugly inside the U-Boat. The widest part of the U-Boat deck (gun platform) is also 2 inches. Therefore it will not be easy to remove the cylinder without pulling on the plastic hull. But it will be easy enough to tilt the cylinder up to remove the battery pack. There will not be a need to butcher the scale fidelity of the model (I hope.) The cylinder will be backward facing to minimize the wire run to the motors. The sealed motor pods (aka watertight) will have to be mounted separately (and staggered) to align with the U-Boote's prop shafts. The space allows it to be done. The servo has a transverse axle to swivel the motor pods. My design idea is to attach a pair of articulated rectangular frames where the upper side is made of flotation material and the lower side of ballast material. Thus to trim it to dive (bow heavy) the ballast is swivelled fwd while the float is swivelled backwards. The forces (ballast + float) on the frame should be balanced enough for the servo to operate smoothly. With the cylinder installed backwards (see above para.) the servo rotation now matches the Tx controls. It makes use of the hardware that already comes with MAKO kit and it solves a very difficult problem of linking and modifying the model's dive planes for depth trim control. The scale dive planes would in any case be too small in area to be effective not to say of the necessity of having to remake them out of stronger materials. Anyway if I can get the U-Boat to move in the water's surface it will be good enough. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject Navy NewsStand - Eye on the Fleet http//www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=3736 Regards, John Kutina ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From "Dain Webster" Subject Scale 1/48 parts I'm looking for sources for 1/48 scale WWII ship parts, davits, 40's 20's, small boats, rafts, fire hoses, deck fittins etc. Also wanting to know locations that can cast from metal parts in plastics. Thanks (8D ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From Steve Singlar Subject Model shops in Nashville Any good hobby shops in the Nashville area? Thanks, Steve ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From "Naval Models" Subject CV 12 USS Hornet I might have asked it before but I lost some email. Which kit is better to build the CV 12 USS Hornet, The CV 9 USS Essex or the CV 10 USS Yorktown from Trumpeter? Michiel Woort ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From LHDockyard@aol.com Subject Re motorizing the bismarck We can provide all of the required items for this conversion. PLease feel free to contact us for further details. Don LOYALHANNA DOCKYARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From Greg Anderson Subject OzMod's web site update Hi! OzMod's web site has been updated to include the new 1/144 Grumman Panther kit (injection moulded) and the host of 1/144 aircraft weapons ranges (including the new 1/144 Modern Russian Weapons). Please check them out at www.ozmods-kits.com OZMODS SCALE MODELS Proprietor Greg Anderson Web Site www.ozmods-kits.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