Subject: SMML VOL 2719 Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2005 00:53:25 +1100 The Ship Modelling Mailing List (SMML) is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http//sandlehobbies.com For infomation on how to Post to SMML and Unsubscribe from SMML http//smmlonline.com/aboutsmml/rules.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1 Marine Fahrprhm Kreigsmarine Landing Craft of WWII (MFP) F Lighters - Paints to Iraq - Thank you! 2 scale USN commissioning pennants 3 "Brazilian H" 4 Re Pennants and flags 5 Re Rigging 6 display case glass -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 Built 1/350 Gearing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Gary Mansfield" Subject Marine Fahrprhm Kreigsmarine Landing Craft of WWII (MFP) F Lighters - Paints to Iraq - Thank you! Hi to SMML members, I am trying to find out more information on these craft. I have seen the article in "Ships in Scale" magazine Sep/Oct 2004 issue by Whit Vye. I cannot get a copy of M J Whitleys book "German Coastal Forces of WWII" ( or I can at £100 SECOND-HAND)! I have found reference's to MAL's Marine Artillerie Leichter, a book "Plattbug-Kreuzer" (book in Sweden, written in German) and a card model by KMW2 of a MAL in Germany (but unable to E-Mail) them but a card model for sale on German E-Bay at 14 Euros. Can any body out there in SMML land help? Also, I have loads of humbrol small paint tins that I wish to send to the American modellers in Iraq, who to, how to pack etc, address from UK? (Yes I know it was on SMML not long ago, but a mistake with the finger wiped it off)! I known people are concerned at the moment with South Asia but please do not forget are own troops risking their lives every day, please do not forget them! (being a ex-soldier myself). And a big thankyou to you guys that sent the U-Boat and books to that guy, he must be well proud and happy (hope the sand keeps off the glue and paint)! Finally a big thank you to every one that has being helping me to conitinue modelling even though I have had a two-stem stroke and only the use of one left hand. Trying to continue with card ship models, but little problems hold me back like holding the card, ruler, cutting with a very sharp knife! Still it keeps you thinking... Thanks to Maarten Schonfeld and all his friends in The Netherlands David Hathaway of Papershipwright Models Christopher Cooke of Marcle Models Les Brown of the SIG small warships group Caroline & John and the WEM Team And all others that have helped me with books, card kits both to buy and sell A Safe and Happy New Year in 2005 to you all! GARY MANSFIELD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From "Reynaga, Tim@EDD" Subject scale USN commissioning pennants Franklyn, At a scale 2.5 inches by 6 feet, USN commissioning pennants are damn small in my preferred scales of 1/350 and 1/700. I have found a simple way to replicate them, though; take a 1/700 US flag decal and trim the top of it, taking away the top row of stars and the top (red) stripe. This makes a VERY small pennant with the correct six stars on blue and a red stripe. (At this scale I don't bother with the nine inch swallowtail!) I then paint the lower edge of the stripe white. These things are extremely small and delicate, so I never touch them directly, only handling them with tweezers and a dampened 000 paintbrush. When properly waved (I sandwich tinfoil between my decal-flags so they can be formed with a natural looking wave) I attach them to a tiny wire pigstick with a dab of white glue. The result? An almost completely invisible representation of an almost completely unknown detail! (I don't have the issue in front of me, but I think you can see the pennant on my 1/303 TANEY in the October 2003 Fine Scale Modeler.) Good luck with it! Tim Reynaga ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From "John Sutherland" Subject "Brazilian H" If these are the same photos that surfaced about 6-12 months ago (and I suspect they are - they are from the same place) there is another problem with identification as being ex-Brazilian Hs - namely the ex-Brazilian Hs were completed as ordered - that is with only 3 x 4.7in guns - no "Y" gun - the photos clearly show the Y gun ..... I believe you are looking at shots of the Arrow - hence the "non-standard" (for a H class) director. John Sutherland ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject Re Pennants and flags To Kelvin Mok One thing to pay attention to is the more or less common manner in which flags and pennants hang in still air. I like to display my models on keel blocks and cribbing, suggestive of being in a drydock. Thus flags would tend to be below the level of the ground and out of the breeze. They thus drape in an amazingly similar fashion. Notice this the next time you are outdoors on a quite day. All the flags will hang pretty much uniformly. You can determine the "drape pattern" by cutting a piece of simple unfinished cotton (a much used dish towel will do) to the ratios of a flag or of a pennant. Staple this to a dowel and hold it vertically and notice how the "flag" hangs. Wave it about and then hold it still again. It will again look much like it did before. Now use a Magic Marker and mark the folds. Lay the flag on a flat surface and you will have the "drape pattern" you can copy onto the thin paper you will be using for your model's flag. Fold the paper along these fold lines. The white edges can be colored with the sides of felt tip pens. The difference in thickness between the full size and the scale flags will be camouflaged by the draping. If your flag or pennant has a "swallow tail" and you are creating a double sided flag by using the fold-and-glue method described in a previous posting, cut the swallow tail, with a very sharp Xacto knife or single edged razor blade, after the glue has dried. Don't forget the halyard. If you want to have a flag that is indeed waving in the breeze, notice that a real flag rarely has the "ribbon candy" configuration sometimes seen on models. Rather, it is a capriciously random moving configuration, never the same. Details, details, details. Remember, details tend to make for perfection. Inspired elderly guile beats youthful exuberance every time. Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject Re Rigging To Mike The lines that are part of the rigging of a sailing vessel are quite different from a powered vessel. Lines (ropes) whose function is to keep the masts etc. in place and do not move (other than an occasional adjustment here and there) are known collectively as standing rigging and their lower ends are attached to the vessel by different semi permanent methods such as deadeyes, chain plates, etc. They are often tarred to prolong their working life, and therefore are black. On modern museum ships they are not tarred, but are made of black nylon or other suitable material. Lines whose function is to move (such as a halyard) or to control moving sails etc. are collectively known as running rigging, and are usually fastened to the vessel by wrapping them around a special large dowel, called a belaying pin, which is loose in a hole in a board, called a pinrail, along the inside of a ship's rail. Belay means to estop or fasten, in this case. Normally a few deft flips can unwrap a line so secured and it can move (run) through the blocks etc. Where speed is of the essence, the line can be freed by yanking the belaying pin out of its hole. This is a dangerous tactic, however, as the line is now free, big time. Running rigging cannot be tarred, for it must pass through blocks (pulleys). Tarring would gum up the blocks and thus jam the lines. Therefore it is a natural hemp (tan) color. Hollywood soon learned to portray belaying pins (and stevedore's bail hooks) as the weapons of choice in knock-down-drag-out fights. Unfettered belaying pins were readily at hand on board ships, and they could be used as clubs or as missiles. On a so called square-rigged sailing ship, each yard arm (spar to which the upper edge of the sail is attached) can be adjusted about a vertical axis, about a horizontal axis, and often raised or lowered. Therefore each spar can have four or more lines, all attached to belaying pins. There is a myriad of other lines. An apprentice seaman had to QUICKLY learn what each line was for, how to locate it immediately, and what to do with it. That's where the expression "Learning the ropes" came from. As you can imagine, square riggers were labor intensive. The order "All hands on deck" meant that everyone had to drop what they were doing, on watch or off (except the helmsman and the ship's cat), and hustle the lines to control the sails. With the typical three masts, each with four or more spars, and some men required aloft as well as on deck, it must have been a madhouse. Fore-and-aft schooner sails greatly reduced the crew needed. Naval vessels were worse, as not only was a full crew required for rapid handling of the sails, but another group had to serve the guns. Others had to stand by to step in when a working crewman was wounded or injured, clear away debris, etc. Add in the Marines who had little to do with the actual operation of the ship, and a Navy square-rigged ship carried a very large complement indeed. The pay was bad, the food was worse. No wonder sailormen went berserk when on shore leave. And yet most of them did return to the ship, one way or another. The Good Old Days? Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From abhijit@patwardhans.com Subject display case glass Hi I am trying to make a clear acrylic casing for my naval diorama. How should I decide on the height of the casing? It should offer an uniterrupted view of the model. Any help will be most welcome. Thanks abhi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "shaya novak" Subject Built 1/350 Gearing I have a customer in NY that needs a Gearing built to how it looks in the picture attached. Interested builders email us. thecaptain@erols.com The Captain at - Totalnavy.com www.totalnavy.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Reviews, Articles, Backissues, Member's models & Reference Pictures at http//smmlonline.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume