Subject: SMML VOL 2946 Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 05:19:49 +1000 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 Re Yamato Decks 2 Hobby Shops in South Texas 3 Museum ships 4 Re Museum ships double duty?? 5 Re Those sub guys 6 FAA and carriers 7 Re USS Missouri -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 That Holman Projector ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Hank Lapa" Subject Re Yamato Decks According to "Requiem for Battleship Yamato" by Yoshida Mitsuru, ISBN 0-295-96216-X, wooden decks were painted black before departing on final mission. I know a guy who built the world's greatist plastic model of Yamato as she looked on that last mission, and didn't have the heart to correct him after he had duplicated every plank, one by one, with little strips of hinoki cypress. Have also read that there actually was fuel aboard for a round trip. This would have helped assure that the ship could've found a beach to carry on as would a shore battery, instead of wallowing around helpless at sea without fuel to maneuver. Just another tidbit. Hank ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From "Ed Grune" Subject Hobby Shops in South Texas Steve wrote >> I have plans to travel to Corpus Christie for the USS Enterprise (CV-6) reunion, Rita permitting. I plan to spend a day on the USS Texas (Yeah, I know a long drive) and USS Lexington. Can anyone recommend any good hobby shops in the area? << South Texas is pretty much a modeling wasteland. Hobby Island is pretty much the best in the Houston area. http//www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=hobby+island&near=Houston,+TX&sa=X&oi=locald&radius=0.0&latlng=29763056,-95363056,3415233525205672193 Work them into your trip to the Texas in Houston's Buffalo Bayou/Pasadena/ Otherwise, there is not much in the Corpus area. Depending on how you are traveling and your route, Village Hobbies in Austin may be the best ship-related hobby shop in Texas. The stock a lot of ISW, YMW, WEM, Don Pruel, as well as styrene by DML/Dragon, Revell, Tamiya, Hasegawa and others in the Japanese waterline consortium. http//www.google.com/local?q=village+hobbies&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&near=Austin,+TX&radius=0&latlng=30266944,-97742778,4362961822176499326 The owner, George Lewis died recently so call ahead to see if the store is open Ed Grune Mansfield, TX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From "Mark Krumrey" Subject Museum ships Two words why state or local governments won't and don't maintain these Museum ships, "Political Correctness". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From "Ed Grune" Subject Re Museum ships double duty?? Tom wrote >> Here in America, across the nation we have all these large battleships, A/C carriers, and other large ex-Navy museum ships scattered around in US ports-- They are kept up in good condition already by volunteers. A lot of the original radar and comm equipment is still in them and much of it works. They are hooked up to sewers, fresh water, telephones, electricity, and other utilities, and that could be enhanced considerably. Maybe it is time for the museum ships to start serving Reserve or double duty. << Many are already serving as emergency shelters already. The USS Alabama in Mobile served through several of last season's hurricanes and for Dennis and Katrina this season. Where the Alabama is docked the entire reach of the Mobile Bay is unobstructed so she took the full brunt of Katrina's storm surge and winds from the south. She was lifted by the surge and set back down on the now shifted mud bottom with a list. Since shore power was down I'm sure that the leaning, dark passages on board were not a pleasant experience. The people who rode out the storm were temporarily trapped when the bridge connecting the ship to the visitor's center was broken. Radar is not operational on most museum ships, and if it were it is not modern and optimized for weather predictions. Their organic communications are not sufficient to provide a modern command post. Additional infrastructure would need to be installed. While a battleship may have had a crew of 3000, putting 3000 people on such a ship would not be advised. The elderly & infirm could not handle the steeply inclined ladders - and unsupervised kids will get hurt (liability). Likewise the mess halls are not able to be used anymore - they are just for show. Water & sewage capacity may be sufficient for the few who typically tour the ship in a day, but would be infufficient to support 3000. You are not suggesting that the engines get fired up and the evaporators be brought on line are you? Sewage at sea on a WWII or earlier ship was a simple matter of pumping the sanitary tanks overboard. The Coast Guard would not approve of such actions in a port. Baytown, TX had a good plan for their priority city equipment that they deemed critical to getting their city back online after Rita. They had a couple of USNS Cape-class RO-ROs in port and they and they stored their fire engines, ambulances, power trucks, and other city vehicles on the ships. The ships were moored to the docks. Some civilians sheltered on the ships too. After the storm passed, the equipment was unloaded and was able to be pressed into immediate use. Perhaps providing some ready response RO-RO ships on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts during hurricane season should be examined. After the large evacuations of Katrina & Rita, there has been the suggestion that blocks of barracks in otherwise unused military bases (Ft Hood, Texas for example) be used. They would be able to provide the shelter space and mess hall resources better than sports venues which have been used recently. Ed Grune Mansfield, TX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From "DUANE A CURTIS" Subject Re Those sub guys We were known as "Bubble Heads" or "Squids". Even on the subs we had names for those that worked forward of the reactor and another for those aft. Forward of the reactor were known as "Coners" and aft were just plan old "Nukes". I hope that this helps some. Duane Curtis QM3/SS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From "Christopher & Kayo Amano-Langtree" Subject FAA and carriers I can remember taking part in the debates on SMML several years ago concerning the value of US and British carriers and which was the better type. So it is with a sense of nostalgia that I see the subject has come up again. The question of the FAA between the wars is a complex one and not easily determined. However, what can be stated is that in 1919 the Admiralty made a big mistake in giving up the FAA. They then spent 20 years trying to get it back. During this time it was neglected by both the air ministry and RAF who failed to understand the unique conditions that pertained to operating aircraft over oceans. This was to some extent only to be expected from an organisation that saw land strategic bombing as the be all and end all. By the time the Admiralty finally got the FAA back they had a lot of catching up to do with little knowledge of what was needed for a modern carrier force both in tactics and equipment and little time to do it in. The Admiralty was poorly prepared for the return and shares a great deal of the blame for the mess the FAA was in. However, it is not a cheap excuse to hold the RAF and the air ministry also responsible. They did neglect the FAA just as they neglected more up to date aviation theories and kept to their hidebound orthodoxies. The RAF at the begining of the war was sad to say the worst prepared of the services in high command, tactics and equipment. This was also reflected in the state of the FAA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From GORDONBUT@aol.com Subject Re USS Missouri May I thank the people who responded to my request for a source of drawings for USS Missouri. Thanks also to smml for putting it on line. Gordon Buttress Archvist SWA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "John Lambert" Subject That Holman Projector John Lambert Plans has recently returned to the fold after a three months gap. We moved our address. We have gained a new telephone number (01525 864862) and a new e-mail address. I HOPE to have my Web Site up and running in the near future. (He says)! I am back on my drawing board again, this time working on original detailed drawings for the Fairmile "D" combined MGB/MTB. I have two sheets in my Weapons lists that detail the Holman Projector. L/O/48/A & B (Sheet B covers my original Holman drawing). L/O/63 drawn later when I found the information contained in BR 267/41 and BR 1009/43 (The respective gunnery manuals) provide detail drawings of the Holman Mark IIA, IIS of 1941 and the later Mark III version, of 1943. I now have some 160 different weapons in that list and about 256 different warships of DD size and below in my warship lists. All I need are more hours in each day! Yours "Aye" John ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Reviews, Articles, Backissues, Member's models & Reference Pictures at http//smmlonline.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume