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 Damaged versus pristine 2 Re 172 plastic Models 3 Diorama Update! 4 Seacat 5 Re Japanese Warship Design 6 New user of an airbrush requests hints 7 172 Ship's boats 8 Horatio Nelson 9 Mortar Gunboats, and the Amphibious Employment of the 4.2-inch Mortar 10 Can anyone help with information please ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information 1 Small Warship Group -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 Sovremenny Name decals available ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From Jim Subject Re Damaged versus pristine Hi all! I thought I would weigh in here... Having actually built a model of a ship sinking, with swimmers attempting to escape their stricken vessel... it was a very thought provoking excercise; making a miniature depiction od someone elses misery... --all those poor sailors, so many of whom could have been rescued--there was after all an attendent vessel standing by the listing dreadnought, filming the loss of the ship as it occurred, yet the crew were not transferred, so that when the ship eventually did capsize, and rolled through to turn turtle, the crew were thrown into the waterwhilst others who had been on the 'high side' managed to run across the ships bottom, only to be cut to ribbons by the marine growth of limpets and shells before being rocked off into the water by the boiler explosions which caused the now upside down vessel to rock violently... The vessel is of course the Austro-Hungarian battleship Szent Istvan... whose loss in 1918 was fully been documented in an eerie black and white piec of footage... My model of which can be viewed here http//smmlonline.com/members/mainbrace/jim_baumann/svent_istvan.html War is a horrific, brutal , de-humanising and often senseless activety, where the individual is often merely a number whose lost life is often of little consequence in the big picture--- with none of the 'glory' that is often associated with the machines of war for the human operators thereof. Nevertheless I do not feel it wrong to model the scene of a tragedy, be it in war or peace--there are doubtlessly many models of Titanic slipping under the calm waters of the North Atlantic... As long as loss of life, however it be caused is not glorified or brutalised in its depiction in a model format, then I personally see no harm done-- it may well be educational in discouraging future generations to engage in war and other agressive and other destructive pastimes! Best to all JIM BAUMANN in a stunningly stormy UK! http//smmlonline.com/members/mainbrace/jim_baumann/svent_istvan.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From Bill Michaels Subject Re 172 plastic Models >> Are there any other 172 model warships as the Revell Flower class Snowberry (or similar) available by any manufacturer to build.I found the Snowberry a delight to build as the scale is easy to handle << Les, There are a number of models in 1/72 scale Revell's old PT-109, cna be made into a stunner with the White Ensign Models detail set. WEM also has guns, Mk13 torpedoes, etc. to convert the it to a later-war boat. Revell has a very nice German S-100 torpedo boat. Revell has a Vosper MTB. Revell's Type VII U-boat is a perfect adversary for your Corvette. Airfix has a Vosper 73 foor MTB. Airfix has a 63 foot RAF REscue Lauinch. Airfix makes has a smaller German E-boat. Revell has announced a US Gato-class sub- due out in fall of 2006. This will be a big model, over 50 inches long. Trumpeter has a very nice LCM(3). (You can check out my build article on modeling madness at http//modelingmadness.com/reviews/misc/ships/michaels72lcm.htm ) Airfix has a nice little 1/72 scale LCVP. (I did an in-box review on this one http//modelingmadness.com/reviews/misc/ships/previews/michaelslcvppreview.htm ) Lindberg has Diesel Tug in 1/77 or so scale. Tamiya has a modern Japanese Torpedo Boat, in both motorized and disply versions. (A Chinese company has a crappy copy of the kit out as well.) There are also some sailing ships in 1/72 (or close to it) Heller (and Revell, too?) has all three of Columbus' ships (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria) in 1/75. Heller has a single masted french cutter in 1/75. Airfix has the Golden Hind- Sir Francis Drake's ship. Zvezda has recently released a Hansa Cog (14th - 15th centrury merchant ship), a ROman Emporer's Ship, and a Roman Trireme. I'm sure there's a bunch more I've overlooked.. Bill ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From "Dr. Kerry Jang" Subject Diorama Update! Hello Listees, At long last, some details about my large scale diorama, entitled 1778 depicting the encounter between the British cutter ALERT and the French lugger COUREUR has been posted on-line. Some new pictures and a description of how I built the thing (it measures 20" by 48"). It can be seen at http//www.nutsnbits.com/kerry_1778.htm As always, comments, good and bad are appreciated. Thanks to Daniel Munoz for putting this up on his excellent website. Best, Kerry ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From Subject Seacat I am getting confused by differing articles on the Seacat missile system and would appreciate if anyone can clarify some of the history. The launchers remain virtually identical but the Directors are giving me a headache. GWS-20 was the original concept, a straight Bofors replacement with what was probably the worst designed director ever, it had to be swung onto target by hand and the Operator then endeavoured to both track the target and steer the missile. GWS-24 was the variant used on the 21 Frigate with an Italian radar and had no manual control. GWS-21 and GWS-22 however are just plain confusing. For a kick off they use the MRS3 gun director body, but there were two MRS3 bodies, an open hood and a closed glass hood. This can best be seen on pre-conversion pics of the Tiger, Blake and Lion, the two forward MRS3 are open hood and the two midships and one aft are closed hood (why?) The Tribals as built also had the open hood type MRS3, later replaced with closed hoods. Early Leander fits of Seacat, use the open hood MRS3 director, the radar is listed as 904 instead of 903 but outwardly identical. Later fits (and post mid-life refits) of Leanders have the closed hood type. Most articles say that GWS-22 used the 903, not the 904 radar, no way to tell that I can see. Now memory kicks in to really confuse the issue, I thought the only difference between the two was that the addition of a video camera made it GWS-22, providing the ability (rarely used) of what was called "Auto-Auto" fire mode where the radar tracked the target and the video guided the missile. (As opposed to "Auto-Manual" on GWS-21 where the radar kept the director locked on and the Gunner steered the missile by joystick). I thought the type of director body (Mod 0 and Mod 1 keeps springing to mind) was purely incidental. But in the SMML archives there is a posting which says that the GWS-21 and GWS-22 are easily identified because they are different types of director (open and closed MRS3?). Anyone shed any light? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From George Levine Subject Re Japanese Warship Design From David Wells >> I'd guess metric. Most of Japan's equipment was metric. Japan officially adopted the metric system around 1920-21, though the conversion was not instantaneous. On their battleships, which also showed some British influence, their home built 16" and 18" guns were actually metric. (41 cm & 46 cm) << The discussion on whether the designs were metric or English misses the point. After all, these are just arbitrary marks on a stick of metal. You can measure either way and make things any size you want. Discussers should be aware that Japanese metric STANDARDS were different from European metric standards. George Levine Edgewater Florida USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From potter4@att.net Subject New user of an airbrush requests hints Has anyone guidance for the first use of an airbrush? The instruction sheet presumes more knowledge than I have. It shows that one can paint people with this device. I.e., a person is the canvas. This could be a nurturing activity with my grandkid sometime. Her mom may have a cow but what else are grandparents for. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From "Chris Drage" Subject 172 Ship's boats HI Guys and Giggles, I am trying to source a 172 ship's lifeboat (merchant navy WWII pattern) in whatever media is available. Does any recipient of the list know of such an item and the details of precurment...??? OR If you have a 'near enough' lookalike in that scale you are prepared to sell please contact me on chris@dage.co.uk Cheers. Keep up the great work Shorna and Lane! Regards Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo kupu kaore e taea te karo (Te reo Maori) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From George Colleen Hargreaves Subject Horatio Nelson Hi, My wife is reading Terry Coleman's 'Nelson' and feels the author portrays Nelson as a bit of a whiner. She would like to read a book with a different point of view. Do any of you have a favourite book on Nelson? Cheers, George Hargreaves Calgary AB ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From "Harold Stockton" Subject Mortar Gunboats, and the Amphibious Employment of the 4.2-inch Mortar And for something that I had never heard of before, one might find also interesting was the use of Mortar Gunboats, and the Amphibious Employment of the 4.2-inch Mortar during WW-II at http//www.4point2.org/gunboats.htm . This an absolute fascinating read about how the US developed the use of these mortors onboard LCIs (Landing Craft Infantry) and LCTs (Landing Craft Tank). Mortars could not be placed directly on the bottom of landing craft since there was no way to keep the recoil from kicking mortars backward when the piece was fired. In addition, the terrific pounding might damage the bottom of the vessel. Technicians rigged an oblong wooden frame, filled with a mixture of sand and sawdust, on the floor of the craft. A thick slab of wood (several sheets of plywood) grooved to take the bottom Y-spade of the baseplate, sat on top of the sand-sawdust filling. In a remarkable case of CWS-Navy cooperation, the kind which typified the activities of Colonel Unmacht on Oahu, there emerged a new type of craft, one armed with 4.2-inch mortars. It was not born without difficulty. The Navy provided three LCTs (Landing Craft Tank) for the project and later several LCIs (Landing Craft Infantry). The latter, dubbed LCI(M), were to become the standard mortar-landing craft. The first, and perhaps one not given adequate attention in later studies, was the Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel (LCVP, Higgins boat). Capable of landing 36 troops and their equipment or 12 men and a Jeep, the LCVP was ideal for use with one 4.2-inch mortar and the mortar squad. Mortar boat combat operations discussed in the references focus on the critical task of supporting assault forces in initially gaining and holding a beachhead, correctly emphasizing the use of LCI(M)s. But situations like that on Bougainville presented many opportunities where a platoon of 4.2-inch mortars, operating from four LCVPs with one squad in each, could render very effective support after the beachhead had been established. On Bougainville in March 1944 the beachhead was secure and its only reason for existence was to secure three airfields, primarily for strikes against the Japanese bastion of Rabaul in New Britain to the north. It took the Japanese from December 1943 to March 1944 to realize we didn't want the whole island. With the 4-boat LCVP mortar fleet, we could range up and down the beach on either side of the perimeter. Training exercises involved firing HE and WP into areas up to 4,500 yards from the beach. Other craft they trained on included the Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) small, about 45' in length with a ramp for loading/unloading wheeled or tracked vehicles. Our local Seabees operated a sawmill and were able to produce the firing platforms described in previous sections. There was no shortage of lumber, especially after XIV Corps Engineers cleared several acres for a huge ration dump. The major difficulty was breaking saw blades on all the shrapnel embedded in the tree trunks. Mounting four mortars, two in the well deck and one on each side of the wheel on the upper rear deck, worked well as long as we fired salvoes. Firing a volley of four guns while running toward the beach was like putting on the brakes. Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid, in command of the Lingayen landings, was especially pleased with the work of the mortar boats, reporting that they were more effective for beach neutralization than were escort carrier-based planes. The effectiveness of the mortars in this support is best reflected in the steady increase in the number of mortar boats committed to Pacific assault operations. Only four LCI(M)s saw action in the Palau fighting in September 1944. Seven months later a total of sixty supported Tenth Army operations in the Ryukyus. Some of the various subjects in this read are 1942 - Developing doctrine and experimenting July 1943 - Sicily Spring 1944 - Saipan, Marianas Group - aborted operation 21 June 1944 - Bougainville, first successful amphibious combat operation August 1944 - Training in Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands 15 September 1944 - Peleliu, Palau Islands first LCI(M) combat use 20 October 1944 - Leyte, Philippine Islands 9 January 1945 - Luzon, Philippine Islands 19 February 1945 - Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, northwest Pacific basin 1 April 1945 - Okinawa, the Ryukyus Islands, northwest Pacific basin I think you all will find these articles a most welcome diversion from the norm. Harold Stockton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From "John Lambert" Subject Can anyone help with information please Hi All For a change from other things I have purchased a set of original "AS Fitted" shipbuilders drawing for HMTBD Telemacus as built in the Great War. (1914-18). I have started to redraw these, and as usual the originals are well up to the expected standard of draughtsmen of that period. Unfortunately there are no publications in my library of background information to her. She was An Admiralty "R" Class of the 8th group of wartime orders for almost identical torpedo Boat Destroyers, but I cannot find any further detail than she was launched 21/4/1917 (In Edgar J March's publication "British Destroyers" - my well thumbed copy). I have her dimensions, armament, speed etc, but lack details of her building dates, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From brownatfareham@surefish.co.uk Subject Small Warship Group The website of the IPMS(UK) Small Warship Special Interest Group (www.smallwarshipgroup.org.uk) was updated on the 2nd December 2005. This group is interested in modelling any warship of any nation and of any period smaller in size than a cruiser. If you are interested, do pay a visit. Regards Les Brown ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Tim Perry" Subject Sovremenny Name decals available As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I had some Sovremenny name decals in the pipeline. These are now ready and can be purchased via my eBay shop at http//stores.ebay.co.uk/kipperboxes . Price is £2.92 or $5.00 a name set, which includes two names plus a spare. Price includes postage worldwide. Scales available are 1200 or 1350, and they are available in white, gold (yes, gold!) or red and white. Names available so far are SOVREMENNY, OTCHYANNY, OTLICHNNY, OSMOTRITELNY, BEZUPRECHNY, BOYEVOY, STOYKY, OKRYLENNY, BURNY, GREMYASHCHY, BYSTRY, RASTOROPNY, BEZBOYAZNENNY, BEZUDERZHNY, BESPOKOINY, NASTOYCHIVY, BESSTRASHNY and VAZHNY. If anyone wants some but doesn't like Paypal, drop me a line directly and we can sort something out.e-mail is tim@tjpgraphics.com . I am open to suggestions for additions to the range, but I hope these will be useful to some fellow Sovremenny fans! Though I shouldn't blow my own trumpet, these look a WHOLE lot better than the 'Arial'font style decals included in the kits! Tim Perry wunwinglow www.tjpgraphics.com for digital aviation modelling www.kipperboxes.co.uk for 1200 Warship models www.cardmodels.net for the best paper and card website on the net www.bammo.org.uk for IAM motorcycle training in the Bristol area ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Reviews, Articles, Backissues, Member's models & Reference Pictures at http//smmlonline.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume