Subject: SMML VOL 3041 Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 02:31:23 +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 Re Renwal Polaris kits 2 Re Need help 3 Re Renwal Polaris kits 4 Re Deck Planks on USN BB's 5 HMS AJAX & Battle of Crete 6 KGV and Tarrant 7 Regulus missile discussion and lost nuclear weapons 8 Re Location, Location, Location 9 Vac former... a big thank you ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From David Wells Subject Re Renwal Polaris kits Ives100@aol.com wrote >> External only upgrades.....OK, then to achieve improved accuracy, we will unfortunately need a new hull, too. The Renwal bow shape from the sail forward is wrong for the Polaris boats. It is too broad on the beam and tapers too abruptly. Probably this was to accomodate the interior pieces in the Renwal kit, and may also reflect the fact that the molds for these kits are early 1960's "guestimates" of the true shape of the Polaris boats. The gradual taper of the forward hull can be seen (along with what I believe may be Rick's sonar installation near the bow) in the third photo down on Don Murphy's outstanding Casimir Pulaski SSBN page http//www.usscasimirpulaski.com/anatomy2refit.htm You can also see photos of the highly accurate Ralph Ratcliffe 1/700 resin kit andthe Yankee Modelworks 1/350 resin kit of Polaris SSBN models which I supplied to Don http//www.usscasimirpulaski.com/modelingthepulaski.htm << But this seems to me to be an apples-to-oranges comparison. The Pulaski was a Lafayette class (425') and the Ratcliffe kit and YMW Simon Bolivar kit are meant to portray that class. The Renwal kit, despite often being sold as the Andrew Jackson, represents an Ethan Allen class (410') sub. I don't know if the difference in the taper of the forward hull is due to the different lengths or not. The few drawings I have of the EA class are inadequate. IIRC, even Ken Hart's article on the Renwal 608 sub kit assumed that it was the Andrew Jackson. (I went looking for it, but I have mis-filed it somewhere) Until someone shows me a reliable diagram of an Ethan Allen, I don't think I can state that Renwal got it wrong. David R. Wells ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From "Borlase, George A." Subject Re Need help Hi Keith, I also built the Dumas kit, and I used the M.A.C.K. products for the boat. Everything fits well and the boat runs well, but I looked at their website (www.mackproductsrc.com) and it is expensive (item #410CE, it wasn’t that much a couple years ago!). The owner was also very helpful. If you can get it without the speed control, I have the 4400 resistance speed control I can send you. I spent ten years on active duty in the Coast Guard, on the Marine Safety side, and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Are you building the 41 while underway on the Midgett? I worked on the 41’ while on the Sweetgum (a 180’ buoytender), and got tons of supplies and help from the DCs and EMs. Semper Paratus! George Borlase ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From ives100@aol.com Subject Re Renwal Polaris kits >> Earth to Tom, Earth to Tom...now you're going off the deep end the other way, buddy; I am not going to be producing - ever - any 1/200 scale castings of an entire Polaris class hull! (LOL) What I'm looking for are DO-ABLE ways of fixing up all you guys who want to build the old Renwal mold (despite its major flaws). You all know you want to build it anyway - and there are a LOT of you! LOL (Including me.) So I will definitely consider the sonar domes - I understand there were several - as well as the other external details we've been discussing. Including now the kit nose cone, which I will take a serious look at... << Matty, Never was under any illusion that you were going to do a full hull of the Renwal kit (Actually, believe it or not, it's alrready been done in 1/192 scale resin-by Tom's Modelworks back about 7-8 years ago. Short-lived kit of, IIRC, the Ethan Allen). Also wasn't advocating that you produce a new interior either....that would be another land war to get that even approximately right. I am looking forward to your propellers! I wish it would be as easy as just retapering the nose cone piece, but you would probably have to chop off most of the bow forward of the sail to reshape it properly. That's probably beyond what you would want to do with your planned upgrades. Tom Dougherty ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From SCALSHPYRD@aol.com Subject Re Deck Planks on USN BB's The Decks were planked with Teak, 6" wide on the main deck. The Iowa's had 6" wide by 2 1/2" thick planking from just in front of the capstans back to where the supestructure angles inboard just forward of turret #3, at this point there is a margin plank running transversely that seperates whee the planks are 5" wide. I will have to do some further research into why they changed the plank width here. The Planks were 5" wide on the superstructure decks. Margin planks would vary in width depending on the required application. I am replanking the deck of my 196 scale USS New Jersey BB-62 using the decking drawings as a guide. The Arizona and California both had 6" wide planks I have copies of the decking drawings for the North Carolina and she had 6" wide planks as well. I never found any mention of ships having their deck replanked with differant width planks. There are places where planks were replaced with a 1" thick teak plank laminated on a 1 1/2" thick piece of Douglas Fir, this was a cost cutting measure that was not repeated during the 1980's on the reactivated BB's. There was an unfortunate decision at LBNSY to replace any planking that required it with only Douglas Fir on the New Jersey due to a belief that Teak was not available in the quantities required, this was not repeated on the other 3 ships. This decision was later regretted as Douglas Fir does not hold up to the rigors of service and swells too much when it gets wet. W.L. Upshaw The Scale Shipyard Largest Selection of fiberglass Model Ship Hulls Availible Now Accepting PayPal scaleshipyard.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From Sell4853@aol.com Subject HMS AJAX & Battle of Crete Dear SMML-iers Re HMS AJAX (WWll) During the battle of Crete 21/22 May 1941 Royal Navy cruiser HMS AJAX took part. Is there anyone out there who would know if at the time of this event wether AJAX still had the crane and seaplane fitted or was this removed after during modifications/refit etc. Also is there anywhere that shows what dazzle paint scheme (including colour scheme) the ship was wearing (port and starboard) at the time. Many thanks and Happy New Year to All Norman Sells Tenterden Kent. U.K. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From "John Mills" Subject KGV and Tarrant Does anyone know the whereabouts of Tarrant's book on the King George V class battleships? John Mills Canberra Australia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From "Paul Giltz" Subject Regulus missile discussion and lost nuclear weapons Understandably, governments are reluctant to publicize the fact that they lose nuclear weapons or drop them accidentally.Its a very old version of "Don't ask, Don't tell". I will make an effort to come up with the proper published reference. In the matter of the Regulus flying to South America there are a few things to consider. As I recall they only think that it ended up in Venezuela. Telemetry was not all that good back then.The chase planes lacked the range to follow it all the way to South America but they had a general direction and time of flight.There was some speculation it might have made it to Brazil. Radar didn't extend that far, and the Venezuelans didn't have any "Texas Towers" to warn them of incoming Bear bombers. I am sure they looked for it, but the missile isn't much bigger than a private plane and we still have problems finding private planes that crash in the jungle. What would you tell the Venezuelans back then? Probably something like "one of our planes and pilot are missing after mechanical problems and we need to go look for them...did you see anything?" It would make an interesting Tom Clancy plot, updated to today- " 2006,Not-So-Friendly Venezuelan leader discovers a small nuclear warhead in his jungle and has to decide what to do with it.Blackmail? Sell it to a third Party? Use the contents to treat adorable child leukemia victims?...Hard choices" There are a surprisingly/ disturbingly large number of nuclear incidents, some involving ships. How many of you out there know that an A4 Skyhawk with a nuclear payload rolled off the deck of an American carrier and was lost off the coast of Vietnam/China during the Gulf of Tonkin crisis? (another possible Tom Clancy book) My personal favorite involved a B-36 bomber that lost a VERY large H-bomb when the plane encountered rough air turbulence while preparing to land in New Mexico after a mission. The armament chief was on a catwalk going through the procedures to secure the bomb for landing.This involved placing large steel bolts through various plates and fittings. He was stretched out to place one of these pins when rough air caused the bomb to drop through the closed bomb-bay doors.If you have ever been to the Airforce Museum in Dayton,Ohio you will know how large this weapon was,an example is displayed under the B-36 there. The pilot reported an amazing increase in rate of climb, realized what had happened and went to full throttle to put some distance between himself and the falling bomb.The armament chief managed to hold onto the plane, avoiding a memorable scene from the movie "Dr Strangelove". The bomb was not armed, but several of the explosive igniters when off on impact and scattered the bomb's contents, messy cleanup .If it had gone off it was close enough to have destroyed the capital of New Mexico. ( I can spell "Regulus", but not "Albuquerque"). As a contest, "What was the first thought that went through the mind of the pilot or armament chief when the bomb went through the bomb-bay doors"? ( Franklyn, I know that you are up for this...) Contest entries should probably be sent off-line.... Paul Giltz, Toledo Ohio ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From "Mark Doremus" Subject Re Location, Location, Location Shirley, Be careful, your sarcasm may be showing. I agree that you have to want to see the Hornet to find it. If not for the services of a SMML’ie in the Bay area (thanks Duane!), I might not have ever found it. North Carolina and Yorktown have mild advantages as they are destinations, you decide well in advance that you are going to see them. They’re not the kind of “what do we do this afternoon?” activities like Pompanito and Jeremiah O’Brien. As to the Location question in general. There is probably some huckster right this minute trying to convince the Ames, IA. City Council that they should invest in his great idea to get the federal government to spend zillions of dollars cutting the Iowa up into small parts and floating her up the Mississippi to Iowa and re-constructing her there. Buyer beware! A better guideline might be the experience of the Alabama folks. For years, till the mid 80’s at least, she was alongside the main link across Mobile Bay to Florida. It wasn’t hard to get there off of the highway and spend a few hours taking a break in the middle of a long drive. Now it’s a mile or more off of the new interstate bridge / tunnel. How are they doing? Mark Doremus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From "Stephen Bolton" Subject Vac former... a big thank you Hi everyone, Happy New Year to you all. Just got back home and want to say thank you to every one who replied to my plea. Once I've had chance to settle back in I will look through the emails and source one out. There seems to be a suprising number out there so hopefully I can find a suitable one soon. Thanks again. Steve ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Reviews, Articles, Backissues, Member's models & Reference Pictures at http//smmlonline.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume