Subject: SMML18/09/99VOL672 Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 02:34:54 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: New French review 2: CAM Ship info 3: New Multi-Million $$$ Pearl Harbor Movie 4: Re: Anatomy Fuso scales 5: COMMANDER TUG 6: Block of plastic 7: PERRY HANGARS 8: ANATOMY LESSON 9: Fotoetch question & stuff 10: Re: HMS ONSLOW and SEMTEX 11: Re: Hurricane Flloyd 12: Onslow 13: Yamatoholics Grail 14: IJN Nagato 15: AA Gun Location, U47 (Type VIIB) 16: Re: Drilling portholes 17: Re: Classic Warship guns 18: Re: Onslow 19: Re: Taiyo Maru & the Tatsuta Maru 20: Huricane Floyd & USS North Carolina 21: Re: 1/400 Bofors Gun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Wanted: Aurora USS Hartford. 2: Re: Semtex -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "larsenal" Subject: New French review I've just got the information about a new French magazine that is due to appear in early November. As far as I know it will be published on a quarterly basis by the team that already publish such titles as : Avions, Jets, Batailles Aériennes. ( Planes, Jets, Air battles ) Contents of the first issue is: The carrier Charles de Gaulle and future aircraft carriers. The U-boot Type IXB at war and their service in the postwar French Navy. The Yalu battle ( 17 September 1894 ) The trio: Titanic, Britannic and Olympic The warships of the industrial revolution The Dutch Navy at the WW2 outbreak The Battleship Vittorio Venetto and her sisters and 10 pages about ship modeling. It seems that the magazine will be fully illutrated with never seen before photographs! As soon as I have more information I'll send a posting about this promising magazine. Best regards, Jacques Druel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Fernando, Yohan" Subject: CAM Ship info Hello, I just received my CAM ship kit from White Ensign (thanks Caroline!) and was looking for some info on these ships and have come up pretty dry besides very general info. What I really am looking for are names of ships as well as photos. Were any of these ships painted in camoflage? Or just grey like most mercantmen.? Did the Hurricane fighter have any special markings? Could anyone point me to some info on these interesting ships? I am really excited to start this one, but don't have enough info to get going. Thanks alot. Yohan Fernando -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: "Steven P. Allen" Subject: New Multi-Million $$$ Pearl Harbor Movie FYI: This could be the biggest Hollywood Ship Model Extravaganza in years. >>REPORT: DISNEY FILM TO COST MORE THAN TITANIC The Walt Disney Co. is planning to produce the most expensive movie ever made -- about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, a British newspaper reported today (Thursday). The London Daily Express said that the unnamed film is budgeted at $225 million and will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, who teamed on Disney's Armageddon. It is likely to star Gene Hackman in the role of President Franklin Roosevelt and Gwyneth Paltrow in an undescribed role. The Express quoted a source close to Bruckheimer as saying, "The aim is to make the most spectacular and realistic war film ever seen. Bruckheimer's vision is almost megalomanic in its scope. ... We want to top Titanic in the jaw-dropping stakes. A huge tank, similar to the hydraulic technology used in Titanic, is being built to accommodate the sinking of the USS Oklahoma." The Express said that the U.S. military has agreed to provide access to its bases in Hawaii for the film and that veterans of the original action will be employed as technical advisors. << -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Anatomy Fuso scales For those of you who are having trouble reproducing the AOTS Fuso drawings this may help. Find a piece of the ship that you KNOW how high, wide or deep it is. I often refer to the stanchions. As far as I know they are 42" high on most ships. Then have the drawings blown up or shot down to the scale desired until the part matches the dimension you are using. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Dave Baker Subject: COMMANDER TUG For those building the Commander kit of the "U.S.S. BROOKLYN Tug," be warned that there never was a USN tug by that name and that the kit does not represent any tug used by the USN. It's a nice, simple kit of a commercial harbor tug, but it's not accurate for any specific naval unit. A.D. Baker, III -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Block of plastic Hi Shane My plans of Onslow don't show this block of plastic neither do my photos of the other members of the class. I'm going to remove it when I get round to doing Oribi and Offa (they didn't have anything like that either). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Dave Baker Subject: PERRY HANGARS Both long and short-hull OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class FFGs have two separate hangars, separated by various ventilation shafts, passageways, and other service spaces. On the long hulls, the RAST deck traversing gear serves both hangars. The ships were originally intended to be able to carry two helicopters each, but other than in some early trials, they never do, because the USN never bought enough either of the SH-2F LAMPS-I conversions used on the short hulls or the SH-60B LAMPS-III helos used on the long-hulls to be able to provide two per ship. More importantly, although in theory two could be carried, it would cause significant crowding to carry the extra personnel and would be rather difficult to sortie more than one at a time anyway. The few short hulls still in commission, all in the Naval Reserve Force, can carry the roughly one dozen SH-2Gs still in service with a Naval Reserve squadron on the West Coast, but the helos are to be retired shortly, even though the last of them was only completed (new) around 1996. Many of the PERRYs transferred abroad (and all have been of the short-hull variety and without towed linear hydrophone arrays) still do not have helicopters assigned; Taiwan, which builds its own version of the PERRY, has just ordered (2 Sept) another 11 S-70C(M)-1 versions of the SH-60 so that there will be enough helos for their PERRYs and their six LA FAYETTE-class frigates--a total of 20 S-70C(M)-1s should be available to the ROCN by mid-2000. Dave Baker -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Dave Baker Subject: ANATOMY LESSON Alas, the Anatomy of the Ship book about the FUSO is unlikely to be reprinted with corrections. The errors were by the publisher, not the author, who was poorly served (as, alas, are most authors not named Tom Clancy, but that's another story/lament). Perhaps heavenly retribution has had its way, however, as Conway Maritime Press is no more. Their backlist has been bought up by another publisher, but I'm told that publisher will not be issuing new naval books in the Anatomy or others of Conway's fine series, for quite some time, if ever. No more Putnam aviation books, either. What a shame! If only people would buy more books, or get their local libraries to do so (where I live, public libraries have just about abandoned books altogether, or so it seems when one is toured), then publishers, even inefficient ones, would not keep disappearing. Gloom. Best/Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: TechnoInfidel@webtv.net (John Collins) Subject: Fotoetch question & stuff Greetings SMMLmates: I am having a recuring problem with fotoetch parts. No matter how or with what I prime or paint them, when it comes time to use them, the paint flakes off. I assemble all parts requiring it before painting, but all I have to do is touch them with tweezers and the paint jumps off. Any suggestions? I rather like a lot of the off-topic stuff. It may not provide hard data about kits, books, history and model building, but it does add personality and life to the list. There are about 15 to 20 people on the list that I know personally, but I've come to recognize many others by what and how they write. Many of us are a world apart from each other, yet we have this electronic forum where we can come together, learn from each other and laugh with each other. If something on the list doesn't interest one, it may interest another. Besides, one can never tell where the next piece of knowledge is luring--in the data or in the trivia. John Collins Alpharetta, GA where summer has finally lost its grip on us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Caroline Carter" Subject: Re: HMS ONSLOW and SEMTEX Hallo Shane and SMMLlies, >> First off, the only paint plan I have for the deck, is the White Ensign Tribal profile, which I would assume to be fairly correct for Onslow as well. Any comments?? << We think that they are basically the same pattern. >> Secondly, semtex! I've been told that the latest thinking is that it's a medium dark grey colour, instead of the medium dark green that has been bandied about - most notably in Alan Raven's 1996/7 PSM articles on ship camouflage & on SMML. << Following Mr Raven's article in PSM 97/1, declaring Semtex to be green, I queried this in a letter, as Norman Ough, on his earlier plan work, gave the colour of Semtex as chocolate brown. The letter was printed in PSM 97/2 and elicited a reply from St. Alan, in which he gave the colour to be medium dark-grey. After reading the reply, I vowed never to wash my eyeballs again. >> Afer I clean up the pieces a bit more. Oh, & can anyone confirm that the lovely block of plastic on the bridge(part A4) needs to go. My sources tell me that it's a mistake on the original mould. << Agreed. They seem to have taken a framework awning cover as being the height of the wooden grating on the floor of the bridge. Patently wrong! All My Best Dave Carter White Ensign Models As a quick aside, and at risk of straying off topic, could I just extend my thanks and gratitude to everyone who sent their good wishes following my recent diving accident. Hi Dave, First, it's great to see you back on the road to recovery. Also, if the grey is the right colour for Semtex, can anyone please supply a ref in Humbrol colours?? Regards, Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Mike Settle Subject: Re: Hurricane Flloyd >> A special hello & well wishes to the American SMMLies caught up in Hurricane Flloyd. Keep safe & well. Shane & Lorna << Thanks for the concern. Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where I live, is virtually under water. Major flooding has shut down most roads and highways east of Interstate 95 in North Carolina. Rocky Mount is a little over a hundred miles from the coast. Luckily, where I live, the flooding has not affected us, other than the fact that I can not go much more than a mile or so in any direction from the house. Massive rescue and evacuation efforts have been taking place for thousands stranded by the flooding. Many dams in the area have ruptured, and the Tar River is not expected to crest until sometime tomorrow. Marine helicopters have been dropping men down on tops of vehicles in the water looking for people in the vehicles. Yesterday evening, a Marine helicopter rescued a trucker from the roof of his 18 wheeler about a mile from where I live. For anyone interested, some video, including the rescue of the trucker, can be viewed at: http://www.wral-tv.com/homepage-high.shtml Surprisingly, I have electricity again after 27 hours. This is probably due to the fact that I live near the hospital. Even after the water goes down, many bridges and large sections of road in many places have been washed away. Due to the grace of God, my family and I are no more than inconvenienced. Many are not so lucky. To get onto a modeling thread, because I wasn't able to work today, I did take my model of the Smit Rotterdam that I had recently finished outside and shoot some photos of it. Now, when the mail finally starts running again, I will send them off to be developed. Best wishes to all. Mike Settle I am not agent #1908 of the non-existent Lumber Cartel (tinlc)tm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "Chris Drage" Subject: Onslow Hi Shane, Just a few pointers re Onslow. The Tamiya/Skywaves kit is only applicable to Onslow and Pakenham the two leaders. Don't begin to build it without Nat Richards' article. Do you have that one? There are too many omissions and inaccuracies in the basic kit and you need to do a bit of filing and have the spares box handy for a few additions. As regards Cemtex I wouldn't bother trying to get the colour absolutlely right. If it early war time then a grey-green is the best match - although J.S's paint chips show it to be an off-white!! It wouldn't have stayed like that for long and would almost certainly be painted over I would say when the ship was repainted. Do Onslow in her '42 camo. That's when she returned from the barents Sea action and gained fame. It's a good scheme. If you need any scanned pix let me know. I also have a photo of the model in the IWM showing her in an earlier Admiralty Dark camo scheme. Regards, Chris He tao rakau e taea te karo, tena he tao kupa kaore e taea te karo......(Te Reo Maori) Hi Chris, Thanks, I do have both of Nats articles. Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Dave Swindell Subject: Yamatoholics Grail >> The first is titled "All about super-battleship YAMATO." At least that is the English portion that I can read. It is over 500 pages long, hard bound with a box cover and mostly filled with color photos of the original blueprints of the Yamato. OK, you've got the Yamato junkies dying for a fix, now where's the man? << Could you give more info please Duane for those who want to track this down, such as Author, Publisher and ISBN. Ditto for the Gakken book. Anyone on list got any recommendations for bookshops on or offline selling Japanese books? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Peter Mispelkamp" Subject: IJN Nagato Hope this helps, according to my battleworn copy of S. Breyer's Battleships and Battlecruisers, the Nagato had 1 rudder, and four props. Peter K. H. Mispelkamp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: Alan Simon Subject: AA Gun Location, U47 (Type VIIB) Modeling Revell Germany 1/125 U99 as U47 at Scapa Flow (10/14/39). After considerable research on Type VIIBs, have found 2 cm gun mounted in "Wintergarten" atop after part of conning tower or on main deck well aft of conning tower. Anybody know where 2 cm gun was mounted on U47? Thanks. Alan Simon Atlanta, Ga. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Dbrown303@aol.com Subject: Re: Drilling portholes Try using a drill bid to drill the hole, then use a small brass photo etched ring from Photocut (or some other manufacture). The effect looks great after primer and paint (more 3-d than just drilling and painting). Derek -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: Classic Warship guns Just to clarify Rusty White's post regarding the gun mounts on the SALEM, he meant to write that the guns are twin 3"/50s, NOT twin 50s (which actually would be twin .50s anyway). John Snyder -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: "George J. Stein" Subject: Re: Onslow In re the HMS Onslow -- named after the brother-in-law of Hyacinth Bucket {pronounced bouquet}. The block of plastic on part A-4 is not plastic but plastique - aka "semtex" - the Czech explosive favored by the IRA, etc. Used to blow a hole in the bridge next to the ship's safe containing the code books. Who says the list doesn't stay on topic! George -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Myhrman" Subject: Re: Taiyo Maru & the Tatsuta Maru >> Are there models of these and do any of your consortum know the fate of these boats? << Hi Tony! Here is the little I know: Both where build for the Nippon Yusen Kaisha line and ended their life as troopships. Taiyo-maru was build in 1911 and was lost May 8 1942. Don't have much more info than that. Tatuta-maru was launched in 1929 as sister to the so called "Queen of the Pacific" Asama-maru. She commenced service in 1930 between Yokohama and San Francisco. The transliteration of her name, i.e. how the Japanese language is interpered in "our" western alphabet, was 1938 changed to Tatsuta-maru. The ship was converted to a troopship in 1941. Tatsuta-maru was torpedoed and sunk February 8 1943 by the US submarine Tarpoon. No kit exists of these two ships that I know of. However, Albatros Models makes a very nice 1/1250 scale model of the Asama-maru and I belive also of the Tatsuta-maru. A good reference for the Asama-maru class of ships is "Ships of the world" magazine issue 3 1999 published by Kaijinsha. It contains pictures, very good drawings and color reproductions of original posters and interior illustrations. All text in Japanese though. The magazine has a WEB page at: http://ships.acvs.com/ Best regards Johan Myhrman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Ed Grune Subject: Huricane Floyd & USS North Carolina I saw a report on CNN about the after-effects of huricane Floyd. It was taped from Wilmingon, NC and was shot across the Cape Fear River from the cove in which the USS North Carolina is berthed. The North Carolina looks like she came through the storm without damage. It was a long shot, 3/4 starboard stern view & the reporters head was in the way so I couldn't say if the Kingfisher on the fantail was still there or had been damaged. Ed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Alan Simon Subject: Re: 1/400 Bofors Gun Have had good luck w/ HR Products, which produces (among other scales) 1/384 cast metal fittings, as examples: No. S384-18 40mm Quad Bofors @ $0.55 No. S384-19 40mm Twin Bofors @ $0.40 For further listings and ordering info, go to: http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~hracct/ship_fittings/ship_fittings_384.html Alan Simon Atlanta, Ga. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: BMorri6409@aol.com Subject: Wanted: Aurora USS Hartford. I bought one off of ebay, but it is missing many pieces. Please contact mailto:BMorri6409@aol.com if you would like to sell one. Thanks! Bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "John Snyder" Subject: Re: Semtex The later war Semtex will be included in our Royal Navy Set 2, based on a color sample supplied us by Alan Raven. It is indeed green, not gray (or grey). John Snyder Snyder & Short Enterprises The Paint Guys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for having SMML at your home, why not stop by our home at: http://www.smml.org.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume