Subject: SMML VOL 2482 Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 05:14:35 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http//sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1 Re Calling Kerry Jang - Wire rigging techniques 2 CSS Hunley 3 Re Yankee modelworks 4 Book review (quick) for French navy destroyers 5 Re CSS HUNLEY 6 Re CSS Hunley 7 U-Boat Camo 8 Revell QM2 9 Revell Goethe 10 Re CSS Hunley 11 Re CSS Hunley 12 Re Wire rigging techniques 13 N-Scale ship models ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Kerry L. Jang" Subject Re Calling Kerry Jang - Wire rigging techniques Hi David, >> About a year ago you either emailed me directly or put some postings on this list about your use of nichrome wire for rigging models. Can you give me some guidance on the techniques you use, cutting, straightening, handling, fixing and colouring. << I use two kinds of wire for rigging ships. The first is tinned copper wire. This is a soft copper wire that is coated with tin. It is quite cheap (I bought mine from Ormiston Wire Works in the UK) and they have the finest gauges you could ever wnat. A spool will last many lifetimes. This wire is taken off the spool and wound around a loom (made out of scrap 4 strips of scrap wood) that is about 2' long and 1' wide. Its cut with manicure scissors or a craft knife on a hard surface, like a steel rule. It is streched tight/straight on the loom and cleaned with a bit of thinner (I use cellulose/lacuer thinner) on a cloth (dispose of safely and make sure the room is ventilated!). The wire is then spray painted (I use an airbrush) the colour I want. Once dry, cut and use as stretched sprue. If you wnat to make miniature rope, take a length of the wire and fold into a lathe chuck. Spin it tight and volia - twisted rope! Once again, winde round a loom, clean and paint. The other kind of wire is nichrome - available from Pelican Wire in Florida, USA. Its quite expensive. This wire is much harder and stiffer than tinned copper. It is used the same way as tinned copper. I find myself using both. I do sailing ships in the main and use the nichrome from standing rigging, like shoruds and stays. When twisted into rope it is very stiff. I use tinned copper for running rigging and ratlines. To straighten lines, put one end in a vise and hold the other end with a pair of pliers. Pull sharply (not too hard or the wire will break) and it will straighten out nicely. I had to practice quite a bit until I got the knack of it. Wire is great as you can work in canteneries (sags and bows) into the line that show the direction the wind is going. I used both kinds of wire on my latest sailing ship -- LA JACINTHE (see http//www.nutsnbits.com and look for La Jacinthe). For attaching line, I use medium CA to tack the line and thin CA to secure. With the really fine wire, all you need do is wrap the wire around the mast or yard and secure with a spot of thin CA. Anytime you use wire for rigging, your masts and yards, even on models of steel ships, should be made out of brass to take any strain. >> Oh yes, and how do you explain it to your wife? (main problem is how do I explain to the wife why I've spent £100 on a couple of tiny rolls of wire, and avoid the divorce courts at the same time!!) << One way to keep the "boss" happy is to experiment first. I suggest you get some tinned or untinned copper wire from an electronic shop and play with it. That will give you a sense of whether or not you like wire. Its unlikely that you will get the finest gauges there, but you never know. Often, places that wind or repair electric motors will have the fine stuff. By experimenting, you will also get a feel for how soft the wire is and how it behaves, and how different guages behave when being pulled and bent and wrapped. After that, you can decide if your models need only copper wire or nichrome. It really depends on what you are building and the scale. In the end if you opt for nichrome, you ahve two options... 1) sneaking it into the house! (This is risky!) or 2) do as I do -- wait until the missus comes home with a new pair of shoes or some other frivolous purchase for herself (clothes, perfumes, handbags) and then let her know you bought yourself a "toy" too! Works for me and I've been happily married for a long time! Feel free to conact me off list! kjang@unixg.ubc.ca Best, Kerry ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From "Ed" Subject CSS Hunley Dear Ned, Congrats on your interviews! As far as you request for info on the Hunley, one of our fellow SMMLies, Joe Hinds is who you want to get in touch with. He did some fantastic drawings for Civil War Times Illustrated and was able to help me with my 1/72 scale Hunley (thanks again Joe!) He has some other submarine illustrations for sale as well, and his work is top notch. Ed Wandall ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From Ron Subject Re Yankee modelworks >> Let try one more time has anyone bought anything from Yankee Modelworks, I know the story of them being the old Bluewater Navy, but the question is, how is their quality and how is their service now? How are the kits packaged have the plans been improved that was always a weakness of the Bluewater stuff. << Quality is good, service is excellent, packaging about the same and the plans are all in the process of being improved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From "Harold Stockton" Subject Book review (quick) for French navy destroyers I recently stated that I had ordered the French navy destroyer book on "Les Torpilleurs De 1500 Tonnes Du Type BOURRASQUE" by Marc Saibene, a Marines Edition release, and I have received the book in good order. This hardbound book is best likened to a larger version of Robert C. Stern's book "TYPE VII U-Boats," which I consider as a major source of information on the subject, as is Mr. Saibene's efforts. I must say that my initial flipping through this French language book was with mixed feelings, but this book is unusual as it is also like nothing else that I have seen on similar subjects. In short, these are must have books, in spite of their high price. The book's dust-jacket painting is of the Sciroco (T 61, then part of the 6th Division at Brest, 2nd Flotille de Torpilleurs, 1st Escadre, Flotille de L'Atlantique.) and what appears to be the Foudroyant (T 52, a 1500 ton torpilleur of the 5th Division, also of the 2nd Flotille de Torpilleurs.) bombarding some coastline, the date and location not specified. As this Alain Coz painting is held at St. Nazaire, it probably is dated around the Battle of France period. With a format of 8.5" by 11", and 151 glossy pages, the large photographs and limited official plans come off as very impressive. The first ten pages briefly discuss the history of destroyer design at the end of WW-I and the effects that both the British and German designs had on French naval thinking, the rational for the French 1500 ton class, and their 1922 building program that brought these twelve ships into being. Starting on page eleven is the technical sections that covers the design and construction of the hull and propulsion system, with some very informative photographs and drawings of the design and construction of these ship's Parson's boilers and turbines. Various equipment around the ship and their armament are next dicussed. There are some very detailed drawings and photographs that cover the ship's main and anti-aircraft armament, extremely detailed drawings and protographs of their torpedo-tubes, these vessels unusual anti-submarine weapons of 250kg. "grenades" (elongated and spherical depth-charges) that are stowed below the main-deck and are dicharged through rear doors on the stern longitudinaly. What I found completely by surprise was the technical section that covered the anti-aircraft weapons that were variously fitted to this class of destroyer. These covered the twin mount for the 8mm "Hotchkiss" model 1914 machine-guns that were fitted on the main-deck next to the bridge and on the quarter deck of both Mistral and Siroco in 1930 and 1933. There are drawings and very detailed photos of the CAMS 37mm model 1925 AAA mount that was installed on the Mistral and Tempete on the main-deck next to the rear deck-house on the amin-deck. And, there is the later twin 13.2mm "Hotchkiss" mount. All quite unusual in design and appearance. Also covered in the technical section are various aspects of these vessels as far as handling is concerned, and to say that these ships were rollers in even moderate seas is an understatement. There are shots of one of these vessels hard over with its main deck almost under water during a turn in a very calm sea state. Another shot in this book shows the main-deck under water in a more active sea condition. One wonders how anyone could operate at their station or stay onboard with such a condition. Next comes what will please the modelers out there in a complete discussion of the various differences between each of these twelve ships down to the variances of steampipes, anchor placement, running lights, bridge variances, and funnel differences. Lastly, there is a complete list of all modifications that were done to each of these ships prior to 1939, and each of the periods of 1939-1940, 1941-1942, and 1943-1945. In the History section starting on page 63 is a complete coverage of this class' performance up to the war in 1939 and all of their various operations and assignments from Norway to the Battle of France, Mediterranean, North Africa, and both Vichy and Free French operations. In the appendices section is a list of every commanding officer of each vessel during their lives, and lastly there are the official design drawings for this class of ships. Though I might have preferred more in the drawings section, they are completely adequate to model and in the smaller scales. What most impressed me with the information that is supplied in this book was the volume of detailed information about each ship's pennant numbers (sometimes quite small, but later as large as possible on the hull's side), and this covers every destroyer of each division, Flotille de Torpilleurs, and Escadre, irrespective of class. There is also a complete discussion of each division's color assignments so that one can know exactly what color a specific vessel's pennant number will be painted in; from white, red, mauve, green, or other. And, little did I know that French destroyers had both fore and aft "range-clocks." In closing, if one is interested in the French destroyer operations during WW-II, this book will prove to be a most welcome addition. I definitely will be ordering the other books on the other destroyer classes. Armed with this one book and Niko Model's Burza kits, one could easily build each of these twelve ships of the Bourrasque class at different stages of their careers and equipment, and they would all be quite different in appearance. I quickly estimated at least twenty-five separate models that could be built by using this book and the Niko kits, that is quite good value for your money. Happy reading and modeling. Harold Stockton ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From dlhpgamecocks@mindspring.com Subject Re CSS HUNLEY Try www.hunley.org that is the website of the group restoring the ship! Hub ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From BRADFORD CHAUCER Subject Re CSS Hunley >> I've got the 1/35th CSS Hunley on order, and I'm looking for up-to-date references (as well as any articles on building tips). Any suggestions will be most welcome.<< Which kit did you get?? The Verlinden, Cottage Industries or Charleston Distributers?? I have built the CI kit and it is straight foward build with very good instructions. I don't know about the other two (BTW most of the kits are more like 1/32 scale) There are few if any accurate historical prints or photos (no actual photos I'm aware of) Perhaps the best print is the old Chapman painting showing the hunley on a cradle on a pier with two guards at the tail. If you want to do a semi diarama, that may be your best choice. Another option might be a generic wood quay side or pier (horrizontal to the shoreline) with the Hunley in the water along side. Another possible interesting option though rather large in 1/32 scale would be the Hunley under tow by a David. I have read that one of the Davids was used to tow the Hunley out into the harbor on one or more occasion to give the crew a rest from cranking. >> The scale suggests an interesting dockside diorama, so references on ground cradles would also prove interesting. << Look at the Chapman Print You can also look around the web site for the group which raised the Hunley to see what they have. Regards, Bradford Chaucer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From "keith" Subject U-Boat Camo Hi SMMLies, Question for you U boat heads. What is a good book or sort of info. to find drawings of camo on the type Vll. Looking for one of those with the two tone gray upper area, sploches if you will. Keith ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From "Hank Lapa" Subject Revell QM2 The New Releases list in FSM says it's 1/570. I guess that's consistent with their old QM kit. Hank ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From David L Miller Subject Revell Goethe Now that I've recovered from the arrival of two 1/72 U Boots from Revell, does anyone know if their Rhine ferry Goethe is out yet? It was supposed to come out in April. Has anyone seen it? Is it available anywhere in the US? Regards, Dave Miller Macomb IL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From "Lorin Hart" Subject Re CSS Hunley CSS Hunley; may I suggest the following link to the excellent book, "Raising the Hunley" http//search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=ygx1y6Rpb9&isbn=0345447727&itm=1 Lorin Hart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From "David T. Okamura" Subject Re CSS Hunley Conrad Wise Chapman's famous painting and sketches are probably your best sources for diorama details during H. L. Hunley's refurbishment at Mt. Pleasant, after the second fatal sinking that killed the sub's namesake. One diorama nearly replicating the Chapman painting is at http//www.ejhubbard.com/hl_hunley.htm Besides the sentries, you might consider adding Lt. George Dixon inspecting his new command, with General Beauregard looking on. Other references can be found at http//www.hunley.org/ http//home.att.net/~JVNautilus/Hunley/reconstruction.html Hope this helps, David T. Okamura ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From "Tom Detweiler" Subject Re Wire rigging techniques To David Griffith My Gawd don't spend that kinda money on nichrome wire for rigging-- unless you need ultra high resistance wire for some reason-- instead look for small spools of "wirewrap wire", used for electrical breadboarding and rework repairs-- it comes in many small diameter wire gauges, down to 40 gauge (AWG), tiny enough to barely see it. And it's a lot cheaper. I use 30 to 40 gauge. The wire comes with kynar insulation which can be stripped back, cut, with pieces left on the wire for firehoses, liferafts, or whatever else imagination requires. It's easy to work with, cuts and solders easily and glues with CA. The wirewrap wire is sold by the foot or comes on small plastic spools. It is plated copper alloy, so it sags more realistically-- nichrome is very "stiff" and will often take on a life of its own when you don't want it to. It's more like spring wire. Another thing I've done to get very small hair-diameter wire is look in auto yards for old electrical meters, like battery charging meters-- or those tiny electrical DC motors from toys -- they have small spool-type coils in them wound with very small diameter copper wire, great for modeling! Hope that helps you and anyone else contemplating wasting too much money!! Tom Detweiler ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From Ned Barnett Subject N-Scale ship models After taping my contribution to History Channel's program on WW-I technology (due to be aired July 28, if all goes well), I stopped at a model railroad store in LA that claims to be the world's largest - a claim that, having seen the place, I'm inclined to believe! Anyway, they had on sale a number of interesting boats and ships (in unassembled model form) in the 1/160 N-Scale I use for modeling railroads. A PT boat looked particularly interesting, though they also had a Coast Guard cutter and what looks like a Landing Craft Tank. The PT went for $30, and if II can figure out how to put water on my in-planning layout, I might need to make a return trip. Are others aware of ship/boat models in N-Scale? Sources other than this LA store? Ned Barnett ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Backissues, Member's models & reference pictures at http//smmlonline.com Check out the APMA site for an index of ship articles in the Reference section at http//apma.org.au/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume