Work in Progress August 20, 2014

Reporter: Dave Yotter Don Dressel started off the meeting with a slide show of a few of the many ship models on display at the Maritime Museum in Paris. Along with the ship models there were many maritime artifacts, cannon, and a large collection of fine maritime paintings. The ship models ranged from very early in the 14th century to modern ships of today. Many of the models were in the 17th and 18th centuries and were very highly detailed, built by the craftsmen of the time. The ship models also showed the large scale some of them are built to which only increases the detail. The group very much appreciated the presentation and enthusiastically asked for more, so Don indicated he would put together more PowerPoint presentations of other museums he has been fortunate enough to visit. David Okamura plans to have an SMA table at the OrangeCon 2014 exhibit held by the International Plastic Model Society, Orange County on October 4th. The exhibit will be held at Titan Conference Center at California State University Fullerton. The information flyer for the 2014 edition of OrangeCon – IPMS/OC’s Annual Contest – can be downloaded from our website: www.ipmsoc.org. This year our event will be Saturday, October 4th, 2014. Along with 46 Contest Categories, we have a special theme award for the Best World War One subject. This year’s theme is “OrangeCon 2014 Remembers 100 years of the Great War, World War I.” David reminds us that models do not have to be made out of plastic to enter the contest and in fact many models built by SMA members have won prizes in the

Newsletter

Volume 41, Number 9, Sept. 2014

Contacts

President: Larry Van Es (7140 936-0389

E-Mail larry@uswheel.com Vice President: Bill Schultheis

(714) 366-7602 E-Mail: bsmath@yahoo.com

Secretary: Paul Payne (310) 544-1461

Treasurer: Mike DiCerbo (714) 523-2518

15320 Ocaso Ave, #DD204, La Mirada, CA. 90630

Editor, Don Dressel (909) 949-6931

908 W. 22nd Street Upland, CA 91784-1229

E-mail: roebuckdres4@gmail.com Web Manager: Doug Tolbert:

(949) 644-5416 Web Site

www.shipmodelersassociation.org

Meeting – Wed., Sep. 17, 7 PM, Red Cross Building, 1207 N.

Lemon, Fullerton, CA. 92832

Officers meeting –Wed., Oct. 1, 2014, 7 PM, Bob Beech’s house, 130 Clove Pl., Brea, CA. 92821 –

(714) 529-1481.

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past. There was a discussion regarding #11 scalpel blades as a superior alternative to hobby blades like Exacto. This has been brought up before and an excellent place to get these blades is Cincinnati Surgical (http://www.cincinnatisurgical.com). They offer a house brand along with the Swann Morton brand (highly recommended by Mike Lonnecker, Don Dressel and myself once we tried them). They can be ordered in boxes of 100, $33.00 for the non-sterile ones. They have other blade shapes; I use the #10’s a lot and they also have a line of hobby/craft blades. They have lots to offer so poke around. There was also an announcement by Bill Schultheis concerning the upcoming potential model display at the Sea Coast Base in Newport Beach to honor Dennis Holland on September 13th and 14th, a Saturday and Sunday. A sign-up sheet was left on the table for those interested in bringing their models to the event – models in cases are recommended. If anyone needs help with transportation and for further details, please contact Larry Van Es, our president. His contact information is printed on the first page – contacts. USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) – Burt Goldstein This class has a low radar profile; an integrated power system, which can send electricity to the electric drive motors of weapons, which my someday include a railgun or free-electron lasers; total ship computing environment infrastructure, serving as the ship’s primary LAN and as the hardward-independent platform for all of the ship’s software ensembles; automated fire-fighting systems and automated piping rupture isolation. The class is designed to require a smaller crew and be less expensive to operate than comparable warships. It will have a wave-piercing tumblehome hull form whose sides slope inward above the waterline. This will reduce the radar cross-section, returning much less energy than a more hard-angled hull form. As of January 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that only four out of 12 of the critical technologies were mature. The lead ship will be named Zumwalt for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and carries the hull number DDG-1000. Originally 32 ships were planned, with the $9.6 billion research and development costs spread across the class, but as the quantity was reduced to 10, then 3, the cost-per-ship increased dramatically. The cost increase caused the U. S. Navy to identify the program as being in breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Amendment of 1 February 2010. (from Wikipedia). With a crew of 142, USS Zumwalt will reach speeds of 30.3 knots. Her armament includes 20 MK 57 VLS missile modules, two 155mm guns and two MK 30mm cannons, plus she will carry two SH-60 helicopters and three MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

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Burt Goldstein said he got the 1:730 model through Nighthawk Studios, but I did not have any luck finding the kit in follow-up. The 8.75 inch model represents a 600 foot ship at this scale. Burt also brought in his finished model of USS Freedom (LCS-1). He found this kit as a $12.00 download from www.ecardmodels.com. The model needed its helicopters radar masts and other details to complete the model. He found that this is not an easy kit to build, lacking fold lines and noted that the 5” gun was particularly difficult.

For those of you who thought this bow configuration (of the USS Zumwalt – the smaller model next to the USS Freedom) was rather new in modern warship design your reporter has included a photo of USS Cushing (TB-1). The first torpedo boat built for the US Navy, Cushing was launched by Miss K. B. Herreshoff; and commissioned on 22 April 1890, Lieutenant C. M. Winslow in command. She displaced 116 tons, was 140 feet in length, had a beam of 15 feet and a draft of 4 feet 10 inches. Power was 1,600 hp via two vertical quadruple-expansion reciprocating steam engines and two

Thorneycroft boilers. The engines powered two screws for a speed of 23 knots. Her compliment was 22 officers and enlisted. Armament was 2 X 6-pounder guns and 3 X 18 inch torpedo tubes. Cutter HMS Andromede – John Simmons

The cutter HMS Andromede is the seventh cutter John has completed, including the USS Shenandoah, HMS Diligence, HMD Dandy (a modified Diligence), HMS Lady Nelson, Le Cerf and Le Renald. John Simmon’s model of Andromede is being built using a Solcaine kit in 1:74 scale of a ship of about 72 to 75 feet in length. Armament is 10 X 6-pounder long guns and 4 X 18-pounder carronades along with four each 1-pounder and 2-pounder swivels. Andromede now has her full suit of

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15 sails bent on as supplied by sail maker Jerry Blair. John admits that they were probably not all set at once but the model is intended to illustrate all the possible choices. The sail configuration includes a lower crossjack yard, which spreads the square mainsail clews and supports the lower studdingsail booms. Next up the mast and riding on a stout hawser set in front of the mast rather than by a truss or parrels is another crossjack yard which spreads the topsail clews and the studdingsail booms dividing the lower and topmasts studdingsails. The yard for the course is riding on the same hawser above that. The topsail is attached to the topmast in a more traditional fashion. All this is done so that the luff of the gaff mainsail can be fastened to the mainmast with mast hoops and also allows the yards to move independently along the mast. Apologies if the terms are not quite correct but I think that is fairly close. Additional sails included in this amazing cloud of canvas include four jibs, a ringtail and a water sail. The ringtail is like a studdingsail for the gaff main and the water sail hangs below the outboard end of the main boom. Both of the latter two were only likely used in very light wind conditions. Halifax – Don Dressel Don purchased a Lauck Street Shipyard plank-on-frame kit of the Halifax produced by Robert Hunt several years ago. The kit, as I now understand, is no longer available. There are a lot of things that have to be corrected with respect to the kit, as many of the parts are supplied in resin or plastic, which Don finds unsuitable. All carvings will be completed in boxwood, cannons will be replaced, etc. The basic kit itself is OK, however, with cherry wood material used to construct the frames. So far the keel, stem and sternpost have been completed, the building jig finished, and the frames constructed and installed on the keel-stem-sternpost assembly using the Harold Hahn style jig. All the frames were faired and sanded smooth. The transom was then installed and faired. The next step was the installation of the wale, which was a walnut strip provided in the kit. The Walnut strip was stained black prior to installation, which is the current stage of the model when brought to the meeting. Planking will continue, but in addition to the kit instructions, dowels of the proper size will be fabricated and installed for each frame as was done with the prototype. Once the outer planking has been installed, the model will be removed from the building jig. Then more details will be added to the interior while completing the decking, etc. Hopefully, the hull will be complete for the upcoming ROPE 40th Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan next April. Don also recommended two books: The sloop of War by McLaughlin and H.M. Bark Endeavour by Ray Perkins.

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SLC 200 Maiale – Ray Juncal The idea was successfully applied by the Italian Navy (Regia Marina) early in World War II and then copied by the British when they discovered the Italian operations. The official Italian name for their craft was Siluro a Lenta Corsa (SLC for “slow running torpedo”), but the Italian operators nicknamed it Maiale (Italian for “pig”) because it was difficult to steer. The British copies were named “chariots.” By far the most successful of the various mini/midget subs deployed during WWII the Italian Maiale’s sank two

battleships, a cruiser and ten or eleven auxiliary ships. Ray Juncal’s model of Maiale is scratch built in 1:10 scale. Some of the techniques he used for this model include vacu-forming some of the hull components. The figures were hand carved and he used some components from G. I. Joe figures like the hands. Sovereign of the Seas – Paul Carter Paul wrights: The Sovereign of the Seas was ordered by King Charles I in August 1634 and was built by Peter Pett under the guidance of his father Phineas Pett. She was built in Woolwich Dockyard and was launched on 16th October 1637. She was the most extravagantly decorated warship in the Royal Navy, completely adorned from stern to bow with gilded carvings against a black background. The carvings were made by John and Mathias Christmas after a design by Anthony Van Dyck. The gilding alone cost £6,691.00 equal to £948,270.00 today. Since the last visit I have installed the rudder, the bulkheads are 95% complete (handrails need refinement), stairways are done along with a few gratings. The belfry, capstan and bilge pumps are also complete as well as the ensign flag base. I had to put on a goldsmith’s hat to start applying the gilded castings at the bow, bulkheads, stern and stern gallery. I must mention here that I had to reshape the stern from that that was started by the deceased original builder. Luckily with a little bending, fitting and hammering, the gilded castings now fit the stern.

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Pilot Schooner Hesper – Clyde Emerson

Hesper was a Boston pilot schooner, designed for speed in order to be the first to reach offshore merchant vessels and escort them through the treacherous harbor islands into the port. The fastest boat got to the client first, and Hesper had the reputation of being the fastest of the fast throughout her working career. Designed in 1884 by Boston naval architect Dennison J. Lawlor, the schooner measured 102 feet on deck by 23 feet in beam, with a 12-foot draft. Clyde Emerson has started two model

hulls of the Boston pilot schooner Hesper using 3-D printing. The plans for Hesper come from Eric Ronneberg. The hulls were printed by Shapeways (www.shapeways.com) using two different media. The larger hull in 1:96 was done in nylon and the smaller hull in 1:192 was a resin material which allows more detail. Shapeways has 5 to 6 different techniques depending on the material used including metal and ceramic along with other polymers. Clyde used Rhinoceros (www.rhino3d.com) a 3-D modeling program (about $1200.00) to construct the digital model. Once the file is sent to Shapeways lots of decisions on material, size, detail desired and surface texture need to be made to come up with a final price. The smaller hull was around $44.00 and $158.00 for the larger one. One ordered in 1:48 would have been $1250.00. There is an excellent article in the Nautical Research Journal summer 2014, vol. 59 No. 2 by Patrick Matthews. This article is a primer on the subject of 3-D printing and its many potential users in ship model building. Chart of the East Coast of Russia – Bill Schultheis Bill shared a chart he found of the East Coast of Russia. The chart was printed by the Admiralty in London in 1:78,000 scale.

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    Burt Goldstein’s USS Zumwalt & USS Freedom                        John Simmons cutter HMS Andromede                        Don Dressel’s Halifax                                                       Ray Juncal’s SLC 200 Maiale  

             Paul Carter’s Sovereign of the Seas                                      Clyde Emerson’s pilot schooner Hesper  

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By Don Dressel 

Old Salts  in Port: John Bakker, Steve Jones, John Vanderneut, Yas Komorita, Don Leyman, Don Dressel, Guy Bell, Doug Tolbert, Mike DiCerbo, Greg Wilcox. 

Ship in Port:  USS President, La Réale De France, Halifax, HMS Pegasus, “mystery ship”, King of Mississippi, US Brig Syren, Le Soleil Royal. 

  The meeting started off, as usual, with a lively discussion of all kinds of different topics related to ship modeling and other things of  interest.   These discussions were done while the group slowly gathered together, everyone apparently being present by the appropriate time of 1300  hours.    The  first  of  two  pots  of  coffee was  already made,  thanks  to  John’s  attentive consideration  for  his  “guests”.    Everyone  was  comfortably  seated  and  the  “program” commenced. 

  Don Dressel started the presentations with his offering of  the Halifax.   Don commented upon the  work  that  was  completed  after  the  SMA meeting  last Wednesday which  included  the  final details  on  the  port  and  starboard  wales,  the installation  of  the  lower  stern  planking  and  the installation  of  the  dowels  for  the  wales  and installed planks.   Don also  showed  the 0.026  inch treenail maker  which  is  a  unique  tool  for model builders  available  from  Vanda‐lay  Industries  in Running Springs, which  is up near Lake Arrowhead (www.vanda‐layindustries.com/html/treenail_maker.html).   The  tool requires a Dremel motor tool to function and Don demonstrated just how easy  it  is to make treenails (dowels) for your model.  Sorry about the small amount of saw dust on John’s floor! 

  Don Leyman next talked about his recent work on the HMS Pegasus, indicating that he was building  the  lower deck off  the model and  installing  it  in sections, making sure all  lower bulkheads and  ladders were  in place.   The holes were drilled first for the deck beam supports and a  line was  installed  the  length of  the ship  to make sure  the centerline was correct.   Don wants to make sure all the items below the deck are installed correctly.  He also indicated that 

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you have to make sure your spacing is correct – he had to sand a little more off one of the deck assemblies because it was “creeping” and the spacing was becoming too much.  The deck beam supports helped to make sure everything was aligned correctly.  See the pictures below. 

 

  John  Vanderneut  was  next  up.    He discussed  the  problems  he  was  having  with the old Aeropiccola kit he was building, which was  originally  the  USS  Constitution  but  John decided  that  the  kit  was  closer  to  the  USS President.   He was having difficulties with the plans.  He purchased the cannon for the model from Ages of Sail  (www.agesofsail.com).   The cannon were the correct size, but they did not fit  the model  correctly  (the  gun  deck was  in the  wrong  position,  either  too  high  or  too low).   He did say the  ladders came out nice, however.   The copper plating was corrected and the model  is now properly mounted – drilling  the holes  in  the  keel  for mounting  the model 

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worked out great, thanks to the advice gathered from last month’s Mayflower Group meeting.  His next step is to re‐position the deck properly so that the cannon mount correctly.  

  Guy  Bell  brought  in  a  real  “mystery ship”.   He “discovered”  the ship while doing some repair work  in a home as was asked  if he would “repair” the model also.  According to  Guy,  the  first  thing  he  had  to  do  was remove  all  the  “rat  shit”  that  had accumulated  on  the  deck  of  the  ship.    The rigging  and  sails  were  also  in  tatters.    He showed  the Mayflower  Group  a  number  of pictures of what the model looked like when he first took  it home.   He will make new sail for  it and re‐rig the model, which will not be 

too difficult since there are no blocks or tackle involved, just lines.  The bow of the model is kind of strange – maybe originally built  for exploring  in the Polar Regions?   No name  is associated with the model.  It should look fairly decent as a “folk art” model once Guy has finished cleaning it up. 

  Doug Tolbert was next up and discussed the plans and photo’s he had for his project in making a model of the HMS Buckingham of 1751, which was a 70 gun third rate built from the 1745 establishment.   The plans are  from Greenwich and he plans  to build  the model  in 1:64 scale.  A tremendous amount of research has already gone into getting as much information as possible about  the ship,  including many of  the captain’s  logs and other  information gathered while making several trips to England.   Doug has already purchased the Rhinoceros computer software which will  be  used  to  reproduce  all  the  details  for  the model.    He  has  so much information now that he may be able to write a very accurate book on the ship with complete details of her history and the captain’s and people who manned her.   We  look forward to the day when actual sawdust starts to fall!  It was a very fascinating and interesting discussion. 

  Greg Wilcox  brought  in  a  parts  for  his King  of  the Mississippi  and  showed  the  poor ladders  supplied  with  the  kit,  which  forced Greg  to make  is  own  ladders.   He  showed  us the result and the jig that he used to make the stairs.    The  jig  is  shown  in  the  accompanying picture.    The  angle  for  the  cut  is  set  and  the little  piece  sticking  out  is  to  set  the  distance 

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between the threads of the stairs.  Greg also indicated that even the threads of the stairs were not the correct size and he had to cut longer threads.  A scratch built stair is shown at the lower left side of the photo.  Note the dowels in place to reinforce the jig and make sure it does not break apart while the sawing operation is in progress. 

  John Bakker then brought out his La Réale De France and showed the progress he was making on the model, many details being added along with sails.  Note the photographs below.  John also showed several of his other “works in progress” including his US Brig Syren and his Le Soleil  Royal.    John  is  still  trying  to  contact Model  Expo  in  reference  to  his  USS  Essex  and apparently getting nowhere.  See photo’s below. 

   

  All  in all, another great get‐together of ship modelers who all enjoyed a fine afternoon and  learned  a number of  interesting  things  about  ship model buildings.    It was  a  very  good turnout and an enjoyable couple of hours spent at John’s home.  

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Small Maritime Museums: Saint‐Malo 

Part I 

Don Dressel 

  When we had the privilege of visiting France a couple of years ago, one of the places my friend Mr.  Michel  Mantin  took  us  to  was  a  small  museum  in  Saint‐Malo,  near  Mont  Saint‐Michel.    The accompanying photo’s show both Mont Saint‐Michel (on the left) and the entrance to the small museum of Saint‐Malo.   The museum  is  really unique  in  that  it  is housed  in part of a castle/fortress along  the coast of France.   When visiting, you can see the much worn, very narrow, round steps that  lead up to the room that houses the museum artifacts as well as the small slots (windows) cut into the outer walls for the archers along with cannon ports, as I remember.  

 

  The maritime museum  itself houses  some  very  interesting models, not  to mention  the many artifacts that are on display.   It  is a small museum, but well worth the visit for a number of reasons.   I have  included  several photo’s of a number of  the models on display.   The  first photo  is of  the “Cōte D’Emeraude”, a  schooner manned by a crew of 30.   Note  the patched  sails on  the model and all  the 

ships boats stacked up forward.  I am sorry for the poor photo, but also note  the many artifacts and paintings  in  the  background  that  are  on  display.  He  model  represents  a  schooner  of  relatively modern  times, being around 1925.   The detail on the model is very fine. 

  Another model,  shown  in  a photo on  the next page,  is of great  interest as  it shows how the ships were “beached” at low tide to work on them and do whatever repairs were necessary that they 

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could not do when the ship was floating in its natural element.  The photo to the right shows one of the fishing boats with a model in the background and the general layout of the museum itself in a castle‐like setting.  Needless to say, the atmosphere of the museum was itself intriguing. 

 

  Two more interesting photo’s of models that were displayed, the first of which is the close‐up of the model shown in the picture above, the second picture is of a building – they had a number of models of buildings, I assume from the surrounding countryside and the city itself.  It may have been the mayor of  the  city’s house,  I am not  sure, but  the name on  the plaque  is  “La Chipoudiére”.    For a maritime museum  that was  small,  there was a  lot of material packed  into  the area.   Again,  it was not a  large museum like the one in Paris, but contained a number of very interesting models and exhibit, well worth making an effort to see.      I am  including several pictures of what appears to be a very old ship model with the sails and rigging evidencing great age on the next page.  I found this model in particular to be very  intriguing  due  to  its  apparent  age  and  condition.    You  can  see  through  the  sails  and  it  is  also apparent that the sails were made just  like the real thing, from cloths.  I wonder how much longer the sails and rigging will last on this model.  I spent quite a lot of time looking at the model while there. 

 

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  Since a picture or photo  is worth a  thousand words,  I will  conclude  this  small article with an additional number of pictures of the models that were on display in this maritime museum.  In addition to the model above, there were other models which I have not seen represented at any other maritime museum, but then I have not had the pleasure of visiting all the maritime museums in the world.  One of which is an apparent “receiving” ship or maybe a “prison” ship – I am not sure, as it was a few years ago that I visited this museum. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rochefort Maritime Museum Ship Models Don Dressel completed his presentation of the Ship Models in the Maritime Museum in Paris last month. He will again present another power point presentation, this time of the ship models in another Museum in France, Rochefort, part of the AAMM. This is the location where La Fayette’s frigate Hermione was recently launched. Tall Ships Festival LA 2014 The tall ships return to San Pedro during September 20-24, 2014, commencing with a parade into the harbor on Wednesday, September 20. (Most sources say the parade begins at 10:00 AM, but at least one states “approximately 2:00 PM”. Check the below sites for updates.) Over a dozen ships will participate, along with “The World’s Largest Rubber Duck”. (Strange but true!) Ship tours, dockside demonstrations and nautical-themed entertainment are also scheduled. For more information, see: http://www.lawaterfront.org/ and http://tallshipsfestivalla.com/. Japan in 2015 The ROPE in Tokyo, Japan will have a very special Exhibition #40 next year in Japan. The SMA is a sister club of the ROPE, and as such, I would like to have SMA members think about going to Japan next year for their 40th Exhibition as well as bringing a model. We can get a VERY good financial deal for each person who desires to do so. Please consider this opportunity. Contact Don Dressel if you are at all interested. The dates are April 12 through April 19, 2015, which includes a special event on April 19th. Web Manager’s Report The Webmaster, Doug Tolbert, is pleased to announce that there are now 480 SMA Newsletters of the past on line in pdf format on the SMA website. The issues go back to 1974. The latest 12 issues are restricted to SMA members only.

Above is the chart of the hits experienced by our SMA web page through the end of August 2014.

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Paul Carter’s Sovereign of the Seas under construction

Donald C. Dressel 908 W. 22nd Street, Upland, CA. 91784-1229

Next meeting Wednesday, September 17, 7:30 PM, Hillcrest Park Red Cross Building

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