Newsletter Volume 41, Number 8, Aug. 2014 Contacts Work in Progress President: Larry Van Es (7140 936-0389 July 16, 2014 E-Mail [email protected] Reporter: Dave Yotter Vice President: Bill Schultheis USS Freedom (LCS-1) – Burt Goldstein (714) 366-7602 E-Mail: [email protected] 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: [email protected] USS Freedom (LCS-1) is the lead ship of the Web Manager: Doug Tolbert: Freedom class of littoral combat ships (LCS). She is the (949) 644-5416 third vessel of the United States Navy to be so named Web Site for the concept of freedom. She is the design www.shipmodelersassociation.org competitor produced by the Lockheed Martin consortium, in competition with the General Dynamics- Meeting – Wed., Aug. 20, 7 PM, designed USS Independence. She was officially Red Cross Building, 1207 N. accepted by the supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast Lemon, Fullerton, CA. 92832 on behalf of the US Navy from the Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine/Gibbs and Cox team in Officers meeting –Wed., Sep. 3, Marinette, WI on 18 September 2008. She is designed 2014, 7 PM, Bob Beech’s house, for a variety of missions in shallow waters, capable 130 Clove Pl., Brea, CA. 92821 – (714) 529-1481. against submarines, small ships, minesweeping and humanitarian relief but not designed to take on large warships. The ship is a 377-feet in length, displaces 3,000 metric tons and is a semi-planning monohull design capable of over 45 knots. Commissioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 8 November 2008, USS 1 Freedom is home-ported in San Diego. (From Wikipedia). Burt Goldstein found this kit as a $12.00 download from www.ecardmodels.com. The model is currently partially complete and still needs it’s helicopters, radar masts and other details. He found that this is not an easy kit to build, lacking fold lines and noted that the 5” gun was particularly difficult. Not a kit for beginners. Model Case Stand – Mike Lonnecker Mike writes: After completing my Fair American and putting it in a case I looked around the house for a place to display it. No Luck. So I thought about purchasing a table just for it. So it was off to the furniture store. No Luck. I started searching the Internet for tables or table kits. I found Osborne Wood Products at www.osbornewood.com. They offer table kits that can be purchased without table tops. Perfect. These are truly custom tables. In order to obtain the one you need you must choose and specify the following: • Type of Wood------------Over 20 different woods • Leg length and style ------ Dozens and dozens to choose from • Apron Style--------------Several to choose from • Overall length and width The kit is truly first rate, with corner bracing, all predrilled holes, nice fitting mortise and tenon leg to apron joints, and all hardware. You must finish sand, apply finish of your choice, and final assemble. End result: a very stylish and stout stand for your model at a very reasonable price. They have a neat online video on their website under the heading of “table base kits” that shows how easy this is to accomplish. Cutter HMS Andromede – John Simmons John writes: The cutter HMS Andromede is the seventh (cutter) I have completed, including the HMS Shenandoah, HMS Diligence, HMD Dandy (a modified Diligence), HMS Lady Nelson, Le Cerf and Le Renald. While they are similar primarily in their rigging and sail plan, they differ in the number, type and size of armament. They typically 2 mounted as few as six and up to fourteen cannon, up to 9-pounders. Some carried carronade (12 to 18 pounders) and 2 to 8 rail mounted guns of 1 to 3 pounds. Because of their good speed and maneuverability, cutters were favored by smugglers to avoid revenue fees place by the government and thus used by the coastal patrol and guard to capture them. They also served as mail and dispatch carriers, transport of persons needing rapid transit, and in the Navies of the Americans, British and French. They could be used to support convoy duty, and in groups as wolf packs to cut out or attack 6th rate vessels. Andromede was built in 1790 for the Royal Navy. I will be rigging her with 15 sails, a full compliment including four jigs, studding sails, ringtail and water sails, and the square sail boom, or crossjack yard on the rail. John’s model is being built using a Solcaine kit in 1:64 scale of a ship of about 72 to 75 feet in length. From my pictures I counted 10 X 6-pounder long guns and 4 carronades, 18-pounders? Also your reporter is trying to wrap his head around the profusion of yards on the lower portion of the mast. From John’s description the whole thing sounds like the mizzen of a snow turned around backwards and placed on the front of the cutter mast?! SO we have a crossjack yard, a trysail or snow mast and then there is a horse and I am really not sure what configuration this horse takes. The crossjack yard is tied to the snow mast? Does the snow mast rise above the top? Is the crossjack yard a spreader for the course? I am confused. Hopefully we can get John to clarify. Japanese Higaki-Kaisen – Don Dressel Don brought in his fully completed 1:72 Japanese model of the Higaki-Kaisen based on the Japanese kit by Woody Joe. The additions to the kit, in order to complete the model, were added as follows: • All Japanese merchant ships of the time of this one had ships boats as a required inventory, since in order to land the cargo and obtain more cargo a ships boat was necessary. The kit did not come supplied with one, so Don did some Internet investigations and checked with several of his Japanese friends in order to scratch build the ships boat. • Japanese figures were added to the model by the simple expedient of purchasing several plastic sets of Japanese figures in 1:72 scale and painting them. A wire was inserted in one of the legs of each figure (after drilling the appropriate hole in the leg), a hole was drilled in the deck where the figure was to be placed, the wire and figure then glued to the deck. 3 • All necessary line bundles were completed and installed. • The Japanese banner at the stern of the ship reads “Dressel’s ship” according to my friend Mr. Norio Uriu. In addition, the base for the case of the model, beautifully and professionally made by Greg Wilcox, was shown. Now all that is required is to have the Perspex case made followed by the finishing of the base and installation of the model. Fini! La Réale De France – John Bakker The name “Reale” indicates that the Galley belonged to the King of France; also, from 1526 the admiralty vessel of the Captain of the French Galleys was called “Reale.” The original craft designed by us (Corel) is an exact reproduction of a typical 18th century “Reale,” sumptuously decorated by the famous sculptor Pierre Puget; the stern ornamentations, still conserved today, are displayed in the Musée de La Marine, Paris. A large part of the reconstruction is based on old original plans, integrated where necessary from other securely reliable sources. The 1:60 scale model is a reproduction of a vessel with a total length of 63 m, 9.7 m wide at the overdeck carrying 59 thwarts and 59 oars, each maneuvered by seven men. There were therefore 413 rowers. A small part of them were slaves but the majority were criminals condemned to life imprisonment, while the head rowers, i.e. the men at the head of the oar handles, were regularly paid volunteers. Besides the officers in the stern the rest of the crew consisted of a galley sergeant and two helpers (who whipped the rowers from the midway to urge them on) and a variable contingent of gunners and solders located on the forecastle and along the arbalesters. The arms consisted of the five bronze pieces located in the bow under the forecastle on special sliding carriages and by 11 swivel guns along the arbalesters. Because the forward guns could not traverse they were apparently there to assist in the main tactic of frontal ramming. The vessel was equipped with two lateen sails. Before entering into battle the sails were furled and the yards chained to the masts to prevent them from striking the rowers due to enemy gunfire. When under sail the parts of the ship carrying the thwarts and rowers were often immersed. For a galley to be effective against a heavily armed ship in the 18th century they would have to have smooth seas and choose their combat position carefully. In 1651 the frigate Lion Couronne with only 26 guns withstood the attack of 11 galleys while in 1684 the vessel Le Bonalone was victorious against 35 galleys. The battle of Matapan in 1717 was the last one in which galleys took an active part. The model by John is a Corel kit in 1:60 scale with a lot of excellent craftsmanship and “kit bashing”. 4 6th Rate Frigate HMS Triton – Guy Bell (My apologies to Guy, but either I missed taking his picture at the meeting when he did his presentation or he missed presenting, one or the other! I have inserted a picture of his model instead).