I'm sure it's been discussed before, but I can't find anything on it -- has anyone thought about, or even tried to impliment, an age of sail version of R/C naval combat? I've always loved the majestic and slow battles of wooden ships and iron men, and I was thinking that maybe, sometime in the (probably far) future, I'd work on something like that.
One of the problems that I think is that all guns have to be gimbled so that the shots never go high. Second is that Sailboats running gear is not as easy to fix as slapping a patch on a hole in a hull.
Are they just shooting caps in those pictures or actually battling. I didnt see any damage. I wish I could read french.
I was watching the french video and it appears that they have paper sails (intended to burn) and use fireworks of some sort to fire into the sails to set them on fire. It looks like the fireworks are not hot enough to set the whole ship ablaze and perhaps not even the masts. Of course in the US this type of battle would be difficult with fireworks bans and potential litigation over any problems. But its really cool.
From what I see on the video, it looks quite coreographed. They seem to be shooting fireworks at each other -- which may have lead to the fire on the one ship. Then again, that may have been planned. Basically, it looks far more like a public spectacle than a battle-hobby. All the same, I'd hate to be the captain of that flaming ship. EDIT - jadfer, I was thinking that maybe they were aiming for the sails, too.
Hi bayruun, I have heard rumors and whispers of an age-of-sail combat club operating at a pond less than 5 miles from me. Four years ago, while sailing at the nearest pond with my brother, I got into a discussion about model warship combat with a random passerby. This person soon mentioned having seen a battle at this very pond, which I found unusual because it was a man-made concrete pond in the middle of a small park with lots of people around. I asked a few more questions, and he proceeded to describe a battle between two fore-and-aft-rigged vessels, complete a detailed and accurate description of the bangs of cannonfire, the crack of steel breaking balsa, the splashes of shots landing below the waterline, and even a stream of water from one combatant's pump. I investigated further, but nobody in my club had ever heard of an age-of-sail group, and the internet hasn't revealed a club website, either. That incident got me thinking about age-of-sail combat myself. I'd be interested as to thoughts on the matter. I'm thinking that it's best done in 1:48 scale or 1:36 scale, because any smaller scale requires huge drop keels and doesn't have the space for armaments. Armament would consist of 4 to 6 cannons per broadside, no more. Anything else, and you either go very custom, very expensive, or (most likely) both. I'd want sturdy, indestructible masts, sails, and rigging. I've always believed the british approach: if you're shooting superstructure, you're missing. The single biggest issue to me is the safety factor of armed sailing ships. Ships under sail power have a tendency to heel over, and that can be dangerous to people standing on shore. I've been trying to think of ways to stabilize the guns so they keep the same angle even when the ship lists, but haven't come up with a practical solution yet. It is possible to disable the guns when the ship heels enough, but that solution also leaves me unsatisfied. It is also possible to use only chaser guns, but that solution also leaves me unsatisfied. This is the single biggest hold-up on the development, and since then I realized that predreadnoughts (with their massive secondary and tertiary broadsides) are much more suitable for RC combat than age-of-sail ships.
You guys ever think of the Civil War. The steam frigates would pass for sailing vessels. I actually made some rules up in the 80s and had started a world wide club in the 80s. Alas I got married and that ended everything. Now I am divorced and at it again. The name of the club was Civil Warship Combat Club, Even had a newsletter called Ironclad.Plans were got from the Archives and a company called the Maryland Silver Company. Scale was either 1/48th or 1/35th depending what you choice of scale was. I still have the rules and newsletters if anyone is interested.
There was a fellow in Columbus Ohio that started manufacturing ACW ships for combat, his site was www.combatships.com but last I check the site wasn't up anymore (company was Columbus Ironworks). I don't think too many people bought his products.
There was an attempt at a Civil War Warship Club many year ago. I still have a 1/48th scale Choctaw in my workshop. The club was to run under sort of Big Gun rules. It did not get enough interest and died.
Ralph Coles has made moulds for at least 6 different Union and Confederate Ironclads in 1/72 scale but has sold only one to my knowledge. (He needs to establish a website to promote his products.) He's building an ironclad (CSS Tennessee I think) and I hope to complete USS Dictator by next spring so we can try them in combat. They will be slow moving, armed with .177 caliber BB acnnons, and ramming will be allowed. Three weeks ago Ralph showed me his 1/72 fibergalss hull for the 3-deck ship of the line Santissima Trinidad (sp.?). We'd both seen the old 'Beau Geste' movie in which two young men are battling with full-rigged warships as the movie starts. Seems that inspired Ralph to build a square rigger for R/C naval combat. The hull has a very large volume and would displace over 30 lbs by our estimate. Ralph plans to operate the sails by a large R/C sail winch that will rotate all of the masts, which will be set into sockets on the keel. For armament he wants about 10 BB cannons per side, most likely firing in several sets of duals or triples. (There will be an electric motor for propulsion if the wind dies.) Ralph has all of the equipment on hand except the BB cannons, whcih I'll probably help him build. I do have concerns about stability which may have to be addressed by reducing the amount of sail carried. The hull itself is deep and very beamy so would be stable without masts. I think it would have been better to build a 1/72 USS Ironsides from the Civil War, which would have been of similar size but was a steamship and would not have required sails on the masts. Bob Pottle
Gentlemen I was the[)] clown who did the Civil War thing in the 80s. My code name was Union Scum. To bad I had to get married. 10 years lost but we divorced and I am back. It was just a thought of maybe getting the Civil Warship Combat Club in a limited form going again. I had a good group of people and I sort of left with out a trace.I have a Cairo,Chocktaw,a Confederate Ironclad bigger than a Neuse in 1/48th scale. A Monitor in 1/35th scale. Dug out my old newsletters Ironclad a got a lot of chuckles. To the people who remember I did this thing at my own expense. I even ran contests in it. I am sorry to those I left hanging. Maybe there would have Civil War Combat now. Dan Rygasewwicz Alias UNION SACUM
Darn right I do Marty. How is the rest of the gang? Sorry I could not attend the party. Boy did I make a huge marriage mistake. Did Tom Jass get over that sinking he took at the hands of the Fredricksburg when it sank his Tiger? I go back for a chuckle when I read the article in a past Ironclad issue. I am back. Been back since 2003. DAN
Dan, Thanks a lot for mailing me your CW combat rules. A lot of research there. I can see where this focused more on the ironclads more so than sail. I should think it would be fun, though I wonder if modelers would get bored as both sides fleets were very similar in design from ship to ship. I have a couple of fiberglass ironclad hulls Micky traded me sometime back for WW2 hulls. Never built them though. I also drafted up some sail combat rules back when. Those are posted in the files section of the Yahoo Big Gun site. I wish I could have interested more local people into sail combat, but it never happened. --TimMc
I did have some local interest. When you get the Ironclad newsletters you will see how far it went till that marriage. It was a lot of fun. I was in the process of making a USS Mississippi double side wheeler. As I posted in one of the forums: I would like to see all R/C combat under one roof. I will get those newsletters in a few weeks. Hey did you like my primitive illustrations?
