So now that I'm getting close to having a battling ship, I'm wondering how many battlers I have around me. I know that Nate G. is up in Bradford. Anybody else? Beaver
A relative has a pond less that a mile away from me. It's only 15-20ft wide and less that 3ft deep. Probably only big enough for sea trials. Do you have any ships built for fast gun, Nikki? Beaver
Ive started re-work on my Dirty Jersey 1/144 Big Gun. Working out the CAD/CAM for my CNC router to cut out the parts. Im in Carlisle but willing to drive pretty much anywhere with in 3hrs (pitt to philly)
Ive got nothing built yet. Having started and stopped on my Jersey since 2005 and never getting very far because my wood working skills are, shall we say, seriously lacking. I have a 1/144 fiberglass hull for it but it is garbage (very disappointed in the waste of money THAT was) The sides are not straight, and the dimensions are totally off (the bow is completely crooked). I am not really a fan of FastGun because of the rules (or lack of..) allowing you to fire as fast as possible (these are battle ships! not machine guns!), with little armor and no variance in caliber. Being a huge fan of the Iowa class (and being from Jersey...) I liked the idea of BigGun allowing the larger ships to have their 'scale' caliber weapons, and their armor belts, and scale armor thickness. Why be the biggest ship on the water when you are just as strong as a guy with a tiny destroyer? You are just a bigger target My CNC cutter should be arriving with in the month (I hope) and I am currently drawing up everything in SolidWorks so I can translate it all into CAM and have the machine do the cutting for me, and I can insure that everything is straight and even. I am a little bit of a perfectionist. Ive actually been following your Suffren build. Very impressive!
darkapollo, I'm the contact for the Pittsburgh area in the Midwest group!!! were are a 1:96 scale and 144th scale.. we have a first big meet in May, which is the Battle of Denmark starits.. Nikki
It came from Australia. I could probably salvage it, but building one from wood is going to be less work.
Have you considered building a ship for fast gun? Might not be your preferred type, but it would be easier to get into the fun. Plus, most people play FG in the Northeast. And FG isn't all that bad. Destroyers don't have the hitting power that you might think. They are small and complicated in 1/44, making them not the most popular ship. Plus they don't have too much hitting power, most only have one 1 unit cannon and a small pump. Iowas are very formidable enemies, having 7 cannons and a large pump. You're pretty close to Maryland. Are you planning on going to NATS? You can get a chance to see FG ships, and maybe even get to drive one. You say you're getting a CNC mill. There has been a ship cut out with one. http://rcnavalcombat.com/Forum/tabid/58/aff/566/aft/441624/afv/topic/afnp/474258/Default.aspx Beaver
When I was first interested in the sport (researching a scratch-built wooden Jersey.. stumbling on a YouTube video) I looked at fastgun, but I just dont like the rule sets. I like the realism that biggun offers, arming all 9 barrels, thick armor, optional secondaries, and things like that. I wasnt planning on attending NATS as I am just getting back into working on my boat after a 5 year hiatus. Right now I am here to get ideas (SO much has changed since I was here last in 09) and meet some locals who can help with directions, ideas, and learn from. I am a technical minded person, self taught in CAD, and with my CNC on its way I can put some of my 9 year old ideas to digital ink and eventually into something tangible. Id love to get to attend some build events, get to know people, and make some friends before going to a a big battle.
I prefer BG for the realism as well, but there aren't very many big gunners around PA. That's why I built for fast gun. More people to battle with without traveling too far. I am building for Battlestations though. Partly because it's big gun, and partly because it's new and needs more ships, and partly because I get to build a destroyer without too much difficulty. Have you thought of maybe building for Battlestations? USS New Jersey (BB-16) wouldn't be a half bad ship. Beaver
Well that is a thought. Battlestations run 1/96 right? That is HUGE! An Iowa in 96th would be some 10 feet long! I may build a fast gun just to get a piece of the action after my BG Jersey is put together. BB16 would be a nice addition.
Yeah, BS is in 1/96. Makes my V-106 just possible to be built. It's going to be a challenge making her into a fighting ship though. Beaver
Once I get my CNC set up and my Jersey cut, we should try to get a PA group together. The CNC is portable enough that I could pack it up and set it up to do relatively precision parts.
