ok so i heard about this awhile ago and finally decided to take a peek at it, and instantly fell in love with it. but i have limited knowledge in this and have no idea where to begin. i did see something about different groups like big gun or something. how do i know what i am going to be doing i dont know what ship i want. i have decent building skills with wood i used to build homes before the military but its been a number of years since then. and i dont have many tools currently as i am stationed in germany for another year any help or advise would be amazing thanks so much guys
Welcome to the hobby... you will find a lot of service members in the hobby, both current and retired.. Where in Germany are you at currently? I spent 13 years there, both in Freidburg and Erlangen with 1st AD. If you are going to be in Germany for a about a year, I would possibly just start saving up a little "boat fund"... Not much, but a little tucked away will help you get your feet wet as soon as you hit the ground stateside. Do you know where you will be stationed when you get back to the states? If so, best advice would be to see what groups are active in that area. We are spread out across the country, but there are a few areas where certain "formats" of the hobby are prevalant. Like in the SouthEast the Fastgun crew has a very large group... ect... We can get you in touch with who to contact when we know more about where you will be next. Personnaly I would suggest fastgun as a good starter, but I am biased.. because I battle with the fastgun format. I would not buy anything while in Germay, I would just start getting on the forums and asking the thousands of questions you will want to ask... We will all be glad to help you get going...
Wecome to the Magnificent Obsession! The format you choose is pretty much a function of where you will be when you return. This in turn has a bearing on your ship of choice. Sure the folks on here will be only to glad to advise as to what is where, and assist in boat selection.
awesome i am currently in spangdahlem and have been here for 3 years with another year to go i wont find out until may time frame ish to know where i am going next. about how much does it normally ball park run to get a decent looking ship in the fast gun and big gun. what do you recommend for controllers and internals for pumps and guns and what size co2 do you run im sure i will think of more as time progresses and thanks for the information thus far
Of the two formats, Fastgun is the cheaper of the two because of the type of guns and amount of guns on the ship. There are several differences in the two formats but the main one is the size of the guns and the "rate of fire". I think be the time you get back the Big Gun format will have a constant supplier of guns and the price may drop.. The bug gun club uses different size shot in the guns to represent different sizes in the actual guns on a ship, or the size of a ship. The fastgun format uses the same size shot in the guns. Price is dependant on what ship you use, how technical the equipment is, ect.... You can get on the water fairly cheap nowdays because the radios have drasticly dropped in price. For example, you can have a simple bilge pump motor that cost 6 bucks, (a 550 Can) or you can spend 50 bucks on a brushless motor and another 50 bucks on a ESC for that brushless motor... they both work great.... It's mainly what the captain prefers...
Welcome! If you build your own ship from scratch, the total cost does not hit right away. As was said before, who you will sail with has a big impact on your ship selection. These folks also become very close firends. When you get back to this side of the pond, check on what groups are in your local area. Go out an see a Fast gun, BIG Gun and a 96th sailing. Meet with the folks of each group. Then choose who you want to have sitting in your living room discussing a confrontation of the Yamato and Wisconsin over a beer. I first joined this for the hobby, but the friendship I have found is very special. Have a safe tour and looking forward you your return stateside.
Fastgun, building a ship generally runs anywhere from 400-1200, depending on which ship you choose and how much you scratchbuild and bargainshop, and how fancy you get.
what kind of controller are you running so be able to control a twin screw bilge pump and multiple guns.
Do you know where you're PCSing to when you come back? We typically use 6-channel radios, they're enough to control anything that Fast Gun runs, and the 9-channel from HobbyKing is only $54 and a great radio. HobbyKing also has an EU warehouse that can ship to you cheaper than the HK or US one.
If you go fastgun, which I suggest, , Go ahead and get a decent radio... if your getting a radio in EU make sure it has the right mode.. I believe it is mode 2, Tug is that right?, it is where the gimble controls are switched... In EU they use them backwards... so if you buy there you might get the wrong mode unless you specify it. This next thing is not necessary, but is a darn good thing to do in fastgun... A lot of us change the right gimble into buttons to enable easy, fast firing. Go ahead and contact Tony at RC South about adding buttons... What he does is remove the right gimble, and add buttons in it's place. He charges 60 bucks, but unless your an electronic savvy person, this is 60 bucks well spent. He does a really good job. I buy a radio and have it sent to him direct to save shipping cost getting radio to him. He will then send it to you after he works on it. www.radiosouthrc.com/custom_work.htm third shot down is the upgrade we do... If your good at electronics, there are several how to articles on this... I do this because my only knowledge about electricity is that it hurts when I pee on the fence!
It's not a hard mod to do at home with a soldering pencil and some resistors and buttons. Best advice to Spudsy is don't pee on the radio
Here is the actual difference between all the radio modes: Its not a big deal if you don't get mode 2, as its easy to change between modes. The hardest thing you may have to do is change where a spring on the gimble is inside of the radio, and perhaps plug your servos into a different spot on the receiver. The buttons are cool, but they are not necessary to fire fast.
First, welcome to the Obsession. You might want to check out the article here, providing and overview (written before the Treaty format, sadly) ntxbg.org/articles/servo20051rcmw.pdf As for costs, etc. the answer is a huge "it depends." Different ships have different power requirements, CO2 capacity, etc., based on their size and the format being battled in. Gun systems are generally less expensive in Small/Fast Gun unless you roll your own, but electrical power requirements are generally higher due the the much higher speeds and strains on motors due to such things as drag props used. Bigger motors pushed harder means heavier wiring, more expensive ESCs, more battery capacity, etc. are needed. While most Small/Fast Gun guys seem to use a minimum of 550 size motors (often larger), many Big Gun use geared 380s or even 280s just fine. Note that 550s have a stall draw of over 86A, and you will see what I mean. Number of servos and radio equipment is also a consideration. Small/Fast Gun guns are normally fixed, while Big Gun turrets are allowed to rotate and depresss the barrels, hence Big Gun requires, generally, more servos and more channels from the radio, while most Small/Fast gun systems are fine with a 6 channel system). You can get a decent radio for Small Fast Gun for $50 or less (the FlySky CT-6, sold under many brand names is one I like). Used to be hard to get a radio with the capability to maximize efficiency on a Big Gun ship (most servos had to be "Y"d to a couple or 3 channels. But, now, with the Turnigy 9XR up to16 channels controlled for about $50 to start for the base radio with no TX or RX, $250 all in loaded to get all 16) and, especially the FRSky Taranis (32 channels controlled $200 to start with 16 channelsTX and RX included, about $310 all in for the bits to use 32 channels) - so for about $60 extra on the Taranis, you get a radio with, in my hands, better ergonomics, built -in smart charger for the NiMH LSD battery, and cheaper shipping (the shipping on the Turnigy may eat up some or all of the savings of that system). A piece of advice - buy rour radio LAST. This area is fluid and changes frequently. In the next couple of months, expect to see the Turnigy 9XPro, the FRSky Taranis +, and perhaps the FlySky i10. Might even see the FRSky Horus - though the Taranis is sill in very short supply. Bang for the buck sweet spot changes without even a moment's notice. Cheers,
I agree with most of what Wrenow says, but the drive system on a Fast Gun battleship with a pair of 550's ($6 each) and a servo with 2 microswitches ($6 + 4.40) is hardly a bank-breaker. Many people do go fancier but I've not seen any data to suggest that it makes a great deal of difference in combat. I run brushless in most of my ships, which is about $30 for a motor and ESC per shaft, buying parts from HobbyKing (no, I'm not a paid spokesman for them. I wish.) because they're far cheaper than the US-sourced parts. FAR. CHEAPER. And they work really well. But my new battleship is running the regular 550's and microswitches. Pick what you like The single most expensive system on a fast gun ship is the gas system, with a CO2 bottle ($40-70) and a regulator ($65). A Big Gun ship requires more gas as the guns aren't as efficient but I don't think that it increases the cost a lot. Fast Gun cannons are $31.50 each from Battlers Connection and $62 each from Strike Models (not sure why there is a disparity) and Big Gun cannons cost more, but then they're more complex and are in short supply which raises the cost. Unless you're an old hand at RC and have a lot of stuff to run, getting a fancy radio like Taranis is overkill. I'm drooling over one, but every fast gun ship I have can be run on a cheap 6-channel radio.
ok so looking at battlers connection they say they are fiberglass hulls. so would i have to cut my own windows in them then and then lay the balsa wood over or are the hole already precut in like strike models. i am not afraid to cut the holes myself its just one of those things i want to be able to prep for when the kit arrives
hey Tugboat just to clarify I think the price is the about the same on both sites when you are ordering the cannon kits for the ships per unit. I have been looking at both to buy my first cannon's to have a look at them and how everything is hooked up and if I can make my own or try at least in the future. When you just buy the cannon's I think they are both around the $30 dollar range except for the coil mag ones.
Monster, yes you would and just like when I got my fiberglass hull from strike they would probably send instructions with it. Not like you couldn't find anything about doing it on the site. The holes will not be precut unless you pick up a used hull from someone.
Yeah, as Cheeze says, all fiberglass hulls need to be cut out. Easy but takes time and effort. But looking at the site, it's per cannon. Two cannons are $105. If Keri reads this thread maybe she can clarify. I'm not down on them (far from it, they sponsor this site), just curious what the reason is for the difference.
Oh I know I just saw the difference in prices listed ship per unit and by cannon separate. I am always looking at price differences. I am not rolling in the dough and can only afford the wood and glue to put that wood together right now. Soon I will be able to fiberglass and then work on it little by little.
Guns at both vendors are very close in price... Strike has a cheaper price by about 7.00 bucks if you get the stainless barrels(which I suggest). The reason they are cheaper with stainless at strike is they give you a 2.00 upgrade charge for each gun ordered. If you get them from BC, there is a 9.25 upgrade charge no matter what guns you buy. Basically a 50 round gun from Strike is $32.00, and from BC they are $31.50... Stainless barrels from strike if ordered when you get the guns is 2.00 and 9.25 from BC... I have always used BC guns in the past as I prefer their thumb friendly barrel nuts and mag caps.. I used to always try to build them as well but with copper and brass being so expensive now, it is easier to just buy them from either BC or strike because you don't run the risk of screwing up a 6.00 tee or something.. The guns prices are real close to what the materials cost.. I know for sure because I just priced out the cost for making them... the price is so close it is not worth the time and effort to make them,,, I will just buy them. As for the radio... right now there are very good prices out there.... in the past the radio was the highest cost.... not any more.. Now it's the air system.... even with poppets, the cost of the tank, regulator, and fittings are high.... most captains use Kip solenoids nowadays... those range from 35 to 50.. depending on who has them... Motors and ESC.. bah humbug.... To drive my 6 unit IJN Mutsu, I use 2ea 550 cans (6 bucks each) and a RC220 relay switch (25.00) to drive her around.... I am thinking of changing to brushless soon.... Overall, I think the Biggun boats run more in price if you get a bigger boat... plus the guns are still hard to get..
