As I said in my intro thread I'm a potential new builder. Due to space limitations and the idea that a smaller ship might be a better first build I've been thinking of a Class 3 ship. Which leads to the dangerous world of armored cruisers. My first, partially sane, thought is the SJS Tennessee kit. No need to make my own hull mold! My other thoughts are ... HMS Minotaur class armored cruiser - very similar but no pre-made hulls HMS Warrior armored cruiser - again similar and maybe the SJS Tennessee hull could be modified into Warrior as it is close enough in size USS Pennsylvania class armored cruiser - more interesting to me but no pre-made hulls HMS Duke of Edinburgh - more interesting but no pre-made hulls that are still being sold How bad is smaller 26 speed for a beginner ship? How bad is running a class 3 without a side gun? I assume that would mean 2 units of rear guns + 1 pump. Can Duke of Edinburgh use a triple rear setup (centerline single turret + two wing turrets) with a 0.5 pump? The Pennsylvania class only has two rearward facing main guns so I suppose it would either mount 1 gun unit forwards and 0.5 pump unit or perhaps a 0.5 unit spurt gun set up as a poor man's side mount on the front and a 1 unit pump?
I recommend the Tennessee SJS kit, it saves 50-70% of the build time relative to a fiberglass build, and even more relative to a scratch build. Get the first build under your belt and then consider something from scratch. There were fiberglass hulls for Minotaur and maybe one of the other British armored cruiser that were carried by stike models for a while before they shut down. They could still have a hull in inventory. Armored cruisers are good starters since they are tough to hit and have a lot of impenetrable area
I concur with the South Jersey Tennessee. Given current component availability I would also recommend against anything small, keep the weight over 12 lb so that you can handle the regulators and tanks that are readily available. That would get you on the water fast and let you have fun while you figure out exactly what you really want to build next and give you time to do so.
A class 3 ship like people have been describing is a very good start. It lets you get things figured out in a form factor that is big enough to be fun, but not so complex as to cause a lot of initial headaches. It will also make a good secondary ship in the future for events like campaign or if your primary goes down.
I recommend the SJS Blucher be considered as well. tons of hard area, really maneuverable, and can be captained at pretty much any level of competence. Once I got the bugs worked out of mine, it became the only boat that I bring to the pond. I run a bow gun in the starboard wing, a stern gun in the port wing, and the starboard sidemount in the stern turret. excellent combo for my battling style. if you want a boat that's relatively easy to build, easy for a beginner to use on the pond, and hilariously aggressive when you gain the experience, Blucher's a good one.
If you are a rookie, and you are in Philly, and you are interested in an SJS hull...send me a PM or an email at wtustin@southjerseyshipyards.com and come check out the shop. SJS has a local rookie program to help you get started if it's something you're interested in. I also have the HMS Lord Nelson class PDN, which may be a bit more fun if you're interested in the sidemount game vs just cruisering around. The Tennessee is technically large enough to get a half unit sidemount, but in reality the barrel on the sidemount would be not even 1/2" long. Better off with a dual stern and 15deg bow gun. Lord Nelson doesn't have a ton of impenetrable area compared to the Tennessee ACR or some of the other ACR's, but that also makes her easier to sheet. It is also one of the largest final classes of PDN, so you have some wiggle room to build it as a rookie and make a few mistakes vs a smaller, lighter ship where any changes result in massive re-engineering. -WT
