I would definitely finish your first ship before you start ANY other projects. I have yet to finish my first ship because I've started so many other projects.
Hello Scharnhorst56 I would like to point out three things all new comers should think about before choosing the format they would like to play. 1, Cost is important but not the most important. remember you are making an investment and you should enjoy what you have invested in. 2,Complexity. Lets say you have the $ 1,200 plus or minus for your Big Gun Scharnhorst. Can you keep it running? The $ 1,200 is for the cost of the boat and not the Mechanic you will need if you are not handy. In Big Gun there is a lot of moving parts and the more parts that move the more problems you will have. Big Gun is what I call advanced RC Combat only a hand full of people can pull it off. I did it for ten years and I loved it but I watched countless people struggle and disappear. I have not played Fast Gun but it looks like they have fewer moving parts and that should mean fewer problems and easier to get parts. 3, Clubs. This is very important, if there is more than one club in your area to join, don't be fooled like me by the posts about forty members and 20 combat captain's and you go to the pond and there is six combat boats and four target boats and they tell you " You should have been here last month we had Twenty five captains". This was the last event of the year and I started building, only to find out $ 600 into my H-39 that was all active members they had. Remember you are making an investment check both groups out in person and decide based on facts and know your personal limitations and soon you will be telling the stories of how you sank whole Allied Fleet by your self. Regards Z Boat
Complexity for Big Gun ships is mostly in construction, not maintenance. The cannons are difficult to produce, but once built they can last for a very long time. I've seen a lot of people pondside troubleshooting Fast Gun cannons with a bit of pond gunk in them, or a slightly mis-adjusted selector pin. That said, whatever format your local club follows is best. Remember: to have a battle, you have to have opponents. Otherwise it's just a model.
I have both Fast Gun and Big Gun ships and while it is correct that you must play the format that is local to you; if there is no established group then you have to make a choice. Ask yourself, which of the two formats would you be more successful at recruiting for? Big Gun is by far the most expensive and complicated. Yes, all ships in all formats have to be maintained, but would you rather be maintaining 3 or 4 guns in a Fast Gun ship or a dozen or more in a Big Gun ship? I have a 17 gun Richelieu that is crammed with systems and if something goes out, you have to tear almost everything out to fix. The Fast Gun Kongo I have is only a 4.5 unit ship that only has 3 guns in it. Comparison costs between the two ships isn't even close. I estimate I have at least $1,500 or more in the Richelieu and only about $450 in the Kongo. Because of the cost of Big Gun ships and the difficulty in finding multiple gun, rotating turrets, many members opt for building the torpedo cruisers. I know they are still being built, but by comparison very few new capital ships make it into Big Gun combat.
I notice that in fast gun, you can't have an unlimited amount of cannons. What judges the amount of guns that you can arm your ship with in fast gun?
MY GOODNESS!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Sorry for using capitals, and exclamation marks, BUT THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!
I recommend that you contact the local group you are planning on battling with, they will most likely be able to help you a lot.
I see that in fast gun, some ships have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8 units. Sometimes, they have a .5 attached to it. What does that extra .5 stand four?
That stands for a half a unit. A one unit cannon has a magazine that will hold 50 rounds. A half unit cannon will only be allowed 25 rounds. Same goes for a half unit pump, it has a 1/16 opening versus a 1/8 opening on a 1 unit pump.
