And one of the final coat of epoxy. I had also covered the bow with fiberglass at this point to add a little extra durability:
I have put considerable effort into building cannons so far. I'm not completely over the moon with the results so far, but all in all, I think I will be able to achieve reasonable performance with some more tweaking. I documented the build of them HERE . This picture shows the current state, I had just built a new valve body that incorporated the pilot actuator internally, thus eliminating the need for the separate MPA-3. The new valve body/ actuator combination is shown installed on the cannon, the old assembly with the MPA-3 attached shown below it. This was done to save weight, increase actuator power, and mostly to shorten the assembly as I am still trying to figure out how to cram two of these in the bow.... I'm still just a hair short on space, even with the latest modification.
I had considered this, but two main problems stopped me from attempting it: 1) The tandems *tend* to fire one turret harder than the other. 2) In an attempt to bring the overall height down to one that would fit in the hull, I cut out ALL extra height anywhere... which I expected would severely limit the cannon effectiveness, and it has preformed almost exactly as I expected (still acceptable, and I am confident I can get the power I need with a few tweaks). I cut out all safety margins for airflow, and one of those was to use a ball valve that really doesn't flow quite enough air to cut the mustard. If I tried to run a tandem off of the one ball valve, it wouldn't have any chance of delivering the required power, and if I increased the ball valve diameter to flow enough air for tandems, it would no longer fit under the deck..... by trying to design my way out of a corner, I put myself in a different corner.... I *think* that by reconfiguring the accumulators I can increase power, and gain the ability to fit both cannons in their allotted space. I haven't made time to mess with it much, so many other things to work on.
Late post, this... but I had to say it. Your pic above of the hull getting glassed is for some reason breathtakingly beautiful Totally love it. (The hull, that is)
Thank You!!!! There is something strangely alluring to the look of west systems applied over a smoothly sanded surface. It's just so crystal clear, and even when dry it's so glossy it seems it has to still be wet. It reminds me of a new bar top, or a piece of finely finished furniture. I'll admit..... late at night...... when no ones around to make fun of me....... I can't help but touch it.
Ahoy Cannonman, I was just reading through your build and saw some of the problems you were having with cannon power. Double-check the rules you're building for: the clubs that limit barrel length merely state that you have to be within a certain distance of scale length, as measured from the turret face (if you have turret covers installed). If you trimmed it down to exactly scale length, you're almost certainly undercutting your power.
Thanks Kotori, I will double check the ruleset I was building for, and check some others as well. I don't ever remember seeing barrels so short anywhere. I didn't think much of it until I cut them to scale length and lost half of my penetrating power.
UUgghhh.... From now defunct MBG rules: 3. The length of barrels must be the same as on the real ship within 5%. Barrel length is measured from the end of the barrel to the face of the turret. From NTXBG Rules: The length of barrels must be the same as on the prototype ship within 5%. Barrel length is measured from the end of the barrel to the face of the turret. I still can't really recall seeing combat models with barrels this short..... I'm going to look at some pictures of ships from these clubs. It seems as if it would be difficult to get the necessary power out of cannons if these rules were strictly adhered to.
How about this one? From WWCC rules, "Gun barrels must be within 1” of scale length as measured from the front of the turret face or as per the plans." and that was only added a few years ago. Prior to that, it was just a max length of 6" from the bend. Of course, WWCC also requires barrels to be within 1/2" of scale height, which MBG and NTXBG don't even consider. If you don't want to follow WWCC rules, consider adding extra height instead.
I certainly like the addition to the WWCC rules, gives you a little lee way at least. MBG and NTXBG do limit the cannon height: From MBG (NTXBG is almost identical): 2. Weapons must be installed in the same position as on the real ship and barrels must be the same height above the deck as on the real ship. However, 3/8 inch of barrel height may be added to allow ships with a high bow to fire over the bow when gun barrels are horizontal. Adding height to indirectly add barrel length therefore is not an option.
How about temporarily adding height? Gentlemen, I give you the disappearing gun carriage! Disappearing gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ok, I know it doesn't help your case, but still.....
interested to see how this goes once you get in on the water and armed. i am currently too building an emile big gun and plan on arming forward guns and torpedoes. although our cannon maker has guns made that sit nice and low and they are a tandem breach. they hit hard and don't miss a beat so now to kit it out. question do you have the original drawings for those pumps to be printed, i really like the look of yours and want to 3dp my own through a mate.
