Hi there! You're in a great location, within a few hours of a number of different larger groups of battlers. IRCWCC has a number of captains sprinkled around PA/Ohio/Michigan/etc area. Is there a specific ship that you're interested in? Welcome!
Thanks! I'm near Columbus Ohio. Sounds good to me! As for ships, not sure. Probably Bismarck because that's the first battleship I started to really dive into. But I like almost all ships lol.
There is a group in the Dayton area that does treaty style combat and are very active. Get a hold of rcengr or pba. I think they have build sessions every Tuesday evening
Bismarck is a big boat, big boats generally are expensive and more difficult to build. Now, theres a sliding curve here...super small boats are equally hard to build (some may say even harder to build). A really good starter boat is something in the class 3-5 range. Some boats that come to mind are: Suffren (roomy, easy to build, easy+cheap to outfit properly. 2 guns, 1 pump, 1 driven propeller.) Cleveland (Suffren, but even roomier, add a second drive motor + propeller) Des Moines (Big heavy cruiser, add a third gun to Cleveland) Admiral Graf Spee (Des Moines but far smaller, have to be careful of weight or it'll be a submarine) Invincible (Good starter sidemount-capable battlecruiser. Not super great at anything, but you get 3 cannons and a pump in an easy to build + maintain boat.) Von Der Tann (Harder to build than Invincible, more complicated hull shape. Otherwise the same) Iron Duke (Invincible + another gun + some more complications in terms of hull shape. A little bit bigger, too.)
Agree with thus advice. Seen people get in only to get out because of the frustration and expense. Cruisers would be best starter. They are faster, lower maintenance and start up costs. Additionally, the hulls are not as complex as some class 4 ships. With battery technology today, what used to be crowded is now doable without any exotics. The printed boats South Jersey offers would be perfect starters. He's got the stuff to get you going and has removed the guesswork of design/engineering of the old days. You would do well. If you want a Bismarck looking ship, I would recommend a Prinz Eugene (ran one for 7 years in the prehistoric days. Loved the ship). To bad there isn't a printed one yet. Kevin?
Awesome, there are a lot of cruisers that can be quite beginner friendly. Do you have a specific one in mind, are you looking for a specific suggestion, etc? Some people come into the hobby because they love X Y or Z historical ship. Some people come into the hobby just because they think its cool as heck and wanna blow stuff up, regardless of what the remote controlled boat looks like. So thats why I ask
For me, my three favorite are heavy cruisers. The Prinz Eugen, the Cleveland, and the Kent class, probably the Canberra.
Well, depending on what exactly you want to do, I have a kit for the Cleveland/Fargo class light cruisers and will be releasing a kit for the Baltimore/Oregon City class before the end of February. If you want to do a traditional wooden boat, that is always an option too.
I was going to ask about material, as I think once I find a ship I want to do, then what material should it be made out of. What's legal and acceptable? Cost, durability, maintenance, repair. I am trying to research this now. You are with and or run South Jersey Shipyards?
Yes, I'm that guy. If you have any questions, let me know. As per rules/legality/etc, check out the IRCWCC rules: https://ircwcc.org/rules.php Generally the specific material the hull is made of we don't care about a ton, provided the hull meets our construction rules. All SJS kits are designed to be legal out of the box for newbies.
So fiberglass hull kits are out of the question, as they are not specifically mentioned in the rules? Or as long as the material can be penetrated for sinking and fair play? I'm a little lost is all. Wanna make sure I get my ducks in a row!
Oh no, fiberglass is totally acceptable. You just need to go in and cut out the penetrable windows per the rules. I would argue that fiberglasses far more traditional, alongside wood, then what I am offering. But there's a lot more internal construction and such required vs a plastic kit like my offerings. If you'd like, shoot me a private message and we could arrange a phone call and I can go over as much as I can with you.
Im up in Muskegon and we battle over in Saranac Mi. If you want to come up for a battle, let me know and ill have a loaner ready to go for you.
