Greetings all, My names Andrew, I am a LEUT Warfare Officer in the RAN. I have served on Frigates, tankers and patrol boats. I have been interested in this hobby, particulerly big Gun, as thats all that is played down under, since high school, but I've never had the opportunity, space and time to get involved. Until my next posting that is. I am set to score 2 years in a regional posting where I can acutally own a house, with lawn, and a SHED! no more man-cave under the stairs. my previous experience includes static models and wargames minitures since I was little, Model trains (HO Scale) and a competition level R/C sailing yacht that I purchased ready to sail second hand (10 Rater) I am looking at ordering a strike models Iowa kit, and building a locally sourced transport/freighter in the mean time. I will be positioned in the Hunter region of NSW, so will be looking to get in touch with the local BG there on how to get started.
You may want to check out http://www.dreadnoughthulls.com in Australia. They make an Iowa hull, and I imagine the domestic shipping charges would be a lot less. I'm sure Strike would sell you the other parts of their Iowa kit if you emailed Stephen.
Im looking at the complete kit as it states specifically that their deck kits will only fit on their hulls, something about a lip on the hull they have built in to mount the deck kits. My intention is to also purchase hardware kits, props and pumps, that strike models state they can include into the packaging with their kit to save postage. My biggest road block I believe will be guns, as strike do not make 1/4" triple mounts yet. I believe there is a Gent in Aus who makes them to order
Ahoy there Watto, welcome aboard sir! You'll find there are lots of current and former navy people in this hobby. Gee, I wonder why? I'm currently a fireman in the USN training to operate nuclear reactors in submarines. Before enlisting, I was an active member of my local club for 9 years. Prior to that, I grew up with LEGOs I wish you good luck with your first ship. The AusBG is a great group. I'm sure they'll get you started on the right foot.
I have one of their deck kits & hulls, their decks are very nice, however I'm not aware that there is a lip on the hulls them selves (unless they are doing something new now). I still had to do a fair bit of sanding to get a proper fit on the parts of the hull which were curved outwards.
Hi everyone, I'll have Stephen from Strike Models chime in on this thread soon. The hulls don't have a lip; the subdecks fit in the hull and have a step down that forms a lip for the main deck. We have shipped to Australia before, and Stephen can look up the rough shipping cost of that, as well as talk about if the decks would be worth trying with a different hull manufacturer.
Hello Watto, I'm the tech officer for the Newcastle Battle Group. I'd be glad to welcome you to our club. As for guns, between my brother, who is our C.O. and myself, we produce our own cannon. All our cannon shoot reliably and hard. We also produce our own propshafts and rudders, and would be only too happy to assist in your ship build.
Hi Darren, That sounds awesome! I post to Willie town mid august, so should be able to set up man cave from around then. Am looking at a simple TT or FF from dreadnaught hulls to cut my teeth on, any recomendations. I also had thoughts of building a carrier first, as its unarmed, and a bit different (Was looking specifically at SARATOGA) that I could later arm with her 4 twin 8" turrets. But then I thought that I could build a TT on the cheap, and spend the money on the BB! Also, on another point, what are your thoughts, and any other AusBGers out there, on getting a subforum created in the local clubs section here for AusBG! having a common forum for all captains and commodores in aus to chat, advise and spin waries would be handy
I'm actually at Raymond Terrace, just over from Williamtown, right under the FA/18 flight path. Those frigates you served on, I helped build. We should talk, phone or skype......... Or you could hunt up our facebook page, Newcastle Battle Squadron.
Hello Andrew, I'm glad you found us. I can ship and Iowa kit to Australia, but it is a bit expensive. It looks like it will run somewhere around $250 just in shipping. The big hulls get hit with dimensional shipping charges, so a ship this size is considered as being about 38 pounds, even if the actual weight is much less (I do not cut the hulls in half for shipping). On the other hand, you can pack a bunch more into it and not incur any additional shipping costs (including nesting entire kits inside). Ah, the big gun cannons have been nothing but fun and joy to redesign and build .I have an ultrasonic welder (that should be operational later this week) for a couple of parts on the cannons (mainly in the magazine area for the uprights). The thing requires 3 phase power and I'm waiting for the last part to arrive to convert single phase power to 3 phase. Thank you, Stephen Morgret Strike Models
