Hello, everyone. I'm new to the hobby, but not to the history behind it. I've got aspirations to do something with ironclads and/or pre-dreadnoughts, but I realize that isn't the primary focus of most clubs and hobbyists (which is absolutely fine.) I thought it might be interesting to start with something simple and fun: maybe the Surcouf or an I-400 as a surface runner. (However, they could be hugely complex: again, total rookiee here. So feel free to dissuade me from my naivete!) Recently saw a model of the Wasp that could be built for combat, that could be fun. As I understand it, there's a shortage of folks building Allied warships, anyway. What I'd like to do is to find the appropriate parts and materials needed to build and run one of these. Whilst I'm not new to model building, the mechanics of this kind of combat are completely new to me, and I'd like to find a way to learn them. I've noticed there are more pre-built rc warships, but I'm assuming, short of some sort of IR system ,that those aren't really appropriate for the combat side of the hobby: they appear to have the wrong kind of hull, and of course they aren't properly set up for this kind of activity. But if they can be converted then, wonderful! Anyhow, I'm presently in the US, but will likely be moving to the UK in the next year. I am told there are Warship clubs there, but haven't found much information, so, that, too would be something interesting to learn. At any rate, thanks for your time, and for allowing me to join the forum. I look forward to learning and meeting new friends. - A.
Welcome! Glad to have new folks here. Where at in the US are you located? You’ll definitely want to get involved in your local club even if for a few months.
I am also a huge fan of the predreadnought era, if you haven't figured out by my profile picture. Ironclads don't generally work well in the hobby due to their irregular hull shapes and widely varying amounts of penetrable area. One of my friends tried to do Civil War era combat in 1:48 scale, and it did not go well. Predreadnoughts and early dreadnoughts though, lots of possibilities there. There are several 3d-printable predreadnoughts available and armored cruisers are starting to show up as well. Submarines, even surface-runners, are not recommended for a beginning builder. If you like predreadnoughts, I would suggest you look at the options there. Definitely some good options available that are both simple and effective in combat. I am not aware of any true combat clubs in the UK. I have seen several R/C boating clubs doing pyrotechnics and staged displays that look quite fun, but that isn't really combat. You will also want to research the legality of bb-firing battleships before bringing one "across the pond". There are some places that classify a 1:144 scale Yamato as a "concealed assault weapon" or worse due to their firearms regulations. Airsoft is not as simple a substitution as you'd think for various reasons. IR laser tag systems are definitely not a good idea on water, waves and sunlight both cause absolute chaos. I have seen IR laser-tag work with RC tanks, there is a community that actively plays with the Tamiya system.
I'm sorry to hear about IR not working with that. May I ask why airsoft is a problem? Just curious. As for the tanks, I'm getting into that side as well, but parts of it can be... impenetrable. A friend recently asked for tips about how to start converting a kit he'd seen, and was told the only way to learn it was to "do it," which I think rubbed him the wrong way as somebody who wants to learn hands on. I'm quite fond of predreads. I saw that some of you were playing around with various French-inspired designs a few years ago. I wonder if there's anything out there for the Chinese or the Spanish? Chen Yuen and Pelayo could be fun.
Well there's a few problems. First, airsoft pellets float, and aren't biodegradable. No, not even the "biodegradable" ones. Steel bbs sink, then rust away over the course of a few months. Second, there's a big difference in damage. Airsoft projectiles are relatively large and low-density compared to bbs. While this can help with the projectile energy requirements of some firearms regulations, it also means that you'll have a very hard time penetrating below the waterline, or at any sort of long range. TBF it's been a LONG time since I've run any tests with airsoft pellets. While our cannons *can* be scaled up to fire airsoft, we haven't really done much since there is little need over here. Justin Scott's 7/32" cannons are very close to 6mm. It is also possible to do Big Gun style cannons in 6mm airsoft, although I have not actually tested those. Off the top of my head, there are 3d-printable hulls for the German predread SMS Deutschland, USS Virginia, and IJN Mikasa. I haven't been following the various AC builds, but I know they're out there too. What sort of difficulties are you having with R/C tank conversions? I know this is a forum for boats, but we've got a lot of technical expertise here.
Thanks, Kotori. I very much appreciate you answering my question(s). I suppose paintballs are just as problematic for very similar reasons? For me, and I believe for my friend as well, the issue was "how to get started building my own." There, are for example numerous conversion kits out there for 1/16th models (for example), I've been unable to get much information about which components would be required beyond the actual kit. (Which mechanical parts, for example. How to pick a transmitter/receiver. Control boards, that sort of thing.) It's probably quite silly of me, but though I've built a lot of miniatures and models, I've never really done anything involving motorized elements or building radio control systems, for that matter. So, essentially, I know where to get the "built" tanks. I know where to get the "conversion kits" (which can sometimes involve nothing more than the plastic parts); it's the inbetween neither of us really know enough about to select the proper components. I feel fairly confident I could do it if I had access to that information.
I personally have one right now that I am building but unfortunately those files are sealed away so you would have to start them from scratch if you wanted them i specifically have the USS NJ BB-16 with the funky double stacked turrets.
