Well Hello and iam kind of new to RCNV, Well Im only 14 and it seems that RCNV seems to be interesting hobby to do in summer break. I have only $200 to spend on this hobby and I want to buy a new ship (or build one from scratch which is unlikely) Also what kind of ship is also the cheapest to buy or build? And it might have no guns at all (torpedo boats,dd(Maybe),cl(unlikely),ca(unlikely),bb(unlikely),bc(unlikely),cv(unlikely),Transport) Also can someone Summarize between the rules too?(like big guns,battlestations,etc.) And I thses are the only questions i have rigth now .... (I also posted this on the propoganda forum, sorry about that)
Welcome to the hobby! The first thing to determine is which club is closest to you: Big Gun, Fast Gun, IRCWCC, MWC, Battlestations, Treaty, et cetera. That will help you determine which rule set to build to in the long run. The second thing to do is consider your budget and then consider what sort of ship construction plan fits that budget. The smallest ships available will always be the cheapest, but I have yet to see a combat-capable (meaning having at least one functional gun aboard) ship smaller than a Destroyer. The Japanese I-400 sub might be the exception, but that's a different kettle of fish entirely. If you have any carpentry skills, scratchbuilding is a real possibility for you, and also will let you stretch your budget over a long period of time. If you want to buy a kit, then I strongly recommend you check out Strike Models (http://www.strikemodels.com) or Battler's Connection (http://www.battlersconnection.com) and see what sort of kit you can get for your price range. Take into account shipping and handling! Also take into account that you will not be able to buy a complete ship kit for less than $200 from either manufacturer! A summary of the rules is difficult to do, but I'll give it a shot: MWC/Fast Gun: BB cannons only for weapons, all ships must comply to scale waterlines, weights, speeds, and sinkability guidelines as established in the rules (see also: http://www.mwci.org for more information). WWCC/Big Gun: cannons can shoot .177 caliber BBs up to 1/4" ball bearings depending on the size of the original weapon, all ships must comply to scale waterlines, weights, speeds, and sinkability guidelines as established in the rules (I don't know where they have their rules posted). Battlestations rules I have not read, but Battlestations builds almost exclusively in 1/96 scale as far as I know, which by comparison to 1/144, is HUGE. If you really want to go the 1/96 route, http://www.scaleshipyards.com has a pretty fantastic catalog of hulls. Treaty Combat is sort of a mix between Fast Gun and Big Gun rules, but the particulars escape me. Since you have a small budget, scratchbuilding is a good way to go. Tugboat has a thread called "The Cheapest Point of Entry" where he is doing a step-by-step build of a ship from scratch. You can learn a vast amount from that thread and the pictures he's posting. Both Strike Models and Battler's Connection have a nice variety of ship hulls and kits available in Class 4 and under that will let you buy a hull for less than $200 as well as some of the fittings for said hull. Take into consideration the complexity of your desired finished product when choosing your hull! I am currently building a Strike Models Iowa-class battleship, and it's 6 feet 2 inches long and is over 9 inches wide. I built a shelf exclusively for the ship before I even took delivery, and I've budgeted a large chunk of the remainder of the year (work and other projects notwithstanding) to build it, detail it, make it look pretty, and then set it up for combat for next year's fun and games. This hobby is very complex, but very fun. Allow yourself time and patience to do this, or the fun will not manifest itself. Also, check out some of the other build threads that have been posted; they taught me a lot as well, and I'm a rookie, too. Good Luck!
Welcome! Miller7D said it all very well. The only comments I have to add are: Are your parents behind you in this effort? I know that in my BIG GUNS club, a person must be at least 18 to sail a ship with operational cannons! So it would be important to have your dad involved in this with you. When you build a ship together, it helps with the financing, along with being some wonderful father/son bonding time.
Welcome to the forum! I hope youll have good time here. Im 14 too. So we are in the same battleship with you
Anyway, I probably want to build a Brooklyn class cruiser kit from strike models since its for begginners. My uncle (and probably my dad) would probably give me an additional $200 to build the ship. And I already have a radio...
Look for someone in your local club area to help you with the first build. Also look at larger ships as a possible first build. A cruiser is a bit harder to build and battle. Have fun and welcome aboard!
Well strikemodels said that the brooklyn is the begginer's ship.. so what ships do u reccomend for a newb like me?
Also I think i can't really get someone from the SAS because theres really no one I know near Atlanta that is active
Looking at strike's page. I would recommend the Arizona. To keep it within your budget, I would get just the hull and plans, make your own deck/subdeck out of wood and make sure you get turret covers. You could spring for the whole kit but that's up to you. You can build a brooklyn but you need to keep it small and light. It's really hard to do and keep it from being tippy.
Well I read a article in Port Polar Bear (thx to someone who pmed me) saying that begginers should build cruisers, instead of Battleships. Plus the Arizona might be too advance for me : P since I'm not really a good builder (but my father is a professional carpenter and sometimes builder) Srry if this comment is a little to hard to read, I typed it on my Iphone...
I think a Tennessee might be a better build as it has fewer casemate areas to deal with. But either 1 should be a nice boat to build.
With a a beginning build you may want a boat that has some more beam just so that it is a bit easier to work with. It is also easier to layout items in a battleship rather than a cruiser.
It's your choice. We recommend different but we also build and battle em. I have an Arizona and have built 4 ships so far, BB26 just built a Tennessee from a hull. My Arizona turned out to be a really good rookie boat because it has a lot of protection and is hard to hit. I could get away from most attacks. It is also very versitile with different gun arrangements. I never grow bored with changing it.
There are 3 or 4 people in thew Atlanta area that are active. Go to the MWC site and join, and have Brian K add you to the region 3 list.
