Although I probably won't start construction until I've settled down in Idaho this summer, I might as well prepare a shopping list and get a few questions answered while I wait. How many guns is the HMAS Canberra allowed to have functioning? How should I pull the different ribs from this schematic? Where do you recommend the purchase of electronics from? How do I determine the water line, as well as if the ship will actually float?
There's a waterline on the plans, start there. If it will float, well, the 1:1 prototype did, so unless you foul yours up, it will too, but there is only one way to find out, and that's to put it in the water after you build it.
Open up a thread in the building section. Read the Bearn construction, some of you questions are already answered in there On the Ways: Bearn CV | R/C Warship Combat Read, re-read and ask questions based on that build. Don't reinvent the wheel, keep it simple for your first boat.
I don't know if I'm reading correctly, but on all three builds I've read (including bearn and the Edgar quintet) the electronic equipment and installation details tend to get fuzzed. How to construct the hull seems about 92% clear to me.
Build the hull first, then ask questions on the electronics. Captains will want to see your hull and layout so they can give you the best recommendations. You will need to decide on the group you will battle with as that will dictate connectors used. Nothing like burning up a component and asking for a spare at a battle, only to find that there are different connectors. Most captains will not cut up their spare so you can use, so that means you will need to fabricate a jumper. This also means you will have a new failure point in your ship. OR, you can use the same connectors and just plug and play.
The cross-section plans you posted are not for the Kent Class subgroup of the County Class cruisers, of which the Australian Canberra was a member. The Kent Class had prominent anti-torpedo bulges. The later London and Dorsetshire Classes had hulls without bulges, which is what the drawing you posted shows. Why bother building a hull from scratch when you can buy a fiberglass Kent Class hull suitable for HMAS Canberra from Strike Models? I made the mold Strike uses and have built a couple of ships from the hulls. Buying a fiberglass hull is well worth the cost in terms of saving you many hours of work scratchbuilding, will provide you with an accurate hull and more usable internal space. There are even precut decks made for the Kent Class hull. (A member of the NABS club built an HMAS Canberra from one of my hulls when I still owned the mold.)
I agree with Bob P, not just cause us Bob's think alike. A glass hull gets you on the water much faster. The first wood hull takes a while and does sometimes not turn out that great.
I have plans for both Kent and Dorsetshire in electronic form, but I agree with both Bobs... I love wood hulls, but fiberglass hulls are cheap (for the amount of time you'd spend building a comparable wood hull) and will get you on the water faster...
