http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/Forum/tabid/58/aff/545/aft/407205/afv/topic/Default.aspx Several sites are linked there.
If I am reading this then I should use plywood for the ribs and the frame or do I need a harder wood?
don't get just any plywood, make sure you're using good wood. Marine-grade plywood is the absolute MINIMUM you should use, and baltic birch aircraft plywood is even better. Powder Monkey described excellent 1/4" plywood, but you may find that 3/8" ribs or 1/8" ribs are necessary, instead. Whatever you do, stay away from doorskin. I have seen a few boats build of the stuff, and they just disintegrate over about 1 year's time no matter how well you protect them. The Bearn thread is a great example of a wooden ship, although there are a few things I would do differently. You can also take a look for the PUMA class transport build, and the Doomsday Device Viribus Unitis build. all of those are excellent threats, I mean threads, about building wooden ships.
So what would you guys recommended as a first big gun build? I do have some modeling experience but only with plastic.
"what boat should I build?" is a tricky question, no matter what format you're asking about. lets see... A wooden hull is a risky proposition for a first-time builder. It has potential to be a fabulous hull, both beautiful and functional, and far superior to any fiberglass hull. On the other hand, that can only happen if you have the tools and skills necessary to work with a wooden hull. A few handy tools to have include: dremel, bandsaw, disk or belt sander, drill press, powered screwdriver (and attachment for using drill bits), a wide assortment of hand tools, measuring tools, and layout/drawing tools. Of course, most of these are also required for a high-quality fiberglass build, and you *can* ignore many of those tools if you don't mind sacrificing quality. Knowledge is just as important as tools when it comes to building a wooden hull. Having the help of a master wooden shipbuilder can jump-start your shipbuilding skills and put you years ahead of others lacking the benefit of experience. Obviously, if there isn't a master shipbuilder around locally to help you, you get him to help you cut frames or show you how to plank, but you can get a pretty good education on wooden shipbuilding techniques just by browsing the ship construction threads on this forum. Now lets move on to your actual question: what boat would I recommend for you to build in Big Gun? There are actually three separate, unique answers to that question, each of which is perfectly valid. 1) if you're a patient person and you're absolutely positive you'll be in the hobby for a long time, I would recommend starting with a transport ship. Transports make a great introduction to wooden hull construction, since the inevitable first-time-builder mistakes will happen on your dinky little transport, not the big bruisin' battlewagon that you plan to beat down the Allies (or Axis) with once you've learned how to build it. 2) if you're not certain you want to join the hobby and you want to get your feet wet while minimizing your investment, I would recommend a torpedo-cruiser or torpedo-destroyer. torpedo-cruisers and -destroyers are much simpler ships than other armed warships, especially if you use shore-reloaded torpedoes. Great examples of torpedo-cruisers include the Capitani Romani, Spahkreuzer, Kirov, and Emile Bertin. In fact, you can take a look at the rookie ship project on this forum, and download CAD-modeled plans and templates for the Emile Bertin for free. Then you just need to drop in a pair of MJV-2 torpedo cannons, and you've got your first ship ready to go. If you want a destroyer, instead, then the Gearing, Le Fantasque, Mogador, Tribal, Shimakaze, and Z-32 would be excellent choices. 3) If you're certain you want to join the hobby, but don't have the patience to build an unarmed transport first, then you'll want a nice big battleship. Preferably something between 35,000 tons and 45,000 tons. Big battleships like that are more forgiving than other classes of ships about mistakes, and pack enough firepower and endurance to be a significant threat on whatever pond you're battling at. Stay away from smaller battleships, their lack of space can be fatal for a rookie. I myself built a Viribus Unitis after nearly seven years of building wooden ships, and I barely got it working after using every trick in the book and inventing some more. A few good big battleships to look at: King George V, South Dakota, Scharnhorst, Dutch Battlecruiser, Bismark, Iowa, Dunkerque, Richelieu, Gascoigne, and Alsace.
You know what they say. Always keep moving in a fight I will check out the abdiel class. What are the limits on speed? Posted By Stokamoto on 19 Jul 2009 10:32 AM What? No Yamato? lol. Curt I take it your a Yamato kinda guy This one looks really interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Latona_%28M76%29 but I guess I would have to find the plans for it 3rd Edit: I just happened to find the plans http://books.google.com/books?id=B4jt827bvaAC&pg=PA135&lpg=PA135&dq=HMS+Latona+ship+plans&source=bl&ots=HrSoS2zkru&sig=kQ9BoQTxmwkvhHkcKcnIFLTGo5A&hl=en&ei=8KZjSrrlCaGEtgeSt6yyAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8 But I don't think thats going to be engonth to work off of.
The Emile Bertin is fairly fast, not too small, and can be armed with a variety of weapons. Even better, the complete plans are available here on RC Naval Combat.
Building a Liberty or Victory first is a good way to learn hull building skills. Also, once the ship is complete, you will learn about trim problems and how to sail and keep your stern pointed at whom ever is shooting at you. Another point in favor of a cargo ship, is that it is cheaper and quicker build.
Unfortunately, it's French, and most new guys aren't interested in French. Kotori's advice is excellent. Personally, I'd recommend option 2 that he posted and look at a big, fast cruiser such as the IJN's Mogami class. You can add the torpedo cannons first, and add more weapons later if you want. She's got the speed to get you out of trouble, enough firepower to do some damage, and twin rudders to provide you with good maneuverability. Also, arming a torpedo crusier has to be FAR cheaper then fitting out a battleship.
Or do the Graf Spee, big guns, torps and the looks. Plus, u can get a hull for about $100 i think Bryan has the mold now
*explosive* torpedoes are against the rules. Instead, what we big-gunners use are "torpedoes", AKA big battleship-caliber guns, muzzle-loaded and fixed off the sides. Single-barrel torpedo cannons can be built for about $30 per barrel, using standard parts from Clippard. For multi-barreled torpedo systems, you either daisy-chain the single barrel cannons, or build them with mill and lathe. Daisy-chaining works good for twin torpedoes, but gets klunky and heavy with 3 or more barrels. A single multi-barreled unit works well with 2 barrels, and great with 3 barrels. More than that, and you start having to deal with the buna-ball rod drooping. Frankly, a cruiser or destroyer, armed with 1 or 2 torpedoes per side, would be highly effective. You can also modify the single-barrel torpedo design into a rotating, reloading bb cannon, also using OTS parts, and put a small CO2 system in a cruiser like Emile Bertin. This would only be useful for hunting other cruisers, destroyers, and transports, and won't help much against battlships, but it's a lot of fun to use.
Wow... there are two entire topics there... Scratch building a wood hull is a lot of work and looks a lot easier than it is. I scratch built the hull of the first ship I built but I had a lot of experience with making accurate plans and working with wood. If you do not have a high level of comfort with making your own plans and working with wood you should seriously consider using a fiberglass hull. It is nice to use five ply plywood if you can afford it. However, I have had very good luck with cheap three ply 1/4" birch plywood. However, the keel of your hull must be something high quality. I used ash... which is a really pain to work but is unbeatable for strength. Probably the most important thing to consider is how to seal the frame to protect it from water... I recommend using fiberglass resin. Please to not skimp on this... the best hull will bend like a banana when wet if it is not properly sealed. I've seen several new builders become discouraged because they didn't take enough care to seal their hulls... As for what ship to build... in these circles that is sort of like discussing politics or religion... In the case of a Big Guns ship the major cost is the cannons... in general the fewer turrets you have the cheaper the ship will be. This is not as true if you can build the cannons yourself... (for example by using non-rotating Arizona style cannons) When building warships it is also generally easier to build larger ships than smaller ones... Talk to anyone who has built a small warship in Big Guns and they will tell you it is hard. A small unarmed ship is fine - but once you start adding CO2 bottles, regulators, firing servos, etc. you run out of space quickly. Things will be easier if you think big. Look at what you can comfortably carry in your car/truck/suv... taking into account that you will also have other supplies, maybe a cooler, etc. then look for the biggest ship with the fewest turrets that is within that size. That ship is probably a reasonable choice. There is my $0.02 worth (and that is about all it is worth LOL)
