NABS (Nova Scotia) Revival?

Just to let y'all know I'm still here but my ships are in a bad state of repair I'll have to take a look at them next time I'm off and see if they can run and it they work

 

Bob, PA is so close you have to come down this year. The last time we battled together was 2002 in Rhode Island, You had the Espana. This year I have the Espana!
See ya
Barry

 

Hi Barry,
I won't be able to attend NATS this year. I'd planned to stop full-time work on June 30 and be free for NATS but it looks like I'll have to continue working into July to bring my replacement up to speed on my forensic patients. In the future I'm taking summers off so can attend NATS starting next year.

At NATS in 2003 I was running HMS Warspite. There was an Espana there, built from one of my hulls, but being operated by a young captain. What were you running that year?

Bob

 

Need to Take my ships to the pond for some more testing but as of the moment I have 3 ships combat ready 3.5 graff spree 4.0 vdt and Labrador a cargo vessel.

 

Hi Bob,
Sorry you won't make it this year. I had the Admiral Scheer in RI. I could have swore you had Espana or Canaris. I'll bet 2017 Nats is not going to be closer than PA. Well one of these years we will do it again. Take Care

 

Hi Barry,
I'd finished the Canarias in 1999 but didn't bring it to the 2003 NATS. I'd sold the Espana (built in 1998) because it was too slow to use in the NABS fleet.

As of July 1 I'm going from full time work to 2 days per week with July and August off yearly until I retire in late 2018. I plan to attend NATS next year but my skills will be extremely rusty. There's been no R/C combat action here in years - I haven't battled since 2008.

I've abandoned plans to build Vanguard or Rodney but will have Canarias, Suffolk, Indefatigable and Gorgon completed/refitted by 2017. I'll probably bring Canarias and Indefatigable so I can battle with the Allied and Axis fleets.

Regards,
Bob

 

It's turned out that even though I'm working only 2-3 days per week the provincial Criminal Code Review Board is short on forensic psychiatrists and will need me every Monday during the summer. No NATS for me this year.

 

revive Nabs!!!!

 

So..... take one Monday off!

 

*blows dust off comms mic*

Hey everyone..how's life?
For the last couple of days I've been jonesing for some NABS battle action. I had the Augusta and the Algol with all of their kit right up until it all got lost in a house fire about two years ago. So...I have no boat..but I'm looking for something like the Augusta. Allied battle cruiser of some sort.

Is NABS still a simmering dish on the back burner?

 

Maybe so J. Hopefully the guys can get things going again. I miss the combat for sure.

 

As it turns out the previous oner of the Augusta (Arron) just moved back into town from Winnipeg and 15 years away. He wants in too. We were chatting it up at the Parade of Sail just today.

 

Well that's encouraging! I just read your post after being away almost all summer. Here's what I know about locals with finished ships or models under construction:

Jason C. - had a VdT and a Graf Spee near completion several years ago and was still interested in battling 2 years ago if we were able to find a site.

Steve H. - has a battle ready HMCS Uganda I completely rebuilt for him in 2009; however, he hasn't used it and had no interest in getting back into the hobby or selling Uganda when I was last in contact with him (2015).

John C. - was working on a WWI USS Mississippi a couple of years ago but has been out of contact for a long time.

Paul M. - had 2-3 completed ships (I don't remember what they were) and went to Nats several years ago but like John hasn't been active on this forum in a long time.

Ralph C. - dropped by a month ago and will soon be back to work on Seydlitz after making new hull molds for HMS Agincourt and the Fiji/Uganda/Swiftsure heavy cruisers.

Me - I shipped my only significant battle ready model (HMS Minotaur) to the USA today; still have HMS Gorgon (just 1.5 combat units) which only needs need drive and receiver batteries; I could have heavy cruisers Canarias (Spanish) and HMS Suffolk refitted by Christmas and finish battlecruiser Indefatigable by March and plan to go to NATS in 2018.

What are you and Arron thinking of building? Our biggest problem in the Halifax area is finding a new battle site. My cottage has several hundred feet of shoreline, sandy bottom and a large area of shallow water suitable for battling but unfortunately is a 3.75 hour drive away in New Brunswick.

 

I took a closer look at the cottage beach as a potential battling site this week. The beach is within a large cove but exposed to the prevailing WSW wind; there's often wave action but rarely rough enough to prevent battling. The shore is a few hundred feet long and about 40' wide with lots of room to set up tables and tents. There's a very gradual slope to the sandy bottom, so most people could walk out 70+' without going over their head. The only hazard is fresh water clams with razor sharp edges so beach foot wear is recommended! All that would be necessary for a secure battle site is a 1" line on floats to prevent ships going out of control into deep water. It would need to be about 360' long. The beach is cresent shaped so an out of control boat will probably go aground on 3 of 4 sides. If we can't find a site in NS I can host battles in July and August if people are willing to drive that far.

Kim's about to leave for 8 weeks to hike the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in France and Spain so I'll be able to move some folding work tables upstairs from the poorly lit basement and commence refitting heavy cruisers Canarias and Suffolk. I have 4-6 weeks to install the fiberglass decks on the Indefatigable, Rodney and Profintern hulls before cold weather prevents glassing and curing outside.

 

Sounds promising Bob.

 

Nabs national next year????

 

I hope so Marty. Kim wants to drive across Canada next summer but I'm not keen on the idea and would rather attend NATS. I might be able to persuade her to do a trip to the US instead and add a visit to my sister in Florida.

Whatever happens next year I'm retiring from part-time work no later than June 30, 2019 and will be able to attend NATS that July. (I've just been persuaded to resume full-time work for a few weeks in Sept.-Oct., which is going to delay the Canarias and Suffolk refits.)

 

Indefatigable's forecastle deck was laid up on the weekend and has been curing for 2 days. It and the quarterdeck will be removed from the molds this evening and installed this week. The decks for Profintern and Rodney are ready for installation too.

 

Not a peep from Arron or Jeremy in 3 months since announcing they were back in NS. As of yesterday Ralph is working on pneumatics and cannons for Seydlitz and I'm ready to begin installing the prop shafts in Profintern and Indefatigable.

Rather shocking Facebook message this morning that Strike Models will be shutting down at the end of December, which will leave only 1 retailer specifically for the hobby. I hope the Mogrets are able to find buyers for their stock, including the many hull and other molds I'd made over the past 20 years and sold to Strike.

 

Ralph dropped by 2 days ago to see how I build BB cannons with O-rings on the T-fitting ends of the up-feed tube and magazine so they can easily be taken apart for cleaning and the barrel angles can be adjusted. He'll be copying the design for Seydlitz's cannons.

We checked out my light weight 1.5 unit spurt gun that can fire 5 BBs per shot, and the prototype 0.5 unit cannon for light cruiser Profintern, which uses a steel tight tolerance upgrade 4" barrel from Strike. I'll be ordering several more 4" and 5" steel cannon barrels to equip the Profintern and Indefatigable.