Hi, I just found out about your hobby and am quite interested. Is there anyone in Arizona that battles? Another question is where could I get plans for a South Dakota Class, or really any other US battleship? Would the South Dakota be a great beginner ship? Also, where could I get plans for cannons? Thanks for the reply. [8D]
Welcome! The first place you should check out in my opinion is: http://battlersconnection.com/. They have hulls (and plans) for both the South Dakota class USN BBs and also the North Carolina class USN BBs. They also have the Colorado class (AKA Maryland) available. As for cannons, first you must decide what format is right for you, as big gun and small gun (AKA fast gun) cannons are quite different from each other. I'm not sure about AZ battlers, so finding out which clubs are in your area could be productive. If small gun is the route you take, you can buy the cannons themselves from battler's connection (website I provided). Big gun cannons I think can be bought from someone else, but they are pricey. I think there is a link to a place which sells big gun cannons somewhere on this website. I don't know much about big gun to help you with there; others will be more helpful. once again, welcome, and hope you find everything you need! EDIT: In the NABS area on this forum is a thread which contains a list of parts needed for building cannons. The thread is: http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/rcnavalcombat/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=965 Mike D
I'm not sure about AZ battlers, but I am up here in Reno, NV. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have about building and battling or boats in general. If you're inclinded towards the American ships, I'd suggest one of the cruisers as a first ship. Des Moines, Cleveland, or Atlanta are all probably good choices for a first boat from Battler's Connection. If you still want to stay allied, you might try the HMS Lion class which is a Battlecruiser, giving you sidemounts and a little bit more room inside the hull to work with. Some good Axis ships to start in would be Von der Tann, Prinz Eugen, or Scharnhorst. All good ships to start in. Welcome to the battle!
I second the opinion on going with a class 3 or 4 ship for the first one. They're less expensive, and a lot easier to deal with while you learn the skills associated with maintaining a combat model. BC has several good entry-level ships. Personally I like the Cleveland, the Lion, or the Von der Tann.
That's the advice for fast gun, not so much Big Gun where they seem to recommend treaty BB's for beginners... Mike D
First of all, thanks for the replies......I looked on Battlers Connection at the Heavy US Cruisers and the cannon kit sort of confused me.....the way they have it set up there are three working cannons all mounted in the aft battery.......why??? Wouldn't you want the front batteries to work too!?!? Also, they don't offer a radio kit for the model, could I buy just any 6-channel and be okay??? Thanks again.
Ok you really do not need the cannon kit as you can just buy the cannon you need and then the parts you need, but in the end you end up with pretty much the same thing. As for the putting the cannon to the rear only is that ships in fast gun are limited to a set of working units (IE Cannon and Pumps) per each class. A class 3 ship is allowed only 3 units. Those are normally dedicated to atleast 2 cannons and on full unit pump. So the big reason then for putting all your firepower at the back as it has been explained to me several times and I find works is the stern of some ships like the US cruisers are flat and large. Well this area on the stern is non-penetrable. So if you have to point a side at your enemy to fire at him would you not want a side that when he shoots back will just have his shots bounce off with no damage to your ship? That is the theory behind it, but I will admit stearing and driving a ship backwards takes some time to learn. There is also the change that your props may be angled downward some and as you reverse this pulls the stern under so you have limited time you can run in reverse as well. with out flooding you own ship. But that is the reason for all the firepower at the rear, you can set it up how ever you really wish.
Take a couple of hours and read all of the tatics for our hobby. It is required reading for and fast gun captain. http://www.scrapcombatships.com/commodore/tactics/tactics.html After you read this things will make more sense. I too way back when thought spreading out your guns would be best. Concentrate your fire power.
Battler's connection is primarily a fast gun source of components. Pretty much only the hulls and some of the running gear are compatible with big gun. There is a HUGE difference between a fast gun ship and a big gun ship. Fast gun ships carry ONLY BB cannons (.177 cal) and have uniform 1/32" balsa hull skins. Because of this uniformity, the ships have use a unit system to determine ship strength. If it wasn't done this way, a Brooklyn class light cruiser (15 6" guns) would be far more powerful then a Yamato class battleship with 9 18.1 inch guns. So, the ships have units, which can be allocated between guns and pumps. A typical treaty cruiser (~10,000 tons) such as the Cleveland class light cruiser offered on the BC site is a 3.0 unit ship. Most captains choose to arm their ships with 1 pump and two guns in this scenario. (for comparison, a Yamato class battleship will have 8 units...as you can see, this re-establishes the inherent superiority of the battleship). Also, as it is under class three (meaning 3 units...a 5 unit ship would be class 5 etc) the cruiser is not allowed to have side firing guns, so your placement for the two cannons is limited to three choices: two guns pointing forward, two guns pointing aft, or one pointing in each direction. Having the guns concentrated together allows them to do better damage. Having one pointed in each direction allows for a little more variety in tactics. fast gun uses unrestricted rate-of-fire, provided the cannons are semi-automatic. Big gun uses multiple size cannons and hull skin thicknesses. This allows them to arm all main battery (and secondary cannons if you wish)cannons, and remain balanced. Using 3/16" cannons (I think for 8" simulations) vs 1/4" cannons is a huge difference. Big gun cannons have a greatly restricted rate-of-fire when compared to fast gun ships. Big gun ships are also more complex and expensive then fast gun ships. So, in comparison, a big gun armed Heavy Cruiser (USS Des Moines for example) could carry up to 9 3/16" cannons, while the same ship in a fast gun environment would be 3.5 units and carry a maximum of 3 BB cannons and a .5 unit pump (3/32" restrictor IIRC). Obviously, given the degree if difference in the ships and how they are armed, it's extremely important to choose a format (probably whatever is most active close to you...not much point to build a ship when there is noone else to battle with) before you choose which ship to build. The advice which is good for one format is not so much good for the others. Once you choose which format to build in, then check out the rules for that format and see what you are allowed to do, and things will make much more sense. Mike D
With a name like iowaclass, you want to build a SD? [V] That saddens this iowa driver's heart. ;P (Just kidding, you can build whatever you want! [] I'll probably build a sub after the NJ...)
