Hi, I am new here and interested in joining in the world of RC warships. I am wondering what to expect cost wise and what kind of build time I should expect and skill level I should have. I am looking into the Littorio Class Italian battleship. In addition, I really have little idea where (and what) to purchase in regards to materials needed to get started. I would appreciate any and all help. Thank you.
Check out Strikemodels. I think they now have the fiberglass hulls for the big Italians. Getting a fiberglass hull will save you a lot of time with the build. Plus the vendors (strikemodels, battler's connection etc) sell hardware, cannon kits and such. Pretty much everything you will need to get started. A dremel kit, and saw (either a scroll, or bandsaw) come in really handy. It is mainly working with wood (decks, and such). And assembling the systems. The amount of time it will take to get a new boat on the water will depend on how much help you can get with the build, and how much experience you have with r/c, woodworking, and assembling the electrical, and air systems. Perhaps anywhere from 1-3 months might be reasonable. Cost will depend on the format (or ruleset). In Big-gun.. Each turret will cost you around 150-200 dollars. You would need three mains. And you can arm the secondaries if you like. If you want to start out with just the main turrets armed (which would be my suggestion), (as you can always add more cannons as you gain experience), you could probably build the boat for around 1000-1200 dollars (without the radio). You would probably want at least 6 channels. More if you like. In fast-gun.. Each cannon will cost you around 27-30ish dollars. You would need 5. The Littorio class is 6.5 units. So if you use one unit as your pmup, you have 5.5 units left for the cannons. So you can use four 50 round (1 unit) magazine cannons, and one 75 round (1.5 unit) cannon. You could probably build the boat for around 500-700 dollars (without the radio). You could possibly get by with 4-channels. But 6 would be nice. You generally do not have any need for more than 6 channels in fast-gun (as most folks mount the cannons stationary). In Treaty.. The ships, cannons, and pumps are similar to fast-gun. But we limit the rate-of-fire, and muzzle velocity of the cannons. The capacity of the pumps. And the speed of the ships are slower than fast-gun. The Littorio class is still 6.5 units. And you would still need to utilize a pump. But you can break down the remainder of your cannon units with less cannons, but with larger magazines for each cannon. So you would have at least three cannons. The cost would be similar to that in fast-gun, but possibly less if you opt for less cannons, with larger magazines. Mikey
As a new guy, it is always good to include where you are from, and what ruleset (if any) you seem to like battling or watching. Most people find others around them and visit their shops and battles to get a feel for what is needed before jumping in and building a ship. There is lots of good articles on scratchbuilding on all three rule types on the websites for those clubs. Look around and do some research, it will make answering your questions easier if we know more of what you are looking to build. Welcome aboard, it's a great fun hobby.....
Flakman, If you dont have the required tools and inventory of raw materials in your workshop then you can expect to spend a considerable amount more than 700-800. Once you have your workshop setup then your second and third ships will drop dramatically in price. Just the hull and the radio alone (if you use a futaba or spektrum 2.4G radio) will set you back at least $400 with shipping alone. As you have a large ship then you are looking at a pump and 6 cannons so another $270 plus shipping so you are at $700 with no speed controls, motors, transmissions, epoxy, glue, subdecks, decks, superstructure materials, paint, screws, wire, props, and of course batteries. I use (3) 12AH batteries in my ship that cost $20 each. I think a more realistic estimate is around $1500 not counting every tool you need but some. I still dont have a drill press and go to a nearby captains home to use it. If you cut the budget and used poppets and not solenoids, no ESC, a cheap hong kong radio, basic cheap wire, you might be able to squeeze in under $1000. Most captains here have been in the hobby for a long time and they have all the materials and tools they need to do the job therefore their costs to build a ship would be significantly lower. I am starting my VDT soon and outside of the cost of the ship kit from Battlers Connection and the cannons, I have all other parts so I would be spending $325 for the ship kit plus $120 for cannons. I have everythign else already after making minimum orders and of course with spares and excess materials. I am working on a rookie tool and material list that I hope to post sometime this week. See ya and good luck.
We (Strike Models) do have a Littorio, but we only have the hull available -- for some other ships, we have the hull plus a kit of subdeck, decks, superstructure, etc. You can check out the ships we carry at http://www.strikemodels.com/products/ships/. We also carry a wide variety of other supplies, some of which aren't yet up on the website (I'm working on it though). Keri Morgret Strike Models
Thank you all for your help. All this information is certainly helpful and will get me on my way. Can anyone tell me where the nearest groups are to Greenville,OH 45346 ? and is there a calendar of events posted somewhere? and I will definitely check out the strike models web page.
The Dayton area group is the closest to Greenville. We are all battling to Treaty rules. But a couple of the folks are building 96th scale boats as well. A couple probably still have a big-gun boat laying around, but they are not in-service at this time. The Treaty group is just starting to put together a calender of events for the battling season. Mikey
Usually Mayish to September or October or so. As for Ohio clubs, Froggy mentioned the treaty club (which I play with) but there is also a fast gun group the BBS, 1/96 battlestations and a big gun group. I don't think Battlestations or biggun are active at this time.
We generally try to have the boats on the water in mid-late April for sea trials and some running around. Battling this early in the year is not out of the question, if the weather supports it. We generally have battles starting in early-mid May. And battles as late as November. Deceember if the weather allows. This time of year we hold build-sessions for those that like to build in company with others. Mikey
