Hello, I'm David, new to this hobby. I was an RC airplane instructor, but looking to slow down, some. I love naval history and scale models. I am in Corpus Christi, TX, but also get to Milwaukee, WI every so often. I am a volunteer on the USS Lexington, and would love to model her. Also partial to USS Texas and USS Wisconsin. I also like Cruisers and Destroyers. Leaning towards a DD or DE as a first build, but looking for good advice. Not sure if I want to start small, or not. Is smaller a quicker build? Any recommendations or advice? Is there a good ship to build that, while not legal for combat, might be a good vessel to assemble all the systems on tp get a feel for the hobby? RC aircraft were between $250 to $450 to get them in the air, plus another $200 in misc support equipment. In rough numbers, what are Warship Combat costs? thanks, David
Welcome! I'm a total rookie myself so I won't pretend like I can provide appropriate advice but happy to see another newbie. I'm wrapping up my first ship, a refit of a SMS Baden w/ ALOT of help from my local Southeast Attack Squadron captains. But I've got a convoy ship hull ordered and my plan is to build that one more on my own and get a feel for the early build phases. It has no battle units so I'll only be worried about propulsion. If you can find a ship that needs a refit instead of a from scratch build you can get in the water sooner and get a feel for how things work. That's my take/experience for it's worth, which again is very little haha.
Thanks for the reply. Was also thinking of a convoy vessel, like a liberty ship. Gotta admit, shooting with cannons looks like fun. Any thoughts on radios, or "stay away froms"? Thanks, David
Ahoy David, welcome aboard! Texas has a couple of clubs, depending on what format you're looking for. And of course if you're willing to drive a bit then you can visit clubs in other states as well. As for starter ships, smaller is NOT better. A DD or DE is extremely weight-sensitive, and putting one together is like playing Tetris on hard mode. The general recommendation for Fast Gun starter warships is either a cruiser or battlecruiser. Cruisers battle like destroyers, but they are much larger and more forgiving of rookie mistakes. Battlecruisers like HMS Invincible or SMS Von Der Tann are also pretty rookie-friendly, but unlike cruisers they get sidemounts so they can get in close and slug it out with the other battlewagons. Of course, you don't want to get too big/complex either. Something like the Iowa or yamato is a major capital ship: expensive, complex, and attracts lots of hostile attention. Not the sort of thing you want as a rookie ship unless you're a serious masochist. If you end up joining the North Texas Battle Group, the local Big Gun club, you'll be looking for a Treaty battleship to start. Something like the South Dakota class, King George V class, or Scharnhorst class are fantastic beginner boats in the Big Gun format. They've got space to figure out how to mount and rotate Big Gun cannons, and are overall pretty beginner-friendly. Ultimately, whichever club you join, attend a battle and ask if anyone has a used ship they'd be willing to part with. The fastest way to get started in the hobby is to refit a used ship. You'll have a solid starting point, and hopefully most of the stuff you need already included. It'll probably need some modernization, usually new servos and electronics and maybe some plumbing. Slap on some fresh balsa and paint, and you're up and running pretty quickly. Cost-wise, R/C warships are relatively expensive to start. You can reasonably expect somewhere between $650 to $1000 for the bigger, more complicated ships. Since you already have a lot of R/C experience, you probably already have some of the more expensive parts, like a good radio and servos. Note how I said expensive to start, though. maintenance costs are MUCH lower than other R/C hobbies. I spend about $100 per year on repairs, including replacement balsa/silkspan/dope, ammunition, CO2, club costs, replacement electronics, and other miscellaneous costs. I'm a very active, aggressive battler maintaining several battleships used by multiple captains, and ships in my fleet get sunk a LOT. So yeah, that's about the worst-case scenario for maintenance costs. if you're less active, your maintenance costs will be less. Compared to the various R/C racing hobbies, where you're basically rebuilding your entire boat/car/buggy/etc. every month just to stay competitive, or to the R/C flying where I splattered my $400 plane across a hundred yards of open field a couple times a year, it's a very different experience.
Hi and welcome! Technically also a rookie, but have seen plenty of conversations about best first builds. This is from a Fast Gun club perspective. So units and weights, and layout discussion centers around that style. The Lexington would be nothing more than a BB magnet. Over 6’ long, 40lbs to water line, and 3 units. In a convoy-escort scenario, maybe, but for a combat ship, she would meet her Coral Sea fate rather often. A small destroyer is not a good first boat choice. At the 1/144 scale, they are small boats with not a lot of hull space for fitting out. Ive seen them built well by experienced captains, but even still they are ‘twitchy’. Texas would be iffy at best. 47” over all, 23lbs max (or 27lbs in WW2 build with the torpedo bulges), except she is listed as 5.5 ‘units’ making her guts more complex. One 50 shot gun or one pump is one unit. The more complex the internals, the harder to fit everything and the more it costs to maintain. Normally it is recommended a 3 or 4 unit ship as a starting point. 2 or 3 guns and a single pump. Lower costs, lower complexity, easier time maintaining, and not “hold on, the riggers are here to launch the boat” heavy. To counter Katori’s post, in Fast Gun you don’t want to go too big starting out. The boats he listed, which are good for Big Gun rookies, are pretty bad for Fast Gun rookies. Big Gun is a totally different aspect. You are fortunate enough to be in a (rather huge) state that is local to both Fast Gun and Big Gun clubs so you have your pick of what format to play. As for costs, as a rookie, my wife would probably string me up by the toes if she knew how much Ive spent building my Derf. It seems cheap, $20 here, $50 there, until you’re running the wrong motors and can’t make speed, or your pump motor is under powered and you get a text from a veteran with some sage advice (you know who you are and have my gratitude), or you are running out of juice and need to slap in a few more batteries. Then sure, its still $30 here, $60 there but you’re buying parts over again. $600-$1000 really is a good ball park. Getting the boat IN the water isnt the hard part. It is getting it set up for combat. Figuring out where everything fits. Playing tetris with internal space and weight constraints. Thats where I am right now. Thinking you’ve planned out for something, then realizing you were also putting the air tank where your firing circuits are, or thinking “the pump fits here” and forgetting it needs wires too.
I can't speak to the good and bad on radios. Very little experience in that arena. I picked up a Turnigy Evolution Pro after seeing someone use it. It's a console gaming style controller set up with a touchscreen and rechargeable (read as: non replaceable batteries like traditional radios). As a kid who grew up playing video games I liked the feel of it vs the traditional block styles I held for an afternoon. I haven't battled with it yet but swapping the spring centering joystick to the left, adding buttons, and binding/configuration was not a difficult process. But to be fair, I had an expert on hand and he had all the parts and know how. You might have already figured this out but this community is more than happy to answer questions. I got to give everyone props for that.
...I did cover beginner boats for both formats... As for radios, just about any dual-stick radio with five or six channels will accomplish the basics. Beyond that, it depends on the format and ship specifics. For example, I use a FrSky Taranis radio, because 1) it has enough buttons, switches, dials, and sliders for almost anything in any format, and 2) said buttons, switches, dials, and sliders are in good, ergonomic positions on the radio so I can do all the important things quickly with any ship in any format. Never gonna sink because I needed to fumble for the pump switch. I also fly planes and drive tanks with my Taranis, so I get a lot of mileage out of it. A lot of Fast Gunners like modding their radios (replacing one of the sticks with four buttons for faster firing), so sometimes people will pick radios that are easier to mod. In other cases, they'll pick whichever radio has the cheapest receivers, so they can buy a bunch and have mountains of spare receivers. Big Gunners like having at least one conveniently-placed dial or slider for depression control. Oh, um... two-channel gun-style radios for RC cars can be used with unarmed convoys. If you're feeling ambidextrous, you can hold one radio in each hand and drive two convoys at the same time. TLDR, very likely that whatever radio you fly planes with is also suitable for this hobby.
Yes you did. I was in the middle of typing my post and had just gotten to the part about big boats for fast gun since a lot of rookies want to build those big famous boats and it just kinda fit. I meant no offense…
welcome, there are a few active guys in Texas, I think Gerald is in the Corpus Christi area, maybe @Commodore @ZARUBA1987 or @daisycutter could help link you up (I don’t claim to know TX geography).
*Whispers* I started in fastgun with Texas. she's a blast to drive once you figure her out. with a good rudder and prop layout, and the right cannon/pump layout, she'll fight like a total savage. I run her with dual bows (yes, I'm insane, kind of you to ask), and then two sidemounts in the back. plenty of internal space to do what you need to do. I don't see reason to put in a second pump on her due to the minimal returns, and those dual bows are an excellent tool for harassing opponents and staying out of trouble.
Yeah thats why I was thinking iffy. Small like a battle cruiser but with an extra unit. That was my pause. Smaller with more guts.
@Fridge @Prussian @ZARUBA1987 and Plato idk his handle on the site. are all based in Houston Ted holds regular build sessions. We all willing to get you on the water. The Brouhaha is coming up soon In Louisiana. We have several ships you could use as a loner to get your feet wet.
she's the same size as Baden, and can generally hold her own as long as you don't get into a turning fight. a really splendid size, especially with these new huge rudders. enough performance to learn and have fun, and enough puking dog to keep you humble. like a jeep. it's the one boat that I maintain as operational at all times.
I'm partial to the fast battlecruiser as a starter ship for fastgun these days. Something like Seydlitz, Derfflinger, or Kongo. There is good space for systems, simple gun options and enough speed and turning to mostly stay out of trouble. Derf is the easier of the three as you don't need to worry about dealing with casemates. She is a simple flushdeck hull that is easy to sheet. Seydlitz is avail as a fiberglass hull from BC and I think WWI Kongo is also also avail (not sure who has the mold now). Sadly, the allied fast BCs don't work quite as well as the Axis due to gun placements (they tend to have only a single turret in the stern). I'd steer clear of the French BCs. The all gun forward design is not as conducive to having fun as a rookie ship.
if they can't stay nimble with a fast BC mounting three sidemounts, they'll certainly learn how to do so rather quickly. Nice lesson there. I like it.
