Nick, I am kinda an Allied fan, specifically U.S., but the WWI and WWII era for naval combat is my second favorite part of history (aircraft is my first). I am also intrigued with a class that can incorporate rotating front turret(s) and what are the limits to number of functional guns other than the obvious number that the actual ship had. I know that it will be difficult to get three working on a single turret up front, but I like to get a better understanding of how units and number of permitted guns works. I would also like to learn more about Heavy and Battle Cruisers as a first build. What can you tell me about these two classes? I am also open to other suggestions for other navies for SAS. (I noticed that there is only 1 Des Moines, and USS Cali currently in action)
If you are doing fast gun almost nobody uses rotates. Also only the bb's with superfiring turrets can use more than one gun in a turret. Big gun however is all about rotates and multi barreled cannons. I would first decide on a battle format. Unless I missed it somewhere and you already have. In that case disregard my advice lol. Most guys are doing fast gun and it is the most prevalent format. However I am a big gun guy at heart. I am pushing the 1/96th scale battle stations format myself and plan to offer fiberglass hulls and cannons sometime later this year or early next year. Have to get a shop built first. Or rent one. Looking into multiple options at the moment.
I would love big gun, but it is non existent here. fast gun it is here. so how many functional guns forward and aft permitted for Heavy or Battle Cruiser classes? I assume rear turret is fixed to the rear, so straight magazines there, but is it 2 in the bow and 1, or two to the rear. Just figuring out the point system. Thanks for you all's patience!
Here is a link to the rules, I recommend reading through them as they should answer a lot of your questions / provide context for the advice you get http://ircwcc.com/main/home/rules/ Ships are grouped into 'classes,' and are assigned 'units' based on the type of ship and displacement. A 'unit' can be used as either a pump or a cannon. Most ships have 1 pump, so the number of guns you get is (the class # - 1). Here are general ship types by Class (not all inclusive list) Class 1 - destroyers, small light cruisers Class 2 - light cruisers Class 3 - heavy cruisers, pre dreadnoughts Class 4 - dreadnoughts, battle cruisers Class 5 - later dreadnoughts (think Pearl Harbor survivors) Class 6 - WWII battleships Class 7 - vanguard, iowa, yamato Here is a link to the shiplist. You can use filters to see which ships meet your desired criteria (including a length filter) http://ircwcc.com/main/shiplist/ Ships in class 4 and above can use side-firing cannons, ships in class 3 and below can only use cannons that shoot forward or aft. If you look at Battler's connection or Strike Models website, the pages for the hulls list the number of units for each ship Here is a link to my USS California build. The California (Tennessee class) gets 5.5 units, so 4.5 guns and 1 pump. I installed extra guns so I can choose which guns to use. The typical setup for a class 5 ship like the California is two stern guns, and one side gun per side. https://www.rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/uss-california-ircwcc.444786/ The typical setup for a heavy cruiser is two stern guns and 1 pump. Here is a link to my HMS Fiji refit. Fiji gets 2.5 units. Most class 3 heavy cruisers are slightly bigger than the Fiji, but the construction would generally be the same https://www.rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/hms-fiji-refit.445461/ Cruisers can be good first ships, they are pretty simple builds, but if you want to use the ship for several seasons then you should get a class 4 or 5 ship so you get side-firing cannons
I started out in Big Gun, and still have a very large fleet in need of overhaul. Battleships, dreadnoughts, predreads, destroyers, and more. Hopefully I get a bit more time to work on that, now that I'm on shore duty. That said, most people in the area play Fast Gun, so I highly recommend you build a Fast Gun ship first. I think our next big battle is on labor day weekend, if you come visit there will a lot to see and do.
Ok, I read the rules and have more questions! I will use the USS Des Moines for my question subject since it is very close to what I want to build. Here are my questions: 1. Why only have stern guns that only fire center line aft versus 1 bow rotating 15 degrees port/starboard from centerline and 1 stern fixed aft? 2. Why can a .5 unit be added to a 1 unit magazine to make the unit value and not have the option for .25 units to be added to each 1 unit mazagine for the same unit value of 2.5 unit guns with 1 unit pump? 3. How may I find out about ships that were completed but are not on the IRCWCC list( USS Tennessee, USS California, USS Saratoga (CC) for examples)? If someone knows for sure, I appreciate your knowledge!
Ship list only shows one ship per class. Ie. Missouri is not there as the Iowa was the class leader and all specs will be the same. The units are the way they are for simplicity and to make the game fun and fair. I.E. nobody can buy a win. Most guys will tell you not to try to change things until you have tried it there way first. Just seems to be the consensus. I understand you are just trying to gain an understanding so please don't take that the wrong way. Some guys only care about winning and most only care about having fun. I care about the hobby as a whole so I seem to be on my own. Lol. But the rules are designed to try to keep the win at all cost guys and the screw that lets just have fun guys from fighting. Lol.
Lol. I understand that one. I am a competitive person, but wholly believe in structure in a game! I would probably still play paintball if it was in the area I live in, which is both strictly regulated and for competition, and fun for beginners through pro. Some guys and gals spend several grand on there guns alone for the sport, but still carry a basic side arm as a backup. I'm just curious about some of the technical aspects. According to the rules, a class 3 ship may have a rotating turret up front and on gun fixed to the rear quadrant. Just curious if there is a handling issue, hull space, or just because of simplicity that dual rear guns versus 1 front, 1 rear? As far as the magazine goes, it really isn't a big deal. The rules did not spell out any options for splitting the .5 units between 2 guns, just adding it to 1 gun. I'm looking for clarification that I understand that if the Des Moines class was constructed with a front turret, it is only permitted to swivel 15 degrees from centerline of the bow?
Most Des Moines are setup with triple sterns (3.5 units so 3 guns and a half unit pump), they are easy to use and can be very effective. Also it lets you keep your ~4in wide impenetrable stern area pointed towards the enemy (who's trying to shoot you) and your bow pointed towards your escape route so you can get out of dodge easily. Hit and dont get hit back if you can avoid it. Bow guns aren't as easy to use and make it easier for you to get in trouble and get your bow all shot up which is a good way to sink. Rotates tend to be a lot harder to aim when you're standing on shore and 10+ feet away than fixed guns.
There is no such thing as 1/4 units any more. There is a line in the rules explaining what a 1/4 unit cannon would be, but they are no longer allowed (there will probably be a rule proposal this year to remove that sentence since it is no longer applicable). The only reasonable set up for the Des Moines is triple sterns (three 1 unit cannons) and 1/2 unit pump. Bow guns on Des Moines would not work well since the ship is long and has a tall bow. Having a triple turret, with three cannons that shoot together, can do a lot more damage than three single guns that shoot independently. When you say 'rotating,' we refer to that as 'pivoting.' For us rotating means traveling from one gun quadrant to another, i.e. from one side of the ship from the other. Pivoting means moving within a quadrant. Very, very few ships ever use pivoting (or even rotating) turrets. The added complication is not worth the effort / does not provide much benefit. They would also probably make a cruiser list side to side as the guns pivoted
ok, that makes sense. I was wondering why no one balanced out magazine capacities. and the preference for stern guns for the cruisers because of the tall bow. Thank you for the correction on the terminology. Pivoting is exactly what I was thinking, though I would love to build a ship later with rotating guns!
I have a rotating gun on my DKM Scharnhorst if I ever finish setting it up. Been just moving it by hand as needs arise but originally I set it up for servo drive. Just need to make the rest of the parts. On the list as it were lol.
