Hi all, I am new to this hobby and my son and I are working on getting assistance on getting plans and information on the systems needed to construct and build the ships. Thank you, Paul.
Hi and welcome! Ask any questions and we will be happy to answer. What types of ships are you interested in building?
Nomercy, I am located just south of Cleveland Ohio. darkapollo, I love the looks of the US Destroyers. I figure my first ship will be a simple construction to get the idea of how things work. I would like to build a FFG 7 witch was the last ship I was stationed on in the mid 80 's. I have been building model free flight and RC airplanes for over 40 years but by fare I am not a master builder but I do have some skills. I always wanted to build ships or boats and now that I have the room and some time, I would like to dig in to a Battleship. My son has been looking into it, so I figured it would be another good hobby for him and me to do together.
Does GLAS have a web sight? Tried searching for local clubs that do this and coming up short. Thank you
Mostly you will find everyone on this forum. They follow the IRCWCC rules: http://ircwcc.com/ Really, what ever group you want to be associated with. I just know GLAS is up in the Great Lakes area (the GL in GLAS..). Destroyers do not translate very well to 1/144 scale for combat. They can be done, but not novice friendly. Their small size makes internal layouts quite challenging. Also, with very few exceptions, if it isnt 1945 or before, it isnt typically battle legal. A guided missile frigate isn’t going to be allowed. Nothing to stop you from building one, many build boats they don’t intend to battle, just know that you are limited to basically 1900-1945 built and completed ships for combat. A battleship, depending on which one and what era, would be a good starting point. Something WW1 vintage or in the Dreadnaught era wouldnt be too bad.
What scale would be a good one to start off with for a Destroyer? That's good information to know...thank you. Is there a basic plan for one on line I could down load? I will be doing mostly balsa wood do to I do not own a 3D printer at this time. I have been looking thru the builds and it is quit impressive. I figure if I do a Basic outline to start. It would be like building a scale flying model before learning the basics of building first.
If you are building just for RC and not for combat, 1/144, 1/96, and 1/72 are pretty good. The bigger the better. We mostly build 1/144 (there are 96 and 72 clubs, I think there is a 96 scale club in Ohio, too) for combat which makes that scale hard for smaller boats. I have seen a destroyer built for combat at the 144 scale and it was quite twitchy and tippy. It was built by a seasoned builder at that. I’m not entirely sure where to get plans for anything but a Fletcher class. Vacc-U-Boat offers a Fletcher class already set up for combat use in 1/144 scale. http://www.vac-u-boat.com/Vac-U-FletcherCombat.htm
Thanks darkapollo. I have been browsing the sight and a lot of info. Some brain over load...lol. Was looking up what a good 3D printer to get. I have a cnc set up 24"x36" Shark that uses Vcarve software and i am just learning how to use that.
I just took a look at that. That would be a good start for me and my son. Thanks. Going to make contacted with Vac in the next couple of days.
Welcome Paul, Craig @Panzer,and I were both on DDs and Craig on FF in the ' 80s. It would be great to have you up here to battle. We will be hosting NATIONAL this year in July.
Sound like a lot of fun. I would like to check it out. I was on harbor YTB tugs boats and FFG in the 80s