Elco 80 in 1/16 scale last one out of a very old mold now destroyed. Used as a plug for the new mold which is getting a spit shine right now Beaver. 1/24 Elco 80 hull in the box inside. Sold as a package deal. Deck mold for the 1/24 had big issues. The plug stuck and broke chucks out. Then I had to chisel the remainder out. So a few more days before that’s available Mike.
Does the Modelshipahoy production facility give tours?....I was just thinking the next time I visit my daughter in Algonac
The tour costs a nickel... and you have to sign a 42 page non-disclosure; non-compete; non-fat; non-dairy agreement. Plus you have to bring your own safety glasses; steel toed boots; respirator and space suit.... or beer.
Back to the gun issue, if you can build a combat gun that shoots harder than the current standard there will be a new rule to drop it to safety standards in the IRCWCC. Over many years we have maintained a good safety record and intend to keep it that way. I am sure we would love a mechanical gun that shot about the same as the current pneumatic guns. In the past rules have been put in place before a new invention was even built and place on a combat ship.
It’s a kinetic energy weapon. It can be made to shoot whatever velocity is desired by tweaking the component parts specifically. Size and muzzle velocity are related so knowing the exact upper limit of the muzzle velocity is best way to build right without a bunch of engineering changes after it’s done and people complain about too much / not enough power.
Build it to 280-300fps. Exceeding that will likely result in arguments, debate, hurt feelings and overreaching rule proposals that try to ban anything not powered by 150psi or less of CO2.
I think it’d be a good idea to have people provide some relevant ‘statistics’ whenenevr they post about a club’s rules/processes. Some things that come to mind include: Number of sanctioned/official events attended Years of attending sanctioned battles Time since last battle Mechanical failure rate at events attended Fractions of battles using ship built by themselves That’s probably be a good start, I think it would provide enlightening, and in some cases comical, perspective to where opinions are coming from
I’m asking about the rules/processes because I’ve been to: 0 battles 52 years of not attending battles 0 days since my last imaginary battle 0 mechanical failures at an event 0/0 battles in a ship I’ve built 0 preconceptions about how things MUST be done. I did coach a high school Robotics team to the world championships in St Louis last year using non-pneumatic weaponry (beat up on a lot of pneumatic bots) but that probably doesn’t count for much here.
Sounds like you’re qualified for CD, you’ve got my vote. Questions are fine, judgement or ‘insight’ without actual experience in a particular club was more of the target. Internet things only represent a relatively minor portion of club dynamics/culture/expectations
Oh no way man. I don’t do management. I just want to build a Surcouf because everyone is saying it can’t be done. We already have a PE nearly battle ready but have a lot of stuff taking priority this summer. Dori and the kids are totally geeked about going to battle next summer though.
Sanctioned events: Big Gun: NTXBG: 90% of all monthly battles spring ‘03 to spring ‘05 using club loaner cargo ships (50+% built by me, funds and direction from John Mianowski ) and my own FNS Dunkerque. WWCC: Maker Faire weekend ‘10 club loaner cargo ship Maker Faire San Diego ‘15 and ‘16 club loaner torpedo cruiser Fast Gun: IRCWCC Nats ‘11 loaner from Ron Hunt HMS Invincible (re-skinned, systems checked, and guns tweaked by me). Told I did very well but couldn’t be rookie of the year because I was using a loaner. Sank once that week. Made every battle. Not bad for first foray into that style. Statesboro regional: ‘11? Battled my own Radetzky. Finished boat wiring pondside, no system failures, guns were sluggish, pump didn’t have priming hole so it was inconsistent priming. Worked well it’s very first sortie. SCRAP: Spring ‘13 loaner FNS Foch. I was in San Diego temporarily. Dished out more than I took for sure. Mostly cruiser battle No failures ever (unless you count cycling a pump to get it to prime). 90+% of battles using boat I built or was responsible for the “battle readiness” of A point of note is that I have observed in person more formats/clubs than many in the hobby. Stephen Morgret is the only person I know to have the same/more variety of experience. Not saying it makes me some expert in every detail. Just a broader base of experience with which to form opinions. Edit: I have formed a lot of my opinions from experience and long in person conversations with: John Mianowski (founder NTXBG) Jeff Burns (NTXBG) Rob Wood (leads WWCC, closest to me physically and relationally ) Pete Demetri Mike Mangus Clark Ward Brian Koehler Don Cole Carl Camurati Ron Hunt Jeff Lide and my intro to any aspect of the hobby plus the occasional check up (he lives down the road from my folks): Fluegel
Not sure I've ever heard of (or witnessed) a track record that good, sounds like we should be deferring on all build/battle recommendations. At the stage of the thread when its time to switch to memes, same value added
