So with the stern better defined, holy solid stern area... first for the 45 degree rule clubs .. the aft 5 inches of the ship is solid below the waterline And for the 60 degree rule clubs, the aft 8 inches is solid below the waterline.... And onto even better news for the IRC.MWCI folk. the scale rudder is larger than the rudder area called out in the rules by ~0.25 square inches After the rest of the hull is drawn I will mark up anticipated stringer locations
The BOD rendered judgement for me on larger than scale rudders from the French plans (this was a few years ago, God, time goes by fast). While technically, the rules demand 2 separate good sources, they ruled that the French archives ARE the builder's plans and were more than good enough.
I've been messing with a Courbet hull off and on for several years that I really should finish. Although a laser cut Provence/Bretange would really speed things along. The ribs still need to have all of the stringer notches cut prior to final assembly and that little bit of tedium has put the on the back burner.
Well, I got the bulk of the casemate decks drawn last night... need ti finish the upper deck and add more detail to the casemates then move onto the superstructure. The ribs for this will be straight forward as I don't plan to inset the balsa like I did on the Mackensen and Littorio in the same manner. I plan to partly cut the insets but not remove them so if you don't want to build them, just epoxy over the slits.
So now the 30,000 $ question.... does the layout below conform to IRC & MWCI casemate & stringer rules So here is the color coding. I have not colored anything below the waterline. Green = penetrable area if you don't make the casemate guns (I plan to just not yet drawn). Purple is 1/4" thick deck. Red is 1/8" thick deck/stringers. there is a 1/8" deck below the primary casemate deck and another below the lower level casemate deck. The red line to the at 1/4 of the ship is a stringer necessitated by the hull shape shown in the second figure The feature below necessitates the stern stringer
You are a stronger man than I. I have seriously considered trying to build one of these, but the hull shape terrifies me.
With how I am planning to lay out the stringers, the hull shape should be easy. I will bias the aft stringer down by 1 stringer width so that the penetrable area is maximized (below the 45 degree line) so there will be a solid 1/8" area for the balsa to adhere to. other than that, the lines are very simple. Should be a good kit when I get it done -Greg
I have not started rib layout yet becasue I was figuring out the superstructure. Only the forward superstructure and a block on the stern remain and the model is done to the point of enabling rib and deck generation
Preliminary Rib Layout... now it is time to carve up the ribs into actuals, put in the below the panel horizontal keel, etc
:cry::blink: I have built or am building six German ships. That's so purty I may have to build one. Merde.
and remember... everything from the second to last rib is solid below the waterline...... I plan to notch the casemate layers between the hard stringers / decks. For those folks without the penetrable casemate fun, the casemates will be all solid. for those folks with the penetrable casemate fun, slit thru and you have your legally mandated windows around the casemates. I need to get a set of cannons from stephen for her, as I plan to design in cannon mounts. Any preferences on configuration? I was tempted to have the basic configuration be as follows #5 turret port sidemount, 1.5 unit #4 turret "stern quadrant" set to 14.5 degrees off to stbd, and a lot of down angle #3 turret Stbd sidemount, to catch those that stay just far enough away to be out of reach of the #4 turret.... With the possibility of the following in an advanced config #5 turret 1.5U sidemount, rotating #4 turret twins, pivoting within stern quadrant (+/-14.5 degrees or so) with generous down angle which if it fit would create one nasty stern setup for anyone along side her. preferences? Ideas?
Gun layout and battle tactics are very idiosyncratic. I would suggest that (if you include mounts at all) you make "generic" mounts, maybe a twin and two sidemount rigs, that could be fitted into any of the turrets.
I may go that route to some degree, however I am not trying to make something for everyone (most folk can fab their own setup), I am trying to get a setup that would be acceptable to a new battler (at least enough to get them the experience needed to refit) that I can fully document so they have something they could build by themselves and would generally work well when done, or at least well enough for them to decide if they want to customize things.
For a new captain I would keep it VERY simple. 1.5 stern (good for a beginner, later move the 1.5 to the haymaker), haymaker, and a bow/mid side. That is pretty standard and is easy to use. More advanced captains might enjoy all the rotating goodness you propose.
