For those that don't know, Queen's Own 1/72 Model Warship Club was originally formed by Paul Fleming in the last 1980s, after the local organization NASWCA folded. The club has been active over the years, holding most events in Gig Harbor, Washington. They have also held regular events in Sutherlin and Portland Oregon where members from California, Utah and Wisconsin would attend. Most current members are in the Portland and Seattle areas.
The short answer is they are not currently battling; however, between Seattle and Portland they still have many members very interested in playing. Loss of their local pond and coordinating a replacement is mostly to blame. Looks like they have a new pond in the Portland area, they just need to name a date and start playing. I've been needling them for an event so I can come up and play with them again.
Our 1/72 group encompasses from the Greater Sacramento Area to the San Francisco Bay Area. Most members are in the Sacramento area. As a former 1/144th Big Gun player I find 1/72 a breath of fresh air. Less guns and more detail can be put into these vessels. One question arises " I can't build a battleship?" Sure you can. Good luck with it though. In this scale the are slow to turn. The destroyers will put so many holes in these big targets it's not worth it. If you want to build these big ships stay away from 1/72nd. Historically during WW2 ask yourself how many time were battleships involved. Not many. That's another reason for 1/72. More historical using the ships that were used in WW2
Battleships have been built, but are not quite ready for practical combat. We do regularly use German Pocket Battleships at 101" long and American Northampton Heavy Cruisers at 100". These ships are only allowed 6- 1/4" guns and only infrequently see combat; maybe once or twice a year.
What would a WW1 era dreadnought get? Something along the lines of the Bayern, Konig or Nassau classes?
We are currently working on rules changes to include the smaller WWI Battleships. Originally QO developed the 1/72 format to mostly be a destroyer game, by specifically excluding them. As the club in California became more active and after three Pocket Battleships were built, they were eventually added to the rules and allowed to participate. Since there has been a lot of interest in building more WWI ships, we have been working hard to find a way to include them in the rules, without changing the way the current game is played. The ships you list would likely receive between 4 and 6 1/4" guns.
