hey everyone, my plan is to scratch build the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst. what are some things that i need to have before i begin? thanks
A good set of plans is the best start. Followed by 4 pieces of 1/4" marine grade plywood, 24" x 48", 3 or 4 pieces of 1/8" marine grade plywood the same size, a bunch of waterproof epoxy (I like West System or Maas), several rulers of various sizes, some white glue, a pair of scissors, a jigsaw or coping saw, a dremel tool, a router (or router attachment for the dremel), and a minifridge in the shop to hold liquid cooling for the builder There are other things, but these are a start. When you get your plans, take them to a blueprint shop and get a working copy or 2 made, it's not very expensive. I'd also get some reference books, like "Original zum Modell" or such like
It's for glueing the cutouts of the hull sections to the plywood Or alternatively if you get hungry, some people eat it.
build a jig to help keep everything strieght. also good for tacking everything together in the mock up stag.
Before you buy wood and start cutting, the absolute most important thing you need to have is a plan. You've got to know almost exactly how you're going to construct your ship, from building the hull, to installing the water channeling, to where the motors, guns, CO2 bottle, servos, and other guts go. One of the great things about working with a wooden hull is that if you plan ahead, you can build in really cool mounts for stuff that otherwise would be just ordinary blandness that might break loose at any time. A good way to form this plan is to gather the major equipment you plan to use, the motors, batteries, CO2 bottle, and other stuff, and try placing it inside a full 1/144 scale drawing of the ship. You can play about with placement of stuff, see what layouts are possible and which ones aren't. Then you decide where you want ribs to go, so that you can build in supports for a servo tray, prop shafts, rudder post, CO2 bottle, and major structural braces. Be sure to consider how the superstructure will be built and get installed on the hull, as well. Keep in mind, getting a good plan to work from is not easy, so if you haven't built a ship before you might want to ask a veteran skipper for help. I (re)built a Big Gun scharnhorst, so if that's the format you're building for then you can ask me for additional details.
well put Carl. I jumped the gun myself and just started building before I had laid everything out. Its come out fine for a 1st ship but there are a lot of things I wish were done differently, live and learn. I plan on building another hull later in a few years that way any ideas I get or come across can be put into the new hull (all electronics and weapons will be going to the new hull) to form a "super Yamato"
my plan is to build a 1/144 scale version, but i dont no what exactly i'll need for "guts" as kotori puts it. i know i'll need a servo and co2 canisters as well as all the r/c equipment and mountings for all of that. as i said before i'm on a tight budget so chances are i'll be buying things gradually as i need them.
The Scharnie is good for guts You can run one on just the center prop, which means only one driveshaft & stuffing tube, one gearbox, and one 550-size motor. You'll need a pump, and something to control the pump and drive motors. 2 rudders, & a servo to turn them. For simplicity's sake, get a 6V 18AH sealed lead-acid battery (+ a spare, but you don't need to buy that until you're battling). These are a few of the bigger pieces of equipment. I didn't get into motor control or gas systems because there are many ways to do those, more than I have time to type about right now When you get around to details and such, Battler's Connection has a really nice Termite Armor Scharnie turret. (I have 3 of them on my Gneisenau)
I think that 2, 12 amp hour 6 volt cells such as PowerSonic PS-6100 would be a better idea. They will only be 2" high when in the boat, rather than 3.25", will cost less, and provide more power. The only disadvantage is that you need to wire in an extra power line. Some people have used the 36 amp-hour battery, such as Power Sonic PS-6360. That however takes alot of weight, and unless you are carefull, won't fit.
looking for a 6 volt battery with 24+ amp hours. lead acid or other. whats everyone use / like can hooking them in parall double amp hours?
Generally speaking, I usually parallel up smaller batteries that are available at places such as surpluscenter.com, You will almost certainly not have room for that big of a battery (and the weight) unless you are doing battlestations in 1/96..... My 1/144 scale tirpitz ran off of 3 6V 12AH gel cells (I could fit a fourth if I wanted to get to max model weight) but there was not much room left. -Greg