Since I'm reskinning the Schlessien and Schleswig-Holstein this month, I figured I'd take advantage of the removed sides to take some close-ups of these two ultra-modern warships as they currently sit. It's not often you get a side view of a complete warship, so here goes! The stern! Here you can see the single rudder, single prop, waterproof steering servo, 3D-printed twin stern cannons, 3D-printed gearbox, ESC, and 550-sized drive motor. The stern cannon is a custom low-profile variant of the BIC, reduced in height to fit in the confines of the Deutschland's stern. The Engine Room! Here you can see the drive motor, bilge pump, and solenoids and accumulators for the stern cannons. The solenoids are high-flow 6v solenoids from BC, fully plumbed with 1/4" OD air lines. These cannons hit VERY hard when tweaked properly. I haven't done a chronograph test but they can blow holes through 1/4" thick balsa. I rarely do so, however, since they become very touchy when tweaked that hard. The Power Plant! Here you can see my ultra-fancy 3D-printed battery tray, designed to protect my LiPo batteries from any shots that penetrate the citadel. Yes there actually is a battery in there, you just can't see it. That would defeat the point of an armored battery tray. Just outboard from that is several sheets of lead for ballast, and in the center is a 4oz CO2 bottle. The battery tray carefully locks every heavy object solidly in place, since I found out early on that any loose ballast will shift the moment I try to turn. The Forward Cannon! Yeah, its another cannon... wait, where is it? While the solenoid and accumulator is clearly visible, the bow sidemount is much harder to spot. It's a super special cannon that could only be produced by 3D printing, courtesy of Greg Mcfadden. The entire cannon, magazine, breech, piston, etc. are built into the turret itself. Both this and my LPC stern cannons, along with RCENGR's original BIC cannons, can be found in the files section of this forum. The Stem! This ship's electronic brain is a BC Multi-C board with a Turnigy receiver. The multi-C board includes a brushed pump ESC, two solenoid drivers, and a power bus for whatever ESC you want. I went with a waterproof Hobbywing 25A brushed ESC. You can also see an internal armor plate designed to prevent exit wounds up forward. Lastly, you can see the ship's famous "moustache and shield" crest, often the last thing unfortunate Allied lookouts see. Overview! Wow, that sure looks crowded. It takes a lot of effort to keep this ship as simple and reliable as she is. Cable and plumbing control is only half the battle. I've been through about a dozen variations so far, and I'm still finding ways to simplify and improve serviceability. I'm particularly proud of the plumbing. It's almost a straight line from the bow sidemount to the starboard stern cannon, with a special-ordered T fitting to branch over to the port stern cannon. Air from the regulator gets in via a Y fitting (gas line not pictured) so it's a very simple, straight flow path to my favorite cannon. The superstructure! This entire superstructure is 3D printed and laser cut, courtesy of Nick Meyers. Except for the crosstrees and upper lookout towers, those are my own custom tweak. I haven't added rigging, 8.8cm cannons, or lifeboats yet, but those will be present before the next battle. You can also see the #6-32 screws that hold the superstructure down. While this works, it limits emergency access and does not provide a good seal. These will be replaced with magnets and an internal lip to improve access and splash resistance. Cannons!? BIC above, LPC below. One advantage of 3D printing is that I can easily make more. I cut these in half to diagnose a feed issue I was having. You can clearly see the relationship between the two designs.
Rules discussion and disagreement relocated to its own thread. Build threads will be maintained clean
Actually most of the time the problem was either ram damage or bad chunks of damage from shallow-angle hits. The filter issue only showed up once, and is also being corrected. WRT stern guns, they currently hit about one to one half ship-length astern, depending on how much water and enemy shot is in the hull. They proved plenty effective at the ranges I was able to engage at.
