So I’ve been looking into this hobby for a bit now, lurking on this forum and have decided to pull the trigger and enter. I know that rookies are generally pointed towards getting a Class 3 cruiser, but I’d like to go a bit (ok a lot) bigger. I have RC experience (raced yachts and built giant scale warbirds) and I'd like to build a battleship as my first command. I was looking at the following ships USS Massachussetts (Favorite ship in World of Warships, would arm it with triple stern guns) USS Wisconsin (Grew up in Norfolk, saw the beauty every day, would arm it with triple sterns and dual sidemounts to port and starboard.) DKM Bismarck (I'm German, love the ship, and wanna try quadruple sterns) Thanks, and where can I get 1/144 scale plans?
Okay well you sound like you know what you are doing. Welcome. You can find South Dakota plans (Massachusetts is a South Dakota) on Strike Models. http://www.strikemodels.com/products/ship-plans/ As for Wisconsin, Strike sells plans of Wisconsin herself (like specifically Wisconsin not another Iowa class). Bismarck is also on Strike (you have to scroll a bit) If you want a fiberglass hull for a ship instead of scratch-building, Battlers Connection sells a South Dakota hull and a Bismarck Hull. http://battlersconnection.com/combat-ships/ You also might want to consider going to a battle and contacting your local club first, getting battling experience is great and they also may have spare plans or a spare hull lying around that they will sell to you for not that much.
Welcome. We need more Axis rookies. You should also take a look at the DKM scharnhorst, the gun layout is a bit simpler than Bismarck. Don’t start out with an Iowa class, they are too big (I have one). South Dakota class would be fine. Typically I’d recommend a class 4 or 5, but build the ship you want. Battlers connection has hulls, plans, and anything rc-combat specific you’ll need.
I agree with Kevin. Normally would say go for a 4-5 unit ship to start with, easier to build, easier to manage. But if you want to do a SoDak, go for it. Triple sterns, single side each side, done-zo. Scharnie like Kevin mentioned would essentially run the same gun layout, just with 1 of the sidemounts as a half unit gun. 3 props means you only drive the center shaft, makes for an easy drivetrain.
Where would I get plans? I know the Booklets of General Plans for USN ships are available, but how do I convert to 1/144 scale?
Most people wouldn’t recommend making your own plans, especially if you can find plans for sale. You can still purchase plans from strike models if you can find what your looking for there.
You can buy 1/144 scale plans from Battlers Connection with the hull (using the 'hull kit option'), Strike Models, or Taubman Plans https://www.taubmansonline.com/ The floating drydock also has more detailed US plans. (beyond what you need for a combat superstructure) http://www.floatingdrydock.com/ Plans that are close in size can be scaled at a place like Staples or Office Depot with a basic conversion Booklet of general plans are not very useful for our purposes (most that are available lack hull sections, they require a lot of printing, rescaling, etc) Plans are only really useful for turret placement and superstructure. Starting with a fiberglass hull makes things much easier you could also buy a partially complete SoDak from @Bob https://rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/uss-south-dakota.446032/
