Ships older than 1905'ish aren't allowed under either of the major fast gun rules. Someday I hope that can be changed.
MMJr: Not sure how speed in your system works, but in ours we refer to a period of time (x seconds) as being the fastest time a ship at speed can lodge going 100feet. So a 22second ship is faster than a 23second ship which is in turn faster than a 24/26/28 second ship, etc. Looking forward to your pictures.
To Admiral Nick/ Col. Klink from Hogan Heros: I understand 1 second = one knot. Predreds-fastest for BB was 18 knots. USS Michigan (built largely on a Connetticut Class predred hull and steam piston powerplant) could manage 19.5 knots at flank risking equipment damage. This is slow for a Dreadnaught (which it was). WW1 BBs and BCs were larger and did 21 knots due to turbine and oil soaked coal. SoDak and Iowa did 32 knots regularly in WW2 An older predred with 10 years of use and thousands of miles on the engines were only getting top speeds of 12 knots or so. The torpedo wounded Fuso at Letye Gulf did 16 knots before sinking . An predred at say 16 seconds vs a light cruiser at 28 seconds = sinking predred in 90 seconds. That is probably why no one uses a USS Idaho (1908 ?) or a Potempkin in the Conferences, meets, etc. that I see video images of. I hope I answered the speed question. Back to the skeleton. Manuel Mejia, Jr.
The speed issue is largely irrelavent. There are a few idahos around. The reason you don't see more of the older ships probably has more to do with them having lesser units (class 4-5 boats being more popular) or simply being outside of the allowed time frame.
There is an inverse relationship between the max speed assigned a ship (shortened to 'seconds' but really 'seconds per 100 feet' ) and the 1:1 prototype's speed. Speed is less a detractor for most people than the difficulty of building smaller ships, the often increased cost and more limited offensive potential inherent to them.
What sizes for the Predreads and ARC? Protected cruisers of that time ranged from about 300-400ft, armored cruisers 300-450ft and PreDreads 300-450ft. Averaging those numbers out, in 1/96 PC will be about 44inches long, ACR about 50 inches long and PreDreads about 50 inches as well. Is this close to what we're looking for?
Greetings: I did the calculation. One would have 2-3 foot ships at 1:144. The 1:96 does not sound that oversized. Manuel Mejia, Jr.
I looked back through my notes. BB's will be 48" x 9", AC's 48" x 7.5", and PC's 44" x 5". Keeping the upper length's at 48" allows easy stock procurement at the local home center. It also allows float testing in a standard bathtub. ST
The whole point of 1/96 scale is to make them big enough to be easy to build, but small enough to be easy to handle The standard hull below the waterline is also for ease of handling.
'I must go forth and do something in my... my...' 'Idiom, sir?' 'Yes! In my idiom! Thank you, Patsy!' 'Yes, my lord...' All major structural parts are cut out, apart from the 42 ribs. Well, 38 ribs and 2 frames. 2 frames replace 4 ribs, and connect one side to the other, that the structure will be strong against lateral crushing moments. I even took pictures Once Google+ gets done backing them up from my phone, a build thread will appear. Or at least, shortly thereafter As I was working, it occurred to me that the basic shape of the ship lends itself to doing a build day wherein 4 or 5 guys/gals could get together at a reasonably-equipped shop (or even a pretty squalid one) and crank out a boat hull apiece in one day. For example, in my humble shop (and out front on the table) work could be divvied up: First, everyone works as a team on the tablesaw to cut the plywood to width. Then: 1 person gets on the table saw, and chops 1/4" ply into 1" wide strips, then cuts those into a MESS (that's Georgian for 'a whole frikkin' LOT') of pre-ribs, then puts the dado stack to use and notches the lot of them. 2 people trace the cut patterns for structural stuff onto the plywood, then as a team, cut the outside cuts. 1 person drills holes in the plywood (as its done being cut), and uses a sabersaw (handheld jigsaw) to make the inside cuts. Then, you send one person to get lunch&drinks, while... 3 people: - use bandsander, dremels, etc to sand all the edges on the structural pieces and ribs. (this can be done while they're being cut, too! Idle hands being the Devil's plaything yadda yadda...) - Apply liberal quantities of TBIII (Titebond III glue) to the water channeling pieces and the hull bottom, and then screw them together with self-tapping 1/2" or 5/8" wood screws. Eat, laugh, drink lots of liquids to rehydrate. Even working in the A/C, it's hot work, and some work will be outside unless you have a bigger shop than I. Then: 1 person traces the top deck onto 1/8" ply, and very carefully cuts the top decks and then cuts the caprail from the top deck pieces. This should be someone with a steady hand and good scrollsaw skills. 1 person uses the router table to cut notches in all those structural pieces! The other two hand him/her stuff, and take turns notching. Ear plugs are a must for this! Probably simple dust masks, too. Everyone: start assembling the hulls! The ribs and blocks are assembled with the base, stringer, and subdeck, using TBIII. Masking tape can be used between opposing ribs to pull them in tightly, I call it using my 'masking clamps' (yes, I ghetto out when I'm short of proper clamps). Sitting a couple of lead-acid batteries on top is cool, too. The deck & caprail get put on after the hull is solid. Whether this is at the build session or at home, later, depends on how fast work goes. Preparation goes a long way. If the plywood is ripped to proper width and has the cut lines traced on it ahead of time, that helps. If the wood for the ribs is pre-cut to 1" wide strips, that helps. If the group can get to the point of gluing on the caprails, they can work on superstructure while the glue dries instead of watching movies I would expect to spend a good full day on this, like from 8AM to 5 PM, which allows a good hour for lunch and then an hour and a half after assembly to watch The Expendables or The Bourne Legacy (Jeremy Renner is awesome) while the TBIII dries to the point that I don't feel nervous about the hull falling apart in someone's car on the way home. Just some ideas. Yes, I am willing to do this if people want to come to my shop Key thing is that all the ships being built are the same class (BB, AC, PC). Ideally, everyone works, and then draw lots for the ships after they're done (before superstructure work, obviously).
I'd be willing to be a participant. Looking at my work sched, I'm off next weekend and the 26/27th...
Lets say 26/27th... Let me get this one done, and get the templates cut out. I'm making small changes and Steve may change the plans to reflect shipalts to the prototype (much like Mark Jenks does with his lasercut kits before releasing them). I will also put out a parts list/what the wood costs. Most of the wood I can get across the street at Lowe's, but the 1/8" ply I need to order.
Congratulations, Tugboat! You have just discovered one of the secrets that made my old workshop so successful: mass production. Of course, we didn't stop with just the hulls. Cannons, hardware mounts, pumps, motors, shafts, etc. were all built en-mass, and often for several different classes of ship at once. I would suggest that, if possible, you plan out several group build sessions, including construction and installation of basic propulsion, plumbing, DC, and cannons. You can maintain the division of Once the below-decks parts are finished (less the radio gear), each participant takes delivery of their ship and completes their superstructure.
