While their are many ships that I would love to build, I figure that I should start with a ship that is big enough to build without any problems but small enough to transport. I have narrowed down my search to three ships, the French cruiser Suffren, the German "pocket battleships", or the USS Northampton. All three of them are cruisers, and all three are rated as being OK to build by the site that sell the hulls (Battlers Connection for the Suffren and Strike for the other two). The format I am looking at is Big Gun, so I can run torpedos, which would probably be the main armament for the Suffren, along with whatever configuration of cannons I decide on, while the Deutschland/Lutzow and the Northampton would run with their cannons only. What I want to know is that of the three ships, which is considered the best for beginners and the best battler?
I think the Deutchland would be. I built several kits for members and have operated them myself. They have more internal room for ease of internal layout. The barbettes and Turrets are large which makes it easier to install cannon equipment. For Big gun the Tripple turrets on a Deutchland give it quite a punch and you got more stability than either of the 2 in a broadside. You got options to mlount your torps low and to the broadside on a deutchland for BigGun. Manueverable , fast and you have that infamous history of the class.
The web sites that "rate" the difficulty of different hulls are Fast Gun websites, so their recommendations do not always apply to Big Gun. In this case, their recommendations are way off base. Heavy Cruisers are among the most challenging ships to build and battle in Big Gun, because you've got to fit the same number of guns as a battleship (and all the associated systems, gas bottles, etc) into a smaller hull. Battling-wise, they're the same speed as battleships (can't run away), with thinner armor, smaller guns, less displacement, and weaker pumps. In the right hands, they can be very powerful, but in the wrong hands they can be easy pickings for a veteran battleship skipper. Of the ships you listed, the Lutzow is probably your best choice. It's got fewer turrets to arm, and they're 7/32" caliber instead of the lighter 3/16" caliber. The difference in caliber has a noticeable effect on armor penetration, so it makes a big difference in your game. If you really want the Lutzow, I would recommend that you start off with a rotating turret in the bow and a non-rotating Arizona gun in the stern. Later on, you may consider arming one or more torpedoes for point defense against torpedo-cruisers. Other ships I would recommend include the torpedo-cruisers Capitani Romani and Emile Bertin (torpedo-cruisers are great rookie boats), the heavy cruiser Mogami (torpedo-cruiser hunter), or the battleships South Dakota, Scharnhorst, or KGV. Any of the French quad battleships will also work great. Stay away from destroyers, micro-dreadnoughts, Japanese battleships that aren't Yamato, and the Agincourt. And whatever you do, stay away from PT boats and submarines.
Kotori87, thanks for the comment about rating the difficulty of different hulls. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective before. We do have the rating of the hulls, copied over from what Swampy had. I'll ask Stephen to look those over and make any additions or corrections for Big Gun.
Don't forget to ask for updates from the Fast Gunners, too. I've heard that opinions have changed there, too.
If you do decide to go with the Northampton, you DO get torpedoes if you use the as built configuration. The Northamptons and the Pensacolas both initially completed with two triple torpedo launchers which were later removed when torpedoes were determined to be detrimental according to USN cruiser doctrine.
@Vicious - thanks for the offer, and I must admit that your ship looks beautiful, but I probably won't be in the position to buy a ship for quite a while. Also, I personally like the challenge of building models, and I have experience with other RC items, so I was planning on having a crack at building my own ship. I probably will still use a pre-made hull, though, since I'm not the best at carpentry.
Back when NABS had a Northampton and a couple of Lutzows in the fleet the latter were better combat models. They were also more 'seaworthy'. The NABS Northampton had a low freeboard aft and a quarterdeck hatch that wasn't tight. She swamped herself once turning across her wake in already choppy conditions and went down in seconds with no battle damage. We have video of a Lutzow plowing through waves higher than her bridge and being almost totally immersed, yet emerging and steaming on. Tight deck hatches are very important! I had a Suffren hull but traded it and built the Spanish Canarias instead. One thing I noticed was that the Suffren's quarterdeck freeboard was higher than scale, which would make the model more seaworthy. Of the 3 options I'd build a Lutzow/Graf Spee. Bob
How would the Emile Bertin compare with other possible allied torpedo-cruisers like the La Galissonniere or the Town class? Another option I was considering was arming the La Galissonniere with her full complement of torpedoes (I believe she had four) as well as a turret. Also, I assumed battleships would be more difficult to build due to their sizes (if I were going to make one I would probably go for the KGV).
Another ship that I just discovered is the HMS Tiger. She was a WW1 battlecruiser and was based on the Lion class. Because of that, would it be possible to build her using a Lion hull? Another ship that seems appealing is HMS Invincible from strike models and the Iron Duke from Battlers Connection.
Yes you can modify the Lion hull to make a Tiger out of it. I've measured it, and the ships have the same hull shape.
Unfortunatly, it would be difficult to build the Tiger from scratch (without plans, pre-made superstructure/turrets, etc..). I also fear the Invincible, being a WW1 vessel, will be to slow. Thus I will most likely stay with the Graf Spee or torpedo cruisers like the Capitani Romani or La Galissonniere.
Invincible isn't terribly slow, and IIRC it has twin rudders for good maneuverability. Its problems are having four twin 7/32" guns ( more complex, expensive, and lighter firepower than other ships) and only middleweight armor. Lion and Tiger suffer the same problems, although they are bigger and faster. Cruiser-wise, I've always divided ships into two classes: torpedo-cruisers, and cruiser killers. Torpedo-cruisers tend to be smaller, faster, and carry torpedoes as their primary armament. Maneuverability and armor help, but speed is the most important factor. Because torpedo-cruisers tend towards the smaller side, it is very rare for one to be armed with both guns and torpedoes. The Capitani Romani and Emile Bertin are excellent examples of this: they are small and fast, and carry a powerful torpedo armament. cruiser killers, on the other hand, tend to be larger, and must carry both rotating guns and reloading torpedoes. The torpedoes ensure that a torpedo-cruiser cannot simply swap thee 1/4" for a handful of .177" or 3/16" (a very uneven trade), and the rotating guns enable the cruiser killer to engage the torpedo-cruiser from positions the torpedo-cruiser cannot return fire to. The cruiser-killer also needs to engage battleships like a torpedo-cruiser would, so speed is important in addition to size. Many cruiser-killers also get middle-weight balsa armor, improving their survivability and somewhat compensating for their lower average speeds. The best example of a cruiser-killer is the Mogami: twin rudders, 36 knots speed, middle-weight armor, and both triple bb guns and triple torpedoes make this one of the finest cruiser-killers I've ever seen. La Galissonniere and the Town class are also cruiser-killers, but don't quite compare to the Mogami.
I'd think that the Tone would be an excellent cruiser killer as well, with her 8 guns concentrated forward and the obligatory torpedo tubes aft and still making 35 knots. With a single rudder she wouldn't be as maneuverable as a Mogami, but under big gun rules the 8 3/16" close together might be awfully interesting. Tone was originally designed with 4 triple 6.1" turrets (ala Mogami....hence being named after streams like other "Class B cruisers" instead of mountains like the "Class A cruisers) which could make for a very interesting main battery forward...
I have also been considering the King George V class battleship more closely. It is not much bigger than the Graf Spee, has a similar weapons layout and top speed, and more cannons. Other British ships that I like are the Iron Duke, Queen Elizabeth, and Nelson classes.
King George V is a great battleship. It's much bigger than Graf Spee (read easier to work with), and gains more armor and more guns for your trouble. One of the coolest things about the KGV is its wonderful armament: those two quadruple turrets represent a lot of firepower. So much so, in fact, that one of my friends building a KGV isn't even bothering to arm the twin turret. Because of that, he's getting bigger magazines for his quads and simpler plumbing. I think he built a third quadruple turret anyway, just so he could have a spare ready in case one should fail. It's not an Iowa, it's not a Yamato, and it certainly isn't an Alsace or Montana, but King George V is a good, solid battleship.
How would she compare with the Queen Elizabeth? The KGV is certainly faster, and has the nice qaud turrets, but the QE fires a bigger size of shot.
