Hey all, I need to know what material is the best for the turrets. I am buying my first cruiser and wanted to get turrets and other stuff all in one go but I don't know what is the best. How has fiber glass turrets held up? Resin? "Termite armor" turrets? what about 5-ply balsa wood? Halp!! I don't know what to get!![8D]
I've used PVC electrical fittings for years. They get blown away at least once a year. This weekend i found out they have ABS plumbing fittings that are more bb proof. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and find the black plastic fittings.
DKM Graff Spee, from Ralf Coles. He has fiberglass turrets and BC has the other two types. I was just wondering what was the toughest stuff before I buy. thanks.
Turrets! Doh! I thought you were asking about barbets. The Fiberglass turrets I got from Ralf for the Warspite slowly chipped away and had to have epoxy filler added to them. After a while There were pretty much toast. The Plastic turrets I got from BC for the Washington, so far, have held up with only one crack where one of the fake gun barrels went in. The Termite armor ones BC sells, I have been told, will never get bb damage. The ABS turrets I made for The Bike have held up without breaking. Get the termite ones they seam to be the best.
Hrrrm, The Termite ones seem to be the most expencive too! ohh well get what u pay for I guess. Now there will be to Graff Spee's at the next fall fray!
it usually is that the expensive products are more reliable. You could make a thousand paper-turrents, but they would have to be replaced all of the time. Termite armor is pretty bullet proof from what i heard, go with that.
Termite mains it is then. at least Ill save on shipping by getting my props stuff all at the same time.
usually, but maybe you can kahoodle them into special orders, as long as you can convince them its worth their time.
The IOWA has metal turrets. They sound neat when hit and leave a little dent (real little). The MARYLAND has used a variety of materials from balsa to plywood. The plywood holds up much better. Part of the fun is rebuilding so making a new turret every couple years happens. It's really no big deal. No matter how hard you try turrets get shot off. Some become part of the lake while others are found and remounted sometimes in pieces. I've seen resin used (epoxy). They hold up pretty good but eventually need to be replace. I don't worry about things that maybe lost in battle. Well that's not true. I do worry about the 4 sailors on the MD now. They have been on there since the 80's when a gentleman from Australia gave me them. But very few AXIS have guns that shoot upper superstructure. Danny
A poor mans way to save your jel-coated fiberglass parts it to take Rubber cement and paint it over your turret or other part then use regular paint to cover that, 2 coats rubber cement is best (or more) will cover some small details though. Bryan
Fiberglass ones, about 1/16" to 1/8". The white plastic resin ones from BC about 1/4", and Termite armor ones a little thicker in places. I love the white plastic ones, but I am also still using the original 'glass turrets on my old I-boat. When Brian makes the new I-boat turrets in white stuff, I'm probably going to switch, as they'll have way more detail.
Tug, the guy I bought the molds off of used "short strand bondo" to make his. not sure if this is a good choice, his ship is not a combat ship and therefore not designed to take hits. will this material be suitable fore our application, or should I look into different material?
I'd look at something else... I use urethane resin in mine, and it's pretty easy to work with, reasonably cheap, and takes hits very well (Brian's Vanguard is still using the original set, and they're from back when we were learning how to cast it, with ugly molds)... So I like it. Pretty much mix and pour, and it's ready to demold in 20-30 minutes for big turrets, reaching full hardness in a day or so.
