It's interesting how complicated we are all making our ships. I estimate with in the next few years we will have some very unique vessels afloat. some guys are creating gun directors others are rolling their own radios some have created their own guns others have ships that will serve in multiple clubs some are trying to have boat ECUs others want to refloat their sunken ship ... auto targeting radar, sonar video tandem cannons ships that can turn without using a rudder Truly an amazing sport we have here.
How about boats that can fit in the kitchen sink? For that matter, how about boats that can fit the kitchen sink in! Ever thought about the ships that really DID fight the way our models do? American Civil War, Ironclads and Monitors. There's a guy in the WWCC who has a few in 1/48 scale that he has armed. No battles yet, though. No opponents. How about the Age of Fighting Sail? If I build a 32-gun frigate, would you guys too?
One of our members Ralph Coles was making molds for such a combat model. He had the mold completed I believe but he is now serving in the Sudan. When he comes back I think he will resume the project.
I would never build such a beast.... EVER. Could you imagine how slow and tedious the battle would be without motors? Trying to catch a wind inorder to bring your guns to bear on your opponent? I WOULD NEVER DO IT. I would look cool as shit though.
Also think of the differences in capabilities between say 1860 and 1905. Not that I don't think it would be cool to see an HMS Inflexible battling an Italia. And think of all the freaky French ships you could build. [] Pax, A.
I would recommend avoiding ships from other eras until after you've established yourself in Fast Gun. By then you'll hopefully have some friends to build pirate ships to battle with.
I had thought about Ironclads. Not really any way to make a fair balance between Monitor and Merrimack though. At any kind of close range, the BB cannons of either would shred the other
A few of us in BBS have actually talked about Age of Sail battling. I would most definently do it! However, as the concerns above...it would be tedious. I would say we install a very a prop (hiss hiss - inaccurate heretic!) so that we could have some control because without it it would be far too expensive and complex to control all the rigging - we would need at least 10 channel radios! (and i cant afford that). So have a weak drive, with sails up so if there is a breeze it affects us some but we can still bring it in and whatnot.
It would be important for control too, the rudderon a sailing vessel does nothing until you get some speed on. Having a little prop down there would be helpful.
Yeah, whenever I think about Age of Sail combat, I picture having at least one motor onboard to provide some thrust and maneuverability. Sails would provide additional benefits, but wouldn't be required. The question is which type of ship you like. If you want multi-deck ships of the line, then 1/48 scale is fine. If you prefer frigates, brigs, and corvettes, then 1/36 scale is better. There's actually a guy in the WWCC who likes Ironclads, and has built and armed several for combat. The big problem that you run into is that ironclads had unusual hull shapes, sometimes resulting in almost zero penetrable area. If it weren't for that, I think American Civil War era would be the way to go. After all, they're the only ships with rotating turrets that actually fought at the scale ranges that our models do.
You also have to consider the rules for arming ..... we wouln't be able to use the units ruling, as the ships are way too light... and have WAY more guns!
Age of Sail ships would be awesome. You wouldn't have to put a lot of guns on it just fake cannons for realism. One or two guns on each side and maybe a stern gun would be sufficient if all were built to the same rules. AS for sailing thats simple. Take a three masted clipper type ship,add sails but no rigging. Then construct a series of gears and a chain on each mast to run off a single servo to turn the mast and the sails to get the wind. Another servo for the rudder
