I am starting my first build of the USS Iowa Battleship. Please follow my project and give me some pointers along the way. Here is the start by tracing some blue prints off the internet . This blue print is for 31 inches long,Does anybody know what Scale it would be,I am thinking of making it bigger.
Length of real ship in feet * 12 / length on plan == inverse scale of plans So as an example if the real ship was 800ft (not correct just example) and your plan measures 31 inches 31 / (800*12) = scale = about 1/309
I think its going to be to small,I have made drawings for a larger ship,I just have to tape it together .Its 45 1/2 Inches. What kind of wood do you think I should be using? I have noticed people using plywood, I think its 1/4 inch
OK Thanks I will check out what plywood Home Depot has tomorrow . The internet says the ships Length is 887 ft 3 in (270.43 m). Beam: 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m)
TL, to give you an idea: 99% of the clubs using this board are either 1:144 scale (the vast majority) or 1:96 scale. Real Life 1:96 1:144 Length 887.25' 110.9" 73.9" ....note this over 6 feet in the SMALLER scale (over 9 in the larger) Beam 108.17' 13.5" 9.01" Your 31" plans sounds like 1:350 scale (the cheap models you buy in Wal-Mart are this scale usually)
I have upped the size to 45 1/2 Inches, This is what I measured after coping the blue print off the internet, I had to trace it out off my computer and tape 5 sheets of paper together. Not sure what scale I am at, But it can be changed , Still have to buy wood and a band saw tomorrow.
Like irnuke said, to be legal to battle you need to be at either 1/144 (the predominant scale for us) or 1/96 scale (much bigger model than 1/144 scale - only a few clubs battle this scale). That being said, you would probably want to build to 1/144 scale. Furthermore, most clubs rulesets require your model to be accurate within 1/8" of proper scale size (this is to allow a small amount of error that may be inherent to the plans and during construction). What that means is that if you are building an Iowa class to 1/144 scale, it has to be 73.9 inches long, plus or minus 1/8 inch, or it is not legal to battle. It's a BIG ship..... looks something like this at proper scale:
also home depot plywood is really not good stuff for what we do. try Michaels and piece it together for the rim. ribs you don't need to worry about to much. just make certain you are doing non butt joins for most things.
Ok , Thanks for this info. I am going to have to figure out how to get my internet blue prints more to scale. Is that your build in the pictures.
I don't think we have Michaels here on Vancouver Island, Is there any type of wood I could use other that plywood,
Woodworking Tools Supplies Hardware Plans Finishing - Rockler.com Excellent customer service and yes you will pay for that. But in general one of the best vendors.
@Time Lapse , see the discussion on @bugler's thread Warspite... the begining.... | Page 2 | R/C Warship Combat wherein I make a suggestion for sourcing plywood on Victoria Island. Also, you two should consider meeting up and working together
Rockler won't ship their wood to Canada because they can't supply information about the origin. At least that is what they told me when I tried to order from them. Your best bet is to find a specialty wood supplier in your area that supplies wood for making cabinetry.
Yes, That's my Missouri. I will probably scrap this hull and do a redesign to incorporate what I've learned since I built this. I haven't gotten any farther on it than what you see in the pictures...... I keep getting sidetracked by other ships, and since I wanted to redesign this it got put on the back burner. I want to design using the General Plans Booklets that I will use as a reference to get CAD data to be more accurate than the paper plans I used to build this hull. I will switch to a double keel design as opposed to the baseboard construction I used on the pictured hull, and also switch to 1/4" plywood from the 3/8" I used as well, since you get more ribs with the 1/4" and it will provide more ribs for the balsa to form around, allowing a smoother balsa application.
What are most people using 1/4 ply or 3/8 Ply What are most people building their ships with ? 1/4 ply or 3/8 Ply or any other kind of wood .And why you use that thickness .
I just don't have the cash, Going to have to speed a little at a tie, I would like to get that kit BTW,Nice ship you have
