Hi there everyone.... I got my plans for Warspite from the man in Poland himself. The plans are for Warspite 1942... I am kinda partial to the early Jutland configuration myself... I have a small plastic model in 1:700 scale I am building of the 1915 version. I may build a frankenship, combine some elements of the 1915 version and the more modern 1942. I may just use the superstructure of the older model above the deck... and then use the Polish plan to formulate the hull shape. Or if I can figure out how to modify my plan... I may opt to remove the torpedo bulges and remodel the hull shape a bit to reflect the more original shape? Are there rules against building such a Frankenship... or is it just frowned upon? I basically am the only person in my area crazy enough to build a battleship like this one in 1-144 scale For making ribs... I see there is this cross section schematic in the upper left hand corner of one of the three large sheets of paper. I think this is probably the place to start? I can copy via onion paper the various bulkhead shapes for the Right hand, and Left Hand sides of the chart.... From what I can tell the Right hand side of the chart is the front of the hull...from bow to midships? The left hand side is the schematic for the bulkheads from the stern to Midships? I read somewhere on the web, that one should redraw the Bulkhead/ribs to accomondate the outer balsa sheeting... shrinking the outside down by the thickness of the sheeting? I visited my local hobby store and they have some hobby plywood, some Balsa wood sheets and a few bass wood stock. I also contacted a local wood supplier who has larger sheets of marine plywood available in 1/4" I am not quite sure what the best route to take is yet.... Well any help advice would be... helpful. Note recently I bought a motorcycle, and so until next March funds are a bit limited.. so progress at this point is going to be slow... until spring...
Scale purists will probably frown on it. FastGun combat units-wise, it doesn't matter which version. Speed and rudders don't change, so it wouldn't be 'cheating'. BUT... it's as easy to build one particular version as it is to mix and match to the same level of quality, so why not pick one and build to it? If you have the Ralph Coles fiberglass hull, I would strongly recommend against removing the bulges in order to have the older hull form. It'd be a lot of work for...what? Easier and faster to build a wood hull if you want the nonbulged form, especially since you would have to hack the hull to add casements (beyond the massive surgery to remove the bulges (and create a scale hull in that area from scratch).
Modifying a preformed fibreglass hull can lead to problems. My HMS Warrior project has been shelved for that reason. I will get back to it eventually as they are too cool a ship not to use. For now my Edgar Quinet keeps me happy.
From my reading, it sounds like he's planning to scratch-build wood (no Coles hull). Bugler, you are correct that the hull lines are bow-midship on one side, midship to stern on the other. They should be numbered or lettered, and those labels correspond to the side view drawing (IE rib "7" is located where the number "7" is below the side view.) If you're building to fast gun rules, the thickness of the balsa is with the tolerances, so I wouldn't bother altering them. . Hope this helps
Bugler, if you are going to build a pre-bulge QE wood hull, I might could find some frames drawings somewhere on my hard drive.
Hi there.... Yes Tugboat that is what I would like to do... a QE wood hull. I like the look of the older superstructures. The Morskie plans I have here are from 1942 with a bulge. I honestly think I can easily just factor them out... Just when drawing the bulkhead cross sections..or ribs... I can just draw a line between the points where the bulge starts and ends? I can also use the 1-700 model I have here to get an idea of where everything else goes.... If you have a frame drawing for a wood hull pre-bulge... I would love to have it.
Do you recommend Marine plywood? Or is it good enough to seal the wood with something? Something like... say a water seal or something like that?
It's a curved line between the points where the bulge begins and ends. Let me scale the drawing I have with the frames and email it to you. I use good hobby plywood, and seal it with epoxy most times. I have used spar varnish before also, and it was okay. Do at least two good coats of the spar varnish with a day for each to dry. Using something like Thompson's Water Seal might affect how well other stuff adheres.
Hey guys, Been off the site for nearly a month. Just checking in. Probably try to start building in March or sooner. I guess I will give regular plywood a try. I think I may be able to pick up some scrap stuff for free if I look around... The bulkheads could be made from odds and ends of cut plywood easily enough. I will PM my email to you Tug.
So... I bought some Tracing paper, carbon paper, and some basswood strips. However, sadly I decided to buy strips that are too narrow... I should have double checked my needs before buying... Anyway... I cut my first bulkhead! It seems to be the right size, but I cut it with a coping saw and well, the human body moves, and so the edges are not exactly 90 degrees or super perfectly cut. I figure if I start planking the boat later the boards will help smooth out any slight irregularities, and if I then add some fiberglassing... I can probably smooth things out further. I guess I may start working on something else... gun turrets? I will definitely need this wood eventually. I will just have to buy some wider boards to make the bulkheads etc.
If there is a Menards close by you, they often have a reasonable grade of 1/4" plywood that is plenty good for ship building (7 or more plys), and very reasonably priced. You have to look for it a bit sometimes, but I've used it and its much better than the typical 3 ply builders grade, no voids or weak spots. It's not marine or aircraft grade by any means, but head and shoulders above typical plywood.
Looks mighty fine there Cannonman. Funny you would mention Menards. I went there once, a store in Fargo ND, but they wouldn't give me the family discount. Made me quite Sad. Yeah? I guess using 1/4" thick bass wood has an advantage over plywood, in that there are no glues in it to de-laminate. I imagine solid wood, especially sealed should stand the test of time? One savvy line of inquiry for you experienced boat builders. When zee BB's crash through the penetrable Balsa, but strike the edge of a bulkhead... what happens to the bulkhead? Do you typically see damage to the bulkhead? Does that eventually shorten the life of the hull?
its not generally advised to build a hull from solid wood. plywood is usually suggested because it is more dimensionally stable.
Good eye Nick!! It is a Maru. My son was building this one, and I think it has since been abandoned/ destroyed/ lost/ forgotten, or whatever became of it. He had done a pretty decent job on it, and gotten quite a bit done. I wish he would have left it at my house so it at least had a chance of getting finished...... I think it either got lost or destroyed in the fray during one of his several moves
Well, news and update. I couldn't get any Basswood in the size I wanted. So I opted to buy three sheets of hobby grade plywood. Luckily it is apparently marine grade, so it won't de-laminate easily in water. I am being a bit cheap in my methods, but have decided to cut the outer vertical ribs and plan to connect them later with a double base plate It just seems wasteful to cut an entire piece of wood for one set of ribs... Each sheet costs me $5... so...9X5 is like $45. I think I can get all the front 9 for much less using my method... the question is then, can I get the strength I need through creative gluing. I believe I can... ha ha!
Eek! Your ribs should be "U" shaped. You then mount the "U"s to 1 or 2 keel pieces to form the basic hull. Subdeck mounted at top of ribs ties everything together. You trace out the half-rib outline from plans, fold over on centerline to get other half. Cut out all of your rib papers & glue to your plywood. You can interleave the ribs like so: dhttps://rcwarshipcombat.com/attachments/1-jpg.636/ to save wood. Chopping your ribs up like what you have means either fatally weak joints or a buttload of glue and socketing.
I have to agree here.... My personal thought is that in the long run you will be creating a lot of extra work for yourself and end up with a hull with less than optimal integrity. In my opinion, if initial cash outlay is an issue, buy as much wood as you can afford and follow a traditional build process, cutting as many ribs as you can from whatever wood you initially bought, then buy more wood and continue. That would help alleviate the pain of spending so much at one time on wood. I absolutely DO NOT want to discourage you in any way, and want to see you continue, and not get frustrated after a ton of cutting and give up... better to do it the way others have had success to start with, especially on your first build. After you have one ship completed, then experiment with alternative build techniques. As a side note, since we "waterproof" ALL exposed wood with a coat of epoxy or spar urethane, there is never any direct water contact with the plywood, so delamination of plywood and glue joints/ warping due to water exposure is not an issue at all unless the waterproofing was done poorly or incompletely. Again, don't be discouraged by my comments, and if you are confident your process will work, try it. I would then suggest you try to glue up a couple of your ribs as a proof of concept before cutting too much.
Well, I certainly understand your concerns and opinions. I have the same concerns myself. But I think I can make this work crazy as it seems. We shall see. If anything it will be exciting to see what happens.... I will definitely keep you all posted on my insane building of the Warspite.
