kuhndog599

hi, i'm new and interested in this. ive had gas powered cars and electric boats but this is probably the most complicating of it all. i once built a blew devil destroyer and thats as far as i got. i gave it away a few years later. now i want to possibly join a club but i doubt theres going to be one close to me. ( i live in kansas, in the middle of nowhere) the closest place for me to go for a club that i'm guessing is kansas city. about 4 hours away and i wont be able to go there a lot. i go there about once every 3-4 months. so i guess i'm just going to get a ship just to drive at a lake in the town. but which one?

Wreno

The closest active Big Gun club to you right now seems to be the North Texas Battle Group (www.ntxbg.org) in the Dallas, Texas, area. As for Small Gun, aka Fast Gun, I do not know what is near you. You might want to check the NTXBG web site for links to other clubs, which also have links. Also there are active Groups on Yahoo - BigGunsModelWarship for Big Guns, IRCWCC for fast gun. As for what ship - purely a matter of choice with whatever your personal constraints may be. Keep in mind that what is considered a rookie ship in Small Gun is frequently Advanced in Big Gun, and vice versa - different parameters.

You might try and get to a Big Gun event and/or Small Gun event, get a taste of which you prefer, build a battleship and a transport, invite a friend to drive the transport. After he gets shot up a few times, he will get the bug to fight back. Voila, instant club. As close as your garage.

Wreno

kuhndog599

ok itll take a while to get to be able to pay for both transport and battleship. what kind of brands are there and where can you get them. the only one i know is dumas. i'd only want one gun by the way.

Wreno

Understand, when I say "Kit". it can be anything from a bare fiberglass hull to hull with decks, to some running gear as well. Many in the hobby build from scratch from readily available plans in 1:144. There is an article in the December, 2005, Servo magazine you might want to read - kind of an overview (disclaimer: yes, I wrote it).

There are "kits" available from www.battlersconnection.com and www.swampworks.com and Bowning Shipyards (see www.ausbg.org) (keep in mind that swampworks.com is undergoing a transition right now and may not be available for a while). There are also very fine hulls available from some individuals. There is information and contact info on the Yahoo groups.

As for price, if you have a scrollsaw or bandsaw and sander, you can throw together a Liberty Ship or similar transport in a couple of weekends from the plans, for a materials cost of under $50. Then add a radio and servo. If all you want is one gun, you can do that with your transport (at least under NTXBG rules). Before you start on any kit, however, review the rules of the cliub you want to battle with to make sure you are in compliance in your construction. A visit to a club event will also give you more information more quickly than anything else you can do. I cannot stress enough how valuable this can be. If you are travelling somewhere for another reason, be sure to contact the group in that area and see if you can meet with some members and see their ships and discuss them. Again, you can get a lot more information from more sources on the Yahoo Groups.

Wreno