_mikey

hi, i was just wondering if destroyers are too small to make in 1:144 scale for this hobby as i have never seen any on any of the websites i have been to. when i move to australia i would love to join a club and build a few ships. i had my heart set on an HMS Gravelines, a"battle class" destroyer. any way, any feed back would be great, thanks

Stiletto

Actually, destroyers are really making a big splash in some Big Gun clubs. Look through the pictures on our club (Western Warship Combat Club) website, and you will see quite a few destroyers:

http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/...lery&Itemid=49

You can also get an idea of what goes into them on my website:

http://www.robwood.net/Warships/Destroyers/index.html



Rob

johnmCA72

Destroyers can be a big challenge in 1:144 scale.
[ul][*] Small components are often needed due to the severly limited space. Often, these cost more than their normal-sized counterparts.[*] Stability can be a real issue with ships being so narrow & with no way to add weight low in the hull.[*] Runtimes are almost always short, since you can't carry as much battery as a larger ship.[*] Sea conditions can easily make it impossible to run a destroyer. Anything more than about 10MPH wind is too much.[*] It may not be practical to arm all weapons that you'd like due to space & weight restrictions.
[/ul]
I wouldn't recommend a destroyer as a first/only ship. I'd run a battleship most of the time, bringing out the destroyer only for short missions occasionally.

JM

Wreno

JM is absolutely correct about the challenges of the small ships. They are difficult, but by no means impossible. They can be fun, do not take up much space, etc., but they also have little reserve buoyancy. Pretty much, you get a good hit or so and syonara. One of our members uses his in the limited role of mine layer, and has been reasonably effective (he drives a Spica class).

As for batteries, you will probably have to go NiMH, or even LiPo to get decent run times. And efficient motors. The stability can be helped with super light superstructures (our destroyer guy has gone to hollow paper, doped and painted), and, if you club allows the extra 3/8" to be added below the waterline, you WILL want to do so.

Small ships can be fun, as many are highlu maneuverable. Just don't make the mistake of believing you will be terribly effective against a battleship.

Wreno

Stiletto

Both John and Wreno make good points. It really depends on your building and mechanical skills, and your preferences. True, destroyers can't go toe to toe with cruisers or battleships, but they can put torpedoes below the waterline, and they can lay mines in Big Gun combat. it was this mine-laying cabability that won the day for the Axis side in our (WWCC) campaign game this past Sunday.

The down side is as John and Wreno stated: Expensive due to micro sizes of radio gear (although that's getting less and less expensive), and not much air reserves so they can't take much punishment. But on the other hand, you can easily launch a destroyer in one hand, holding your transmitter in the other, and you don't need much in the way of a work bench or vehicle space to transport one. Also, because you can't take a lot of hits, there isn't as much damage to repair when you get home.

Finally, about batteries: You can now buy 2500 mAh AA rechargeables at places like Lowes and Home Depot. I can run my desroyer for 1 1/2 hours at full throttle with a loose-cell pack of those AAs, and that is more than long enough. All you need is a back-up pack and a charger.

Rob

_mikey

hey thanks heaps for the feed back guys, you've given me a lot to think about

aircoffee

If you go to www.portpolarbear.com, there is a link to a "fast gun" USS Gearing class. This is a link that Pete posted on the scratch building of his destroyer. He also has a link for a Liberty and the Scharnhorst too.

battleshipbud

Hi guys I have seen a few DDs but they are far and few in between due to the limited size. But as the others have said they can be a lot of fun. If you do pick one I recommend on of the larger ones , it helps in a little more room. You might check in to like the Atlanta class light cruisers, they are smaller then the regular cruiser but a little larger then a destroyer.

Tachikaze

Because of their small size, the 1/144 scale combat DDs should be attempted only by the experienced combat modeler. It is really hard to get all the gear into the ship and keep her afloat.
Ships that would be your probably be your best options area as follows:
Soviet Tashkent
French Mogador Class
French La Fantasique Class
German Z-36mob Class
Japanese Shimakaze

Abda_Krijn

Destroyers to small?

well i sure hope i can build and battle my planned "admiral" class destroyer Hr Ms Van Galen

this ship is smaller at 1680 tonnes then the other destroyers mentiond in posts above as most of thoese destroyers are 1000 to 2000 tonnes larger.

i know weight will be an issue and have already secured some parts to make her light and reliable, i have cd drive motors wich are light and still strong, i can get 1.2 amp servo circuit speedcontrollers and with 5 or 6 4200 mah ni-mh that weigh the same as the old sub-c 1200mah nicads she should have endurance.
a micro servo for the rudder and a simple 3 channel stripped micro receiver should be enough for the gun/pump the engines and the rudder. i also intend to make a carbon fibre magazine and possible barrel for her single 50 round magazine.

superstructure can be paper or foam blocks as she didnt have alot of superstucture.

the only thing i see stay of the ship is her catapult and floatplane. but the planes where not always carried anyway.

Krijn
Ontario Attack Force

FMB42

Do people run plastic hulled destroyers and ships? And do clubs have a "modern" class for warship combat? I'm thinking of converting a plastic hulled modern destroyer over to fast gun RC combat. Hull length would be in the 30-45 inch range or so with a fixed gun. Speed would be the biggest asset on this ship.

PS, I like to swim and snorkel!

kotori

There's nothing against running a plastic hull, so long as you cut penetrable windows like with a fiberglass hull. It just won't be as strong and might fail due to hostile activity. There is no "modern" class for RC warship combat, because soon after WWII ended, anti-ship missiles were invented. And cruise missiles are kinda hard to represent in this hobby... not to mention the uglification most ships went through after WWII. I mean, look at what they did to the Iowas: they took a perfectly good-looking battleship and beat it senseless with the ugly stick, then dropped it on its head a few times for good measure. If you do build a modern destroyer, you may be able to convince your local little guns club to let you run, but you'd probably not be allowed to participate in regionals and nationals. You'd probably be better off starting with a fiberglass "treaty" battleship like Dunkerque, Scharnhorst, or South Dakota. These beasts are big, combat-effective, and fairly easy to build and operate.

Carl

FMB42

Thanks for the info. Kotori. A S. Dakota or Scharnhorst would look good and allow more internal room to work with.

PS, I'm the 00000011rd type of person on your list. (I just can't count)