subhunter13

What are the best methods, plans, RC control systems,
Etc... For building a Ship. More Importantly is how do you make your hulls.
Fiberglass or Balsa? On average, How far apart do the ribs have to be?
Any advice?

johnmCA72

Check the various club web sites for more details than anybody can post in this forum.

- "Best" methods, plans, RC control systems are highly subjective. Everybody has favorites. I've had good luck with Futaba Skysport systems, myself. High-end computer radios are generally overkill. It's all meant for planes & doesn't translate well to controlling fighting ships, so it's better to just go with a simple, basic radio setup.

- Some people start with a fiberglass hull, others prefer plywood ribs. My preference is fiberglass, if I can find a ready-made hull that I want. I'll build plywood ribs for a ship I want, that nobody sells a fiberglass hull for. I figure I'm 6 weeks ahead in the building process the day that fiberglass hull hits my doorstep.

- Fiberglass (or plywood) makes up the frame, balsa is applied as skin. Anything that shoots hard enough to penetrate fiberglass would hurt or even kill people when it hit them. That's why the balsa skin, so that it can be penetrated easily.

- Rib spacing depends on the club, but most allow 1" spacing for each 1/8" of rib thickness. My 1st ship, I build with 1/8" ribs spaced every 1". I'll never do that again! 3/8" ribs spaced 3" is what most people do, myself included (after that once).

- Advice? Find local battlers, talk to them, look at their ships, ask a lot of questions, & visit battles.

JM

Wreno

Best methods are what works best for you.

Best plans depends on the ship (there are a lot of the actual original builder's plans of several French ships, the Iowa class, and some others available on the web, but they take a fair amount of work to be usable for our type models. There are several plans purveyors on the internet that do 1/144 scale plans, itf that is what you are looking for - other scales as well. BDERC.com also has pattern sets for some ships (he has figured out how to cut the wood to make it work).

Many start with fiberglass and cut penetration windows per the club's rules. Many build wooden frames. Either is covered with balsa, the thickness of which is governed by your club's rules. Rib spacing is also club dependant. In my clocal club, for instance, your ribs have to be 1" apart for every 1/8" thick, bu to 3" 3/8" thick ribs.

Best advice, find the closest club in your format of choice. Attend a couple of battles. They may even have a loaner ship to get you started.[link=http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/RCNavalCombat/]http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/RCNavalCombat/[/link] has a club locator that might help on this.
Also, if you have not read the article from Servo Magazine [link=ftp://[email protected]/servo20051rcmw.pdf]ftp://[email protected]/servo20051rcmw.pdf[/link], you might find it helpful.
There are tutorials on the BDE site as well as many of the club sites.

Good luck, and welcom to the fray.

Wreno

subhunter13

Ah.... well... I'm like, 14.... so do most clubs lend ships to
minors?(I get the feeling thay don't but...) I'm still trying to figure out what ship
I want and I think I may have found something. Right now I mostly research
(a ton!!!!) On different ships, stratiges, weapons, RC systems, Etc...
By the way, Who's side is loosing in MABG?

johnmCA72

Some clubs might. Others may have age limitations for running armed ships, but let younger folks run cargo ships (it's a heck of a lot of fun - don't feel let down!). Like just about everything else, "It depends".

Some of your questions are a little vague, to be able to get good answers, but ask away - somebody will try to answer just about anything. The more precise the question, the better the answer you're likely to get.

JM

kotori

My brother and I were 16 when we joined the WWCC. We borrowed a pair of unarmed transports and had a blast. I moved on to a battleship, but I am building a merchant to take the field again. Its a lot of fun to shoot up other boats, but its also immensely satisfying dodging enemy shells (a lot like dodgeball) and teasing the enemy skipper for every shot he fires.

As for concerns about age, membership in the WWCC is open to anyone over 2 feet tall. Unless you're an uber-midget, you should be fine there. Operating an armed warship requires parental sponsorship if you're under the age of 16, but that's not terribly difficult to achieve. Most clubs have similar requirements to the WWCC's, so don't worry too much about it.

subhunter13

It would although be fun to run a Q ship.
(A merchant with a TON of hidden guns)
Ok, Have you any experience in the way of cruisers?
Like Possably the Southhampton?
Are cruisers (Heavy and standard) Very effective?
Oh, By the way, I've got a VERY small, powerful 9v wireless cam I
can put in a ship If I wanted to. [8D]