R/C Warship Battle Intro
Everyone has their own forms of amusement. R/C Model Warship battle
is no different and it's not always clear what's going on.
This gives you a brief intro to the three most common forms of combat
currently undertaken. It is not to be considered as a final say on
what is and isn't happening but is more of an explanation of what I
have seen reflected on the WWW related to R/C combat.
Recent Developments
Summer 2003: Marty Hayes of IR/CWCC has done the next-to-impossible!
After several years of work with NAMBA and all of the various organizations
that play different versions of warship combat, he has caused NAMBA to modify
their rules to split out the racing and combat sections. Now we can feel very
happy with the coverage NAMBA supplies.
Summer 2001: The WCC has held a sanctioned IR/CWCC battle with four
captains participating. The IR/CWCC has been working with NAMBA to get combat
warship related language into the NAMBA rules.
Winter 1999 update: The IR/CWCC has really cleaned up their act
this year. They made a very limited number of rule changes in a short and
painless process. The MWC group failed to get enough ballots returned to
make any rule changes. They have also screwed up a couple of things and
proved themselves human. The biggest change is the MWC group has chosen a
new insurer for the comming year.
May 1999 update: it seems that the MWC group is slowly absorbing most of
the IR/CWCC. I think the real test will come this summer when both groups
hold their rules sessions. If IR/CWCC can't bring that aspect under
control then I think it is toast in the long run.
Spring 1999 changes
If you have been any where near warship combat recently you will be
aware that a new club has formed. Named "Model Warship Combat, Inc."
(MWC) it uses the same rules as the IR/CWCC. This has come about due to
friction in the IR/CWCC and the desire to have a more relaxed club
atmosphere. How does this affect the local WCC club? Since we have
not yet tried to hold a sanctioned battle and are really too far away
from any of the other clubs (though the new Calif club offers some
possibilities) to join in their battles it really does not affect us.
Hullbusters (the hobby's newsletter) and Joe's maillist (@kutz.com) are
both uninterested in the political battles and will cater to the hobby
as a whole. For the folks back east, it means they either have more
battles to go to or can choose to battle with the group where they feel
most comfortable.
Fast Gun
A term coined some time back as a snappier description of the IR/CWCC battles. I also use it to refer to the IR/CWCC and MWC ships as a broader catagory.
The IR/CWCC:
This is the group that seems to be the mainstream. Their existence dates
back to the late 70's and seems to have both the most widespread and
numerous members. The ships are all 1/144th scale and are armed with
standard bb cannons. There is a lot to be said for this in that the cost
and complexity of ship construction is limited by the rules and the
emphasis is placed more on the actual battling of the ships. The guns
are mostly fixed and rapid firing. The ships are fast and manoverable.
The battling is very intense.
Model Warship Combat Inc. (MWC)
This is a newly formed group that is a major splinter from the IR/CWCC.
They use the same construction rules as the IR/CWCC so the ships can be
used in either group. There is a strong emphasis on friendly conduct off
of the pond. The battles are basically the same as the IR/CWCC.
The Queen's Own:
This group seems to be much less concerned about the actual battling
of the ships and much more concerned about historical accuracy. The
ships are built to 1/72nd scale and can be equipped with varying sizes
of guns using bb's and ball bearings. Most of these ships are very
nicely crafted, some are truely beautiful. The battles are slower
and much more a mental game.
Big Guns Warship Club:
These groups are somewhere in between.
There is no national orgainzation and the rules vary between clubs. The
ships are built to 1/144th or 1/72nd scale and can be armed with bb's or
small ball bearings. The ships are slower and more realistic in battling.
General Thoughts:
Each of these groups represents the desires of
the captains in the trade offs of cost, realism, time and usage's. In
spite of the efforts taken to create scale models the actual battles are
not particularly realistic. But then again that is very understandable
since trying to model a warship with multiple turrets firing at different
targets would be too much for a single captain. But, what the heck, most
of us just want to have fun. I have chosen "Fast Gun" because I am more
interested in challenging combat than I am in realism or modeling detail.
I enjoy working on the internal systems not the externals of the ships.
If you think the color of this web site is kind of odd then you need
to have a good look at Puget Sound during the winter.........