i havent bought the stuff yet because i need the money i can get it from my little company.(mowing grass) The Ship that is going to be making its face on here is the German Z class destroyer once i buy it from BC (my fave place to buy ships) i will start to post pictures.
Destoyers are difficult to build due to their small size. You should be looking at a class 3 heavy cruiser or a class 4 battlecruiser. if you want something from BC, you should really look hard at either the Von Der Tann or the Prinz Eugen. The Prinz even looks a lot like a Bismarck and helped the Bismarck to sink the Hood.
As somebody who has built such very small vessels and is currently in the process of building both a Mogador and a Z-25 in its refitted configuration, I strongly do not recommend that you start with a destroyer, especially if you do not have significant experience with building either model warships for combat or complex small mechanical systems. Smaller is not easier with destroyers. I'd recommend building the Von Der Tann or even a Konig if you want something that does not require much fabrication from scratch but the Prinz Eugen is also a good starting size. Best would be if you could see ships that others have built, in person to get an idea of what exactly that you want to build. While I wouldn't recommend building a Bismarck as a first ship, I would recommend it over a destroyer any time.
Even the german K class light cruisers can be quite a challenge to build. Even though they are great fun to battle with.
I assume you mean that you are following through with building the Z-class destroyer. Since you've made your decision, I won't try to change your mind at this point; below are a few websites you should look at for more background information and to decide upon the specific ship after which you want to build yours. Visit this site Visit this site Visit this site As I am building one myself from the BC kit for big gun, I'll try to take a few photos as I progress so that you have a point of reference for your own build. If you want a good starting point for the running gear, you should look into ordering that from BC at the same time as the kit. Take a look here: Visit this site for an example of how everything fits in a typical destroyer. The Narvik destroyers are a tad smaller so everything is a tad more cramped than in a le Fantasque or Mogador. The Z-25 in its refitted configuration (as seen here: Visit this site) is how I'm building mine.
I have been working on the FNS Magador (The largest of destroyers), and there have been several times where I have been ready to put that ship on the shelf and start on Tripitz! Everything needs to be small and light, and mounted to the center line.
I'm working on an IJN Kagero - and while i'm not to the point of installing the guts, MAN this thing is small! But, there are some advantages ... If i don't have time or room to pack up my cruiser I can always just grab the destroyer and throw her in the back seat or something.
Don't forget that there's also the benefit of being a smaller, [usually] faster target and if you get skilled at it, you may be able to make a torpedo run on a much larger ship with your hull below the elevation of their guns unless they've made specific preparations in anticipation of such an attack. Here's a photo of the roughly-installed prop shafts/tubes with the drilled holes for the rudders on my Z-25. The tubes are held in place using 5-minute epoxy putty that will need further shaping later. The empty hull of the Mogador beside the Z-25. There were some issues with the Mogador so it's being resheeted and the drivetrain is being reinstalled. The Mogador also still needs some of its intermediate ribs installed. While the Mogador is already small, it's quite apparent here that the Z-25 is going to be even more cramped and the build may very well depend very specifically upon the successful implementation of spring-fired torpedos.
As soon as I figure out how to arm both my Mogador (perhaps I should name her Volta since there'll be two of the class around) and Z-25 in 1:144. Once I have that figured out, 1/96 scale should be a piece of cake by comparison. Perhaps even the V108 might prove to be within reach by then.
In the spirit of the name of this topic, here's a bit of a progress report on the [slowly] progressing build of what will become my Z-25. Upon mixing the full batch of hardware store epoxy that I'm using to attach the caprail, I realized I had forgotten to set aside the clamps I'd inevitably need to hold everything in place while the epoxy cured. After a brief search and the realization that digging out the "proper" clamps would be a futile effort within the working time of the epoxy, I resorted to the above solution, which appears to have been quite successful. Admittedly, I am putting off cutting the windows as long as possible, not because I'm particularly worried about messing it up or the mess; rather, I don't exactly trust my skills with drilling the numerous holes necessary to get it started without having a drill press set up nor do I have an inclination to cut the windows witout a work surface significantly larger than that to which I currently have access.
Perhaps I'm a glutton for mass repairs (a little crazy?) after battle but I'm thinking about going so far as to build my superstructure with 1/16" balsa with 1/16" plywood for the decks to keep the above-deck weight to an absolute minimum with the recovery float filled with a block of low-density closed-cell foam. The weight of all that foam superstructure that comes with the BC kit seems too heavy for my tastes.
There's been some sucess with closed cell foam... Foamie (tm) brand. The Austrailians put some sort of plastic over it and it is *proof* for big guns. Using the foam like balsa (not in thick blocks) will result in occasional tears, and captured rounds. But it will be hollow I think the fast guns stuff is styrene... and you might get a couple battles before your super starts to suffer terribly. The top guys to ask are probably destroyer skippers out west. If you have the patience, I've seen really thin layers of fiberglass laid out and cut much like balsa. I'm interested in what ya find out Luck Mike
By the way, For my MOG here is what I found to use as the motor controller. Just bought it today. It will have to be water proffed. The Tech from the company told me that it most likely will not survive being submerged! http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/4265-BaneBots-Motor-Controller-9A-peak-.aspx
