This rule set deals with construction, fitting out,
and preparation of ships, shore batteries and targets, and other tangible
items used in battle games sanctioned by the North Texas Battle Group.
This document includes a Technical. Appendix, containing data
arranged in tables for convenient reference.
GENERAL INFORMATION
This rule set becomes effective as of 08 June, 1999.
RULE CHANGES
Any Regular Member of the North Texas Battle Group may
submit a change request to this rule set.
Rule change requests must be submitted to the Commanding
Officer or Executive Officer, in writing, and include the following information:
Version and date of the rule set that is proposed to
be changed. This is required, to make sure that everybody is dealing with
the current rules.
Specific rule section number(s) that it is proposed
be changed.
Name of the individual proposing the change.
Background and purpose behind the proposal.
Specific wording of the proposed change, in terms of
what words to strike out and/or what words to add.
For the convenience of members, the club Secretary will
make available a standard form that may be used for preparing rule change
requests. Use of a standard form is not required.
The rule change request must be published in the newsletter
and may be voted on at the next Regular Meeting, or by absentee via mail
or by telephone.
The proposed rule change may be amended or modified
by the membership prior to the acceptance vote, without making further
general notice via newsletter.
An absentee ballot will be published in a newsletter
prior to the rules meeting. Those unable to attend the meeting should fill
out the ballot and contact the Club Secretary prior to the rules meeting,
as stated above.
A quorum of voting members, as defined in the Bylaws
of the North Texas Battle Group, must vote in favor of a rule change for
the change to be adopted into the rules.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)
Any new development in technology, or change in rules
affecting ship or equipment capabilities may be tested over 3 combat events
if approved by 2 club officers.
After 3 combat events the issue is automatically submitted
for a rule change as per Section III.
The XO shall be responsible for ensuring that rule change
proposals generated through the R&D program are submitted in accordance
with club rule change policies.
TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION
Safety and Technical Inspection
Prior to usage all weapons must be inspected, tested
and certified as described herein and in the Technical Appendix. If the
Safety Officers determine that the weapons are unsafe, or fail to meet
the criterion described in the rules the weapons shall not be operated
until the problem is corrected.
Weapons certification will be valid for one year from
the date of certification, or until any modification to the weapon or it’s
CO2 delivery system is made.
Certification of equipment and testing of weapons is
the responsibility of the Technical Officer(s).
The results of all certification tests will be recorded
in a certification log.
Complete certification requirements are described in
the Technical Appendix.
The club Secretary will maintain original copies of
all technical certification logs.
Ships and other equipment that has been certified are
immune from becoming out-of-spec due to a later rule change, except where
such rule changes are safety affecting.
Construction certification of other Big Gun clubs is
specifically recognized, so that a ship that another club’s technical inspection
can be assured that it is automatically certified to participate in battles
sanctioned by the North Texas Battle Group.
A list of recognized Big Gun R/C Warship Combat clubs
with which the North Texas Battle Group has reciprocal technical certification
agreements is maintained by the Club Secretary.
WAIVER OF RULES
Technical Officers (TOs) are authorized to issue construction
waivers to ships that do not meet the specifications defined in this document,
provided that such conditions do not provide an unfair advantage in scale
model combat.
Modifications that are determined to give a ship an
unfair advantage will not be allowed and shall not be approved for waiver.
The CO may veto any construction waiver issued by a
TO.
SHIPS AND OTHER CRAFT
PERIOD, REFERENCE SOURCE AND SCALE
Only powered vessels that were laid down or in commission
between the years of 1900 and 1946 may be used
Sailing vessels are not authorized.
Reference Source
Conway's All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1900-1921 and
1933-1946 (2 books) shall be the only authorized reference sources for
ships, except as defined in item b.
The Technical Officers are authorized to approve waivers
to Conway's and these rules, provided that such waiver does not provide
a ship with an advantage in combat that would not be available without
the waiver.
Ships may only be used for the purpose for which the
prototype vessel was originally built or actually modified, and may be
constructed and operated either as they were originally specified, or in
their modified state.
All vessels must be built to a scale of 1:144 (1 inch
= 12 feet) to a tolerance of ±5%. This tolerance is to allow for
honest building errors.
PROTOTYPE SHIPS
All ships used in games sanctioned by the North Texas
Battle Group shall be based on an actual prototype ship, and have the appearance
and general characteristics of the original prototype modeled in the scale
defined.
All ships of the same class may have the technical specifications
of any particular ship of the same class. An example would be the Tirpitz
and Bismarck, where the Tirpitz is armed with torpedoes, but Bismarck is
not, but both of these ships are allowed to have torpedoes.
ALL SHIPS MUST BE CAPABLE OF BEING SUNK
The finished ship must be capable of sinking so that
the main deck is below the water’s surface.
No means of delaying, or slowing down the sinking of
any ship is allowed.
Ships may be constructed of a neutral buoyancy design
that prevents the ship from sinking to the bottom of the pond, but this
must be accomplished within the design of the superstructure. No buoyancy
may be added to the hull, or interior of the hull of the ship to retard
it from sinking and the deck itself may not be made buoyant.
HULL CONSTRUCTION
Frames (Ribs)
Frames (ribs) may be no thicker than 3/8 inch and on
the bottom most interior surface of the ship may be no higher than 1 inch
above the bottom.
For every 1 inch of ship's length the frames (ribs)
are spaced apart the frame may be 1/8 inch thick to a maximum of 3/8-inch
thickness. For example, 1 inch space = 1/8 inch thick, 2 inch space = ¼
inch thick, 3 inch space = 3/8 inch thick; 4, 5, 6 or more inch spacing
= 3/8 inch thick.
The hull area of the bow and stern may be made of any
material provided the combined length of these two sections does not exceed
15% of the total length of the ship’s hull and the ship does not have an
unfair advantage as determined by the Technical Officers. This 15% does
not include the thickness of the ribs. Rib thickness and spacing is covered
above.
Deck And Cap Rail
The maximum combined thickness of the deck and cap rail
shall not exceed 3/8 inch except as defined in item b.
On ships with at least 1-inch penetrable freeboard remaining
the cap rail may be ½ inch thick.
Penetrable Areas
The thickness of the hull will be based on actual armor
thickness at the thickest part of a given ships armor belt, per Table 1
of the Technical Appendix.
Penetrable areas are defined as all points below the
main deck and cap rail to a point 1 inch below the waterline, below which
the hull may be constructed of any material. The area protected by the
frames (ribs) as defined in this chapter is exempt from this specification.
The penetrable area of the hull shall be about 85% of
the hull area.
Only lightweight 6 pound density balsa wood may be used
on areas defined as penetrable (see section 9 for further information.).
The penetrable area of the hull and all other areas
of the hull may be covered with a single layer of lightweight silk span,
applied to the interior or exterior surface of the hull in addition to
the approved paints.
Armor Plate
To give the effect of armor plate on ships that had
such, a horizontal stringer made of any material no more than 1/8 inch
wide and flush with the outboard side of the frames (ribs) may be installed.
This will provide additional non-penetrable area of
no more than 1/8 inch around the horizontal perimeter of the armor plate.
The 1/8-inch wide stringer may not be on the waterline.
Water TIGHT COMPARTMENTS
Watertight compartments may be used to protect electrical
and electronic equipment.
The compartments may only be large enough to hold the
equipment, and shall not provide enough buoyancy to help keep the ship
afloat and may not impede water flow through the ship.
Water Channeling
Water channeling to direct water towards the pump is
approved.
Channeling shall be no higher than ½
inch above the bottom most interior surface of the hull.
Blast shields shall not be sealed to the water
channeling.
Allowed Hull Modifications
Any modifications not present on the ship's plans or
not of scale must be submitted for a waiver under R&D rules.
To increase the displacement and allow installation
of hardware, frames (ribs) may be 3/8 inch higher than specified on ship
plans for ships less than 15,000 tons displacement, heavy load. The water
line shall be at the same placement and the free board shall be the same
area as shown on the plans.
On ships with a high bow the frame may be constructed
so the bow is 3/8 inch lower than shown of the plans to allow guns to fire
over the bow.
Modifying the profile of the bow or hull to increase
drag as a means of slowing down the ship is not allowed.
WATERLINE AND BOOTS
All ships shall float at scale waterline as shown on
the ship plans.
Boot toppings shall be in scale position as shown on
ship plans, must be ¼ inch wide and may be painted or striped with
one layer of hobby pin stripe tape.
LAMINATION, PAINTS, FILLERS, WOOD HARDENERS
Lamination
Laminations not permitted in penetrable areas.
Holes in penetrable areas may be plugged with
the same thickness of balsa allowed for the ship, or hull sections replaced,
or holes may be covered with one layer of lightweight silk span.
The silk span may not exceed more than 3/8 inch
beyond the size of the hole being repaired and may not overlap areas of
previous repairs. Multiple layers of silk span can not be allowed to build
up on the hull, increasing the thickness of the hull as multiple repairs
are made.
Technical Officers may declare a hull out-of-spec.
if, in their judgement, excessive repair buildup provides an unfair advantage.
The captain of any ship so declared will be required to re-skin the hull
to remedy the situation. This is a judgement call on the part of the TOs,
and may not be appealed.
Paints
Only model dope, lacquer-based paints, water-based
paints or acrylic enamel paints may be used on penetrable areas. Epoxy,
oil based, or house type latex paints may not be used.
No paint shall be used on penetrable areas that
increases the hardness, strength, or elasticity of the balsa wood.
Fillers
Water based wood fillers may be used, but such
fillers shall not add strength or thickness of the balsa wood of penetrable
areas.
Wood hardener materials such as penetrating
liquids may not be used on the wood covering the penetrable areas of the
hull.
PROPULSION AND STEERING
RUDDERS
Rudders may be made of any material and may be up to
25% larger in area than on the prototype ship.
Rudders must be the same shape and installed in the
same position as on the prototype ship.
All rudders carried by the prototype ship need not be
installed or operational.
PROPELLERS AND SCREWS
Ships may have up to the same number of propellers as
the prototype ship.
All propellers need not be installed.
Propellers that are installed must be in the same position
as on the prototype ship and have the same number of blades.
Propellers may be up to 50% larger in circular area
than on the prototype ship.
Bow thrusters may be used only if the prototype ship
was so equipped.
MOTORS AND SPEED CONTROL
Only electric motors may be used in conjunction with
factory sealed batteries. Environmental concerns prohibit all R&D efforts
other than electrical or pneumatic based propulsion systems.
Fuel, pyrotechnics, combustible liquids or gasses, etc.,
are prohibited.
All vessels shall run no faster than specified trial speed (or design speed
where trials speed isn't specified) as defined in Conway's. A minimum speed
of 24 knots for a warship is allowed. Speed of convoy ships shall be a minimum
of 22 knots, not to exceed the ship's specified speed if over 22 knots. This
speed shall be converted into scale speed per Table 5 of the Technical
Appendix. If trial speed (or design speed if the former is lacking) is not
defined in Conway's the Technical Officers may approve running a given ship at
a trial speed (or design speed if trials is still found lacking) defined in at
least 2 (two) other credible reference books provided that both Technical
Officers agree.
Motors or throttles may not be set to increase power
in a turn to improve the maneuverability of a ship, or to increase power
during acceleration or deceleration to improve the starting and stopping
characteristics of a ship.
RECOVERY DEVICE
All ships must have a recovery device in the form of
a float with line securely attached to the ship and float.
The float shall break free of the ship as the ship sinks
and the line shall deploy.
The line shall be of sufficient length to allow the
float to reach the surface of the water when the ship is on the bottom,
marking the location of the ship and allowing recovery of the ship from
the water surface. Recommendation: The length of float lines should be
three times the maximum depth of the water that ships operate in.
BLAST SHIELDS
A Blast Shield is a barrier to prevent rounds from passing
through both sides of a ship’s hull, or from damaging internal hardware.
Blast shields may be made of any material and must be
mounted no closer than 5/16-inch from the hull skin of the ship on the
interior of the ship.
Blast shields may not obstruct rounds that have penetrated
the hull from falling away from the hole towards the bottom of the ship.
The blast shield may not impede water flow in any way,
or allow rounds (balls) to impede water flow.
SUPERSTRUCTURE
The superstructure may be make of any material and must
resemble the appearance of the prototype ship, from all directions.
Level of detail included is left up to the builder.
The Club encourages builders to build ships that are realistic in appearance
when viewed from approximately 20 feet or more.
PUMPS AND PUMPING CAPACITY
All vessels may have one or more bilge pump, but the
combined pumping capacity shall not exceed the rates defined in Table 2
of the Technical Appendix.
A cut out area in the bottom surface of the hull to
house the pump is approved, but may not protrude below the keel, or more
than ½ inch below the bottom of a ship and must not be larger than
necessary to allow placement of the pump.
The pump discharge rate for all convoy ships of the
liner, cargo ship, or oiler variety shall be a Category 0 for ships under
24,999 tons or Category 1 pump for all non-warships 25,000 tons or more.(see
Table 2 of the Technical Appendix).
SPECIALTY SHIP TYPES
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
An Aircraft Carrier is any craft whose primary mission
is/was to serve as a mobile base for combat aircraft operations.
Aircraft Simulation: Primary Guns
For every 10 combat aircraft on a given carrier
one (1), ¼ inch barrel is allowed.
The guns must be installed under the flight
deck with approximately ½ of the guns pointed directly forward and
the remainder pointed directly rearward and the guns may not rotate. The
spacing between barrels shall be the same as for cannon.
Secondary Guns
The secondary guns must be installed in the
same approximate position as on the prototype ship.
Aircraft
Aircraft carriers may launch aircraft.
Aircraft must be launched from the flight deck
forward over the bow and are scored as defined in Rules of Combat, Scoring.
One aircraft may be launched every eight seconds.
Aircraft must be 1:144 scale and of a type actually
carried by the prototype vessel.
Aircraft and may be made of any material but
must not weigh more than ½ ounce each
Aircraft must be constructed such that they
are recoverable and may not be allowed to sink to the bottom of the pond
and be lost after firing.
Side Defensive Systems
One side defensive system may be installed on
each side of the ship. Side defensive systems shall be comprised of triple
torpedo tubes and shall follow all rules pertaining to torpedo tubes.
Aircraft Carrier Construction
Aircraft carriers must meet the construction
requirements of other ships except the hanger deck area, which may be made
of any material, provided that at least 1 inch of penetrable free board
remains above the waterline.
Aircraft carriers are inherently top heavy,
so to achieve a stable balance the waterline may be raised ½ inch,
effectively reducing the free board and increasing the displacement, provided
that at least 1 inch of penetrable free board remains above the waterline.
CONVOY AND CARGO VESSELS
Definition: Convoy
and cargo vessels are those ships whose main function was the delivery
of war materiel, supplies, and troops.
Construction
Cargo ships’ rudder area may be 100% oversize.
Cargo vessels must otherwise meet the construction
requirements of other ship types.
Ships converted into convoy vessels, such as
ocean liners and destroyers, must meet the same construction requirements
as other ships, but do not get the added 100% rudder area of cargo ships.
Weapons
Cargo vessels may be armed as per the prototype
ship.
Raiders and Q-Ships
Raiders and Q-Ships are armed warships and may
not haul cargo, but do get the oversize rudder of cargo ships.
Raiders and Q-Ships may carry only weapons as
historically armed and documented.
Raiders and Q-Ships may render their excess
weapons inoperative and serve as cargo ships, but may not serve as cargo
ships and warships during the same sortie.
SUBMARINES
A Submarine is any craft whose prototype vessel was
capable of operation while submerged beneath the water’s surface.
Submarines’ weapons and construction requirements are
the same as for any other warship type.
Submarines may be developed under the R&D program.
COASTAL TARGETS (CT)
Coastal targets are intended to serve as targets for
the opposing team in scenario games.
The CT should be approximately scale in size and a minimum
of 2 stories, or about 1-½ inches in height.
The CT may be constructed of any material, however they
must be constructed such that hits can be detected and scored. In other
words, the material used must be soft enough to be penetrated or dented
by gunfire so hits can be scored, or some other method of scoring hits
must be devised and approved by the TO.
CT must be installed at the water’s edge and in an area
so they are visible to the opposing team.
The lowest most point of the CT must be a maximum of
1½ inches above the water surface.
ARMAMENT AND WEAPONS SPECIFICATIONS
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
The length of barrels must be the same as on the prototype
ship within 5%. Barrel length is measured from the end of the barrel to
the face of the turret.
The number of weapons allotted is the same as on the
prototype ship. Not all weapons need to be installed.
Single-barreled cannon may be installed in a turret
where the prototype ship had multiple barrels, and may be fired at rate
and a number of times equal to the number of barrels in this turret. In
the case of a multi-barreled gun that arms several turrets the affected
turrets may be fired at rate and a number of times equal to the number
of barrels in those turrets, followed by the appropriate delay specified
in these rules before firing again.
Gun barrels may not elevate higher than horizontal,
which is defined as parallel with the water’s surface while the ship is
in a stabilized level condition.
Zero-elevation must be maintained at all points in the
gun’s arc of rotation.
The effects of pitch and roll while a ship is on the
water are not considered when calculating barrel elevation.
Weapons must be installed in the same position as on
the prototype ship and barrels must be the same height above the deck as
on the prototype ship. However, 3/8-inch of barrel height may be added
to allow ships with a high bow to fire over the bow when gun barrels are
horizontal.
The technical officers may approve minor waivers to
scale gun placement to allow guns to fit into a particular ship.
Weapon caliber shall be the same as on the prototype
ship to the scale size defined in Table 3 of the Technical Appendix.
Gun and Torpedo Effectiveness
Guns and torpedo tubes of a single battery shall not
have converging barrels that allow the balls fired to strike at the same
point at any given distance.
Performance and operation parameters of guns and torpedoes
is covered in this chapter under Weapons Testing Procedure and Operating
Parameters.
The minimum spacing between barrels shall be 0.5 inch
center-to-center, or the width of the outside dimension of a barrel between
the barrels, whichever is greater.
Gun Rotation
Only ships that had rotating guns may have rotating
guns and these guns shall be in the same position as on the prototype ship.
Coastal Battery guns may rotate.
Torpedoes
Only ships that had torpedoes may be so armed.
Torpedoes shall be represented by ¼ inch diameter
ball bearings.
The maximum number of torpedoes on any ship shall not
exceed the number of tubes on the prototype ship per side.
Rotating guns may be installed to accommodate tubes
on both sides of a ship.
The spacing of the tubes shall be the same as for cannon
barrels.
COASTAL BATTERIES
Coastal Batteries are intended to defend the coastal
targets, the port area of the team to which they belong, or control passage
through some limited area of water. They may not have a field of fire covering
the entire battle pond.
Coastal Batteries must meet the same construction and
safety requirements as ship-mounted cannon.
Coastal Batteries may have a total of 3 working barrels
of any caliber defined herein.
Coastal Batteries must have a system of cut-off switches,
one per barrel, capable of rendering the cannons inoperable by gunfire
from warships. The number of cut-off switches shall equal the number of
barrels, with all the switches having to be shut off before disabling the
gun.
The cut-off switches must be a minimum of 1 inch in
height and 1 inch in width and must have a minimum target area of 1 square
inch.
The lowest point of the target area of the cut-off switches
may be a maximum of 1-½ inches above the water surface.
The cut-off switches must be capable of being disabled
from gunfire from any caliber weapon firing at rated power from a minimum
distance of 6 feet.
The target area of the cut-off switches must be positioned
so they can be engaged and hit by gunfire from warships on the water at
any angle that the cannon can fire on the warships.
The Coastal Batteries may have deflectors installed
to prevent cut-off switches located close to one another from being hit
by ricochet fire, provided that the deflectors do not interfere with 4,
above.
The barrels of the Coastal Batteries may be a maximum
of 12 inches above the water surface, with a maximum of 0 degrees positive
elevation.
Coastal Battery maximum range?????
The appearance of the Coastal Batteries should be semi-scale
in nature.
Both Technical Officers and Executive Officer must approve
the construction of the Coastal Battery.
Once certified, the gun need not be re-certified unless
modified.
WEAPONS TESTING PROCEDURE AND OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS
Operating Parameters
Maximum operating pressure shall not exceed 140 psig,
but may be required to operate at below 140 psig to meet the penetration
requirements defined herein.
Maximum penetration shall not exceed that described
in this section.
Weapon Testing
Prior to certification, guns (shipboard as well as coastal
batteries), and torpedoes must be tested by checking penetration as follows:
Test weapons by firing into DOW Styrofoam, square edge
extruded polystyrene insulation that is 2 inches thick.
The foam must be held solidly during the test and may
not be allowed to move, flex, or otherwise absorb the shot’s impact.
The test material must be mounted 12 inches from the
end of the barrels of the weapon being tested.
The guns shall be fired a minimum of 5 times with delays
between shots varying from 10 seconds to 10 minutes.
If any ball penetrates completely through the test material,
or makes protrusions in the backside of the test material the weapon fails
the test. Reduce the operating pressure and retest.
Weapon System Safety
Gasses, Tanks, and Compressors
Only CO2 or compressed air may be used as a
propellant.
All systems must be of a commercial design suitable
for the pressures used in combat vessels.
All armed vessels and Coastal Batteries must
have an on board shut off switch in an easily accessible location so guns
can be enabled after the ship is placed in the water and disabled before
the ship is removed from the water without removing decks, superstructure,
or other ships’ components.
The shut off switch must bleed the pressure
from the lines supplying the actuator, solenoid valves, or firing valves
in such a manner as to completely disable the guns.
The maximum pressure delivered to the weapon
systems shall not exceed 140 psig.
All tanks fittings operating at non-regulated
pressure must be of a commercially approved design and must meet state
and local laws.
No device may be installed in any pressurized portion
of the CO2 system that will prevent the pressure regulator from performing
its function throughout the entire system.
Mines
Mine designs should limit damage to attacked ships.
Mine designs should float and be recoverable. Mines fields or nets are
limited to 1 linear foot, measured on the longest dimension, for every
10 mines the ship historically carried.
The mine string must be weighted at one end with sufficient
weight to anchor it. The length of the anchor line shall be 3 feet.
Every mine string shall have for its length a weight, 3 ft
string, 1 float, 1 ft string, etc., for a maximum of 5 floats. Maximum length
of a mine string is 8 ft from weight to end of string which equals 50 mines
historically.
OTHER SHIPBOARD SYSTEMS
Lights, anchors, horns, and similar devices are allowed.
Shipboard smoke generators are allowed, provided no propelled/exploding
pyrotechnics or liquid fuels are used. Commercially sold smoke bombs are
acceptable, but should be placed in a hollowed out smokestack lined with
a nonflammable material.
All shipboard systems not specifically listed are subject
to approval by TO and SO.
Aiming devices to simulate radar are allowed under R&D.
Automated coupling of range and/or bearing sensing devices,
allowing them to control the train and/or elevation of cannons is prohibited.
Automated devices that fire a weapon without human input
are not allowed.
All other shipboard systems added that are visible on
the exterior of the ship, must maintain the scale look and appearance of
the ship.
Systems and features not specifically described in this
document may be allowed by approval of both TO and SO.