Alpha's Favorite: Bancroft 1/200 scale Battleship Missouri -RTR (Ready to Run)

[Alpha]

Bancroft 1/200 scale Battleship Missouri RTR (Ready To Run)

https://www.motionrc.com/collections...battleship-rtr

"Strength For Freedom"

Attention on deck, this is going to be fun! Introducing the Bancroft 1/200 scale Battle Missouri, a Ready-to-Run (RTR) elite series warship that combines hyperscale realism with super-convenient RC boating! For scale pilots and tankers, we're excited to expand our world to include hyper scale RC Warships! Sail the Bancroft 1/200 scale Missouri within 15 minutes of unboxing it --the model arrives 98% complete and requires just a few minutes of placing the pre-painted turrets into their various holes, adding AA batteries to the included 2.5Ghz radio transmitter, plugging in the included 2s 2800mAh battery after charging it with the included charger, then setting sail!

The real Battleship Missouri (BB-63) is hallowed ground, where the Imperial Japanese formally surrendered in 1945 to bring an end to World War 2. Today, the Missouri stands guard as a museum ship overlooking the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I encourage everyone to visit these memorials at least once in their life!

Like all Elite series warships from Bancroft, the 1/200 scale Missouri is a stunning marriage of scale fidelity and RC functionality. Its one piece molded fiberglass hull and deck, molded as one continuous piece, forms the basis around which hundreds of photo-etched ("PE") parts are then painstakingly shaped, painted, and installed. This process takes over a hundred hours and involves hundreds of pieces. Having watched the factory work, it is remarkable to me the level of detail achievable with these models. It is clearly beyond anything we've done so far in terms of Scale Fidelity.
Representing the USS Missouri as she would have appeared during WW2, the vessel is covered with anti-aircraft stations. Caliber .50, Oerlikons, Bofors, and larger guns dot the Missouri from bow to stern.

On the foredeck, metal anchor chains and railings thinner than a pin line the hull. The genuine wood deck, laser-cut as a single piece and then laser-etched to simulate the real Missouri's planking, is treated for waterfastness, and can also be stained if the user chooses to show the eventual blue/gray deck paint.

As a battleship, the main turrets are standouts on the Bancroft 1/200 scale Missouri. The turrets rotate freely by hand, and I imagine it would take a good modeler less than an hour to connect them to servos so they can be actuated remotely.

The bridge and surrounding superstructure is meticulously detailed beyond words. I have stared at mine for an hour in silence before, in awe. As detailed as it is, intrepid modelers will see opportunities to elevate the detail and accuracy even further. This 1/200 scale at 1350mm hull length is an ideal size for rendering detail.

The Bancroft 1/200 scale Battleship Missouri's 1350mm hull length is perfect for fitting in a car's back seat, sideways. Save the trunk space for an airplane or tank. It's too large for a conventional shelf, and too large for a desktop display, so I have mine mounted on my mantle which is about 6 feet long and 1 foot wide. This is perfect for displaying the model in a safe environment when I'm not cruising the marina.

[Alpha]

Positionable turrets use a simple post and hole mount, to minimize water intrusion if a wave breaks over the bow. Note the Bancroft 1/200 scale Battleship Yamato alongside...

I can't get enough of the WW2-era superstructure. There are guns everywhere, a testament to the threat aircraft posed to naval warships no matter their size. The smoke stacks are also easily modifiable to house a flexible tube connected to a smoke generator such as what we use in our Heng Long tanks. This would be an easy project one night to DIY.

Photo-Etched ("PE") parts are everywhere on this model. Barrels, arrays, railings, walkways, and other parts! While the PE railings for example are easy enough to bend back into shape if you happen to dent them during hasty transport, overall it should be clear that this model is intended for steady-handed adults. In the same way that dropping a model airplane or model tank from waist-height would be bad, dropping this Missouri would not make for a good day.



Having established the astonishing almost museum-level quality of the exterior model, it's important to emphasize just how EASY this model is to operate as a functional RC boat. It's as simple as lifting the one-piece superstructure up with two hands, revealing the internal compartment as shown below, turning on the radio, then plugging in the battery. EASY!

Power is supplied by four brushed motors driving four steel shafts and four brass screws (propellers). There are two pairs of counter-rotating propellers, just like on the real Missouri. The power system is completely maintenance free and has enough power to drive the Missouri with a very non-scale "rooster tail" spewing out the back! Most of the times I cruise at 10% throttle, or less, which is where the advantages of brushed motors really come in handy. With the supplied 2s 2800mAh battery, I can sail scale for about an hour.

Aside from AA batteries for the radio, the only other thing the user must provide is about 2.4-2.7kg of ballast weight. This can take the form of standard lead weight, as is common for RC boats, or considering using a larger battery. I imagine two 2s 10,000 packs in parallel would run the tank for almost ten hours at scale speeds, which is long enough to work up a mean sunburn!

Everything is controlled by a 2.4Ghz radio system. The radio is lightweight and has extra switches for future expansions.

Within 15 minutes of unboxing the Bancroft 1/200 scale Missouri, it is ready to sail. Charge the battery, power up, and position it in the water. It is important to avoid advancing the throttle stick whenever the boat is not in the water. As is common with RC boats, they're not intended to have the prop spinning unless it's in the water. This is not just for safety purposes to avoid slicing clumsy fingers, but also to protect the drive system from excessive vibration that water is intended to suppress.

Look at this Beauty!

I love it and I can't get enough of it!

[Alpha]

The WW2-outfitted Missouri carried two Curtis SC Seahawk floatplanes for observation and spotting. At 1/200 scale, they're tiny and a bit soft in detail, but otherwise are fair representations of the aircraft. The brass PE launching ramps and retrieval crane are cases of extreme detail --it takes a worker about an hour just to assemble the two ramps.


The four brass screws (propellers) are counter-rotating, with the outboard pair rotating inward and the inboard pair rotating outward. This provides acceleration in a straight line. Steel drive shafts ride in metal stuffing tubes that are greased to prevent water entering the hull.



As beautiful as the Bancroft 1/200 scale Missouri is, it wouldn't be much fun if it couldn't fit in a car to get to the local pond or RC Marina. We chose to lead with the 1/200 scale because they're much easier to transport and much cheaper than the larger 1/150 scale, doubles in price for 25% for length and much more transportation hurdles.

Seen below is the 1/200 Missouri sideways in a standard four door sedan, and also on the shore alongside a 1/200 Yamato. Imagine if these two superbattleships ever met in WW2!



In conclusion, I love the USS Missouri. Growing up in Hawaii in a Naval family, I visited the Arizona Memorial many times, and I was there when the Missouri was first brought in to watch over the Memorial. I am elated that we can finally bring Bancroft to the world, and do so with the Elite series of 1/200 scale warships, chief among them the Mighty Mo. May she and all that she stands for live forever!

[Alpha]

Reserved for video

[PappaBear]

I haven't seen these boats in reality, but the detail looks really amazing and well made from what can be seen in the pictures. I may well be tempted to try one of these. I'm sure they will be fun without the danger of crashing as can be the case with aircraft. The one and only time I had a boat I was 8 years old.

[TiredIronGRB]

This is a must even if I never get it wet

[Spinny Testaverde]

This is a must even if I never get it wet

Can totally see this hanging in your hangar George!

[GBLynden]

This is beautiful!

[Too Many Hobbies]

The detail is astounding! If only I had fresh water to run these in. Still waiting on excavation vehicles to come in, but I guess that will be a while considering the whole world seems to be in lockdown.

[f4u ausie]

ww2 leviathon .... awsome stuff .. been on her at pearl... itchen to c one weathered nicely dont need sail just look at it

[herrmill]

Very nice work, Alpha! I cannot believe the detailing shown in these photos.

[Alpha]

Too Many Hobbies While fresh water is always preferable, I have run these in brackish water without issues. You'll just want to hose down the hull and screws well afterward to ward off eventual corrosion. It wouldn't be a bad idea, if you planned on extended running in salty brackish waters, to spray a layer of lacquer varnish onto the hull, shaft, and screws.

I find this 1/200 scale as shown in the photos above to be perfect for everyday boating and easy display, since most of us will be able to find a 6' by 1' ledge to safely display it on at home. There are larger scales, but for our first salvo of Bancroft warships we really wanted to prioritize the convenience of RTR and value-per-transportable-inch. 1/200 scale for battleships is the "sweet spot", I think, for mass consumption in the same way that the 1/16 scale tank or 80mm jet or 1.6m warbird.


Below are photos of the larger 1/150 scale Missouri which, while showstoppingly impressive, costs 200% more price for 40% more length, and significantly more difficult transport. If there's interest in this larger scale, let us know and we can start a separate thread for it and talk about possibly producing them in the future as Bancroft grows.

Too big?

[Two tanks]

Wow im excited!!!!!
how about
hms victory for sail boat
hms belfast
hms ark royal
or a raf rescue boat?
my dad served on the latter while in the raf also saw active duty malaya and 25 years in british intelligence i always remeber a pianting he had a sunderland two resue boats with there service number on he served on.
ps my wife is looking at as to say he goes again planes helis,tanks now boats

[Hardway]

Never too big!!! 🤗 Thanks for everything! Jerry

[Jets and Wings]

Another great move from MotionRC... Air,Sea and Land....

[Beeg]

I agree with Hardway, Looking forward to an 1/11^th scale USS John C. Stennis for our F-18 Hornets. So if I am doing the math on 40% Increase size to 200%USD increase $....mmmm, and if 1/200 to 1/150 is to 769 * 200% then 1/11 is, well I'm guessin' about $28K. Okay, not gonna do that, but thinking about the others. Best, LB

But how cool would that be! A few friends practicing traps! Just think of the hits on your YouTube channel...

I suppose you've seen these videos..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7eVKoR_9KY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBzbdeexdA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUC-QQ9bj0E

I think this last one is going the right direction. Just needs some scale looking facade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKGV-0-74FI

[Elbee]

Beeg, No, I had not seen any of these vids, thank you, Sir! Well now, ya got me to thinkin'....nah, that would just be way way too much. Best, LB

[Alpha]

I was asked in PM for more information about the brass Photo-Etched (PE) parts that feature on many of our warships. On the Ready to Run (RTR) models on the website, all the work is done for you. On the KITs that we'll be bringing online slowly if/as people request it, the PE parts arrive on flat sheets, and its the modeler's job to assemble them. Here's a preview of what that looks like. Looking at this gives me so much appreciation for what the factory's craftsmen do every day.

Here are some of the brass photo-etched parts on the 1/200 scale USS Missouri. The thinnest sheets of brass PE sheet used in these models are less than 0.010mm thick!

[tab28682]

The WW2-outfitted Missouri carried two Curtis SC Seahawk floatplanes for observation and spotting. At 1/200 scale, they're tiny and a bit soft in detail, but otherwise are fair representations of the aircraft. The brass PE launching ramps and retrieval crane are cases of extreme detail --it takes a worker about an hour just to assemble the two ramps.

First, let me say what a beautiful model that you and your team has created. I am not a ship guy, but I appreciate a well done model of anything. I source various sizes of display models as part of my job and the quality of these ships is fantastic.

Please forgive me for offering one tiny (literally) correction. The aircraft on the catapults on the model are not actually Vought Kingfishers. They are Curtis SC Seahawks. The bubble canopy on the Seahawk is a giveaway, as the Kingfisher has a greenhouse style canopy.

The good news is that the Seahawk aircraft are historically accurate and are even involved in some Navy history. According to one reference, the Mighty Mo made the last operational seaplane catapult launch, ever, and it was a Curtis Seahawk.

Despite not being a ship guy, I actually work on ship models from time to time at our shop, typically LCS display models.

[Alpha]

tab28682 This is one of the reasons why I love this community. Thanks for your input! Indeed, while Kingfishers and Seahawks were used on the full size Missouri, the Bancroft 1:200 Missouri model mounts Seahawks as you pointed out. I've edited the post for future readers.

Thanks again!

[OSMD]

Awesome model, can't wait for the Elite (Premium) line to start selling here in the US, Fletcher class destroyer and landing craft ARE my fav but they all look very well made. Bismarck is a great looking one too.