Bancroft Ticonderoga-class 1/100 Scale

[twodawgs]

Since Motion chose not to start a new thread for the new Tyco I'm gonna drop this one.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to post about their RC Ticonderoga here and it'd make me really happy if you post pics of which hull number/name you chose or mods you make. Those that served are also welcome to post pics from their ship (keep opsec in mind this isn't a Warthunder Forum ) Questions are welcome just keep in mind I may not know and if no one else replies. Welp thats that.

So gonna be another sort of unboxing with my observations.
Once again did this on my portch due to size. She's a big girl with a big box... make that two boxes I really like Motions choice to put the exterior box around the ships storage box. FedEx gets a box to ablade away instead of getting to the inner box and its contents.

I don't destroy the boxes as I use them for moving and storage of the ships (unless motion decides to sell the metal cases again. Hint hint.
So I'll start with damage achieved.
One broken off king post

One bent rail one bent radar assembly and two bent safety nets
non pictured scuffed paint under the superstructure...
Yeah Bancroft packing for the win .
Couple of win (in my opinion) items.

The gun barrels DO elevate. (not sure why they didn't for the release vid by Motion)


the covering over rudder hatch

and the nice and Large interior openings


next the dings oddities
so first ding from me shows in the pic above. The rudders were not connected to the servo. the to metal fittings just slip into the holes on the servo horn but were not secured to said horn (unless there's two tiny nuts lost somewhere in the massive interior of the ship. Seriously its ginormous in there.)
Fwd

Aft

Next ding is from me on the Hull form there's supposed to be a "Stern Flap" to increase fuel efficiency thats not there. (example is not a Tyco one but is close enough)

Then a strange Paint fail.

One window on the SH-60 didn't get painted. Easy fix. Will do it when I paint the Propellers Black which they really should be but oh well. Heck she may get yanked off and get the full on Sundowners paint job if I can work myself up to it.


Post is getting long so gonna drop here and start a new one.

[twodawgs]

Continuing on next Gripe. Yeah seems like I have a lot but BELIEVE ME I LOVE THIS SHIP.

Another easy fix. The counter rotating props go the wrong way... Yup I am griping about something that'll be under the water. I also worked in the Engineering Department on one of these and was responsible for making those propellers turn. Its silly but important to the ENG MP GSMC(ret) OCD in me. Easy enough swap the props and swap the plugs to the ESC. Another positive while I'm on it. They got the struts right. Seriously I like that. A LOT. And for what they are the props are fairly close to right for the real thing The Rudders on the other hand.. I'm guessing they needed a bit of stiffening so are close enough.

For those who served on one or hardcore modellers there is lots to fix.

The good news is there is room to do so without basically having to rebuild from the keel up.


you can thank me for that pic I don't recommend trying to get one like it without help. I should have asked for some myself.

So positives. The Details HOLY COWPENS THE Details
(if you depict her make sure you get some Long Horns to put under her bridge and paint em on the stern then put pics in this thread of it I want to see it)

Details are everywhere on this ship from placards you can read (with a magnifying glass for those of us with less than stellar vision but still readable) Hatches with texture, anchor chain brake hand-wheels up on the focsle tiny antennas on the masts the CWIS. Small details abound.


Do I recommend this ship despite the price?
Yes.
If you have room for it. She's as big as her boxes imply.

[twodawgs]

Cus I forgot Here's a pic from when I was onboard USS Shiloh. Well not onboard but beside her during a Swim Call.

Yeah its dark but didn't wanna post other peoples faces.
Found a better one

Not sure when or who took it but its from about the right time frame just realized I don't have a lot of pics from the outside... Or just outside in general from her.

[Ol Paint]

Thanks for posting this. It is good information and I appreciate the detailed photos and review of the packaging.

I have been hoping they would release a Tico (or Spruance or Kidd or all three), but in 1/144 to go with my Flight IIA Burke (and the 1/150 Missouri on my wishlist). The DDG displays nicely with a Revell 1/131 USS Defiance gunboat plastic model.

A Tico (or 963/993) in 1/144 would be 47.25" long. There's also a decent selection of other 1/144 models and detail/accessory items out there--I was able to get a nicely detailed 1/144 SH-60 F-toys model to replace the out-of-scale and poorly modeled stock helo that came with the DDG-79.

I know 1/100 is close to 1/96, and applaud Motion RC for stocking the big models, but the 1/144-1/150 range seems to be a sweet spot for building a fleet while managing space and cost. A 1/144 Freedom class LCS would be about 32.25" long and a nice addition as an entry point that fits the scale modern fleet, but crosses over into the speedboat and jetboat markets, too..

Doug

[Ol Paint]

IIRC, the stern flap was a retrofit. So adding one during an "availability" would be accurate...

Doug

[twodawgs]

Alright got MY ballasting. I do not have a scale of the appropriate size that works (left batteries in it way too long) at the moment but can show roughly what I put in. I used led BBs (birdshot) in zip-locs. Later I will cast em in wax inside the hull to get sort of formed bricks that I can remove, replace, and easily adjust with a hot spoon and a little effort. That is MY solution to the ballasting problem you may find your own as mine is far from perfect but I like it anyway. Also the tank I used was shall we say barely big enough filled it to the brim and had only a few inches of room either way.

Do NOT put her in the water with the superstructure on if you do not have ballast in place she WILL capsize (thats normal for most Bancroft ships but this one especially).
(ballast shifted here but illistrates the point)

This RC much like her real life counterpart is somewhat top-heavy. They were based off of the Spruance class (shout out to those of you who Pushed The Cush On DD-985 as I did as part of her last crew) then the Navy came up with the new (at the time) SPY radar system and added a couple of decks to the platform without much change to the hull outside some minor up-sizing. To lighten the load the entire superstructure is made of Aluminum as was on the Sprucance class too and they suffered some of the same issues for it. Such as cracking and corrosion issues and this weight saving measure only did so much to alleviate the top-weight problem. And for those who've been on them a distinctive lean when pier-side. It's not visible in most pics but if you stand onboard or see one in real life it is noticeable.

TLDR She's a top heavy girl who needs more in her bottom. My scale failed due to user failures and if someone has good numbers please post em.

She doesn't need a lot of ballast. I was kind of surprised how little she needed. I think she actually took less than my Fletcher but that thing needs re-ballasting as I've re-fit her again as I had an oopsi moving her through the house and have her down for some Yard time.

I estimate 6 or 7lbs (yeah don't take my word for it I'm probably wrong) small bag 1-2 lbs placed forward between the VLS and Mount 5-1(gun)


another midships under the divider between the openings with the majority of the weight

and the final bit another 1-2 lbs under the aft VLS.

I'd not try placing the rear ballast back by the rudder posts as that clear sticker is there to keep water out and these ships are known for putting water across their fantails. Was outside once when I shouldn't have been and ended up calf deep in water back there once and heard a few tales from Aft lookouts that got more than a little wet.
getting the weight centered is gonna be finicky

as I said these ships are top heavy and you don't have a lot to work with. You can go much heavier than I did I personally aimed for the bottom to mid of the waterline.



A new point I noticed and would like to suggest to any who actually made it this far. The Ladder from the flight deck to the missile deck needs some attention.

no matter how careful you are it's gonna get knocked off eventually. The solution I have is one I used on my Fletcher. Put a magnet underneath the deck and another under the flight deck roughly where the ladder belongs. The ladder will end up as something of a loose part but, the magnet should hold it surprisingly well. two pics from my Fletcher want more go look up that thread

Also my Sonar dome in the hull had a rattle... Guess what I found


the nuts for the rudder control arms. And dang are they small.

PS to Ol Paint (Doug) I'd love to see A Spruance Class DD-963 or even a Kidd DDG-993 especially in this scale. Another I'd like to see is the Clemson or Wicks four stackers those ships had a wild number of varients and the ever classic DD-214 leaving amazing amounts of possible modifications with a few rather famous ships. And yeah the smaller scale would be much easier to handle but I think in this case would leave interior accessibility lacking I've had the odd challenge getting my hands inside some of my ships as is. Additionally I have noticed several of the Bancroft offerings seem to have kits in that scale available with metal detail packs exist. I find myself wondering if their ability to. Acquire a stock of said kits or rights to make their own copy is what drives some of what is offered at times (not all. With North Carolina somewhat as an example). Some of these larger offerings I think are more in house events.

[Capnnick]

Very helpful. Tks
trying to see if I can get Bancroft to unleash a decal set as backup for any repairs as a result of custom work
I didn’t see any reference to a plastic dogbone as a shock cushion in the event the shafts find hard water. The wheels look tender and I know they offer spares but a hard stop can AFU more than just shed a blade.
appreciate the review.
Columbo moment: did the 5” mounts look a little slender?
Plankowner The Will to Win