- Radetzky (Zrinyi)-

SMS Zrinyi - Bob

3.5 units, 28 seconds, Austrian Pre-Dreadnaught, 1909

The SMS Radetzky is a class of stubby little Pre-Dreadnaughts that turn well and gets a sidemount at class 3. The ship is pretty physically small and can be a challenge to build. Weight is 13.2 pounds. The hull is Battler’s Connection fiberglass. This specific ship build includes some good examples of compromises that might be required to make smaller ships work. Notably however as technology advances and miniaturizes, these compromises are less and less required. For instance, newer battery chemistries and solid-state electronics could require less of a need for some of the atypical building techniques used in this build. This ship was built in 2009 and could otherwise get an upgrade if it didn’t otherwise function so highly. Additionally, since it is used as a secondary ship, building/maintenance time and money is often used on other projects. Pictures are from Nats 2023.

The “Pre Dreadnaughts” are generally characterized by two turrets with larger main guns, mid-sized turreted secondaries, and hull mounted tertiary weapons. Before the HMS Dreadnaught famously altered ship construction to focus on larger caliber weapons, ships typically had a variety of caliber guns or many smaller caliber guns. The larger pre-dreadnaughts are 3.5 units and by rule are allowed a single sidemount though all have just 2 larger main gun turrets. The two most common setups are twin stern guns and single sidemount in the bow as this ship is equipped vs twin bow guns with single stern sidemount, which is a setup that might be useful in campaign but can otherwise be difficult to make work.

The middle deck section is removed. The forward and fat decks slide into place and are secured with latches. The middle deck is a Bob special where it is held down by twisting the secondary turrets which lock in into the subdeck, you can the gaps in the sub deck here and on the top of the picture you can see the part of the latch that goes through the subdeck. The pump is offset next to the single main drive motor. A single 10 amp hour 6 volt NiMH pack sits under the radio box which fits better upside down. The bow gun solenoid is in front of the radio box. The wiring could probably be cleaned up slightly. The twin stern guns have straight magazines and the bow sidemount has a magazine that beds to fit beside the radio box. This ship has limited height clearance.

Stern of the ship with rudder driving the 35 tooth white traxxas gear. That gear then drives the smaller 20 tooth rudder gears. Dry rudder boxes are increasingly being replaced by waterproof servos. The props are two 1.25 inch Kort Nozel cast props from Prop Shop.

This is a good look at the deck slide and latch system. The solenoids are slightly free floating. The rudder servo box is offset slightly to allow the push rod to pass between the rudder posts. The single drive motor is geared to drive both shafts and is also offset. The pump is offset to save space lengthwise. I’m not sure if there is lead added to counter balance the offset or if it was built in a way that ultimately balances out. The outlet for the pump is seen here as well. Internal armor is a clear plastic.

The bow deck slides in place and latches. The bow of the ships holds the 3.5oz CO2 bottle with regulator facing the stern. The bow gun solenoid is under the regulator. You can barely see the grey foam beside the bottle that both holds it in place and acts to displace water away from the bow of the ship.

Here is a closer look at the mid-section. You can see the two push button test switches. There is some foam used for water channeling that is visible under the drive shafts. There is more of that throughout the sides and bow of the ship as well.

Closer look at the bow.

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