This is my first attempt. Its not meant to be anything exciting. More of an exercise in seeing how well I do on my first try and what I need to do differently, so let me know.

It's actually very reasonable - it's a decent sized FAC-type hull with appropriate weaponry, and these craft don't really need fancy sensors.

Small: the best place to start. Good work.

I want to weep with joy.


I've only got two real beefs (aside from some inconsistent shades of gray). First, you've shipped lightweight torpedos on a hull that realistically wouldn't be able to fit any sonar whatsoever. I'd delete them. Second, I'm not totally sure that the Exocet boxes aren't too wide for the hull! At least, I'm not sure if there'd be space for men to pass on either side.

Some other more involved stuff, but this is a fine start.

Looks solid to me and when the main man Colosseum says it looks good then you are doing it right. :D

Yes, yes it is a fine start. It's a definite contrast to a lot of the stuff we've been seeing lately, which to me seems like, well....


I'll probably get banned for this

Hey klagldsf! How did you get my drawing? :lol:

Hi there Fielitz
IMHO your little FAC is a good start. As mentioned above most new commers start out BIG
The ship itself looks good and plaussible, but as arik_t sais loose the torpedoes.
I would suggest also trying your hand at ships with under water hull.
Again this is a promising start, and a fine one at that.

Thanks for all the comments and support!

I like small ships to begin with, and with the amount of work I put in, I can't imagine at this point doing something larger! I think the biggest challenge was to figure out what radar antennae to put on.

Yeah, I have not been too happy about the torpedo tubes. Seems like there was a lot of empty real estate on the back end (quarter deck?) that needed filling. I will probably put in a 40mm gun there. I didn't really think about the lengths of the Exocet boxes being so long. I will play around with the angled-oriented ones.

I will go back and look at the greys as well.

If I were you, I'd replace one of the 20mm with a MANPAD of some sort.
A SBROC decoy launcher and maybe illumination rockets could also come in handy.
If it's of any interest, I have a a couple of different 40mm/L70 Bofors turrets, designed specifically for ships of this size.

I'm not in a position now to comment much on threads, but this on deserves commendation, and for all the reasons given above. Before building a house learn how to lay a foundation and this is what Fielitz is demonstrating here: all the very best in your endevours new shipmate :)

p.s. just about the funnel - small, so no gas turbine deisel instead?

You mean COGAD?

Come to think of it - it's probably diesel-only, given the lack of large, obvious air intakes.

Looks good to me mate,do a full hull version ;)

Engines?...I need to consider the engines? LOL! That shows you how very little I know and how much I need to learn. I'll be honest in my ignorance: the funnel seemed like the right size and shape at the time I was drawing it in! Based on what you guys say, I will say the ship has diesel turbines. If so, is the funnel I have sufficient?

I'd be interested in looking at them, as I plan to throw the torpedo tubes overboard. Are they already on the Guns CIWS sheet?

You should have seen what it looked like in an earlier form. Before I did my research, I had about 10 random radar antennae all over the thing! No clue as to what they did, but they sure looked cool! :D

I don't think I've ever posted them.
Anyway,here they are

From top to bottom you have with launch rails for illumination rockets, without rails and with a glass fibre top.

Yes, yes it is a fine start. It's a definite contrast to a lot of the stuff we've been seeing lately, which to me seems like, well....


I'll probably get banned for this

I had to run to crapper rapidly before I pissed myself,too many beers. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yes you do, if you want to be realistic (and not be mocked on this forum). There are a number of considerations engines place - first of all, you need to make sure you have enough physical room for them. If they're gas turbines (or a COGAx/COxAG setup) you also need to make sure the superstructure has accommodations for them to be physically lifted out, as well as air intakes (on most ships, these are simple screens on the sides - ref. Spruance, for example. You'll also note the Spruance has a big, boxy superstructure, for a number of reasons, but easy access/removal of turbines is one of those reasons).

As it currently stands, I'd say it's a realistic diesel-only boat - though I do agree that the torpedoes are awkward, especially ASW torpedoes. In addition to what's been suggested, there are also other 40mm weapons available on the parts sheet - I personally have an affinity for the OTO twin-40 (it looks like a baby 76). It's a moderately effective gun for both CIWS and general anti-air/anti-surface work with the right software (though a boat this small may lack the physical console space necessary) and it's completely automated. Either way, it's the secondary or primary armament of many boats this size. There are also other options on the parts sheet as well. As for anti-air options, you could fit a RAM launcher there (several boats of this size have them), or you can try SINBAD, which is a Mistral MANPADS on a sextuple launcher. A MANPADS system could generally be represented as a simple empty tub with a rail around it for a guy to stand in and launch a missile, or you can try some of the other ship-specific systems out there (unfortunately SINBAD is the only one I'm aware of that's currently represented so you're on your own for that).

There were a couple of naval Stinger SAM launchers drawn in this thread.

Great start by the way.

Going back to some other threads, there seems to be a correlation between the shape and/or size of the funnel and its type of propulsion. Is this correct? I guess that this question is more for reference than applicable to this little ship.

Yesterday, while at my daughter swim practice, I played around with the Exocet launchers, and put in angled ones. I didn't have time to upload it, but it seems like I might have to move the small superstructure further aft, or it would be badly scorched by the missiles when launched.

I plan to do more tinkering with weapons and upload some modifications soon.

Different types of engines have different airflow requirements, yes. Gas turbines use a great deal of air in operation, meaning they require very large intakes and exhausts. However, they do not require a tall stack for efficient operation, and their exhaust (being so diffuse) is not terribly corrosive. Steam does not require the large intakes and exhaust, but does require this tall stack and does belch fairly corrosive exhaust. Diesel does not suffer any of these drawbacks, but the engines tend to be quite bulky for their power output; an all-diesel 30kt destroyer is not very plausible. Both diesel and gas turbine tend to require large maintenance access; steam can generally be maintained in place (except replacement of steam turbines, but that's a very unusual occurrence, perhaps once in the lifetime of the ship). To make life interesting, all three of these types of engines prefer to burn different fuels, so mixing and matching has some downsides.

lol that sounds like Father of the Year material right there :P


In regards to different engines and erik_t's comments, multiple combined engine options do exist, and I think some patrol boats do use arrangements like these.

CODAG is a very popular set-up in most warships, and so is GODLAG amongst those nations that can't afford expensive reduction gears.

LOL :lol:

Based on the various suggestions, here are my modifications to my ship. There are two versions. The only differences is in the type of 40mm gun mount that I used.

Version 1:

In this version, I replaced the torpedo tubes with 40mm turret that you see. Also, I changed the orientation of the Exocet launchers. I replaced the aft 20mm gun with a Simbad Mistral SAM. I also tried to fix up some of the shading, though I am not sure what to do about the funnel (if that is a problem).

Version 2:

Same as above, except I used an open 40mm gun mount kindly provided by Thiel. I hope I got the conversion from green to standard grey correct.

I have a couple of questions regarding both versions. First, are the two sets of Exocet launchers sufficiently far apart so that the launching of forward ones don't blow up the aft ones, and the launching of the aft ones don't end up blowing a hole in that rear superstructure? I did move that superstructure posterior some, but I didn't want to move it too far and not have any room to put in the 40mm guns.

Second, do I need an additional fire control system for the 40mm guns? If so, would it be radar, or some sort of optic device? I figured that the open 40mm guns may not need it, but the turret might. I left the other 20mm gun on. I thought there should be some sort of small caliber gun in case the ship needed to intercept smugglers or cover boarding parties.

Thiel, do you want me to add your name up in the artist name corner? I am more than happy to as it is your gun mount design. I thought about using your fiberglass top one but I wasn't sure if its clear or not.

you need a optronic device atleast (even with FCR, these sort of things always had one for backup)

Also, using the equipment doesen't require credit. Shipbucket is about commonality among the stuff the ships are carrying.

OK, I will have to figure out where to put it.

I would say right on top of the bridge. It looks like you could just squeeze it on as-is.

Ref this pic for an example:

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attac...23&d=1196905409

BTW, I couldn't possibly tell you what class that is. Looks like it might be an interesting contribution to Shipbucket if no one's done it yet.

Its our Hamina, and unfortuanetly (for my own glory) the sole Finnish ship that was done by the great old man himself before I joined the bucket a thousand years ago.

So, here is my latest changes to my ship:


1. I moved the navigational radar and added a fire control radar above the bridge.

2. I changed my homemade radome for one from the radar parts sheet that represents the Signaal WM-25 track-while-fire fc radar radome. This is for the SSMs.

3. I made a pathetic attempt to made a Rafale Toplite optronic device and placed it on the after tower right about the searchlight and the SAM launcher.

There were several things on the equipment parts sheet that looked like they might be optronic devices, but I wasn't sure, so I made a stab at making my own. It is difficult to tell the true dimensions of these things based on pictures I found. At least according to the Rafale brochure, the Toplite in real life is rather small. I tried to make it as small as I could and still look reasonably recognizable, but any suggestions would be helpful.

I'm not too happy with the platform for the navigational radar. Maybe it should be higher? Maybe thicker?