RC Battleship - Free RC Ship

The mighty Death Gate once ruled the oceans, and in fact, the world, bearing enough firepower to bring entire nations to heel with just the very threat of its presence off their coasts. That historic era has passed but for the first time ever, you can build and command the 43 inch, 1090 mm Radio Controlled the aptly named PreDreadnought battleship: Death Gate. For it has ushered many a poor soul through Death's Gate to the great beyond.

This vessel has been designed to be easy to print with no supports required for any parts of the ship, quick to assemble with no clamps or special tools, excellent handling characteristics on the water and plenty of room to add customizations such as servos, wiring and lighting. To further aid in assembly and keep things economical, only one motor, shaft and propeller are needed. It sits very nicely in the water and effortlessly slices through the waves in forward or reverse.

With its sleek, yet menacing lines and Steampunk style aesthetic, the Death Gate is a spectacular creation to behold. At just over One Meter Long, it really is a magnificent looking ship, whether sitting on display, or out smoothly gliding across the water. If you like to build RC vehicles, like ships and boats or just want an incredibly impressive project to show off your 3D printer's capabilities, then you will really enjoy this awesome creation that I spent many hours designing.

I use my RC ship on a tidal river and in the ocean and that is what this hull was designed for. It handles the environment very well, often at enormously greater than scale speeds, easily cruising against currents that a lesser ship could never dream of handling. (BTW: in public areas it often draws onlookers admiring its pleasing design and smooth performance, so be prepared for that, and replying that you printed it on your 3D printer when they ask you where you purchased it and how many hundreds of dollars did it cost you)

Video clips of DeathGate's first Sea Trials: https://youtu.be/An8dCaNEO5M and https://youtu.be/cJbvdVHG1xk

Requires 200 x 200 x 250 mm print volume with x or y being the 250. I used Prusa i3 MK2S with 0.4mm nozzle. This model could be scaled up but will not be good if scaled down.

HULL and DECK: I used ABS - 20% fill, 0.2mm layer, no supports. (but use any filament type you like and get good results gluing pieces together very strongly and water-tight). 3 or 4 mm of warping in ABS hull parts should be ok - just use thick glue to join them. Warping occurs mostly if the parts are cooled too quickly and unevenly so do use an enclosure and let parts completely cool before removing from the heat bed. I use 245/100 degrees when printing with ABS regardless of brand. My printer is from 2017 and slower than newer ones - largest hull section took about 28 hours to print. That is what determined the hull section sizes - I did not want longer print times. If you are wondering why they are not 200mm long each.

SUPERSTRUCTURE, TOWERS, GUN TURRETS, ETC.: I used PLA - 20% fill, 0.15 layer. For the Towers, Gun Barrels and parts with open windows you should enable retraction to prevent stringing. If you still have excessive stringing then lower your hotend temperature. (use any biodegradable plastic you prefer and have good results gluing together well).

I can't say for certain how much filament was used because for my prototype I had to sometimes do many prints before coming up with the final design that you have here. Expect to use 1.5 spools for the Hull and less than 1 spool for everything above the deck. Probably no more than 1/5 spool for the deck. I painted everything with canned spray paint except the deck but I still like using the same color I will paint in case it gets scratched while using it will not show as much. The exception was the red below the water since it is one piece I chose to use white filament.