Xtra large combatships
Xtra large ships can be made at minimal cost and used for paintball combat including pyrotechnics if desired. Sailing frigates can be easily and cheaply made as well as Ironclads and WWI & WWII battleships. For those of you who own a canoe, trolling motor and paintball guns and mask three quarters of the cost is done. With an additional 100$ of plywood, paint etc you can be your own captain manning and fighting a warship that is cheaper than any RC model you ever made. The standard 12-16 foot canoe in 1/48 scale is inline with most large twentieth century battleships and in 1/12 scale for CW ironclads and sailing ships. I like to have two people sitting in the bottom of the canoe for maximum stability and for direction control and fire control. The top half of the commanders with full protection and masks will stick out for better vision and safety. This design is for safety and control. As the old saying goes " It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt". Unless you act recklessly you will be 100% safe. Simple pyrotechnics can be used with minimal concern for accidents. Your ship can have target plates that if hit will trigger a fuse to a smoke bomb that will go off indicating a critical hit and damage to your boat.
The possibilities are limitless for combat action. I envision a 1/48 scale surface running submarine that is Radio Controlled from your battleship and armed with a paintball gun for it's torpedo. To sink it you would have to use a smaller 5" gun or boffers which can be simulated with the 20$ fully automatic Airsoft guns. Once they hit a target plate the sub is sunk. Since you are using a canoe with a plywood top you can exchange the top to carry any model you want. You may want a Liberty ship to protect. You can develop scenario's for aircraft carriers etc.
You may ask how do you get all this big stuff to a lake. A trailer would be perfect but most people transport their canoes on their car. I made a simple double wide rack that goes on my SUV that will carry both the canoe and the plywood superstructure. Both are light enough that two people can easily lift them down to the ground. But I must say that you will need to"securely" tie them down while traveling at high speed or catastrophic accidents can happen. No loose parts etc.
Paintball rifles
Since no one makes authentic CW rifles I have modified single shot paintball guns into rifles. I cut off the pistol handle and add a stock and a longer barrel. This results in somewhat less accurate fire but I am able to shoot a paintball over 200 feet and still hit my target. I have tried to make the rifle look similar the Enfield model. Since the rifle contains no paintball holder I am forced to load the paintballs one at a time to simulate a slower rate of fire. I have even toyed with the idea of a rubber knife on the end to simulate baynette charges.
Civil War Mask and Paintball Rifle
This is an example of a Civil War uniform and weapon that can be used in Civil War paintball combat: The face mask is made from Lexan plastic curved around the head and attached to a kepi which is designed for protection from paintballs. The head protection is not in the shape of a modern paintball mask so that the combatant does not look like a standard 21st century soldier. The clear mask enables the CW soldier's features can easily be seen. This is a crude attempt at face protection and will ultimately be improved by professional manufacturers. The same is true for the rifle. I am promoting Civil War paintball combat as a new and historical hobby. As a long time member in the SCA ,a Medieval reenactment organization, I fully understand the differences in combat style. The CW reenactor dresses up and shoots powder into the air and occasionally pretends to be shot. The outcomes are preplanned. In the SCA the reenactor armors up and goes out for actual hand to hand combat not knowing if he will prevail or be killed. Every fighter has a story and every battle is different. In CW paintball combat the same thrill of victory and agony of defeat can be closely simulated. You will never know when a stray Minnie ball (paintball) will have your name on it. The Paintball rifle is very accurate at 100 feet and you can shoot up to 200 feet. Firing at any longer distance and your paintball is just dropping out of the sky. Cannons can be simulated but not using greater force than a regular gun for safety reasons. Grape shot and gattling guns can be easily made to add further authenticity to combat play. I challenge any Civil War Group to try a paintball version of combat and see if they don't like it better. Historic battles can be replayed and the outcomes altered by pure courage, skill and dedication to your cause.
Civil War Uniform
Monitor
This is one of my first models, the Monitor:
I am a collector of CW Ironclads. I used to have a model boat company (Columbus Ironworks) that produced various Ironclads and other period models. But the economy went bad and my vaccuform manufacturer went out of business. I am now selling off all my existing stock. My personal collection consists of approximately 15 scale models of Ironclads and other types of ships. These were initially designed and modeled after the CO2 combat organizations that battle WWI-WWII warships. Their method of combat was to actually shoot holes in their opponets ships and sink their models. These ships were very expensive and a fully functioning RC battleship with CO2 guns could cost 1500-2000$. I felt that this system was too expensive, intricate and time consuming to maintain. The firing systems were so complex that they frequently broke down or malfunctioned usually in the middle of a pond or lake. My models used a slightly different design. I used either CO2 or Airsoft guns for combat and preferred pyrotechnics as a better option than putting holes in my ship and sinking it. Since the modern battle ship combat was well established I wanted to try other periods and felt that Ironclads were a better fit for RC naval combat. This type of ship fought in close proximity verses battleships that fought miles apart. I tried to design my models to be as large as possible but still fit into the back seat of a standard sedan. If you can't get your ship in your car you'll never get it to the lake. The larger size ship is more stable and is easier to see at great distances. The large size enables you to put in the electronics and guns that make them truly fun.