Friday 31 March 2023

Updating Ironclads….Part 2


The four ironclads currently being refurbished. The C.S.S. Georgia (top) is presently the only ‘named’ model of the four but this change once the upgrade has finished. The model at the bottom will become the C.S.S. Tuscaloosa whilst the two in the centre will become the C.S.S. Huntsville (front) and the C.S.S. Raleigh (rear).

The first phase of the planned upgrade to the models you see above have been completed. This involved removing the original gun ports and and in the case of the two models destined to become the C.S.S. Huntsville and Raleigh, removal of the funnel for a minor repositioning. Once all the relevant bits had and pieces had been removed I then lightly sanded the affected parts to ensure a smooth finish. This evening will see the new gun ports being added and sealed prior to painting. This will also need to be done for the extra pilot house that the C.S.S. Raleigh had. Due to the oversized flagstaff at the rear of the casemate I will also need to reposition the forward pilot house so that the two can be positioned correctly on either side of the funnel. The plan is to have these four finished over the weekend which will be easily achievable. Once completed - and this will see removal of a long running ‘burr under my saddle’ so to speak - I can then pick up on the three half built models I seem to have been working on for months before embarking on the next round of models.


C.S.S. Tennessee - an octagonal casemate with an integral pilot house. This will require some careful and accurate measuring and cutting

In respect of the next batch of models being stated from scratch the key ship will be the famous C.S.S. Tennessee - I will build two of these so that I can use the ship under two flags, pre and post capture - and so I am currently working out how best to tackle her unique casemate/pilot house within the scope of my usual building technique. 

It will be a challenge but hey ho, I’ve seen worse….cough, cough….

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