Tuesday, 16 January 2024

More on C.S.S. Tennessee


A plan of the actual ship. Due to constraints of my available modelling material - I use a uniform hull template for most of the models I have built - the final model will be ‘based upon’ rather than an accurate depiction.


The view from the forward port quarter….


….and the same from the aft starboard quarter.


Finally an overhead view showing the distinctive pilot house. Note the ‘softer’ sweep of the stern - a big improvement on the rather dumpy version I have used for the rest of the collection. Ho hum…. I will certainly NOT be rebuilding the earlier models!

The new routine in have settled into seems to work quite well in that by spending the half an hour or so on hobby time - the practical side of it, that is - it is quite surprising what one can get done! The case in point is of course the current build of the Confederate ironclad the C.S.S. Tennessee.

Yesterday evening I was able to apply filler to the casemate angles as well as modelling the pilot house. The plan for today is to give the filler a final smooth over with some fine grade sandpaper (more likely an emery board!) and this evening I shall apply the gunports and the stern rudder housing. I shall also be thinking about the final and flagstaff. Assuming all this is completed satisfactorily then tomorrow will see the sealing taking place with a view to starting the painting on Thursday. In any event she will be ready either by or over the weekend.

More pictures will follow in due course.


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6 comments:

  1. Steve J.16 January 2024 at 07:55

    I think 'based upon' works perfectly well for these ships David. It is always a balance between making durable gaming models and full blown recreations of the actual ship. The former always gets my vote. Most of my painting is done in the evening and I find an hour is more than enough with anything longer tending to feel like 'work'. Small chunks of time work best I've found.

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  2. David Crook16 January 2024 at 08:11

    Hi Steve J,

    One of the problems with ships of this period is that in many cases quite wide variations exist in what some of them actually looked like in the real world. For sure there are photographs but it is surprising how even a photo can be translated into something rather different from the subject matter! My models are designed to be purely representational with a resemblance to what we more or less know how the original looked. Gaming practicality has been the driver of how the collection has been built and besides, they fight just as well as their more detailed commercial brethren!

    Small chunks of time definitely work better - in my case because the time constraint serves to eliminate any other temptations!

    All the best,

    DC

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  3. Robert (Bob) Cordery16 January 2024 at 12:18

    David,

    Your ship models get better and better, and if your latest one is not an exact replica of the original, it looks better than good enough to me.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  4. David Crook16 January 2024 at 13:24

    Hello there Bob,

    Thank you kindly sir! I must admit that I was not looking forward to building this particular ship as I was unsure how the angles would work out. Approaching it carefully and taking my time was key and the result you see I am rather pleased with how it has turned out.

    Mobile Bay methinks…. :-)

    All the best,

    DC

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  5. El Grego16 January 2024 at 13:52

    Very nice!

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  6. David Crook16 January 2024 at 19:55

    Hello there EG,

    Cheers old chap. She should be ready fairly soon and then I am thinking….Mobile Bay!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete