The CSS Virginia in 28mm

[Sp0n]

Omg! It's a real thing I need to build that someday and I need to read more about the ships and naval battles of the ACW...

[Dewbakuk]

I'm afraid it is real yes

The USS Choctow is a fascinating ship, not for any fancy war sheanigans but because it's a modified Sidewheel Steamer. The Union bought a river steamer, stripped it down and then built armour and guns on it. It's a superb example of a civilian vessel modified for war. Probably looked something like this before the military stripped it



I apologise for the thread de-railing

[archangel1]

SpOn - I think you read me wrong.  70cm is just over half the length it would be if built to scale.  At 275', the Virginia would be roughly 4 1/2' in 28/30mm scale. The Monitor was 172', a couple inches short of 3' as a model.  The Yankee boat was a little over 2' wider, like you say.

Check here for some 1/600 scale metal models.  You can see how little variety there was between the purpose-built vessels as compared with those ships they adapted.

http://www.thoroughbredmodels.com/Ironclads.htm

[Sp0n]

Made a little progress tonight:


It isn't perfect, but it'll do...

[Traveler Man]

Your craft is shaping up nicely, SpOn! I began a similar model years ago and never got beyond the basic construction. Yes, Casement is the right term for this class of vessel.

On the subject of weird and wonderful ironclad designs, check out USS Ozark from this era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ozark_(1863)

[archangel1]

Omg! It's a real thing I need to build that someday and I need to read more about the ships and naval battles of the ACW...

Here are a couple of books that might be of interest.  I'm not sure how many are currently available, though.  I've had some of them for quite a while.

Warships of the Civil War Navies by Paul H. Silverstone (ISBN 0-87021-783-6)
This is the 'dry' one.  It's a compilation of every known vessel used by the ACW navies and is fairly well illustrated.  Lots of statistics.

Civil War Chronicles - Naval Warfare by John C.Wideman (ISBN 1-56799-425-5)
Well-illustrated account of the rise of the Ironclads, the major battles of the period and even the deployment of, as they put it, 'a (barely) working submarine'.  Some gorgeous paintings by Tom W.Freeman and William R.McGrath (think of Ken Marschall's 'Titanic' artwork)

Warships and Naval Battles of the Civil War by Tony Gibbons (ISBN 0-8317-9301-5)
All colour artwork of over 250 ships (some multi-view) and a few battle scenes.  Details on over 1500 ships involved in the war.  An excellent book, one of my favourites.

The Civil War Military Machine by Ian Drury and Tony Gibbons (ISBN 0-8317-1325-9)
Another beautifully illustrated all colour art book on the weapons and tactics of the Union and Confederate armed forces.  Although not specifically navy related, there are still over 50 pages dedicated to the war on the waves.  Well worth having.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[gamer Mac]

Have a look at this link
http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/naval/uss_choctaw_mississippi
Some interesting photos

Check this one out it looks a lot easier to build.
http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/naval/scouting_pontoon_boat?full=1

[Sp0n]

That last one is awesome    I've been thinking about building a mortar boat using the free plans from Paper Shipwright

[Sp0n]

I've done some more work on the Virginia. Finished the innermost layer of armour and started on the top deck:


The whole ship with paper in the chimney for extra visibility  :

[Dr. The Viking]

Have you got a vision of the finished boat ready?!?! Perhaps done in paint or something?

Would like to see where the guns go and how many gubbinz goes where.

[Sp0n]

4 guns on each side, and 1 in each end. The ones in the stern and bow will have the three different holes to shoot from... Not planning on too many gubbins, but there'll a railing on the upper deck. I'll try and photoshop something tomorrow or wednesday 

[Dr. The Viking]

4 guns on each side, and 1 in each end. The ones in the stern and bow will have the three different holes to shoot from... Not planning on too many gubbins, but there'll a railing on the upper deck. I'll try and photoshop something tomorrow or wednesday 

Rivetts perhaps then?!

[dijit]

Rivetts perhaps then?!

Always got to be rivets!

[Dr. The Viking]

Always got to be rivets!

Shhhh! You did that on purpose! 

[Sp0n]

Finished the upper deck and almost completed one side of the armour: