Hoist the anchor and raise steam! ACW naval floats back to the surface.

After an entirely too long hiatus, I'm refocusing on my 1/600 ironclad and wooden ship collection. 2016 is going to be the year that I eliminate the back log at the shipyard and get these ships ready for the tabletop. There will be some sorting and prioritizing, but for now, there is some low hanging fruit that can be easily pushed to completion.

CSS Texas was an excellent ironclad design that saw service with the Confederate James River squadron in the later part of the Civil War. Bottled up behind obstacles and torpedoes, Texas never really had the opportunity to engage the Union Navy in a full blown naval battle. Instead, Texas contributed to the 'fleet in being' that tied down a significant number of Union warships for the last years of the war.

CSS Texas from Bay Area Yards

Beam shot showing the low profile of the casting.  Thoroughbred City class in rear for comparison.

Overhead shot sowing the detail of guns, ports, deck around and bollards.

Aside from knocking out the CSS Texas model, there were a number of fortification and building models languishing in the queue. Battery Buchanan is a ubiquitous fortification from Fort Fischer, North Carolina. The remainder are somewhat more generic pieces that can be used for most any game.

Battery Buchanan (rear), two warehouses and assorted batteries, all from Bay Area Yards.

 3-gun Earth Battery from Bay Area Yards in the back. 3 gun battery from Titan(?) in front.

I have several three gun battery models that are great for modelling the 'hasty' earthwork batteries that are thrown up repeatedly during our campaign games. Basically piles of dirt with whatever guns could be scraped together, these models get a lot of use on the gaming table.

Two brick lined batteries and warehouse models. CSS Mississippi in the rear. All models from Bay Area Yards.