ACW Naval status update - week 12

A quick post for this week. Good progress was made this week. Several models moved through the painting queue fairly rapidly. Rigging continues for USS Pawnee and a new unit joins the fleet!

What's completed
 One new model joined the squadron ready for action - USS Eastport. This model, from Brown Water Navy Miniatures, is a 3D printed model available via Shapeways.com.
 

Overhead view of the Eastport, base is styrene covered in Woodland Scenics Flexpaste and painted.

In this image you can see the deck planks that are printed into the model. A bit large for 1/600, but a nice effect.

More of a broadside shot. There are two gunports in the starboard broadside under the pilot house. The paint scheme used on this model is an effort to capture the Western Gunboat Flottila regulations for all upper works to be painted white. The muddy brown river is an attempt to model the Mississippi and the Red River waters - the typical environment in which Eastport operated.

 
What's in Progress
 Lot's of items in progress. Nothing left to assemble, so the work is either  painting or modelling rigging (which could count as assembly, but it feels more like finishing details.)

Painting of the Bay Area Yards model of USS Calhoun is underway.

Overview of CSS Calhoun. In hindsight, the cabin walls should have been painted before assembly. Thinking that the hogging beam needs to be repainted in a darker color.

USS Kearsarge is getting a little bit of paint. The interior walls need a second coat of white.

The twins are getting painted. Both are Bay Area Yards models of Lackawanna and her sister should be done in a week or two.

Another model from Bay Area Yards. CSS McRae is moving along. A little touch up work, then it's mount the guns and rig the masts. McRae sees service with the Mississippi River Defense Fleet at New Orleans and Head of Passes.

USS Pawnee is sucking in the wire. When done, there will be close to three feet of wire in the rigging.

This really shows off the wire rigging.

USS Pawnee is one of the many models of Union warships available from Bay Area Yards.

After languishing for years (yeah, that's right - years) USS Susquehanna is advancing toward completion.

The mizzen mast needs to be mounted in place.

USS Miami (Go Miami!) Getting her paint on. the paddle wheels may get a coat of red to celebrate the colors of her namesake university.

The model shows off the space reserved for the bow and stern semi-pivots. Most images of the Miami only depict the single mast forward. It looks a little odd, but steamboats in combat mostly relied on the steam engine for propulsion.

What's New? 
Not much - what's new with you? At this pace, the naval project may be finished by the end of April. The good news is there are two more big projects in the backlog - 25-28mm Anglo-Sikh War and the 15mm Sci-Fi / Traveller. It's a toss up as to which is next in priority. Leaning toward Sikh War if only to support a game for the fall convention season.