ACW Naval Week Five Status Report

okay, it's been a busy, hectic week for a number of reasons, so this week's update is moe of a photo montage of what's been going on. Progress is being made, some models are nearing completion while a couple of new ones made it out of the box and onto the construction table. So without futher ado...

What's almost done...

The Yazoo Monster is done. Based up and ready for gaming. To be honest, I'm having doubts about the base coloration.

CSS Patrick Henry is almost done! Just need to work on the guns and get the rigging done. (groan...rigging.)

CSS Selma based up and just needing a flag to be finished.

Sassacus salvage project almost done. Just a little rigging and a flag and I'll call it done.

What's getting there...

CSS Florida from Bay Area Yards. This one's been sitting for years. It's stuck at the stage of needing it's rigging completed. So that's the task at hand. The foremast has most of the rigging installed. Then it's work aft to the end.

Close up of the rigging. I think the stacks need to be painted a darker color, but the raiders often went 'low visibility'.

Another model from the Bay Area Yards stable - USS Varuna. Got the masts installed and the formast has it's standing rigging in place.

What's new to the queue...

I pulled out the model for CSS McRae this week. A Confederate gunboat that fought at New Orleans,  it's model that has only been available from Bay Area Yards. It's been in the box for about 18 months since it came home with me from a trip to California.

Sorting out the parts, the masts got a bit bent in transit coming home.

The masts were pretty easy to straighten out.

It's a relatively small model compared to many other ships.

The hull with the bowsprit installed.

Overhead view of the hull.

Another new project to reach the table is USS Lackawanna. It's a near sister to USS Hartford (in the middle). The Bay Area Yards model has more of a fighting rig for the masts.

Here's an overhead view of the Lackawanna hull. These screw sloops saw extensive service on both the coasts and the Mississippi River campaigns.

USS Kearsarge is in the process of being assembled. This is a Thoroughbred Figures model that's been in the box since - ahem - 2007. Assembly has gone well so far. The outstanding items are the chain armor boxes and the bedding rolls along the tops of the gunwales.

ACW Naval Week four status report

Progress continues with the ACW naval project. The big news is that CSS Selma is finished. You may remember that work started on the Selma a few weeks back. Assembly went quickly and then moved into the painting phase. Happy to say that painting is done. A varnish top coat would be good, but that will have to wait fo the weather to improve.

 

Here's the Bay Area Yards CSS Selma next to the Peter Pig Selma. While somewhat similar, there are marked differences between the two models - and not just gun placement, which is my fault.

Overhead view of the two models. Length is similar, but the BAY model captures to deck overhang out the limit of the wheel house and has a longer superstructure.  The Hog chains are not included in the Peter Pig Selma. You could model them yourself if desired.

Another model nearing completion is the Thoroughbred Models Sassacus double-ender. This is a salvage job of a kit sacrificed for parts. Sporting a late war paint scheme of gray, the model is ready for the blockade.  About the only steps remaining are to clean up the masts and install the standing rigging. Oh...and the national colors!

Sassascus class with guns mounted.

Another model that's been languishing in the painting queue - USS Varuna. The model has needed new masts installed. I've had the masts for over a year, but - as with the other models - have not made any progress completing the model. But now the masts are installed. It should be a quick job to add deck guns and the standing rigging. Then Varuna will be ready to take to the table.

With the 'low hanging fruit' off the table, focus can now shift to completion of the CSS Patrick Henry and near sister CSS Thomas Jefferson. These nicely detailed models need a fair amount of painting to get all the details covered. Even so, the painting should wrap up in the next week, allowing for the guns to be mounted and the standing rigging to be added.

Progress on the Thomas Jefferson. Thought I'd try something different with the paddle wheels. It will help differentiate the model from the Patick Henry.

And the Patrick Henry

USS Pawnee is also moving up in the queue. The masts were mounted this week and the deck painting is done. On to mounting the guns and starting on the rigging.

Some ad hoc bracing was required to keep the mast in position while the glue set.

Pawnee in the background. The Thoroughbred Models USS Kearsarge in the foreground. Pawnee was a wide beam shallow draft vessel designed for inshore work.

USS Pawnee. This shot shows off the wide beam of the hull.

Last up - after a bit of experimentation, I've hit on a new color combination that captures the look of inshore coastal and some riverine waters. It's achieved by blending two colors and applying over a base coat of tan/light brown. The Folk Art Forest Moss really nails that watery green I'd see on the sounds of North Carolina.

Post script - This is the 100th post for this blog! Woo Hoo!

ACW Naval Week three status report

Good progress was made this week!

The CSS Selma model from Bay Area Yards is cruising to completion awaiting a bit of touch up to the paint and the completion of the painting of the 'water' effect on the base. The - of course - the four cannon have to be glued to the deck. A protective gloss/flat coat finish is preferred, but the wintry weather make that unlikely. (Though to be honest, this winter's weather is all over the place thanks to "El Nino".)

Here's CSS Selma out for a shakedown cruise

Port bow quarter view.

Ship is painted in Vallejo paints. Basalt Gray on the hull, stack and hogging beams. Light gray on the deck and
 superstructure fore and aft faces. Moss green over the tan primer for the 'sea' effect (still a work in process).

 

What's wrong? Never seen the hand of God before? Okay, I admit it. I don't know what happened here.

CSS Patrick Henry getting closer to completion. Her sister model CSS Thomas Jefferson is in about the same state.

The USS Minnesota from Bay Area Yards. Still a lot of work to do here before it's ready for the table.

 Many years ago, I bought a Thoroughbred Models kit of USS Sassascus for the purpose of turning it to parts for other shipbuilding projects.  I'm working on finishing the ship using a variety of parts includes styrene and masts from Bay Area Yards. The kit is close to completion. Adding the guns and the standing rigging is about all that is left. I've painted the model in the late war overall gray scheme used in near shore waters while on blockade duty.

The masts are from Bay Area Yards. The other bits are Thoroughbred.

USS Powhatan in the foreground. In the early stages with this one. Lots of work to complete.

The figures lurking in the background are from the Atomic Cafe line. President for life Nixon and his Secret Service bodyguards, Got a couple of projects in mind for these figures. Arrrroooo!

ACW Naval 2016 Week 1 status report

A short update of what I've accomplished this week. It feels like slow going, but much of the challenge is tied to the holidays and the marginal weather we've had. I've been focused on assembly and priming to move some of these projects forward.  To help stay motivated, I want to do at least a weekly post this year showing the progress and process of getting the ACW ship models ready for the game table.

CSS Selma after a coat of primer.

CSS Selma acquired her first coat of primer. This is a model from Bay Area Yards. Given that I missed a spot she may require a second coat to hit those hard to reach places.

CSS Selma - the pronounced overhang of the deck made getting the spray paint onto the hull a challenge. This will likely need a second coat of primer before painting begins.

 
 The real progress was in the assembly of  the CSS Patrick Henry and her near sister CSS Thomas Jefferson (Yorktown). Both models are from Bay Area Yards.These two gunboats saw service with the Confederate James River squadron. Both participated in the Battle of Hampton Roads, and Patrick Henry served to the end of the war.

Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Or is that vice versa?

These two kits have been awaiting assembly for a number of years now. There are impressive number of parts. This is one reason why the models have been sitting so long. I just didn't want to tackle all the fiddly bits. But that's over. Using JB Weld, the paddlewheel houses, superstructure and masts have been attached.

Port broadside

Patrick Henry and Selma together.

I'm glad I assembled these models - they really make for a pair of pretty ships. Now to get them painted and rigged so they can be used on the tabletop!