ACW Naval status update - week seven

It's been another productive week getting work done on the ACW naval backlog. Several additional items are done, several more are almost done and a few new items have been added to the queue. So without further delay...here's week seven!

What's done
The big news here is that USS Varuna is ready for the tabletop. Varuna is a Bay Area Yards model that - unfortunately - is out of production. The model is of a warship with a short but distinguished history. Varuna fought with Farragut and was sunk at the Battle of the Forts during the assault on New Orleans.

Added the guns.

Just realized I didn't paint the yards on each mast.

And on a white background.

 Next up, we have a couple of shore batteries. Both of these are from the Bay Area Yards line and both are still in stock.

The two gun battery position with bombproof. Guns are Thoroughbred Miniatures garrison guns.

One gun battery. Exterior is covered in flocking.

And both batteries together.

 What's Almost done
The rigging on the Florida is installed. Remaining tasks are to paint the rigging.

There's a lot of steel wire in this image.

I'm still thinking the stacks need a darker shade of gray applied. This may be the week.

A chronic problem I have with the big ships is the base warping and rising as you could seen on the right.

There's not a lot new with the Lackawanna and the McRae this week. Kearsarge and Calhoun are stalled waiting on the weather to improve for their base coat of spray paint. It's an opportunity to get some more models ready for the base coat so we get those most bang for the buck as it were.


What's New?

A couple of new items. Broke out the model USS Miami that's been patiently waiting on the box for the last 17 months ago. I can't complain. That model of USS Varuna you see up the page? It's been in the queue since 2007.  In addition, I received a model of USS Eastport from Shapeways. It should be relatively straightforward to finish, but it does require warmer weather suitable for spray painting.

Two double enders - USS Miami in the foreground and USS Sassacus in the back.

Two parts added to the hull - a mast and a stack. Miami apparently only has the one mast. There is a small length of styrene that I must admit I have no idea where it goes.

View from off the port bow.

Don't mind the dog hair - it gets into everything!

ACW Naval update week six

Another quick photo log update documenting activity on the blog. Lots of little tasks have been completed. This means a couple of items are 'done' with many more limping on towards completion. It is starting to feel like progress is being made. So, more coal for the boiler fire and keep on steamin' for the goal!

What's done!

The 6 gun earthen battery from Bay Area Yards is a great model of a water battery or other suitable fortification for your naval games. The battery floor and interior walls have a brick surface with capstone on top of the wall. I've equipped the model with models of 32 pounders (which could double for guns up to say 8") on garrison carriages from Thoroughbred Figures.

Battery Buchanan is completed! This is a large four gun battery that was an element of Fort Fisher in North Carolina. The left hand guns looks out of position. Have to check on that...

To convey the size of this model, that's a Thoroughbred Figures USS Sassacus behind the battery model.

...and with the 6 gun battery immediately in front of it.

What's coming along...

Rigging continues on CSS Florida. Moved on to bracing the main mast. Hope to have that done this week and then finish the mizzen mast next week.

 

Closeup of the foremast. Just realized - I still need to paint the sails. So...a little moire work, but not too much. And really thinking about repainting those twin stacks a dark gray or black.

USS Varuna. The rigging is installed. Now to paint the riggning, tough up the rest of the paint job and install the guns.

Three new projects past the assembly stage  USS Lackawanna and CSS McRae and USS Kearsarge.

Another new model almost assembled - CSS/USS Calhoun from Bay Area Yards.

There are eight parts that make up the pictured model. Still need to add the walking beam and guns.

USS Lackawanna, assembled and ready for priming.

Close up of the forward end of USS Lackawanna's spar deck.

Aft end of USS Lackawanna. The rigging is minimal as would reflect a ship in combat.

USS Lackawanna after application of the primer coat. Should be able to get started on the paint job this week!

USS Kearsarge - ready for priming.

CSS McRae. This was a quick asssembly job. The most trying thing was getting the yards attached to the masts. I used JB Weld and a small clamp to affix the yards to the mast.

McRae after a coat of primer has covered most of the model.

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!