CSS Palmetto State by BobCardone - Verlinden - 1:200 - RESIN

[BobCardone]

Hi all,

   I started this kit about two years ago, and in the general workbench confusion that reigns in my shop I thought I lost ALL the rest of the parts to finish it up, so I put it in the "finish later" pile. Lo and behold, when digging for other stuff I unearthed most of the missing parts... the cutters especially. The Verlinden 1:200 ironclad series (about 5 kits, I think) are absolutely flawless resin castings with no flash, blobs or bubbles. The dimensions are about 12" long (with spar torpedo), 2.75" wide and 2.5" tall (with masts). I think they're out of production, but they're out there for less than $100 if you hunt around. They are simple waterline kits, with a one piece hull and only about 10 other resin parts. Since I've already completed most of the time consuming work, I've decided to finish this while I continue on my Philly. 

 

   CSS Palmetto State was one of about 22 ironclads built or commissioned by the South in the Civil War, and were generally outclassed and outnumbered by their Union counterparts. The South just didn't have the materials or industrial capacity to have parity with the Union, but they sure came up with some creative and interesting designs using what they had on hand. Here's a brief history of the CSS Palmetto State.

 

Things I will need to do to finish it are:

 

Straighten up the PE railings (aftermarket, from a 1:350 Bismarck PE add-on kit)

Finish adding the rope for the gunport covers

Add the anchors and anchor davits with appropriate rigging

Add battened masts, oars and sails inside the cutters and tie them down to the molded mounts

Add four guy wires to the funnel

Add a ventilator, whistle and cook stove chimney on the upper deck

Add a short bow and stern pennant mast with pennants

Add two masts to the ends of the upper deck with associated rigging (very simple... three lines each)

Build the bow spar torpedo, mount and rig it in stowed position

 

   I'm going to mount it in a clear plastic case meant for 1:18 auto diecasts.  The case I selected has a clear bottom, and the inside measurements are about 13" x 5". I'm planning on painting the underside of the clear base with a murky water pattern and then use clear gloss Mod Podge medium to simulate ripples on the top of the base around the ship. I may include a dock section, it depends on how much room I have and if it will not detract from the model.

 

Here's where it stands now, I'm sorry I don't have any previous in process pictures, but I'll continue this as a build log and post progress as it happens.

 

 

 

[BobCardone]

Straightened and touched up the PE rails, next build they will be installed last. I keep disturbing them while working on the rest of the ship.

Made the masts and furled sails for the cutters and rigged the gun port cover lines.

I used thinned down toothpicks for the masts and a piece of brown napkin soaked in Mod Podge for the sails wrapped around the mast then tied off. Added tiedowns and set the cutters aside to avoud breakage and give me more room to work on the hull.

I couldn't figure any good way to simulate the gun hatch cover ropes, so I used solder painted brown then detailed with a fine sharpie. Next are the funnel stays.

Edited March 29, 2020 by BobCardone
Correct grammatics

[BobCardone]

Close to finishing this up while I await parts for continuing the Philly build.

Completed the funnel stays, fore and aft masts and mounted the lifeboats. All that's left are the anchors, davits, ventilator (on order- should be here this week) and the spar torpedo (under construction).

The display case will be here this week, then I'll attempt the water base.

Big change from working on the Philly... 

[Wahka_est]

Amazin detail again.

Cant waint until you start some big ship.