Calling all American Civil War Ironclad fans

[Devin]

Charles is correct in that the tub is where the wheel is and where the turret was planned to be. This is the configuration that Casco, Chimo, Naubuc, Napa, and Modoc were completed in (with the exception that Modoc never shipped a gun, just the ineffective spar torpedo).

When they first launched Chimo and Casco, even without their turrets, coal and ammunition, they had only 8" of free board at the bow, while the stern was under water by 3-4 inches. When they came up with this single gun "solution", they mounted it forward of where the turret was to have been, in order to counterbalance the ship as well. This also happened with the Canonicus class monitors (their turrets were to have been in the center of the deck), but that problem was only one of balance, not of draft, and found early enough in the design process that it was corrected before too much damage was done.

Rusty, I assume you've seen the below photo of the torpedo rig for the Casco class boats?

[Rusty White]

Yes. That is what I have based the torpedo equipment on. Thanks much.

[rpbidgood]

Not an ironclad as such, USS Coeur de Lion was a lightship tender loaned to the Navy Dept. in 1861 and converted into a gunship. She patrolled the Potomac and other rivers in Virginia, destroying or seizing several ships attempting to break the blockade. She also engaged two forts, forcing one to surrender. She also had the distinction of towing Thaddeus Lowes's balloon barge, the George Washington Parke Custis, considered to be the first "aircraft" carrier. My model is 22" in length (1/55 scale) and is inspired by a paper model designed by the talented paper modeller, Magnus Morck, now sadly deceased. I would describe all my models as stand off scale, and this is no exception, it is radio controlled, steered by 2 independent motors and although I have altered/ added items as I see fit, I hope I have remained true to the spirit of the original ship. Sharp eyed will notice that the davits have been moved forward, this makes the removal of the superstructure easier. I have added stanchions/rails - these are not obvious in the photo of the original, but I have difficulty believing that what was once an ocean going ship would not have guard rails, especially on the hurricane deck. The hull plating is an indulgence, I suspect the original was wooden hulled, yet I am unrepentant! The walking beam is operated by a servo that has been modified for continuous rotation, this is Y'd into receiver output for one of the paddles and although the response is best described as sort of proportional, it does allow the beam to rock at a dignified rate. I am also building the balloon barge to the same scale and hope to tow it around my local pond. If everything works out I should be able to raise? and lower a helium filled balloon using another servo converted to act as a winch in the barge. We'll see.

[Devin]

That's really beautiful work. Love anything with a paddle wheel!

It's really odd that you posted this today. Earlier this morning I was thinking of the George Washington Parke Custis and wondering what ship would go with her as a towboat. I guess that I had known that Coeur de Lion towed her, but I'd forgotten it.

For those interested in the Magnus Morck models, they've all been collected on this page. Very sorry to hear that he passed, he has done some wonderfully simple yet accurate models.

[Rusty White]

Great model. Paddle wheels rule! How did you arrive at that scale? I am also curious as to what the hull looks like below the barge. I can't find any info on that. Could you post a pic?

[rpbidgood]

Thanks for the comments.

Hi Rusty, re your queries:-

(i) I too have been unable to find much information about the design and construction of the GWPC. We know she was a converted coal barge and most barges, as utilitarian working craft, tend to be very basic in design, at least on this side of the Atlantic. I did find one picture of a vintage, US. coal barge on one site, it showed a blunt, slab sided vessel, and this is the design that I have adopted - it also has the virtue of being the easiest to build! I attach a photo of the hull. Incidentally, there is so much deck overhang the hull is barely visible from most standpoints.
Floyd Houston made a beautiful model of the G.W.P. Custis for the Naval Historical Foundation -(I haven't posted a picture in case I break copyright) - the hull shows fine lines, but this could be artistic license.
I have attached another fanciful? drawing of our craft, it shows very pronounced sheer in the stern and the hull could well be clinker built. I can't help wondering if this artist ever saw the ship.

(ii) I didn't choose the odd scale, I decided on the length/size which happened to give a scale of approximately 1/55. I don't want to sound antisocial, but I do a lot of solitary sailing on a local canal, my boats are relatively small so that I can carry/launch/retrieve them easily without help. I attach a photo showing my paddle fleet, similar sizes but different scales.

The middle model is a freelance quarter wheeler paddle tug, unusual in that the drive to the paddles is via worm gear.

[herrmill]

Not sure if anyone has come across this build but its a nice one.

http://www.modelshipbuilder.com/e107_pl ... php?5406.0

Project appears to be on hold pending other commitments but its one to bookmark for anyone who's a fan of this class

[herrmill]

Excellent work on USS Coeur de Lion & GW Parke Custis!

I've had a file on this for several years thinking that it would make a fun project that I'd probably never get around to so I'm happy to see someone else was thinking outside the box.

[rpbidgood]

Herrmill,
Coincidentally, I recently came across a downloadable paper model of the Cairo, liked what I saw and did a few web searches. There are some lovely models of her out there, and I would love to have a go myself. However, I have to avoid the temptation to start anything new when I have so many unfinished projects on the go, not to mention my stash of unstarted kits that I stockpiled over the years for my retirement. I have nearly finished the GWP Custis, and when complete I need to attack a 32" model of the Disney Nautilus which I have been converting to rc and is about 95% finished. Did I mention running repairs on the house?

I attach a few photographs of the latest additions to the GWP. The skirt around the deck is 1/32 ply, cut across the main grain and steamed to shape. I was afraid that this might present a few fiddly problems, but using a thick cyan glue it went together quite nicely with no tearshttp://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/posting.p ... =52&t=4712#. With a little bit of judicious sanding the joints should be barely visible.
The other photograph shows the means for raising and lowering the balloon - I initially intended to run a lead from the mother ship (CdLion) to operate the balloon winch, but the wiring became a bit obtrusive so I opted for a separate receiver in the GWP operating on a spare channel. The hatch however was originally designed for access to the servo winch, it now has to accommodate the receiver and the battery for the receiver as well - it's all a bit gynaecological!

[Chris E.]

Hello, all! I just spent a very pleasant hour going through this thread, from the beginning and must admit to being very impressed with the talent that is represented here! Some of these builds are insane, in a good way! I've seen Monitors in all scales, except one... 1/350... Well, I'm not counting paper here because I don't work in that medium. I've tried and paper modeling and I just don't get along... Does anybody offer a USS Monitor or CSS Virginia in 1/350? I'm building a series of 1/350 models chronicling the development of the US Capital Ship and Monitor is the obvious place to start.

[Devin]

Chris,

I just saw this post, sorry for the delay in replying. Samek has actually just released a 1/350th scale resin kit of USS Monitor:

http://www.freetimehobbies.com/copy-of- ... inia-1862/

The photos of the hull looks as if it's the typical outstanding Samek casting quality. My only concern is the price: a 1/350th scale Monitor is going to be just over 6 inches long. Unless they're are a lot of accessories in that model and a full and open turret, the cost is a bit steep in my opinion; especially considering they have the much larger CSS Virginia kit in the same scale for the same price. I'd love to see one in person, or see a couple of in-depth reviews, though.

-Devin

p.s. Chuck, thanks again for the links to that City Class build. I've decided that I'm going to go with that framing method on my 1/96th scale USS Carondelet scratch build. I'll likely not do quite so many frames (the real ships had them with only 2' or so between each one), but it seems to me the most authentic and fun method to explore.

[Devin]

Television interview with Rich Carlstedt and his USS Monitor model engine:

http://www.cw14online.com/local-shows/c ... ar-history

I've been lucky enough to meet with Rich and see this thing run in person. An amazing piece of work.

[tea monster]

A part of the CSS Georgia saw the first light of day since 1864.

http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-11 ... pRr98RHC2V

http://civil-war-picket.blogspot.co.uk/ ... vered.html

and the Army Corp of Engineers Facebook page has loads of photos

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 071&type=1

Owen

[ninjrk]

Starting work on an early Christmas present!

[Devin]

Santa was very good to you this year!

I have their Alligator sub to start on sometime over the next week or so: http://cottageindustrymodels.com/?page_id=668

[Devin]

For those that haven't heard, the wet lab at the Mariner's Museum, that houses the USS Monitor turret, engines, and other artifacts, has been shuttered to the public due to lack of funds. More information on my website:

http://www.devinjpoore.com/blog/?p=1308

[Devin]

I believe I mentioned to several on the site that over a year ago I worked with Steven's Institute in Hoboken, NJ, to catalog their original USS Monitor plans and drawings. A year or so later, and a loan out to a facility that has some super cool scanning facilities (I think maybe Rutgers? I wasn't involved with that aspect) and now the drawings are all available online. Go to http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/ and type USS Monitor into the search field for all the scans. These haven't been modified in any way, so a few of them are very faint and hard to make out. It's all original material, some of it in pencil, some with grease and oil from the workshop, and several with Ericsson's signature. Very cool stuff.

[ModelMonkey]

I believe I mentioned to several on the site that over a year ago I worked with Steven's Institute in Hoboken, NJ, to catalog their original USS Monitor plans and drawings. A year or so later, and a loan out to a facility that has some super cool scanning facilities (I think maybe Rutgers? I wasn't involved with that aspect) and now the drawings are all available online. Go to http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/ and type USS Monitor into the search field for all the scans. These haven't been modified in any way, so a few of them are very faint and hard to make out. It's all original material, some of it in pencil, some with grease and oil from the workshop, and several with Ericsson's signature. Very cool stuff.

Thanks for posting! Great work getting this to the public!

[Macbeth]

Hallo everybody,

my Name is Klaus. I�m a 32 year old archaeologist and museum educator. I come from northern Germany. I would like to obtain plans of at least one Civil War Ironclad (namely the CSS Atlanta). David Meagher is not responding to emails anymore.
A bit of help would be great.

talk to you later, Klaus

[Devin]

Klaus,

I spoke with him a week or so ago and will contact him again and see what his current email address is.

In the meantime, you can still get his work via Taubman Plans, if you're in a hurry. The Atlanta set is here:

http://taubmansonline.com/DMATLANTA.htm

When you look at any of the Taubman plans, if they have DM in the product ID, like this Atlanta set's ID of DM-956-103, that means they are David's drawings.

Hope this helps.

-Devin