CSS Palmetto State 1-72 scale

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by ct ertz

but I have now way to email plastic figures so the people will have to wait. (I may include a couple of paper figures for the purpose of scale

I purchased some N scale figures for a forced perspective shot in my Fredricksburg diorama. I am going to purchase some Z scale figures which is slightly larger than 1/250 scale.

My point: those N scale figures are itty bitty. 1/250 scale figures must be waaaaaay small!

[ct ertz]

OK folks, things are moving along. What do you all think about the armor? I have scaled the bars to be about what the ship yard would have gotten in. They are 10 inches wide and 20 feet long, with bolt holes alternating side to side every 2.5 feet. The color on the Palmetto State was blockade runner blue...I think a gray/blue color. Any how, these are to be cut and applied separate to the casement and knuckle formers. Is this going to work? What I am thinking is the edges can be colored with a rust color. This will give great depth to the finished model...I hope. Opinions? Thanks,
CT

[Papercut]

Outstanding, this just keeps getting better.:DRick

[SJPONeill]

Maybe you could produce the armour bars as new which would enable builders to weather as desired - rust would be one surface effect but there would probably other areas that would show more as raw iron where there was heavy and regular wear...

[cdavenport]

As a blockade runner, it would have been subject to salt and sun weathering which would have taken its toll on the paint job. On the other hand, if the CSS was like every other navy, it's likely deckhands would have been kept busy scraping and treating rust every time it was in port.

It's really difficult with the B&W photos of the era to spot damage due to weathering, but looking at the close-up shots of the Union Monitor, one can see a vessel that has been kept ship shape. There is even one shot of the turret with a dent from enemy action, but everything else is fairly pristine.

I wonder how much rust or weathering is really appropriate.

[ct ertz]

Confederate ironclads in other areas have little to no documentation on color, just good guess work. We know the Arkansas was a deep red rust color do to the armor rails being stored at the bottom of the river for months to avoid Yankee Cav patrols. It is speculated that some of the Richmond area ships were painted black, as the Virginia was said to be.

The Charleston area Ironclads though are repeatedly described as being a "blockade runner" blue. This makes m think that the ships were indeed painted that color and were likely repainted from time to time. The Palmetto State had a some what long career for a Confederate ironclad, so some rust would be likely, but my though is that these ships were for what ever reason were better maintained then other Confederate ironclads. Again, a lot of speculation on my part.

I could see rust being a problem in the seams between the armor bars, and along the bow where anchor chains scraped the sides repeatedly. Also along the "swing" of the gun ports, again do to scraping. Then again, if the Charlston area had a good supply of paint,as seems likely, the crews could have fixed these problems with every docking.

CT

[Wyvern]

I wonder if only the WOODEN parts would've been painted? And the armor left in it's natural metal state? It would quickly take on a patina of light brown and green from surface oxidation (not heavy rust). Also remember the operating environment here in the South (CT, Major D, and I know about this one very well)- hot and humid. Rolled iron often has surface pitting and imperfection, which would provide a toehold for mold and lichen, no matter how busy the crew stays scraping it off. And Palmetto State and her sister spent most of their careers wharfside, not underway, though they probably got more underway time than any other CSN ironclad.

Just some thoughts. CT, pics I've seen of other artist's interpretations of "blockade runner blue" show a much grayer tint, almost like the blue-gray used by the USN on aircraft early in WW2. PM me your address and I'll send you a paint chip- I've got an FS-standard paint for that finish for my plastic work. Still, I expect that like much else in the CS armed forces, while there may have been a regulation, there weren't any quantified standards- nor were there reliable supplies. Something to keep in mind.

I'm really looking forward to this model. I just bought your Virginia II off of ECardmodels.

Regards,

Wyvern

[cdavenport]

It's this sort of speculation and discussion with the designer that makes the whole process so much fun.

Since those were lead based enamel paints, they would have quickly faded under the salt and sun. The notion of a "blockade runner blue" seems appropriate, too...camouflage. Rust would certainly be there, too.

For me the real question is how much you can depict in a 1/250 scale model without overwhelming the overall look of the model.

Looking back on the pictures of my build of the Fredricksburg, I am concerned that the rust is too heavy. I'll likely go back and tone that down. Once again, looking at the little documentation available of those old ships, you really can't see much in the way of weathering. Surely they were not pristine, but I want to be careful not to overdo it.

Just my opinion and how I approach modeling.

[ct ertz]

I am working on the interior of the casement now. I am thinking of white washing the walls. I saw this on a 1:1 scale replica of the Albemarle and it seems likely that for visibility, the walls would have been painted white. The replica in the museum even stained the area around the gun ports gray and black.

Regarding the out side I think these would be good bets...

Because the Arkansas was repeatedly mentioned in period writings as rust red, it must be the extreme of the ironclads as far as rust is concerned.

The Manassas and the Virginia were black according to period writing.

The Charleston ironclads were some sort of blockade runner blue as per period descriptions. As there careers were over years and h descriptions stayed the same, they must have been repainted periodically. Also, being such a large and active port, these ironclads would have had access to paint from Europe as well.

All exposed decks were raw pine, except on the few ships that had armored decks.

Anyhow, just some thoughts.

CT

[SJPONeill]

CT, how thick were the armour iron bars? I'm just wondering if they could not be prinyed on relatively light paper and folded around a strip of .5/.8 card. This would (touch wood) give a scale thickness, also reduce exposed edges, and also provide a 'seam' between each bar. This would enable post-contruction weathering with washes and powders to the level that the modeller requires?

All navies seem to have a 'deveil makes work...' philosophy so I think that any ironclad that spent any period of time tied up would be kept in relatively good condition (visibly anyway) to keep the crew out of mischief. In 1/72, it would probably be easy enough to find some figures that could illustrate exactly that maintenence/discipline process...

Simon