Help with model

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

Where can I get a pre built 1/32 scale confederate iron clad my budget is 500$. Or someone who will build it for me

 

[JPChurch]

There's a company that makes a 1/96 scale model kit of the CSS Virginia. Bow to stern is 35.5 inches. Price is almost $700.00. Very detailed kit that is mostly resin and contains highly detailed parts and of course, you have to put it together yourself. I have the old Revell plastic kit in 1/96 scale of the CSS Alabama. It's almost 3 feet in length as well. I spent well over 4-5 hours a day for 9 weeks getting that completed.

I doubt you'll ever find a 1/32 scale pre-assemble model of any type of Confederate ironclad. Something in that scale would be enormous in size and only found in perhaps the finest of naval museums if such an example even exists.

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

Thanks for the reply I know it's impossible to find one but it was worth a try. Who makes a good pre built iron clad, I don't care about the scale

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Bluejacket Ship Crafters is a very old and respectable New England ship model company that manufactures a great (solid hull) wooden kit of the CSS Virginia for about $100.00.

I ordered and built this model many years ago. I was very pleased. Depending upon one's skill level, it can be enhanced to any degee.

They also offer a completed version built by their craftsmen for about $1,200.00:

C.S.S. VIRGINIA - Model Boat Kit | Blue Jacket Shipcrafters, Inc.

C.S.S. VIRGINIA - Confederate Navy - Formerly, U.S.S. MERRIMAC. Model boat kit. Purchase online from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters, Inc. Model boat kits since 1905.

www.bluejacketinc.com

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

thank you I will look into it. Can you recommend a kit for a beginner like me

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

thank you I will look into it. Can you recommend a kit for a beginner like me

I would recommend the CSS Neuse or the CSS Albemarle from Flagship Models.

Both are perfect for the beginner.
These are highly detailed, yet easy to build resin kits.

WARSHIP KITS

Union and Confederate ironclads, warships, submarines, torpedo boats and barges of the American civil war era. Kits do not include bases or pedestals.

flagshipmodels.com

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

Thanks I will definitely look into it, the only thing I worry about is painting it I am a horrible painter

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Thanks I will definitely look into it, the only thing I worry about is painting it I am a horrible painter

Yeah painting is a major challenge, but these are perfect kits to develop one's painting skills.
( there are many good tutorial videos for all experience levels out there)

The kits arrive basically complete with only a few details to actually construct.

Building any model is an exercise in patience.

Although the Flagship kits are the best to start with ( IMHO ) ... don't think you can create a masterpiece
CSA ironclad within a couple of weeks.

But I recommend to buy one of these kits ... and at least start. You will enjoy everything.

However, stick with it.

Even the masters are never satisfied with their final model.

 

[Booner]

Yeah painting is a major challenge, but these are perfect kits to develop one's painting skills.
( there are many good tutorial videos for all experience levels out there)

The kits arrive basically complete with only a few details to actually construct.

Building any model is an exercise in patience.

Although the Flagship kits are the best to start with ( IMHO ) ... don't think you can create a masterpiece
CSA ironclad within a couple of weeks.

But I recommend to buy one of these kits ... and at least start. You will enjoy everything.

However, stick with it.

Even the masters are never satisfied with their final model.

Good post, 7th!

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Good post, 7th!

Thanks @Booner.

The kit I ordered from Flagship models was the CSS Tennessee.

I rushed through the build ... and didn't follow the tips of other experienced modelers.
The finished product looked more like a toy boat than a detailed model ironclad.

I was frustrated, and put it away in hopes of repainting it later. That never happened, and apparently it was lost during two major moves between distant towns.

I took my time with the Blue Jacket CSS Virginia, and achieved much better results.
But the difference between working with wood and resin is entirely different.

 

[Booner]

Thanks @Booner.

The kit I ordered from Flagship models was the CSS Tennessee.

I rushed through the build ... and didn't follow the tips of other experienced modelers.
The finished product looked more like a toy boat than a detailed model ironclad.

I was frustrated, and put it away in hopes of repainting it later. That never happened, and apparently it was lost during two major moves between distant towns.

I took my time with the Bluejacket CSS Virginia, and achieved much better results.
But the difference between working with wood and resin is entirely different.

But the best advise you gave, and you backed it up with your story, is "patience."

I think when most of us start a project, we do it with an eye to what it will look like when it's done. Then we hurry up and rush through the project in order to reach our goal, that of a finished project.
We need to learn how to slow down, and enjoy each step, each day's accomplishment

 

[DixieRifles]

Can you recommend a kit for a beginner like me

I was a beginner when I made this ---maybe my first model I built, which is surprising in that I loved airplanes and never built but one ship after that. I was likely 7 or 8.

This is an old plastic kit made by Lindberg that supposed to represent the Merrimac, aka Virginia. It is small scale and I don't know how accurate it is but it has some good details. However, I didn't even try to paint it but I did do some rigging(or it could have been my older brother). It is grimy after 50++ years and the glue smears have turned yellow with age.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I was a beginner when I made this ---maybe my first model I built, which is surprising in that I loved airplanes and never built but one ship after that. I was likely 7 or 8.

This is an old plastic kit made by Lindberg that supposed to represent the Merrimac, aka Virginia. It is small scale and I don't know how accurate it is but it has some good details. However, I didn't even try to paint it but I did do some rigging(or it could have been my older brother). It is grimy after 50++ years and the glue smears have turned yellow with age.

View attachment 426354

Very impressive for an eight year old !

The years have naturally "weathered" the model.

I too was more into planes.
A WW II German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 219 Uhu being my "masterpiece".

 

[DixieRifles]

A WW II German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 219 Uhu being my "masterpiece".

I made that model— many years later but I dont recall when it was. I was excited to see a fuselage and wings of one in the back of the Smithsonian Museum out at Ronald Reagan Airport about 10 years ago.

 

[JPChurch]

I was a beginner when I made this ---maybe my first model I built, which is surprising in that I loved airplanes and never built but one ship after that. I was likely 7 or 8.

This is an old plastic kit made by Lindberg that supposed to represent the Merrimac, aka Virginia. It is small scale and I don't know how accurate it is but it has some good details. However, I didn't even try to paint it but I did do some rigging(or it could have been my older brother). It is grimy after 50++ years and the glue smears have turned yellow with age.

View attachment 426354

I built the Lindberg kit of the Bismarck in 1/350 scale. The old model kits were great!!!!

 

[Kurt G]

Very impressive for an eight year old !

The years have naturally "weathered" the model.

I too was more into planes.
A WW II German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 219 Uhu being my "masterpiece".

That camo pattern must have been a challenge .

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

I have actually painted and assembled some panzer models but they are all in a simple panzer grau

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

That camo pattern must have been a challenge .

That was the hardest part, but also what I was most proud of .....
I painted the Heinkel in a late War camo.

( multiple shades of grey with the white dot pattern on the wings and upper two thirds of the fuselage).

But as usual, I messed up attempting to paint the cockpit canopy.
Still acceptable results, but I was not satisfied.
I've never been able to paint those detailed 1930s & 1940s aircraft canopies.

That's why I enjoy 1/72 scale Civl War figures ... (up close details are not as important, unless one insists using a magnifying glass to look at em')

 

[Kurt G]

That was the hardest part, but also what I was most proud of .....
I painted the Heinkel in a late War camo.

( multiple shades of grey with the white dot pattern on the wings and upper two thirds of the fuselage).

But as usual, I messed up attempting to paint the cockpit canopy.
Still acceptable results, but I was not satisfied.
I've never been able to paint those detailed 1930s & 1940s aircraft canopies.

That's why I enjoy 1/72 scale Civl War figures ... (up close details are not as important, unless one insists using a magnifying glass to look at em')

You can now buy masks for specific planes . They are precut tape that covers each window leaving the frames exposed for painting . I've used them and they help a lot .

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

You can now buy masks for specific planes . They are precut tape that covers each window leaving the frames exposed for painting . I've used them and they help a lot .

Thanks !

I have read about those masks, but have never heard anyone giving a review.