"What should I buy?" Topic

All,
I've got Dahlgren and Columbiad, as well as The Gridded Naval Wargame. I'm planning to replace my rather primitive scratch built ships with 1/1200th models. I always make the mistake of over buying. What is a good mix for ACW naval that will provide for good ship vs. ship and slightly bigger actions? I could go pre-dreadnaught as well.

Spithead Miniatures do some lovely 1/1200 models for both ACW and 1860/70's Ironclads, including some very unusual subjects.

No website but contactable via his FB page (and may be a TMP member as well – seem to recall he's replied to previous posts). Based in the UK.

I pretty well fixed on buying from Brown Water Navy via Shapeways. More looking for some ideas on what to buy.

My group has had fun with Riverine engagements. Some Pook "turtle" ironclads vs. cottonclad rams or the "Arkansas." The other area has been harbor attacks such as New Orleans, Charleston and Mobile. Charleston had a small squadron of ironclads that had at least one clash plus Dahlgren's attempt to run past Sumter. Another area might be Raiders vs. Cruisers. Have fun!

if you want to go bigger, Peter Pig's 1/600th ships, terrain and accompanying rules are nice and seem to give a good game:

link

Most of the fun action in the ACW was on the Mississippi and its tributaries. Look at the OOBs for the Battle of the Head of the Passes, Plum Point, and the battles around Memphis & New Orleans and you'll have plenty of real-life and what-if scenarios for a long time to come.

1/1200 is really best for larger battles and larger ships. Most ACW vessels were 100-150' long, which makes them tiny and fiddly for gaming in 1/1200 scale, but the ocean-going ships tended to be 200' or more and have bowsprits and full rigging, which drastically increases their presence on the table. The battle of Mobile Bay, a couple battles and a lot of what-ifs around Charleston and Wilmington should be good 1/1200 gaming, and there's an infinite amount of blockade running and blockade breaking to attempt.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make ship-vs-shore actions fun; if I can, I'd like to someday stage the first and second battles of Wilmington, which began with very large fleets bombarding the forts.

- Ix

I'm definitely looking at smaller actions, just a couple of vessels per side. I may end up back at 1/600th.

But Nick I bought your 1/600 just last year. Didn't I?

You did indeed jrbatso. This is what I do, I get depressed and sell things, and then decide I am interested again. I will likely do with 1/1200th this time, since that is the scale D&C is aimed at.

Nick, I think any conversation about 1/600 begins with Thorougbred Miniatures and has to include Bay Area Yards. T-bred is more pricey, but I've never been disappointed by a kit. I love the Bay hulls loved 'em a bit more when I could depend on getting all my bits from them. Even so, I recently built their USS Mississippi and Dunderburg.

I've bought some Confederate ironclads from Brown Water Navy. Would like to do more before rendering a conclusion. (However, their 1/1250 Spanish are spectacular.) In my view. the Peter Pig offerings are uneven. I have about 90 1/600 ACW ships, so my judgement comes from experience.

A few links to show some recent ACW models:
Throughbred Richmond class

link

Brown Water Navy North Carolina and Wilmington

link

Bay Area Yards Mississippi and Dunderburg, T-Bred Mohican as Tuscarora

link

I had a large collection of Brown Water Navy 1/600th ships that I sold a bit over a year ago. I was very happy with them. I will definitely buy from Matt again when I am ready. I have a great dislike for assembling metal models. Most of the painted images on the BWN site were in fact painted by me.

A lot depends on what theatre of operation you wish to play, assuming you want to recreate historic scenarios.