writes:
I was looking at my list of projects a while ago, and decided to prioritize getting some ironclads painted up. It's a category that I know I enjoy gaming, but somehow my collection of finished models is small, scattered, and in diverse scales. (Sound familiar to any of you?) 
The 1:600 scale CSS Mississippi was not the first ironclad to reach my workbench, but she's the first one completed.
She's classed as a 'failed ironclad' since she was never completed – she was launched in an unfinished state and towed up-river to escape the Union fleet, but she did not escape.
With Confederate ironclads, my understanding is that a typical look is rusted, unpainted metal and plain wood. They weren't pretty, they were warships.
I chose to go with tan decks, gunmetal iron and dark gray stacks, heavily weathered with washes and drybrushing. The only concession I made is that, considering that if the Mississippi had been armored it would have been quickly done, so I added some 'shine' on the iron.
The model comes without gunports, perhaps because I don't think anyone knows much about what her layout would have been – 20 guns, somewhere! I could have added them, but not having gunports gives the ship an ephemeral quality!
I based the model on a 6" x 2" wooden base from LITKO, with rounded corners. There's a matching FlexSteel piece underneath, for storage purposes. The water is a blue-gray shade, with some Mod-Podge added for a watery shine.
Maybe someday I'll go back and add some rigging, flags, and other 'decor'. But she'll fight fine the way she is. (Although, due to her unusual construction method, the Confederate player should probably roll randomly to determine her armour/hull strength before battle!)