Lone Warrior's with a naval outlook will recall that I frequently turn to 'Peter Pig's' 1/600th scale ACW range for inspiration. The 60 models in that very good range provide the basis for the Federal and Confederate navies, and for many European and South American warships of the rest of that century, even beyond 1900 in a few cases.
Unfortunately, the 'pig' range omits several of the more magnificent and unusual vessels, being particularly short on sea going warships and raiders. There is a range in existence which more than adequately fills the gap, however. 'Thoroughbred Figures' of Portsmouth, Virginia, USA, is a long established company which manufactures 1/600th scale kits and 'collector edition' models of the period & they were until recently imported by Rod Langton, and in fact Rod still has a few of them on the shelf (01726882805 for details). I've had the opportunity to build a few of these vessels recently, and can only describe them as sumptuous, among the finest pewter ship models I've encountered in more than thirty years.
The range includes sixty-eight ships, accessories and fortifications, ranging in price from $1.50 US to $24 US, and it's full of surprises; the only ACW warship I expected to find on the 'Thoroughbred' list and didn't is the USS Galena which it seems no-one makes in 1/600th!
All of the ship kits have detailed instruction sheets.
Most of the current 'Peter Pig' warships are available on the list from 'Thoroughbred' so I've only looked at those types not available. These include delights such as TS11. USS Roanoake ($15) the triple turreted monitor, TS34 USS Milwaukee ($15) the class of four compact twin turreted monitors, TS40, USS Dictator ($16.50) the huge ocean going monitor; TS54, CSS Alabama ($19) the Confederate raider, and several useful lighter gunboats such as TS46 USS Itasca ($12) there were 23 of these '90 day' gunboats in service with the Union, and TS 58 USS Kansas ($15) of which there were eight,
I acquired and built five of the models. The little ship's boats TS17 ($1.50) are sound enough, and much larger than the 'Pig' boats on davits, but they are simply boat models, none are crewed or rowed, and none are on davits, nice little models, but…!
The next pack TS20 Tugs and Barges is a very different kettle of fish. In the rivers, bayous and bays of the South small warships did most of the work, and tugs were very commonly used by both sides. The pack contains three 45mm long sturdy barges with different loads, useful for a host of periods, while the tugs, 42mm long hulls, are excellent. Three tugs are provided, each is a hull, a 20mm long deckhouse, a 10mm funnel, ventilator and single gun to be mounted fore or aft, easy to build, and with one of the 'Peter Pig' deck guns added, a good armed gunboat is simply made. I added one of the tugs to my c.1900 China Station scenario, and another to my c.1875 Russian fleet, simply by adding to the deck fittings. The pack costs $12.
The pack of 4 Confederate 'David's' (TS66 at $8) was even better, since the pack contains hulls, shown almost in full, 35mm long on a sea base, not submerged as with the 'Peter Pig' version (which complements them well!) and has a single funnel to be added. Again unusual,
One of the main problems in wargaming ACW sea battles is the strength of Federal vessels, but they did also build some utter rubbish, the USS Keokuk for instance (available in both ranges) and the awful 'Casco' Class, probably the worst Monitors/gunboats/torpedo boats ever built anywhere. The turreted version (TS61-$12 ‘Tom 'Thoroughbred') and her 'Torpedo boat 'sister' T'S61 b-$12) are fine looking models, and entirely suitable for providing a little fodder for southern revenge. I built the TB version, a graceful hull, 11cm long, tall funnel, conning tower, ventilators and 8" ships gun, together with an authentic 'spar torpedo rig' make this an easy model to build and paint. There's even a ships wheel, but no boats, so I added one of those mentioned earlier right aft, laid on the deck, I sprayed the model overall Humbrol light sea grey, and set my CSS Albermarle on her. The completed model makes a good, but vulnerable, addition to my US fleet. Something long needed.
The last 'Thoroughbred' model I built was TS19 USS Miantanamoh ($16.50). The four twin-turreted ships of this class were late war builds, and only one USS Monadnock saw action. She bombarded Fort Fisher, and was the Federal that intercepted CSS Stonewall at Havana at the war's end (an interesting scenario there!)
This is an exquisite model warship, a kit of around 20 parts, including a 'stars and stripes' jack and though not the easiest model to build, it's worth a little effort, since the finished ship looks so good. The 13cm long hull is super detailed, and the hatches, turrets, pilot houses, ventilators and funnel all fit easily in place. This class had a rectangular flying bridge between the two turrets, and this assembly is a little more complicated, requiring greater skill to place the supports-which should go directly into the deck, not onto the bridgework. This part of the kit takes time, but makes the finished ship one of the best monitor models around.
If there's a fault with this model, it’s the lack of four ship's boats on davits. So, add four from 'Pig's' range one pair just aft of the forward turret, the other pair just aft of the main stack. Sprayed overall matt black, touched up with gunmetal and weathered, another easy paint job. This is the pride of my US Fleet.
When I first mentioned the 'Thoroughbred' range, I suggested that for reasons of cost and availability they should be used to complement the basic 'Peter Pig' fleets, by using those models not already available.
The potential is greater than that. Since the US list contains several valuable British ships, including TS63 HMS Royal Sovereign the late 1860's Royal Navy turreted monitor, a superb model opportunity for $24. Then there's TS 50, HMS Scorpion and HMS Wyvern at $19 each. These were originally built for the Confederacy, but acquired by the Royal Navy in 1864, and served for many years. The presence of these models in the list suggests that the range may just cross the Atlantic in larger numbers at some stage. The Confederate Ironclad Stonewall is there too (TS43 $13.50) giving the opportunity to model either the Prussian Prinz Adalbert or the Japanese 'Adzuma', with very little work.
Highly recommended.
Why on earth are no UK distributors handling these beautiful models?
'Thoroughbred Figures;' 4106 Timberland Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23703. US tel No: (757) 686-1048.
email:-TRBARRETT@WORLDNET.ATT.NET
Web site www.thoroughbredmodels.com
Orders outside the USA by credit card only.
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