Let me start this review off by stating that I am a landlubber with no experience in naval gaming. The time I spent on ship while in the Marines gave me a great appreciation for mother earth. That being said, I have always wanted to game at least one river or ocean battle using ironclads or blockade runners. I obtained these models from Thoroughbred Figures 4106 Timberland Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23703, phone 757-686-1048. I'll give a general impression of the models and them give specific thoughts on each.
Each model is crafted from pewter in good detail to include hatches, grating, divots and in some cases, individual planks. Most came needing assembly. But the amount of work was small, usually only smokestacks etc. All the ships give the waterline profile. So you can create the illusion of a ship moving through the water. An information sheet is included. This sheet covers assembly, history of the shipelass and individual unit portrayed. The sheet also includes ship specifications such as beam and draft for those so inclined. The best part of this sheet is the painting guide. It gives both general and specific instructions on painting
I have to say that the instruction sheet was very appreciated, as I did not have any painting guides or photos of any era ships. This allowed me to save money (no need to buy books..yeah, right) and gave me the ability to quickly finish some models. I think Thoroughbred is on to something here. Their idea allows games to try a different period with out spending money on books, guides etc. The cost of a couple ships and you have most of what you need to try out a new period. Maybe they could include very simple rules? Now this is not cost prohibitive or Thoroughbred would not do thus, after all they are trying to make a profit.
The following ships required minimum assembly:
TS03 CSS Albemarle This is a 6 gun casernated ironclad. It requires only smokestack and vent tube gluing time was 10 seconds. Add the Confederate naval flag - time 30 seconds, The detailing is great as individual metal plating is shown. A great ship.
TS01 CSS Virginia 12 gun ship of Hampton Roads fame. Looks exactly like the ship in the picture of the famous duel. Assembly is ships boats vent and stacks. Detail is down to the bars on the grating. Painted up very nice.
TS10 USS Onondaga Twin turret monitor class ship. Very clean and expected detailing. Even has detailed observation decks on the turrets.
TS11 USS Roanoke A triple turret monitor class ship. I did not know they made such an ugly ship. Guess the contractors had friends even then. The detail and shape of the ship make me think it resembles T S 10.
TS22 Gun emplacement with guns. This is a fortified position much-like you would see at Vicksburg. Made of wood and earth. Looks very good. Has two types of guns. The first looks exactly like the coastal guns mounted in the period forts around here. The other appears to be a transplanted ships gun. The detail and work on this is very good; actually looks like a fortification and the earth is not smooth as appears on some other models.
TS55 Mortar Schooners and rafts.In this pack you get 2 schooners and 4 rafts- Assembly is required for the schooners to include masts. The rafts require complete assembly. I assembled this pack in about 10 minutes. Not hard at all. The interior of the ships are neatly detailed. The exterior on the other and is smooth. No planking or rivets. To me it does not fit. But I did not know about the triple turret monitor. Good price for the amount of shipping you get.
TS41 5 gun fort. Appears as a large redoubt. Detailing is as for TS22. Comes with CSA or USA flags. Only drawback is that the interior walls are smooth, not detailed.
TS51 Floating Battery. 4 gun battery with assembly needed. This requires building from waterline up.
TS20 Tug and Barges 3 each. Only construction is the gluing of the pilothouse house on the tugs. Each barge is crafted with cargo aboard, Appears to be bales of cotton and boxes.
TS48 and TS47 Pilings and sunken bulls. These represent destroyed piers, sunken ships and other river debris. The sunken hulls came as bow up sinking, broken amid ship etc. Detailing is good, down to pilothouse houses. Good for markers.
TS44 Torpedo boats. 4 per pack. Requires smokestack assembly. Small ship/boat molded with a base of water. There is even planking detail on these jewels. These are on my painting table now. TS32 Riverboat. Fair amount of construction. What is required is the deck, superstructure and pilothouse. Modeled at the waterline.
TS13 Cottonclad. Mainly for the CSA. Double side wheel paddle boat converted into a gunboat for the CSA Navy. This one has two guns, bow and stern. Each side of this class is armored differently. Good detailing.
TS33 Yankee Gunboat. A bit of assembly is required, but not too complicated. Has 4 guns and 2 pivot guns. Instructions come with various degrees of detailing to produce up to 10 ship types, some USS and some CSS. For the CSS it can be used as blockade runners.
TS35 USS New Ironsides. Quite a bit of assembly required. But again, not complicated. Pieces include railings, masts, capstans, anchors, vent and divot. Luckily for me, the holes were pre drilled and the diagram simple to follow.
TS54 CSS Alabama. Great detailing and decent amount of assembly. This is Adm Semmes raider and looks just like the pictures. Attractive ship with furled sails and even individual ropes crafted into the sails etc. The outside has individual plating. Even has a rigging diagram.
I highly recommend this line of models.
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© Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum
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