USS Cairo 1862 kit BlueJacket kit K1111 1/16 '' at feet 1: 192

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USS Cairo 1862 kit BlueJacket kit K1111 1/16 '' at feet 1: 192
When we think about the American Civil War, think about the great land battle
Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Spotsylvania, Bull Run, Shiloh and so much else, but have forgotten the 51 naval battles important for the control of the waterways.
The USS Cairo is one of his fighters who are + - forget.
During the North American conflicts the waterways were of incomparable strategic importance to transport troops and supplies.
During the 1812 - 1814 conflict between Canada and the Americans if the British did not had control of the St. Lawrence River and the Richelieu River, things might have been different. In Kingston in 1814 a 3 deck 112-gun HMS St-Laurence (the only 3 deck to have navigate in fresh water) was built that gave total control of Lake Ontario to the British. A similar vessel was planned for Lake Erie to regain control of the lake that the British lost in 1813.
The ground conditions for the Civil War were the same, the one that controlled the rivers controlled supply. It was with the research done during the construction of my Arrow 1814 (Burrow) that I realized the unknown importance that ships navigating in freshwater had during those 2 conflicts.
The model of the USS Cairo will be the 3rd ship of my series on the Ironclad and it seems that only BlueJacket produced a model
Since I build that model I learn that there are another one with a uhe selection
here the link
https://flagshipmodels.com/collections/warship-kits
Vessel
Length 53m
width 16.60m
Draft 1.8m
4 knot speed
Crew 251
Armament 3x 8lb
3x 42lb
6x 32lb
1x 30lb
1x 12lb
7 identical ships were built in 1862
USS Cairo, USS Carondelet, USS Cincinnati, USS Louisville, USS Mound City, USS Pittsburg and USS St. Louis. All were given city names from where their class classification of Ironclad City Class originally had US Navy equipment but was under the control of the Army which explains their USS appointment and not USN
Cairo sinks following the explosion of a mine December 1862
The wreck was partially recover in 1965 and is now exhibiting at Vicksburg National Park.
A beautiful model was made by Gene Bodnar at 1:48 on commission if you are interested here is the link that I will regularly consulted.
The kit that is the same scale as my 2 previous (USS Monitor and CSS Virginia) is 1/192
By cons it is a kit that received a beautiful facelift 2016-2017
And at first glance seems excellent
The kit includes a solid form of lime tree whose finish looks excellent in 2 pieces of laser cuts a PE sheet, styrene stem, white metal piece and wooden stick.
An instruction booklet (much better than the previous 2) and a descriptive plan that is very good.
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The hull come in 2 pieces that are laser cut.
The bottom piece requires a sanding to round the back and corrected an imperfection beside that it is perfect
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There are 2 pre-engraved plates for the bridges the first mounts under the pillbox and does not require any adjustment and they are very good with fine engraving
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By against the second one that arises on the casemate to give me a little problem
The angles of the matte box are not correct at the bow and stern and I must make a 3-4 and 5 correction for the prou and 6 when corrected for the stern
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Small advance
After laying the bridge of the casemate (1) poses cutouts
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Problem of the beginning that of the stern is not correct and required a big correction 2 and 3
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Part of the casemate has no photo cut and there is nothing in the instructions to make a pattern so I decided to simulate the wood curling 4, 5 and 5a
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The other photos cut for the side of the casemate have landed accurately without problem 6 and 7
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Here is the casemate is ready to receive details 8 and 9
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Second problem
After adjusting the plate of the barrel the barrels are no longer aligning
Just a question of remaking the holes correctly 1-2
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Start of painting 3
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Construction of the casemate of the paddle wheel 4 and paddle wheel barely visible 5-6
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Rudder 7-8
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Installation of the accessories of the casemate 9
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Last pieces and finish
it is a good model
Far better to the other 2 (Monitor and Virginia)
Apart from the plate of the front the rest has been superbly well
Proper instruction and drawing
The only reserve is the scale 1/192 I find it too small
I think 1/90 would be great and give the opportunity to look after the details
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Great appearance of these three models...... and very good kit-bashing, especially in this small scale - Many thanks for sharing these 3 builts
 
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