Thomo's Hole

I started to put the models together, sort them by navy and prepare them for painting. It was a good opportunity to take care of some before photos. I was rushing to prepare for painting as well due in part to my wanting to undercoat some buildings I had just finished assembling. They were a test as one of them was my first experience with etched brass which now no longer holds the same degree of fear for me. Back to the ships.

The picture to the right is the Chilean fleet in 1/2400th scale from Tumbling Dice UK laid out in preparation for assembly. Most of the parts go together quiet well and only two or three episodes of finger sticking occurred, although with the residual super glue on my finger, the finger print lock is not going to recognise me in the morning

I did make some simplifications when preparing the models, in particular to the Almirante Cochrane and Blanco Encalda, by dropping the sails altogether and having them steam up in battle trim. ((OK, so there were some issues adding the last batch of sails)) The two fleets are now outlined below.

The Peruvians

	Type of Vessel
	Monitor, capable under steam of achieving a speed of 10 to 11 knots. Weight was 1,130 long tons. Armour plating was 4.5 inches thick and armament was 2×300-pound guns. The ship was built in 1865.
	Ironclad Frigate, capable under steam of achieving a speed of 12 to 13 knots. Weight was 2,004 long tons. Armour plating was 4.5 inches thick and armament was 2×150-pound guns. The ship was built in 1865.
	Monitor – ex USS Oneota a coastal monitor built at Cincinnati, Ohio, by Alexander Swift & Co., and by the Niles Works, was launched 21 May 1864.Alexander Swift and Co., illegally resold the Oneta to Peru along with her sister-ship Catawba violated a treaty the United States had signed with Spain. Though the sale was allowed to proceed Swift and Co. had to pay fines that equalled nearly ⅓ of the total sale amount.She was capable of a speed of 6 knots. Weight was 1,034 long tons. Armour plating was 10 inches thick and armament was 2×500-pound guns. The ship was built in 1864.Because she was built as a coastal vessel she was not very sea-worthy so remained protecting ports etc.
	Monitor – ex USS Catawba. She was capable of a speed of 6 knots. Weight was 1,034 long tons. Armour plating was 10 inches thick and armament was 2×500-pound guns. The ship was built in 1864.Because she was built as a coastal vessel she was not very sea-worthy so remained protecting ports etc.
	Screw corvette of 1,150 long tons capable of 13 knots and armed with 12×68-pound guns and 1×9-pound gun.
	Screw gunboat of 600 long tons and capable of 10.5 knots. Armed with 2×70-pound guns and 4×40-pound guns.

At the moment, I am in Singapore and my Conway’s is in Australia so I am separated from my normal reference material. I shall look up more details of the vessels when I get back to Australia.

The Chileans

	Details
	Ironclad Frigate of 3,500 long tons capable of 9 t0 12.8 knots under steam. Armour was up to 9-inch and armament was 6×9-inch guns.
	Ironclad Frigate of 3,500 long tons capable of 9 t0 12.8 knots under steam. Armour was up to 9-inch and armament was 6×9-inch guns.
	Screw Corvette of 1,101 long tons capable of 12 knots. Armed with 3×115-pound guns, 2×70-pound guns and 2×12-pound guns.
	Screw Corvette of 1,101 long tons capable of 11 knots. Armed with 1×115-pound guns, 2×70-pound guns and 2×12-pound guns.
	Screw Corvette of 1,051 long tons capable of 8 knots. Armed with 3×115-pound guns, and 3×30-pound guns.
	Screw Corvette of 854 long tons capable of 8 knots. Armed with 16×32-pound guns and 2×12-pound guns.
	Gunboat of 772 long tons capable of 11.5 knots. Armed with 1×115-pound gun, 1×64-pound gun and 2×20-pound guns.
	Schooner of 412 long tons capable of 7 knots. Armed with 2×70-pound guns and 2×40-pound guns.

I have had to cheat with some of the vessels as there are no specific models but at 1/2400th scale, this is not so noticeable. For example, for the Peruvian Manco Capac and Atahulpa I have had to use the USS monitor as that was the only single turret ACW monitor made by Tumbling Dice. The other monitor made was a twin turreted vessel. Similarly with the Chilean fleet, in particular Cavadonga which is a shade large and not with a brigantine sail set.

Undercoating of these will occur later this week (waiting for the glue to dry at the moment). More details about these vessels to follow too.