CSS SAVANNAH a 1:72 Scale Iron Clad

The models intrigued me and I decided to have a go at one of these early Iron warships myself. I liked the design of the Confederate Iron Clad SAVANNAH. Built around 1863, she was similar in design to the VIRGINIA but a lot smaller vessel. The real ship being only 150 feet in length.

In 1:72 scale she came out at 25 inches long or 625mm. Small models such as these have received the loving term of “Glove-Box Boats” as they just about fit into the Glove Compartment of most family cars.

The hull was constructed of Balsa using a “Bread and Butter” technique. Each Horizontal sheet of balsa cut to the rough shape and once glued and dried, the hull was shaped then fibre-glassed. The upper works were constructed of “Evergreen” Styrene. Scribed Styrene was used to represent the steel plates (actually railway Track) fixed to the outside of the sloping casemate. Three gun openings were cut into each of the sides, one in the bow and one in the stern. On the real SAVANNAH these could be covered with heavy steel plates when not in use.

Timber planked decks at the bow and stern and the top of the casemate were glued in place and other details painted and fixed in place. Most fittings were drilled, pinned, then glued to ensure they wouldn’t come off when the ships rammed each other, as seemed to be the common practice of TF72 members who owned such vessels.

From start to finish the model took only five weeks part time work to construct. She uses a simple electronic speed controller and a SANWA two channel radio. She travels at a slightly higher than scale speed, but who wants to hang around for half an hour while she turns around or all day to get anywhere. The real SAVANNAH’s top speed was only 8 knots (about jogging speed) and she took almost 30 mins to make a 180 degree turn.

The model is fun to sail and fights well against Allan Pew’s USS CHOCKTAW, a Side Paddle-Wheel, Ram-Bowed, Slop-Sided Chook-Pen.