1/600 CSS Yadkin (Dismal Swamp Ironclad)

The "Dismal Swamp" class (nobody seems to know how they got this misnomer) were designed as a series of small, light draft ironclads intended to be able to operate in the coastal shallows and inland waterways of Virginia and the Carolinas. Their design relied upon one central requirement: the ability to pass through the locks of the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal. To date, we have identified only a single example of the class having been completed and seeing action: CSS Yadkin. These were small, cramped ships, with all but the essentials stripped bare. Yadkin was likely armed with two 6.4" Brooke Rifles on pivots. Yadkin was in action at least as early as 1863, and we know that she took part in CSS Raleigh's attack on the blockade fleet. By the time Lieutenant Cushing launched his heroic raid to destroy CSS Albemarle, she was still operating, but Cushing reported that she appeared to have had her armor "removed" - though this has been disputed (she may have been very dirty, or covered in rust, which could easily have been mistaken for an unarmored ship, particularly at night.) As a result, she is often credited in sources as a "wooden gunboat." Shortly after Cushing's raid, Yadkin fades from history. She may have been scuttled, but it has also been suggested that her armor was taken to help armor CSS Wilmington, then under construction. As with all my sculpts, I strongly recommend that you consider the BSF option. It's stronger, smoother, and has far fewer texture issues and detail issues than the WSF material. Either way, this is a relatively small model, and she's quick, easy, and fun to paint.