1/600 USS/CSS Queen of The West

USS Queen of the West was one of the "Ellet Rams" designed for use by the Western Gunboat Flotilla, United States Army. Most were converted from existing ships taken into service; a few others were built from the keel up. All carried guns, as well as powerful engines and rams. Queen of the West was a notable and very successful vessel in US Army and later, USN service. However, she was run aground by fire from Fort De Russy on the Red River in February, 1863. Her crew surrendered, and the vessel was refloated and commissioned into the CSN. Her most notable action during this period was the ramming and capturing of USS Indianola - an embarassment that nearly proved disastrous for the USN. if not for a very clever plan by Admiral Porter and an overly jumpy salvage crew. Two weeks after being successful against Indianola, Queen of the West was cornered by three Union ships and struck multiple times at long range. She retreated, and at that point, depending upon which account you believe, she either sank as a result of fire aboard or was intentionally scuttled by her crew. My sculpt does include her famous "Q" identification letter, hung between the two stacks. It seems to have been painted blue during her service with the Union' it's not clear how much her appearance changed in CSN service, but a watercolor of the ship in Union service (which is inaccurate as far as shape, but is clearly depicting Queen of the West) shows a predominantly white ship with black roofs and uppers. She may have had black bands on the outer ridges of her wheel houses. As per usual, of course, stacks, ventilators, etc. were also black. The cotton bales used to reinforce her protection would have been an off white, slightly brownish color. Recommended in BSF, but to be fair, this particular model has printed without many issues in WSF as well. Incidentally, the classic Yaquinto "ironclads" claims that the Confederacy armored her fore and aft sections after she was captured. However, I have been unable to confirm this otherwise. Barring another source, this model should work just fine for US or CS use.