by Bill Lahaise
1/32 CSS Hunley Submarine (Cottage Industries)
My first submission. I've been building plastic models for a long time. Mostly I'm a straight-out-of-the-box type person, but I recently faced a new challenge. My wife's stepfather asked me to build a resin model of the Confederate submarine, Hunley. I don't even own a Dremel tool!
The Hunley was the first submarine to successfully attack and sink another ship. The Hunley itself was lost either as a result of the attack of shortly thereafter. It was recently raised. Many of the questions about the design of the Hunley have finally been answered.
The Hunley model comes from Cottage Industries; www.milminwh.com/cottage_ind_main.htm. It has the complete interior of the confederate sub. I have never attempted ANY resin model much less one that was so complicated. I got some help and advice from members of a local model club. Also, the model was based on earlier (incorrect) designs of the Hunley. I used information from the Friends of the Hunley website, www.hunley.org, to update the model. The primary change I made was to the placement and arrangement of the spar and torpedo. Under the circumstances and the time limit I had, I'm quite happy with the results and my wife's stepfather was thrilled with it. In all, it took me a good 6 weeks to finish it. I'm returning to simpler projects and the plastic world for now.
