Back in June, I acquired a lot of six Civil War ironclads in 1:1200 scale, produced by Superior Models. At $5 per model (with shipping), it was a pretty modest expenditure. I have seen a fair amount of Superior ships come and go on eBay, but this was the first time I had ever seen Civil War-era naval vessels in the familiar plastic baggie with paper insert setup.
The only reason I picked these up is because they are Superior Models miniatures. I don't play any Civil War games of any sort, much less 1:1200 Civil War naval battles. But I must admit, these were just too compelling to resist! As a history buff, of course the Monitor vs. the Merrimack (I know, I know, the Virginia) is well-known to me. The introduction of ironclads into naval warfare was a game-changer, as evidenced by the launch of the HMS Dreadnought in 1875.
The ships shown in the above photo are (according to the packaging) the Monitor, the Merrimack/Virginia, and the Canonicus in the bottom row, and the Atlanta, Arkansas, and Huntsville in the top row. If I understand correctly, the Canonicus (or Cannonicus) is not a ship name, but rather a ship class. I don't know how many ships are in the Superior ironclads series, so if any Civil War/Superior Models naval buff stumbles across this entry, I'd love to know more about these little beauties!
Finally, to put scale into perspective, here's a shot of the Monitor and Virginia in front of the Scharnhorst (obviously sans its big guns). All three ships are Superior minis in 1:1200 scale. The Scharnhorst is just a tad over 7.5" long (19cm), while the Virginia is almost 2.75" long (7cm), and the Monitor is a mere 1.75" long (4.5cm).
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