Russian Paddle Steamer

I'm starting to work on a side wheel paddle steamer for my RCW forces.  In Siberia such steam powered river craft were a common and vital means of transport away from the rail lines where river travel was both faster and easier than on the roads. 

This one is an artist impression of  the Vania, a Volga Tugboat that was armed during the civil war.  Few purpose built warhsips existed on the Siberian rivers, so conversion from civilian craft was common and both sides made use of such improvised gunboats for strategic movement and to support their ground units.  There were even some river battles as flotillas vied for control of the major waterways.  Early examples were simply civilian tugboats and merchant vessels with light field guns strapped to the decks.  They were sometimes 'armoured' with bales of cotton or flax.  Later conversions used small naval guns and were properly armoured or at least repainted in more martial colours.

My steamer is rather shorter and more squat than the real thing, to fit within our scaled down model battles, but will hopefully still give the right impression.  

I will add an upper deck above the boiler room and paddle wheel housings, with a funnel at the back, and a pilot house in the centre.  At the front will be a mast and a deck gun plus some maxims on the upper superstructure.  Historically such vessels usually carried both fore and aft deck guns, with several machine guns around the ship but I might keep the firepower down to avoid them becoming too powerful in game.  I want a moderate unit to provide riverine naval support not the Battleship Potemkin!