A Question of Naval Scale

I've been thinking of starting a small collection of 1/1200th scale ironclads, primarily to supplement my existing 1/2400th scale fleets, but for smaller 'skirmish' naval actions. I do already have a lot of 1/600th scale kits from Peter Pig and Thoroughbred for the American Civil War, but most of these are for riverine or coastal warfare rather than the open ocean. I have, therefore, a niche to fill and there's plenty of options available, be it Spithead Miniatures, Red Eagle, Navwar or the lovely Langton Miniatures range. I did once have some Navwar ACW ironclads and three of the French ironclads from Red Eagle, or Skytrex as it was then, but these went to eBay years ago, so the decks are clear. I thought I'd keep it to an absolute minimum, so have decided to get the USS Kearsage and CSS Alabama from Langton Miniatures as a starting point, as this would be an ideal historical action to recreate in 1/1200th scale using Dahlgren and Columbiad.