1:350 USS Monitor 1862

USS Monitor 1862 in 1:350 scale

The set represents the famous Union Navy vessel as she was in 1862. It is a small model with a very low hull, in which most of the silhouette is made up of a single rotating gun turret. It is offered by ROP o.s.

The real subject

Monitor was designed by John Ericsson and was built remarkably quickly. A hull with minimal freeboard carried a cylindrical rotating turret with two large-caliber smoothbore guns, so the ship could fire to either side without turning the whole vessel. On 9 March 1862 she fought a battle of several hours with a Confederate ironclad at Hampton Roads, after which the turret arrangement spread around the world. The low freeboard, however, proved to be a weakness: at the end of December that same year Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras.

Building and painting tips

What matters is a level deck and the exact seating of the turret, so when assembling, make sure the turret sits square and can be turned to the position you choose. A dark hull finish will come alive with a discreet dry brush over the riveted surfaces. The ship sailed practically awash, so the model looks best set into a water surface in which the stern disappears below the waterline.

Who the model is for

• admirers of the Union Navy
• modelers building the pair of opponents from March 1862
• collectors with limited room in the display case
• anyone interested in the development of rotating gun turrets

This is an unassembled kit without a finish; obtain the glue and paints separately.