Scratchbuilt 28mm Union Monitor

[anton ryzbak]

I just couldn't help myself. I went ahead and built a counter to the Confederate casement Ironclad that I built last week.  The step-by-step is below. Other such acts of madness can be found on my blog at https://antonswargame.blogspot.com/p/adventures-in-blue-board-and-foamcore.html

 Oops! I did it again....Ship Happens Part VII
when will I ever learn....



the source of all the trouble, blueboard

     In a move that was sure to set back my already tardy painting schedule I decided to make another ironclad; a monitor this time, to oppose the Confederate casement ironclad. Having not yet shipped out the promised models (apologies to all who asked for one) I copied the monitor model and set to work. This has proved to be another deceptively simple design that requires a stunning number of rivets.


the hull was cut from blueboard and given a final sanding to even-off the curves


then I started gluing cardstock to it


pretty soon I had the whole model covered in "iron" plates


next was rivets, zillions of rivets, the all-iron deck doesn't help with the rivet count at all

 
but, I have to confess, I love all that rivety-goodness


monitor guns barely protrude at all, but they are massive so I needed a large bore,
I made them by wrapping card around a bit of dowel

 
these were unceremoniously thrust into rectangular slots cut into the turret face

 
another "look-check" before I glued things in place

 
just needs paint now

 
the large bright yellow areas were where I had messed up a rivet and had to
 wipe it away before it dried; I just wish I could get yellow paint to cover so well

 
I changed my mind and decided that the turret needed to be further forward

 
just like selling a house; a fresh coat of paint makes everything look better


 
profile view


 
the monitor was joined by the other distraction


 
now that I have these done I might just get back to my Lace Wars cavalry project

     This little aside has dragged me a fair distance off the beaten path; I don't game ACW in 28mm (I don't game it in 15mm either, I mooch off of my buddy Tom who has a massive collection) so these models have no real application at all. Now I have to decide to either give/sell/trade them away or to enter the Vault and find my boxes of Perry Brothers ACW plastics..............
 

[DonVoss]

Great work...lovely little ships....

Cheers,
Don