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USS Monitor Civil War Ironclad 1/144 Mikromir


Julien

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USS Monitor Civil War Ironclad

1/144 MikroMir

 

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The USS Monitor was an ironclad warship built for the United States Union Navy during the American Civil War.  By the mid 1800 navies around the world knew the days of wooden warships were over due to developments in gun technology. Experience from the Crimean War showed that proved armoured warships could withstand much greater damage than their wooden counterparts.  The Union Navy changed their attitude towards armoured warships when it was found out  that the Confederate Navy were converting the captured USS Merrimack to an iron clad vessel. This information was smuggled North under considerable risk to hose doing it.  The Monitor was distinguished by a central rotating turret housing two 11 inch guns.

 

The USS Monitor is most famous for fighting the Confederate iron clad CSS Virginia to a standstill after it had attacked shipping in Hampden Roads in 1862.  The two vessels fought each other in a battle that got so close they actually managed to collide.  The Monitor was struck 22 times and the Virginia over 70., although neither vessel could inflict enough damage on each other to sink them.  The Virginian would later be destroyed to prevent is being captured, while the Monitor would flounder when she was under tow during a storm in open waters. Her design while suited for warfare with a low freeboard and flat bottom; were not suited to open waters. 

 

 

 

The Kit

This is a a new tool for 2020, it is a fairly simple kit from MikroMir with most of the parts being for the turret and the ships boat.  As well as the hull parts there are 3 sprues for the other parts and a PE fret.  Construction starts with the upper and lower hulls being joined by the eight parts which make up the slab sides.  The major sub assemblies are then constructed,; these are the ships funnel,  intakes, ships boat, and the deck house.

 

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The most prominent part the turret is then built up. To the base are added the tow guns and their supports, the turret is then built up around these and added to the hull.  The deck house can then be added along with all the sub assemblies built earlier. On the lower hull at the back the propeller is made up and added along with its shaft, the rudder is also added at this time. 

 

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Decals

As the vessel carried n markings there are no decals.

 

Conclusion

This is an important vessel in Navel History and its good to see a new kit out there. Highly recommended. 

 

Highly Recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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Thank you for the Review.   Your photos of the parts and descriptions of the assemblies are perfect.

 

I highly recommend you try to assemble this kit before you highly recommended it.

I have this kit and have updated Micro-Mir with my findings and suggestions in several emails.  I have not heard back.

 

Briefly,

There are inconsistencies in pats fit  Some do, some require an advanced modeler to assemble and fit.

The kit is closer to a 1/150 scale not 1/144.    It is reminiscent of the old but very nice BattleAxe 1/144 Monitor kit except Micro-Mir left off all indications of Hatches among many other things.  Micro-Mir could have done so much more with this kit if they just followed the art work on their box .

 

To summarize...  I like the kit. It is giving me plenty to do while stuck at Home in Philadelphia.  Good thing I have Plans and Drawings of the Monitor and plenty of X-acto blades and sand paper.

 

If you get the Micro-Mir kit, and want to make an accurate Monitor but don't have the plans, take a look on the Internet for a free paper kit of the USS Monitor. You can use it to help add all the missing "stuff".

 

 Rivet Counters,  start counting.

 

        Nino

 

P.S. IMOP This is NOT a beginners kit.

Edited by nino
Correction to scale estimate
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6 hours ago, nino said:

Thank you for the Review.   Your photos of the parts and descriptions of the assemblies are perfect.

 

I highly recommend you try to assemble this kit before you highly recommended it.

I have this kit and have updated Micro-Mir with my findings and suggestions in several emails.  I have not heard back.

 

 

It is highly recommended from the perspective of an "in box" review which this is.

 

You are more than welcome to share your thought on the kit, however links to blogs, website, you tube channels etc are not allowed as per the rules.

 

 

Thanks

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