Monitor and Merrimack by robert952 - FINISHED - Metal Earth - 1:370 and 1:393

[robert952]

Step 22 Final assembly (Hull to upper deck)

 

OK, as I predicted, there was a lot of twisting, bending, and forcing things to fit.  The bottom band of flexed a lot.  The top band of the hull twisted.  Getting a good fit was (for me) impossible. But I managed to put it together.  

 

One the 'good side,' I went out to the Metal Earth site to see if there were some secret hints or such.  They have 360 degree views of the model with zoom.  While their model is far superior to mine in fit.  I see that the assembly has some gaps and bends.  I also not that the bends of the tabs are not as flat as I would expect.  (In my opinion, my folds and bends on the ship's boats is a bit better than their version.) 

 

I will try to find a way to bend and twist some more and glue the assembly into a tighter fit.  Not so sure I can do that though as there's no convenient way to 'clamp' the assemblyl.  

 

Here's the CSS Virginia (what ME calls the Merrimac) completed at step 22.

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by robert952

[robert952]

Step 23 Start of Monitor assembly - prop and rudder. 

 

By now I think most can appreciate the physical size of the components.  So, I will just show the final form of the propeller and rudder assembly.  The assembly is shown right side up.  

 

In step 24 this piece will be placed on the aft keel area of the hull.  This model does the hull  and deck assemblies first. Then upper deck housing the turret, railing, boat, etc. get assembled.  As with the previous ship, the hull and upper deck get brought together in the final step. 

 

I hope what I learned building the Merrimac (Virginia) will allow a bit tighter assembly of the components for the Monitor. 

[robert952]

Step 24 lower hull, main deck, propeller/rudder with housing. 

 

I had no issues with these pieces being formed and fitting together.  Here's the four pieces.  The lower piece in the image is the propeller/rudder assembly from step 23.  All are in their proper orientation and approximate location. 

Here's a couple of views of the finished assembly

The turret, guns and awning get assembled in step 25.

[robert952]

Step 25 Turret assembly.

 

A bit of twisting (and I think stretching of the metal pieces 🤔) to get this together.  This shot shows turret ready for the canopy top.

And with the top installed.

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by robert952

[robert952]

Step 26 Building the ship's boats

 

This shot shows the pieces involved in building the boat and one boat assembled.  For scale reference, the grid is 0.25 inch.

 

A shot of both boats completed.  The 'davits' are installed on the boat.  They get added to the main deck in a couple more steps.  

The next step adds a few of the smaller (close to the deck) furnishings like bittes, boat cranes, etc.).

[robert952]

Step 27 Placing parts onto the deck Part 1

 

In this step I begin placing small pieces on the main deck of the Monitor.  This covers davits, covers/hatches, and bitts mainly.  I did have a problem with one of the davits.  I was holding it in my pliers, looked away for an instant, and the part disappeared!  Well, after an hour of carefully moving everything on the work surface and crawling around on the floor, I did not find it.  

 

Luckily, for some reason, there was an extra davit piece as used on the Merrimac.  A minor modification and I have a passable replacement.  (Don't look too closely.  🥴

 

Here's the deck without any of the greebles. 

And with the step 27 parts installed.

Step 28 continues the process with installation of more small items (forward mast, flag, pilot house, railings, etc.) and the previously assembled turret and ship's boats.  Then it's on to the final assembly.  

[robert952]

Step 28 Additional deck furnishings installed to deck

 

This step consisted of around a dozen items assembled to the deck (not counting the previous assembled parts of boats, turret, etc.).

 

Here's a couple shots of the completed step 28. A top down view

And a bit more oblique view similar to previous step's images.

Last step should be quick to do.  It's adding the sides to the deck and then attaching the deck to the hull.  

Edited March 2, 2023 by robert952

[robert952]

Step 29 (final step) putting hull and deck together

 

Well, I must be living right.  The side 'skirt' of the deck went on without a hitch.  And the two pieces fit together very easily. 

Here's a couple shots of the finished USS Monitor.

This completes the two models.  I'll post some closing thoughts on the project. 

[robert952]

Closing thoughts on the completed project.

I started the project back in October 2022. At that time my thoughts were to work with a very temporary work station of small end table as my downstairs was being renovated.  Bending over the table to work on the model (CSS Virginia) proved to hard on my back. So I put the build on hold.  

 

I started back on the project at the end of January.  I was able to work a bit more often and progressed on the assembly.  But I did not work every day.  I could work a few minutes here and there to add a couple of pieces.  I didn't work every day on the models.  I doubt I worked more than an hour on any one stretch.  Which means that the total assembly time was likely in 25-30 hour area from start to finish.  

 

Working with metal definitely provides a unique experience. Those used to working with photoetched (PE) items can appreciate the differences of metal over other modeling media. 

 

Putting tab A into slot B seems simple enough.  The tabs must be smaller than the slot to even work.  But that little bit of space literally leaves 'wiggle room.'  To get a tight bend on the small pieces proved to be difficult, at least for me.  Bending a tab onto a flat surface could prove successful.  Doing the same task on a curved surface creates loose pieces.  Hence, despite the claim that no glue is needed, PVA (or similar) secures the pieces nicely.  I would highly recommend using some form of adhesive to secure the pieces to anyone deciding to build this kit or likely other Metal Earth (ME) kits.  

 

The creep of tabs and slots accumulates which can make lining up subsequent sub assemblies a challenge as the build progress.  However, overall, the end results are still good.  

 

The package shows a difficulty level of 8 on a scale of 10. The Virginia/Merrimac had more challenge but an 8 may be a bit high - maybe a 7.  But that could be from the fact I have assembled a couple of other ME kits and new what I was getting into. The Monitor had smaller pieces to put onto the deck that proved to require a lighter touch when bending the pieces.  But, I think that the Monitor was more on a high 5/low 6 level of difficulty.  

 

I enjoyed the kits.  I would recommend the kit for a different type of experience. I would recommend doing a smaller kit to get a feel for how to work with ME kits. Be patient and make sure you look closely at the instructions.  Clearly understand the required bends and their direction.  Keep in mind that after 2-3 times bending a piece increases the chances a piece will break.  
 

Are the models historically accurate?  Yes and no.  The models show the concept and general configuration of the ships. If you look at decent source material such as drawings and paintings used in newspapers and books of the time, they match overall the shape and size of the ships.  Even in these resources, there's a lot of variations in the looks of the ships.  However, people with even a vague familiarity of the history behind these vessels will recognize them.  As with a lot of models, the final results look nice and in this case a great conversation piece. 

 

My thanks to those followed the build and made comments.  These were appreciated and provided information I can use in the future. 

[Glen McGuire]

This was a very interesting build to follow and the final result looks great.  Well done, Robert!  

[Canute]

Nicely done, Robert. Nice examples of 2 revolutionary ships. 👍

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  I did a VERY small scale U.S.S. Arizona from Metal Earth (completed build on MSW), so working with small, delicate (and losable) bits of metal is appreciated.  On the basis of your fascinating build (I'm a Civil War buff), I got this kit to do some time between other projects. (The larger metal Missouri is in my stash as well).

 

  Great tip on using CA as required.  I found that kneadable JB weld epoxy putty can be mixed in small amounts to stabilize certain parts of a metal build.

[robert952]

23 hours ago, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

  I did a VERY small scale U.S.S. Arizona from Metal Earth (completed build on MSW), so working with small, delicate (and losable) bits of metal is appreciated.  On the basis of your fascinating build (I'm a Civil War buff), I got this kit to do some time between other projects. (The larger metal Missouri is in my stash as well).

 

  Great tip on using CA as required.  I found that kneadable JB weld epoxy putty can be mixed in small amounts to stabilize certain parts of a metal build.

Thanks for the comments. I am glad you found the log useful.  I got to thinking about small pieces that were hard to get aligned like the ladders. 

 

A thought:  Put a small piece in place (Ex. a ladder) bend one tab and align the piece (since there will likely be some motion of the piece.  Put a dab of JB weld (which may hold better than PVA or CA). Let it set, then bend the second tab and 'weld' it in place.  Not sure that will look good on things like guns which mount from back side and the tab is visible. 

 

That may help keep things in place better?