Topic: Civil War Canonicus Class Monitor Build (Read 17405 times)

herrmill · « **Reply #25 on:** July 03, 2008, 06:00:25 AM »

I wanted to share a few illustrations that show the monitor classes built throughout the war along with more detail of the turrets that carried 11, 13 & 15" smooth bore cannon. Canonicus carried two 15" Dahlgrens that weighed 21 tons EACH firing 450 pound solid shot!!

Canonicus was the 3rd generation of single turret monitors designed for better sea-keeping qualities with a longer hull using the same turret as Passaic. Turrets were topped with iron rails which was covered with plating prior to battle. One can only imagine what hellish conditions these would have been during combat

Here's an excellent article on Ericsson's monitors & the massive Dahlgrens: http://www.ijnhonline.org/volume2_n...pstad_dec03.htm

Chuck

Martin [Admin] · « **Reply #26 on:** July 03, 2008, 10:41:03 AM »

Interesting to see that the two cannons were of different caliber!
How where they reloaded?
Love the elevation adjuster, bet that left a nasty mark on the parquet flooring!... looks like something I would have thought of!

herrmill · « **Reply #27 on:** July 03, 2008, 11:44:32 AM »

Martin,

Both Passaic & early Canonicus class monitors were armed with mixed bag of 11", 12" & 15" cannon until sufficient quantities of the 15" were available. A 20" smooth bore was developed & tested in the later years of the war but never saw service.

The cannon were smooth bore muzzle loaders, set on tracks which allowed the crew to run it to rear to load. Gun ports were protected with a heavy shield which was closed after firing to protect the crew during the reload procedure while the other gun was run out to fire. Average turnaround cycle was 8 minutes to reload & prepare for the next shot.

Chuck

tigertiger · « **Reply #28 on:** July 03, 2008, 03:11:38 PM »

interesting to see the barrels end within the turret.
All sorts of potential issues with shock waves.

herrmill · « **Reply #29 on:** July 04, 2008, 12:57:25 AM »

Tiger,

The guns were run out to the ports before firing so concussion & blast effect was minimal, but still probably not the best for preventing long-term hearing loss. The shorter 15" Dahlgrens had to be used with smoke boxes to keep gases out of the turret; Tecumseh & later monitors got the longer cannon which protruded out the port during firing.

Since the turrets were open steel perforated plates were laid on top of the iron grating prior to engagements to protect the gun crews from falling shot & splinters.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #30 on:** July 09, 2008, 08:51:14 AM »

ere are a few photos of the turret. I had started doing the roof grating with 2mm styrene bars to keep in scale but soon grew tired of gluing my fingers together; besides, the grating will be covered with a perforated deck plate for battle conditions.

No, that's not a cupcake sitting next to the turret, but an example of why I never got above a C in in shop class when we did auto bodywork.

Once I take a file & sandpaper to it, the pilothouse will have a rounded dome before adding some rivet plate like used on the turret. Am really looking forward to getting back to work with a pin vise on deck plate.

Got my styrene sheet yesterday & started cutting deck plates this morning. Assuming my wife doesn't surprise me with other plans, I hope to have USS Manhattan out on our local pond for trials this weekend before getting back to Tennessee.

Chuck

Martin [Admin] · « **Reply #31 on:** July 09, 2008, 09:12:32 AM »

Hi Chuck,
Are you planing any working features on your monitor?

herrmill · « **Reply #32 on:** July 09, 2008, 09:37:07 AM »

Martin,

Yes, they'll have both smoke & sound effects. Am trying my hands at a homemade glycol smoke generator now & looking at some local sources for the sound to try to stay within my $75 budget per ironclad. I would love to use the new Model Solutions units due out next month but that will probably be reserved for other projects in the pipeline like Yamato or the S-38.

I originally wanted to equip them both with airsoft cannon, but at this scale the monitor's turret is far too small to hold the 1/24 VS gun. They'll fit in Tennessee's casement without any problem so I may opt for more a one-sided battle & let the Confederacy win for a change. IR would work, but that won't be nearly as fun as watching small black bbs plink off the armor. Of course, it probably would not be too good for the neighbor's koi in the office pond...

Chuck

Martin [Admin] · « **Reply #33 on:** July 09, 2008, 06:31:18 PM »

Hmmmm..... airsoft guns...... I wonder if they one ( or 8 ) would fit in my Bismarck?!!? ::)

herrmill · « **Reply #34 on:** July 10, 2008, 12:17:14 AM »

Martin,

I doubt the 6mm VS units would be suitable for the scale you're building. The VS unit is 11x5.5x7.8cm (LxWxH) & can be modified to 9x6cm (LxH) & uses an 11.5cm inner metal barrel.

Again, great idea for larger scale models like Steve Neill's BK1125.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #35 on:** July 13, 2008, 05:25:47 AM »

Here's a couple from the past week before I did the final sanding & sealing as I prepare to plate the deck & raft.

Hull still gets one sanding & some fill before primer & paint. It won't get float tested today as I wanted, but we'll getting closer.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #36 on:** July 16, 2008, 01:36:39 AM »

Am working at a snail's pace, but have decided to finish both ironclads at the same time; am 95% done with Manhattan's hull & expect to have Tennessee's ready for paint this evening.

My buddy from Germany arrives in another 12 days & asked that I have something new to play with on the water this time around, so the pressure's on. :lol:

Chuck

Edward Pinniger · « **Reply #37 on:** July 16, 2008, 07:38:55 PM »

Looks like you're making very good progress!
What materials/techniques will you be using for the rivets + plating on the hull of the Manhattan? (Apologies if you've already mentioned this)

herrmill · « **Reply #38 on:** July 16, 2008, 10:47:16 PM »

Ed,

I'm using styrene vacformed panels that Steve Lund tooled to properly depict the Ericsson bolt & rivet patterns. You can see some a photo of the sheet above.

The rest of the plate, as well as that used for Tennessee's casement & hull armor, is .040 styrene sheet.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #39 on:** July 22, 2008, 07:19:41 AM »

Was hoping to have more done at this point, but now have to leave it for a 4 day business trip. Deck is mostly laid, turret, pilothouse & main stack plated. I'll post more this weekend when I finish the deck & add the raft plating, prop skeg & rudder.

If anyone has read Paul Theroux's Riding the Red Rooster, that will be me for the next few nights as I attempt to set a new record for 3 overnight train trips in 4 days. Am taking some small parts with me to work on the trip. Thank heavens I've got my Old Spice to take along! :(

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #40 on:** August 05, 2008, 03:10:48 AM »

Between business travel & with getting 6 sailboats rigged for our gang of local sailors, I've had little time to work on the ironclads but am almost done with the decks & just starting on the plate around the raft. Once I get a prop made, its time to finish the running gear, paint & do some testing... hopefully this weekend.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #41 on:** August 14, 2008, 02:19:59 PM »

Another week has almost passed with little time to build, but I wanted to post a few photos to show its still coming along, abet slowly. Once I seal the last of the decks edges, the raft plating will be glued in place filled as needed & primed for paint.

A buddy of mine from NZ was kind enough to send me a scale lifeboat to get some prospective of what an uncluttered deck will look like before my fittings, boats, davits, etc.. arrive.

Chuck

herrmill · « **Reply #42 on:** November 22, 2008, 09:48:43 AM »

Howdy gents,

To show that it hasn't grown moss or been covered by other projects on the bench, here's a photo of Manhattan before I do the final detailing & get some paint on the old girl over the weekend.

Chuck

kno3 · « **Reply #43 on:** November 22, 2008, 05:05:57 PM »

Looking very good!

herrmill · « **Reply #44 on:** March 19, 2009, 01:26:17 AM »

Been awhile since I've posted here but Manhattan finally got her bottom wet this past weekend.

As you can see she didn't have enough ballast for the maiden & still needs a better prop but at this point I'm just happy she didn't sink!

Chuck

kno3 · « **Reply #45 on:** March 19, 2009, 07:31:52 PM »

Looking very nice!

keef666 · « **Reply #46 on:** March 26, 2009, 06:09:45 PM »

can i just say wow! those models look brill, i was wondering what to build next and seeing you work has inspired me to dig out my c.s.s virginia which i built a few years back, she was four foot long and had it full of lead so you couldn't lift it, and sailed her once, had trouble with the steering and promised i would sort it out, but other things came up, and now she sits collecting dust, now i know what i am doing over the weekend, thanks again for great build, keith

Jimmy James · « **Reply #47 on:** April 18, 2009, 09:46:30 PM »

You could try using the fire work from a party popper Makes a nice bang and if you put some talcum power on top you get a good puff of "smoke" I seal the end of the muzzel with a blob of wax which carries 1 or 2 yards and makes a nice splash (or a dirty mark on someones sails) its easy to rig,, you can use a survo an elastic band or even a spring to pull the firing string which runs out of a small hole in the breach of the gun... party poppers cost $1.50 for a bag of 50 in Tesco's It's Easy, Fun, Cheap, and Noisy,
for reloads carry extra barrels or make loaded nserts from brass tube
Freebooter

herrmill · « **Reply #48 on:** April 19, 2009, 12:34:16 AM »

Thanks guys. I'm still playing with Manhattan as I work on a few other projects along with getting back to finishing Tennessee. She now wears a nice coat of grime & rust just like the real monitors did back in their day.

Great idea using party poppers! Haven't seen them in our local Tesco in Hangzhou - live frogs & turtles are more common & easier to find there.

steve pickstock · « **Reply #49 on:** April 20, 2009, 07:31:20 AM »

Alternately you could use the workings from an airsoft gas blow back pistol. They have a reservoir of gas, which drives the slide of the pistol back, the expanding gas comes out of the barrel, and you can get 12 - 13 shots from one reservoir. However if you substituted the reservoir with something like a sparklet's cylinder then you'd probablyget more.

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Author Topic: Civil War Canonicus Class Monitor Build (Read 17405 times)

kno3

kno3

keef666

steve pickstock