The ironclad shown here is based mostly on the USS Monitor.

These small ships were useful in small river actions as mobile artillery platforms. Monitor-based ships carried this function well into the twentieth century, seeing action on all continents (save Antarctica).

The model is 8.5" long by 3.5" wide and 2.25" high and was constructed mainly out of corrugated cardboard. The turret is a pill container with a paper cannon. Miscellaneous bits are made out of paper, wooden skewers, buttons and a felt pen cap.

Although the model is a bit large (it really could have been made smaller), it can hold a good sized unit on its deck. This can of course be a good thing, save if the turret needs to be fired.

The Monitor is an ideal project to go from historical actions to those of the scientific romance due to the radical engineering concepts it brought. If technology can change areas of life (like battle) so distinctivly, where can it go?