This 1/96 scale model is based on archival drawings of the USS Puritan (BM-1) coastal defense monitor built in 1882. Technically it was a “repair” of the original Civil War monitor ordered in 1872, however the ship was essentially a new build using very few parts from the original vessel. She saw service during the Spanish-American War, and was decommissioned for the final time in 1910.

I tried to keep all pieces under of 250mm for printing. Overall, this model is roughly 940mm long, 194 mm wide, and 362mm tall at 1/96 scale.

Because of the low freeboard design on this model, I anticipate water coming up on the deck. For this reason, I attempted to keep the hull and deck as one piece, with tall combing to place the turrets and superstructure around. I had to include a rudder hatch for installation access, but I designed it with a tongue-and-groove design that can be glued in after installation to ensure watertight integrity. I also included the hull splits at points under access holes to assist in assembly, but it’s still going to be tricky.

Edit 1 (7/8/2026): After assembling the model myself, I realized a few things needed tweaking. The main battery turrets were WAY too tight, and were too close to the superstructure. I adjusted the outer and inner diameters for a cleaner fit. I also changed the control room roof in the top center to a flat top rather than rounded, for ease of printing. After trying to drive it, I noticed it didn't turn well. This is because the shafts are too far from centerline for the rudder to be effective. V2 closes this gap to situate the props more behind the rudder. (I utilized a bidirectional ESC on mine, so it's still steerable that way.) The shaft struts were also adjusted to their new position.