"Dictator" – the American ironclad

USS "Dictator" – the American single-turret monitor, developing a fairly high speed for ships of this class (10 knots) and suitable for sailing and operations in the open sea. Initially it was planned to be called "Protector", but the Navy Department wanted a ship with a more threatening name, and it was changed to "Dictator". She served in two separate periods: from 1864 to 1865 in the North Atlantic Blockading Escadre and from 1869 to 1877 in the North Atlantic Fleet. After being finally decommissioned in 1887, the monitor was sold for scraping in 1983. “Dictator's” keel was laid down on 16 August 1862 at the “Delamater Iron Works” in New York under contract to John Erickson. He was launched on 26 December 1863 and commissioned on 11 November 1864. Commander John Rogers was appointed captain, and her crew consisted of 174 men. Construction problems with the propulsion equipment initially prevented the monitor from active service, so he was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Escadre. In its composition the "Dictator" sailed on the ocean coal waters from December 15, 1964 until he was released from this service on September 5, 1865 and taken to the "League Island Navy Yard" for repairs. He remained there until 1869. The ship returned to service after repairs, costing $ 5,965,427, on July 20, 1869. He was included in the composition of the North Atlantic Fleet, until he was again put into reserve on June 28, 1971. Monnitor remained at the New York Navy Yard until January 12, 1874, when he was transferred to the North Atlantic Station. "Dictator" was transferred to League Island on June 1, 1877 and remained there until September 27, 1883, when ship was sold for scrap to the "A. Purvis and Sons" company for $ 40,250.

A small model of a large US ironclad, simple, intended for modelers of any experience. The model is well designed and well detailed, suitable even for modelers with very little experience, working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. There is a small color reserve, part of the details are printed double-sided, the textual instruction in Ukrainian, Polish, English and German is small, only a few general notes and an explanation of conventional designations, which is JUST A MUST READ, because in this model the usual designations often mean completely different things, than we are used to. The graphical instructions are small, but very chaotic and do not explain everything, although the drawings are beautiful, but that "arrow hedgehog" will drive any modeler out of patience - each part with its number needs to be "matched" with almost a help from a ruler, a pen and a magnifying glass. And what's more - the lines of the drawing are almost indistinguishable in color or thickness from the arrows or rigging lines.