AJM Models
1/700 USS Monitor LSV-5 1944


 
Reviewed May 2024
by Sean Hert
HISTORY

USS Monitor, LSV-5, an Osage-class (Vehicle Landing Ship) was the second US Navy ship to have the name "Monitor." The 6 LSVs all started as either sister ship minelayers to the USS Terror or as Net Layers, which were also based on the Terror design, but by 1943 BuShips had determined that dedicated minelayers were un-needed, and the heavy anti-submarine nets the layers were intended to carry and lay were not as burdensome as originally believed- so all 6 hulls were surplus to their intended designs. However, their fast speeds (20kts) and large, contiguous decks (originally intended to carry mines or anti-submarine nets) could carry various vehicles, from trucks, jeeps, DUKWs and LVTs (amtracs) to troops and other material.

The Osage class comprised 4 ships that started life as Net Layers (AN); this lineage is clear from the truncated bow and the hard knuckled stern. As part of their conversion to assault transports, a ramp was added to the stern in place of the original designs doors. These sisters can also be identified by their single stack and twin 5"/38 mount aft.

By the end of WW2, it was clear these vessels were a failure; limited space of equipment, cramped conditions and limited facilities. There were attempts to convert them to other purposes post-war, but they mainly stayed obscure and were broken up.

AJM Models USS Monitor 1942

This kit is another in the line of esoteric subjects that AJM have issued over the last few years.  The kit arrives in a good solid white box with a picture of a built kit in sea base. On the front of the box we are told the 3D Model is made by Alexey Selezney and the test model was built by Marcin Wawrzynkowski. Inside we find the hull wrapped in bubble wrap together with two small zip lock bags containing resin parts, and a resin wafer with additional superstructure house.



THE HULL
The 452 foot hull works out at 197mm in 1/700 and that is the exact measurement of the kit hull. The beam is also spot on. It is very sharply cast in a dark gray resin with no twisting. There are some bubble holes in the underside but won’t affect the build. Planking detail on the deck is very crisp though with no butt ends; bollards and capstans are molded on as well as hull side details.


Parts
There are over 100 parts for Monitor molded on 19 resin sprue blocks and 1 wafer. Most of the parts are well shaped, with minimal cleanup required, but the detail can be soft. There is some resin flash in places, but nothing too serious. There are numerous lift rats for the decks, indicative of the number of troops envisioned to be embarked on the ship.

The parts also include 6 LCVP landing craft; 2 will be placed on Welin gravity davits, 1 for each side for Monitor. The other 4 LCVPs will be stacked amidships and offloaded by the large crane aft.


 
PHOTOETCH

The photoetch sheet for this kit is a single relief-etched fret, encompassing all the parts you would expect; railings, hose reels, platforms, inclined ladders and platform supports. The 20mm Oerlikon guns and shields are also photoetch, and will be attached to a resin pedestal base.

Other parts include the booms for both the boat cranes and the secondary deck cranes, and the gravity davits for the LCVPs; these are a multi-part assembly that may prove challenging for some modelers.





INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions are four A4 sheets, double sided. First page includes a parts layout with all resin parts numbered. Then there are 70 build sections with step-by-step instructions.

The resin parts have oval numbers, the photoetch have squares; still, the steps are very dense. Some of the more complex assemblies could use further explanation, including an order of steps and perhaps some greater detail with the photoetch (order for the necessary folds, for example)

Monitor was the single LSV to be camouflaged in MS 31/18L, which was primarily a scheme for "gator navy" LSTs. (The other LSVs were painted in MS 31/15L, a scheme specifically  for LSV's.) MS 31/18L makes for an interesting model, using greens and browns in addition to 5-H Haze Grey as Dull Black.


CONCLUSIONS
This

This is AJM Models’s 1/700 USS Monitor LSV-5 1944, kit number 700-028. The model is available from many of our fine sponsors. This is an in-box review, your mileage may vary once you commence construction.

While not a kit for beginners, any modeller with experience building 1/700 resin ships and working with photoetch should find this kit of a uncommon subject pleasurable to build.

Thanks to AJM Models Models for the review sample.