The ironclad model (toy, actually) was originally built by David for his "War of the Worlds" convention game. The base, maindeck, and upper deck are all foamcore board. Hull and superstructure are thin posterboard ("railroad board"). The turrets are posterboard around foamcore discs, but a better choice would be cut-down prescription-medicine vials.

Armament consists of four pieces of brass tubing poking out the turrets, and a Nordenfeldt gun on top to discourage boarders.

Both turrets rotate. Mast and flags are removable and interchangeable (the model also serves the Kaiser as the SMS Dundermaus).The turrets and superstructure are removable for storage of extra flags and knicknacks.

At 9" long, Tempestuous is small enough to be usable on the gaming table, serving as a symbolic placeholder for a large ship, supporting land troops with naval gunnery, and landing troops or Marines on occasion. (see the Major General's ship-size philosophy)

The design of the model was derived from a number of sources, amalgamated into a kind of generalized 19th Century ironclad turretship. The overall layout is that of the HMS Devastation (1873), and numerous similar monitor-style warships, but the hull-shape is inspired by the USS Keokuk(1862), CSS Stonewall(1864), the French central-battery ironclad Redoubtable(1876), and turn-of-the-century tin windup toys.

Two French ironclads of 1876. One is an oceangoing central-battery battleship, the other a coastal-defense turretship. By combining the styles, you come out with Tempestuous .

This photo is featured in Tony Gibbons' incomparable book The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships , 1983, Salamander Books (UK), Crescent Books, (USA). Page after page of beautiful color illustrations and large photos of ships from 1860 to the present. If you have any interest in seagoing warfare, the Major General urges you to acquire it without delay.

Contemporary engraving of HMS Glatton, a single-turret monitor-style warship (1872), not too dissimilar from the ironclad model.

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