Thought I would add this, when we talk about boats.
I’ve always wanted a paddle-steamer for these games, to add to the adventure.
I’d looked at scratch building, but never had the nerve to start.
I’d looked at resin, but they cost serious cash.
I finally looked at the build it yourself from an mdf kit from sarissa.
Now these too cost some cash, approx £45, and where would you store it after it’s built ?
Then I’m sure I saw an article on LAF one day, from a chap that had had the same issues, but he gave me a few clues to the answers.
So I plumped for the sarissa rear paddle steamer, after the chap said it could be dismantled so that it could be stored. He also modified his, to remove some of the upper roof on the upper deck, which was good, as it allowed you to get troops onto the upper deck. I also wanted to be able to mount deck guns up there too.
So birthday time comes round, and I “push the boat out” and spend my saved up pennies on the sarissa kit.
Now the boat itself is very easy to build, and it was a pleasure to put it together. The nerves kicked in when I was deciding where to cut the rear roof off.
Here’s what I ended up with...
So here are a few stages I went through to get there.
Here you can see I have cut off the rear roof and made myself a frame to get a canvas roof that can be offered into the space. I’ve kept the mdf roof sections to use under the canvas roof.
Cocktail sticks and coffee stirrers were used for the frame.
Here I am checking, sandbags and figures will fit.
Here are those roof sections being used to make the frame.
Then I decided to make another frame to be covered in canvas ( made from kitchen paper and watered down pva glue), that could sit at the front of the boat.
Here I am, checking figures will fit again.
Going back to the rear upper section, you can see I have used coffee stirrers to add strength to the roof, before the canvas goes on.
Now the canvas is added, front and back, using the kitchen paper and watered down pva glue method. This took a few days to dry, before it could be painted (note, first time I’ve ever tried this, but got clues from the canvas master has.been)
So there you have it, one finished paddleboat (and a small steam boat for comparison)
The next tricky part was finding sailors and deck guns, but after a bit of digging, they were sourced, painted and made it to the table.
Hope this inspires someone to take the plunge and get big boats into those African waterways.