During the American Civil War many water-worthy Paddle-Wheelers were converted into armored warships. Here the 'Southern Belle', by Linberg is being converted (at right, top is before modifications, bottom is after modifications) for use in tabletop games. Scale-wise we'll have a 25mm vessel suitably armored for ACW or Colonial gaming. Some preliminary work on the 'Southern Belle' will need to be done after she has been mostly assembled. First, cut a piece of the plastic tree about 1 inch long. This must be glued to the stern bulkhead on the lower deck engine housing, centered, 1/8 inch from the top of the bulkhead just above the paddle wheel. This will support the aft section of the lower armor plate. Also, remember not to assemble the rudder, as this model needs to sit flat on the table top. The upper deck section of the 'Southern Belle' should be left removable so the lower armor plate section can slide over the lower deck housings. The slots in the front of this section of armor plate will slide inside the front bumpers while the wheel housing armor will rest on the piece added to the stern bulkhead. The material used in the conversion was card stock like the backing of an ordinary pad of paper. Cut the pieces according to the drawings given, score and fold where indicated, and assemble with white glue, driving straight pins into the joints to hold the parts together until dry. Paint dark gray, or black. When dry they can be slid into place to finish the basic assembly. As finishing touches, a swiveled gun and crew can be added to the top deck. Armor seam lines and rivets could be detailed by painting or by pin stripe and straight pins pressed through and cut off short. Battle damage could be added by denting the armor and painting a 'scar'. Upon completion, the newly armored 'Southern Belle' is now ready for any contingency in your miniature games. Large Plans (88K) Jumbo Plans (slow: 216K) Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #1 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1986 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com