Having read Jim Arnold's, "Along the Niagara Frontier - The War of 1812" (VII-1) and John Williams' "War on the Great Lakes" (VI-4 and 5),l was inspired to start gaming in America's own Napoleonic Wars. One of the many fascinating parts of this small war is the close cooperation (or lack of) between naval and land forces. Many historical scenarios require naval support, i.e., the battles of York, Fort George, Sacket's Harbor, Crysler's Field and the night battle at New Orleans. Operating on a reduced budget, I was unable to purchase any of the ship models currently offered on the market. Takingthe poor man's way out, I decided to make my own. The model is easy to build and looks good on the table. All you need is a sheet of 1/8" balsa, some small wooden dowels, toothpicks, card stock and a 15mm naval gun. Using the pattern provided, the boat can be constructed in just a couple of hours. Cut the deck and hull patterns from 1/8" thick balsa. Scribe in deck plankingand glue the hull piece to the bottom of the deck (line up sides and bow). A little sanding makes it look like one piece. Use small wooden dowels and toothpicks to construct the masts and bow sprit. By drilling snug holes for the mast trunks, you can make them removable to simulate battle damage. Sails can be made from paper. To save room forthe gun crew, don't mount a sail on the foremast. Extra details can be added from the spare parts box. The gun platform should be made from a piece of card stock. The width may vary slightly according to the size of the model gun. Trim the wheels from the gun carriage. Place two small strips of wood on each side of the platform to hold the gun in place. This forms a tray that the gun can slide back and forth in. Take a flat headed straight pin and cut it about 1/4" long. Use this to pin the mount down. The key is thatthe gun should slide on its mount and turn 360°. So far in our battles, a British gunboat has helped to drive the Americans from Crysler's Field and the American Schooner Carolina has bombarded the 95th Rifles at La Costa House near New Orleans. Happy sailing! Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VIII No. 6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1989 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles covering military history and related topics are available at http://www.magweb.com