Designing boat models for this game was an exercise in guesswork. My limited research has turned up few clues about the dimensions of the boats on either side. There are some pictures of boats in this campaign, but they are done by Aztec artists. They are quite clear on some points, but they are not blueprints.
Written sources spell out some information. The Spanish brigs were built near the sea coast and brought overland to the siege to be assembled on the spot. They were designed for a crew of twenty-five. Twelve men were to pull oars, six on a side. There were twelve men with crossbows or muskets and one captain. Curiously, there is no mention of a gunner, although an Aztec drawing shows eight out of twelve of them carrying cannon. Some drawings show two cannon on a boat. They were mounted to shoot straight ahead. No picture I have seen shows oars being used. Only one shows full sails.
Aztecs used smaller boats, probably hollowed out logs, with two men, one to paddle and one to fight. The pictures show both standing. The fighting man is shown throwing a spear. Usually one is holding a shield. Sometimes both are. Bernal Diaz reports that Aztecs in boats threw darts, arrows and stones. He says the fronts of the boats were protected by wooden bulwarks.
I drew side view drawings of the two types copying Aztec pictures. My first drawing was of the right side only. Later, I traced the reverse side so my boats could be viewed from both sides. Those of you who are very alert will notice that on side B all the Aztec spear throwers are left handed. Sorry, amateur at work. As you cut out the drawings, leave a space around the figures and some tabs on the bottom to glue on a base. Put a piece of cardboard between the two sides and glue onto a cardboard base. I colored my boats with a colored pencil and they look quite striking, but you get no guarantee on scale of the models.
While working on the boats, I considered some other modeling techniques. Carving boats out of balsa looked like a good idea, maybe easier than coloring the paper version. Then my wife, joy of my life that she is, (she is typing this) told me she had some Mexican pottery clay. I considered making canoes and maybe even Spanish brigs using the clay. I could add ancient soldiers as crewmen. It looked like a great idea. Unfortunately I have yet to try it.
More Conquest of Mexico 1521
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