Ship Model Construction for Colonial-era Gaming

Ship Templates
for Colonial-era Gaming

7" Dhow .

The templates will allow you to build a dhow with minimal designing or measuring.

Print them out full-sized for 25mm figures. Check the print to be sure the 1" scale line actually measures 1". If not, reduce or enlarge until it does. Reduce or enlarge the print size for other scales.

Glue the printed sheet to a piece of posterboard or heavier cardboard and cut out the pieces to make cardboard templates. You can trace around these to lay out the deck and hull on your final construction material.

Cut out the Deck-Half template first and use it to make a preliminary sketch-tracing of the entire deck. Using your own figures, make sure that the deck will accommodate the proper number of bases. Remember to leave some room around the mast. You may need to adjust the size of the templates. The easiest way is to add or subtract an equal amount of extra length in the middle of the deck and the hull-side templates.

The Deck-Half template has two lines to indicate suggested sizes for the short elevated deck pieces at bow and stern. Check these to be sure that they do not reduce the number of figures. Remember that figure bases will be able to slide partway under the raised deck pieces.

Use the Strake template as a guide when drawing the hull planking with a pencil. Cut it out very smoothly and carefully. To use it, simply move the template down and trace each successive line.

RETURN to the Ship Construction Page

RETURN to the Ships and Boats page

RETURN to the Major General's Page