Gunboat Diplomacy: HMS Unlikely

I scratchbuilt a gunboat to support the British Army in the Sudan.

When you make a vehicle for a game where 16 soldiers equals a battalion you are obliged to place fast and loose with scale. The boat only has one gun, representing a battery and hence one gun crew. Also the vertical and horizontal scales of the models are different. A 1/72 figure is about 22mm high, although it varies enormously from manufacturer to manufacturer. However the battalion in line occupies a mere 160 by 40mm.

To make this work you have to squash the gunboat's scales, especially the horizontal. The cartoony-effect sounds strange but it works rather well on a wargames table.

The model is made of foam board, plasticard and metal tubes. Figures are HaT (gun & crew), Escii (British infantry) and Waterloo 1815 (Turko-Egyptians).

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to relieve Khartoum.

Hang on Gordon, I'm coming.