An Armed Command Dhow from a Plastic Toy Pirate Ship

Start with the basic hull. Cut away the molded plastic fins and studs which hold the guns in place in the game. Flush-cutting end-nippers are the ideal tool for this job, but a pair of side-cutters and a chisel-blade in a hobby knife handle will do an adequate job. Filing or grinding a rounded corner on the blade helps prevent gouging. Similarly, remove the molded raised ring in the poop-deck that holds the captain's base in the game. The objective is to have flat, smooth decks that will facilitate the placement and movement of figures. Use a hobby knife or graver to carve grain in the removed areas to match the deck grain on the rest of the ship.

Fill in the depression at the poop-deck ring and all the slots in the deck, including the slot for the bowsprit, with epoxy putty. It helps to glue some thin cardboard or plastic scrap under the slots to keep the putty from pushing through while you work it. Use whatever tool is most effective to add woodgrain grooves to the putty before it dries.

A typical characteristic of the dhow is the heavy projecting prow instead of a bowsprit. Make a prow from three laminations of thin balsa or cardboard. If the middle lamination is shorter than the rest, the prow will have a groove in the back which will accept the small flange intended for the ship's figurehead when the prow is glued in place. Add a couple of thin decorative strips along the top edges of the prow to match the ridge on the hull.

Fill the square hole for the rear mast base with epoxy putty. When it is cured, file it flat and drill a 3/16" (5mm) hole for the new mast. Be sure to keep the hole vertical or with a slight forward cant.

Put the original foremast in its hole, and cut it off just above the rope windings at the base. File it square and flush. Because a large drill is likely to wander, very carefully drill a small pilot hole on the exact centerline. This hole will guide the drill for a 1/8" (3mm) hole for the foremast. When drilling in plastic, use a hand drill or very slow variable speed drill to avoid melting the material.

The masts are 3/16" (5mm) dowels. The mainmast is 4.25" (10.8cm) tall above the mounting pillar, plus a short length in the mounting hole.

The foremast is 3.25" (8cm) above the top of the rope block, and about an inch (2.5cm) below. At the point where it will enter the hole, roll the mast under a hobby knife blade to score it, then shave the lower part until it drops into the 1/8" (3mm) hole.

Chuck the masts into a variable-speed drill. Taper the mast by pinching the end of the dowel inside a piece of medium sandpaper while the drill rotates at very low speed. Try not to impale yourself. A hand drill clamped in a vise will also do the job.

The yardarms are 1/8" (3mm) dowel. They are 6" (15.2cm) and 6.75" (17.1cm) long, tapered at both ends. The sails are golden parchment paper, given a curl by drawing across a table edge. You may wish to pencil the cloth seams in lightly and give the sails a bit more weathering than this one has.

The original poopdeck rail has a European-style ship's wheel molded into it. I suspect the dhows of the time were steered by a tiller, so I made a simple replacement railing from dowel segments, wood strip, and small beads. I did not add the tiller itself, because I thought it would get in the way of figure placement.

I have no certain knowledge of what sort of guns an Arab dhow might carry. The ones on mine are naval-carriage muzzleloaders from a half-built USS Constitution plastic kit bought at a garage sale. If you don't happen to have one lying around, there are similar guns available from gaming figure companies and wooden ship model manufacturers. Or make your own from tubing and balsa wood.

A couple of ornamental grooved beads glued over the holes for the stern lanterns will provide sockets for brass-wire flagpoles. Do not glue the flagpoles in place; you may want to put in different flags, depending on whose service the dhow is sailing in. Dhows are also sometimes seen with streamers from the upper yardarm tips.

You can see the dhow in action in the New Year's Action at Point Wytouki.

RETURN to the Ships and Boats page

RETURN to the Major General's Page