The Port of Hambeck is deeply dependant on its port and canals for transport of goods, people and military might. So I am always looking for realistic models of water vessels in shops and online.

In my local hobby shop in Copenhagen, I noticed a fantasy boat from the company Wizkids, that makes a lot of nice and not too fantasy-like models.

The bow of the boat seemed a bit too Elvish for my taste, so I cut that off and added a bowsprit instead. It might be a bit too modern for a boat in the 1400s, but it looked nice 🙂

I also cut a support for the mast for the bottom of the boat (does it have a name in English? In Danish it is called a “mast fish”!)

A wooden rod fit perfectly as a mast, but perhaps needs to be trimmed a bit 🙂

The boat had a flat stern, so it seemed appropriate to add a rudder here, although I would have preferred to add one to the starboard side in the earlyer style. A bit of the Elvish-like decoration had to go in order for the rudder to fit.

As you can see, I also started making a simple rigging using brown thread.

Finally, I added some barrels and sacks to the boat, calling it done for now.

Now Brother Benjamin, so far the only inhabitant in Hambeck, can easily be moved about the port instead of walking on his bare feet!

It was a fun and easy conversion of the Elven boat into something more gritty and medieval looking. The Port of Hambeck has to be packed with ships and boats, so it felt great to get started! But, looking at the pictures, I can see that I forgot to add the oars and a scoop for clearing the boat of water. So, almost done 🙂