Dark Passage - the Anatomy of a Naval Scenario - Part 1

A "Large Chinese Junk" - 28mm figures for scale.

A close-up of the bow.

Yup, it's "large"...

This is one of the vessels I hope to use in an up-coming naval game, tentatively called: "Dark Passage". Yes, I am a Bogie fan! :-)

I bought this either on eBay or in a flea market somewhere. I don't remember where, though I suspect eBay is more likely. I've had it for ten years or more. At the moment I can only guess at the manufacturer, assuming that it is a commercial product (or at least, was at some time.) My guess is either Iron Mammoth [edit: I meant Scheltrum!] or Monolith Designs but there is another UK company that made large resin boats but I can't quite remember their name. It is on the tip of my tongue...IIRC they also did Pirate ships. I want to say "Hovels", but did they do ships? I'm not thinking of "Snapdragon Studios". Is there one that had "green" in the name?

As to the scenario, it will be set here, in the general area of the Gulf of Perudáya. The gulf is that estuary north of Lilsú Isle for those unfamiliar with the maps. It is over 200 km long and about 20 km wide at the narrowest point. The horizontal hatching in the water represents shallows which I am taking to be tidal shallows. Think of the Thames Estuary and how the sandbanks extend for kilometers out into the North Sea.

In My Tékumel, the Gulf of Perudáya is a treacherous place for navigation.  At high tide the areas of shallows are much as they are shown, only one must realize that the channels are constantly changing. At low tide large sandbanks are exposed and the channels change again. Wise merchants employ local pilots, eagerly supplied by the local clans, to guide their vessels safely to port. Their task is made all the more difficult by the early morning fogs that frequent the region...