For our Green Nile Colonial campaign run several years ago, I built a British gunboat and two steam launches. The gunboat was entirely scratchbuilt out of balsa wood, card stock, and folder stock. The stack is a large black drinking straw liberated from a fast-food establishment. It is armed with a medium caliber quick-firing gun forward and a Gatling Gun aft. It can carry a small crew and and half-platoon of naval infantry. The two steam launches began as craft row boats from Michael's with the fancy-smancy interiors removed. The steam boilers were constructed of a section of a dried-up magic marker, a section of a lip balm tube, and a piece of drinking straw, all glued together and painted black. Each is armed with a Gardner gun and carry a small crew and about 5 naval infantry. Their initial action was in the defense of the fortified camp at Wadi Zoum-Zoum (www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/grn_nile2.htm).
These ships were easy to build, especially the steam launches, and have been fun to use. They have seen use on the rivers of Darkest Africa and in the Back of Beyond in China.
