To add a little more detail….
These are 1/300 scale (boarding parties will be modelled using 6mm figs). The largest ship in the picture measures 7" long.
Decks/hulls are just balsa wood shapes topped with paper decking using images I found online. As mentioned I need to find one with smaller planks that is lighter – really small planks start to look "muddy."
The turrets are wooden "button" shapes from the craft store. These are mushroom shaped. Small guns are just paper clip lengths.
The superstructures were done up in Powerpoint. Printed on card stock then folded and glued into boxes and glued in place.
The rest – stacks, sterring fans, large gun barrels, masts – are all bits and pieces from a PLatformer "Chemical Plant" set from Pegasus Hobbies.
Add some paint here and there and presto!
The first ship took me an hour or two, mainly in working out how to build the superstructures. Lots of trial runs there to get the colors right, find images of hatches and ladders and so on. (After they were done I realized I put life preservers on them – hah!) I made the rest of the flotilla in another hour or so – mass production is very simple.
These were made as play test models for my Skyships! rules project. If the rules work, I'll eventually replace all these with much nicer, more detailed models with thicker hulls, railings, etc. etc.