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"A bit of fun and a mystery" Topic


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Bozkashi Jones08 Jul 2020 2:23 a.m. PST

My dad popped round yesterday and brought round some ships he found while having a clear out. He made them years ago,having found a cheap bag of oval shaped bits of wood in a hardware shop.

Here are some battleships:

And a couple of cruisers:

They're just over two inches long and I love the retro cartoony feel of them – I thought they would make for fun fleets for imagi-nations.

Now, here's the mystery: does anyone know what these ovals are? They're stamped with a number which seems to indicate size – these are 9s and 10s – and they have a sort of cross-hatching on one side.

If I can work out what they are I might get a bag and make some myself.

Happy gaming!

Nick

colgar608 Jul 2020 3:06 a.m. PST

They look like "biscuit joints" for woodworking. I tried a google search for "woodworking biscuit joints" and found many pictures of similar [if not identical] items.

Ed Mohrmann08 Jul 2020 5:49 a.m. PST

Nick, if those are thin, then Colgar6 is probably
correct. My g'father when retired did a lot of
woodworking (mostly furniture) and he used the 'biscuits'
frequently.

SpuriousMilius08 Jul 2020 6:15 a.m. PST

Decades ago, my group briefly took up Dreadnought Era naval gaming. I found some precut basswood shapes that I fashioned into similar craft using balsa superstructures & snipped pins for guns, etc., as I couldn't afford metal scale models. I used a pre-WWI "Jane's" (from the public library) for the deck plans.

79thPA Supporting Member of TMP08 Jul 2020 6:50 a.m. PST

Those are great.

Personal logo ColCampbell Supporting Member of TMP08 Jul 2020 7:39 a.m. PST

Yes, they are biscuit joints. I used a bunch to make markers for the "Lion Rampant" medieval rule set. link

picture

Jim

Shagnasty Supporting Member of TMP08 Jul 2020 1:52 p.m. PST

Yep, I have some scratch built "biscuit" ships as well. They were made for a "Space 1889" campaign some of my group ran at the late, lamented Great Hall Games shop in the People's Republic of Austin.

Bozkashi Jones09 Jul 2020 2:44 a.m. PST

Cheers guys – I think this might be the beginning of a fun little project! I need to go to Wickes this weekend anyway :)

Nick

Dan Cyr09 Jul 2020 1:05 p.m. PST

Common sizes are:

45mm x 16mm Size "0"
54mm x 19mm Size "10"
57mm x 24mm Size "20"

Though other sizes are maybe available if you search for them. I used them to make ACW ships for my grandchildren to play with. Usually you can get them fairly cheap in bags of 100 in most hardware stores.

nnascati Supporting Member of TMP10 Jul 2020 9:06 a.m. PST

I've built quite a lot of ships using the biscuits as a base. In fact, using a hobby saw, I've been able to cut them in half and make them longer, allowing for larger models. I've got two fleets of pre-dreadnaught, and two forces of ACW ironclads.

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