Below are a few pictures of my 1:1200 renaissance galleys from a game played in March 2005. The models pictured here are by NavWar. I also have some models by Langton which are truely impressive sculpting jobs. I built the NavWar models first since although they are not as nice they are inexpensive. Now that I have some practice with these little ships I can do a better job on the wonderful, but expensive, Langton models.
The rules used in this game were Serenissima by Rod Langton. The rules did a good job forcing us into facing decisions a period captain might face - such as "Do I get a long range shot in and face not reloading my guns before the enemy closes, or do I hold my fire to attempt a devastating close range shot?" The rules are a little confusing on the first read and I'm sure we were doing things wrong, but they seemed to work. They use the "Ability Chart" which appears in other rules by Rod Langton. There are some other rules I want to try as well.
If you are interested in the period the classic book on the subject is Gunpowder and Galleys by John Francis Guilmartin. This is one of the best written history books I have read on any subject. He lays his arguments out clearly with great detail. He includes data on ships, weapons, battles, and how they fit within the strategic situation of the 16th century Mediterranean. If you are looking for a simpler introduction there are Osprey books on Renaissance War Galleys and the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. If you buy any of these books from Amazon through my links I get a small commission which will help me pay for the web space for these pictures.
Enough of my rambling, here are the pictures. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger image...blah, blah...
| Renaissance Galley Battle | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Christian fleet moves out of the bay. |
 Two Christian ships collide with this Turkish galley - which soon realized it was outnumbered and struck its colors. |
 A face off between a Maltese Galley and a Turkish galley. |
 Two North African galliots fire on a Christian galley. |
 The Christian galley rams the smaller galliot, but is unable to win the fight. |
 The second galliot rams the galley's side, overwhelming it. |
 Intense fighting in the center of the fleet. |
 The Turkish flagship's main gun bursts, setting the ship on fire. |
See also my Thirty Years War figures.