An excellent model indeed!
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Yet could be easily of a wider use, even for those among us that are not enterprising and skilled converters. Redoubt offering to e-mail comments on their site, I sent basically the following message:
Full of potential, yet may be granted far more.
- Some museum models have a swivel gun in the prow. Maybe such could be offered as an alternative, as you did for the Rangers whaleboat?
Of course the conversion would not be very difficult (I suppose swivel guns are still available in 28mm, despite the desmise of the London War Room?), yet the continuous planking at the prow would complicate the matter: an axial ‘empty cell' would be convenient to place the mini handling the gun – as would be that mini, actually. Btw given the size of the barge the gun on the swivel would be larger than that you provide on the whaleboat.
- While endvisaging an ‘advanced' variant of the rowed barge, what about additional holes (2 on each side) normally ‘plugged' by a pin, but where one could place additional rowlocks. Supposing one could buy separately additional [rower + rowlock + oar] sets?
Alternatively these ‘holes' could receive light swivel guns (of the type provided with the whaleboat) again if they could be bought separately.
Similarly it would be convenient to be allowed to buy additional passengers – and then other types of ‘cadre' than the officer would be welcome: sergeant, seated drummer, perhaps an ensign with a flagpole that could be easily converted to a spontoon / partizan…
I fully understand that the model is sold as a whole at the equivalent of a ‘bulk' price – to offer optional additional components would increase the complexity, paperwork, risk… but I'm sure most wargamers are ready to pay for the increased flexibility.
Ideally the rowed barge would be offered, as an alternative, as a *modular* model with (all sold separately):
- the hull with 4 ‘holes' on each side, sold reversibly ‘plugged' and a removable planking in the axis just behind the prow,
- port and starboard rowers with oar and rowlock,
- passengers – various types,
- swivel gun crew(s)
- heavy and light swivel guns…
Additional elements could be:
- the base of a mast, to be placed in the center,
- a light mortar on a base, idem,
- a swivel-mounted ‘espingole' (giant blunderbuss – more typical of the Mediterranean fleet),
- maybe (for late 18th C. – early 19th players) a caronade on a sliding carriage as an alternative prow armament.
With such your ‘Quebec' barge could be used as a gunboat / canonjolle &c… from the late 17th C. to well into the 19th C.
- Another limitation imposed on the tremendous potential of the model comes from the typically ‘British' uniform of the passengers, even the ‘infantrymen' in tricorns. ‘Generic' Lace Wars soldiers, with the ‘national' uniform details to be added when painting, would greatly enlarge the potential of your model. Such ‘generic' «tricorned» types are widely asked for
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As for the rowers, the bare-headed ones are ‘generic' enough, but since you already offer one with a bonnet, what about other alternatives with a tricorn (without lace), a ‘pirate' bandana, a generic cap (re. French militia in Canada), maybe a fatigue cap (re. FIW French Marines) and a ‘seaman' round hat picture ?
Actually, ‘Lace Wars heads' with various headgears sold separately –so that one could ‘customize' his minis without having to sacrifice and behead a costly figure just for using the head- would be extremely convenient: such have been repeatedly asked for in very different contexts
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Many 18th C. wargamers –‘historicals' and ‘Imagi-Nation rulers' alike- are interested in small-scale amphibious / riverine warfare in 28mm
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and of course there is the whole ‘Pirate' genre
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As is it your excellent ‘Quebec' rowed landing barge provides a *basis*, – its use somewhat restricted by a few specificities, not all wargamers are enterprising and skilled converters. With a little more flexibility it would have a tremendous potential in a far, far larger field (and thus market).
!