OK OK OK.......
YOU GUYS HAVE TALKED ME INTO IT....
THE ROMAN WAR FLEET RETURNS!!!
BACK IN '07, WE RELEASED OUR FIRST ROMAN WAR GALLEY (LET'S CALL IT GALLEY #1), RETAIL PRICED AT $750.00 USD EACH. WE MADE 500 OF THESE BEAUTIES WITH OVER 50 FIGURES INCLUDED IN EACH, AND SOLD OUT QUICKER THAN CAESAR COULD SUBDUE GAUL. BY '09, THEY HAD ALL SET SAIL FROM THE WAREHOUSE....
WE GET REQUESTS SEVERAL TIMES PER WEEK FOR A RE-RELEASE OF THIS BEAUTY, WHICH WAS SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST THANGS WE EVER DESIGNED OR PRODUCED.
NOW, TO GO ALONG WITH THE RELEASE OF OUR MAJOR ROMANS VS. BARBARIANS LINE, WE'VE HEARD YOUR PLEA AND HAVE DECIDED TO RELEASE A NEW ROMAN WAR SHIP!!! (LET'S CALL THIS NEW BEAUTY, GALLEY #2.)
WE ARE NOT RERELEASING GALLEY #1 AS WE WANT COLLECTORS TO RETAIN THEIR INVESTMENT VALUE IN A SOLD-OUT ITEM. ALSO, MANY OF YOU HAVE ASKED FOR A LESS EXPENSIVE SHIP, AS THE PRICE OF GALLEY #1 WAS UNATTAINABLE FOR MANY....
THE NEW SHIP IS SIMILAR TO, YET DIFFERENT FROM, THE ORIGINAL SOLD-OUT WAR GALLEY....
THE HULL, MAIN DECK, OARS, BOW AND STERN WILL BE THE SAME AS GALLEY #1, BUT THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT GALLEY #2 DOES NOT HAVE THE LOWER ROWING DECK WITH THE 48 ROWERS AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR (WHIP MASTER). THE 50 PAINTED FIGURES WHO WERE 'BELOW DECKS' (ON GALLEY #1) AND THEREFORE HARD TO SEE, WHILE BRILLIANT IN THEIR SCOPE, HAVE BEEN JETTISONED THIS GO AROUND SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE COST OF THE SHIP DOWN FOR COLLECTORS. THERE ARE ALSO VARIATIONS IN THE PAINT SCHEME OF THE NEW BEHEMOTH.....
SAID DIFFERENTLY, THE LOWER DECK WILL BE CLOSED OFF. NO ROWERS ON GALLEY #2.
#2 WILL BE A LIMITED EDITION (LIKE #1), BUT WE HAVE NOT SET THE EDITION SIZE AS OF YET.
LIMITED-EDITION SIZE WILL PROBABLY BE NO MORE THAN 300 OF THESE BEAUTIES. 250 FOR COLLECTOR AND DEALER PURCHASE, AND 50 FOR A MAJOR SEA BATTLE I WANT TO SET UP..... (A DREAM PROJECT OF MINE.)
WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR HOW MANY ARE PRE-RESERVED (BELOW) BEFORE MAKING THAT DECISION.
A SMALL 'CREW' OF EIGHT FIGURES (NOT THE 56 WHICH WERE WITH GALLEY #1) ARE INCLUDED WITH GALLEY #2. THESE INCLUDE (1) COMMANDER, (2) LOOKOUT, (3) AND (4) TWO CLIMBING THE RIGGING, (5) AND (6) TWO HELMSMEN, AND (7) A DRUMMER.
"ADD-ON" SETS WILL BE IN ABUNDANCE SO YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THE ACTION ON DECK TO YOUR LIKING.... A MINI SCORPION OR JAVELIN THROWER AND CREW, MINI CATAPULT, DECK BOARD ACCESSORIES, OBSERVATION 'TOWER', ARCHERS AND MARINES ARE ON THE SCULPTING LIST.
AS TO TIMING, WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO BRING THE SHIP TO YOUR SHORE IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS 2011 - POSSIBLY EARLIER. THE ADD-ON SETS WILL PROBABLY ARRIVE EARLY 2012.
PRICE IS STILL TO BE DETERMINED, BUT THE CLEAR GOAL IS TO MAKE THIS DEVIL MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE THAN GALLEY #1... DESPITE THE FACT THAT #1 SOLD OUT, I'VE ALWAYS FELT BAD ABOUT THE ROMAN COLLECTORS WHO WERE LEFT BEHIND WHO STILL WANTED A ROMAN SHIP... I ALSO MUST ADMIT TO LOVING THE IDEA SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE HAD ABOUT WANTING TO PUT A FLEET OF THESE INTO ACTION, AND IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, A NEW LOWER PRICE WAS NEEDED.
WE ARE MAKING GALLEY #2 AVAILABLE FOR A NO-OBLIGATION PRE-RESERVATION BY CLICKING HERE.
PRICE WILL DEPEND UPON THE QUANTITY WHICH WE MAKE, AS PRODUCTION RUN COSTS DIMINISH AS THE QUANTITY INCREASES.
ROUGH, ROUGH GUESS IS $499.99 USD, BUT OIL PRICES WILL HAVE AN AS-OF-NOW UNKNOWN EFFECT.
(AS ALWAYS WITH PRE-RESERVATIONS/PRE-ORDERS, YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PURCHASE - WE SHALL SUPPLY PRICING AND MORE DETAILS AS SOON AS WE HAVE THEM FROM THE FACTORY; BY CLICKING, YOU GUARANTEE YOURSELF A SHOT AT ONE OF THESE BUT ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PURCHASE AT THIS TIME.)
THE SHIP WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE TO COLLECTORS AND DEALERS WHO ARE COLLECTING OUR OTHER ROMAN SETS, AS THE CONTE FLEET ONLY TRANSPORTS CONTE TROOPS. OUR CONTE COLLECTORS CLUB WILL HAVE SEVERAL EXCLUSIVE FIGURES DESIGNED FOR USE ON THE SHIP!!