My search for suitable boats to use in scenarios during the period 1660-1720 let me to the trade stand of a company called Games of War (http://www.gamesofwar.net/) at the Carronade show in Falkirk. They have a very useful collection of craft with the right look and adequate internal capacity for figures,
I had in mind several scenarios for the Ireland book but also Camaret Bay in 1694, action in North America and also the Caribbean. I am not talking the usual YoHoHo Pirates malarkey here but pukka military operations such as amphibious landings, river actions and the like.
The Games of War products seemed just the job so I took the plunge and purchased about 50 quids worth. I chose three types - as largish rowing boat with high sides, a 'long boat' which has a socket for a dowel mast and their largest craft which is a small sailing ship.
I was most interested in the internal capacity of the models - how many models could they hold, could I put multi bases inside and whether during photography I would have to do a lot of Photoshop to hide bases inside.
The results have really pleased me. The boats meet the spec perfectly. The models are light and well made with the only real problem coming during the painting. Despite a thorough soaking in warm soapy water getting the paint to take was quite challenging. I ended up coating all models in two layer of household emulsion (dark brown) before painting them in acrylics.
This post shows some general size and comparison shots. Other posts will detail the more interesting models.