The idea came from the Sir Oswald Brierly painting "The Spanish Armada Sailing from Ferrol" of which I own a David Law engraving (see earlier Armada posts). This picture shows a barge rowing towards the bow of the San Martin. The idea was to build a barge for Admiral Medina Sidonia befitting his exalted station. Here is the barge as per Sir Oswald:
Julián came up with the idea of using two Langton 1/300 metal barges to create the length necessary for this model.
He then added the Admiral's quarters in the stern, rigged the boat and added a crew of converted Langton 1/300 sailors. The finished result is a unique and very fine addition to the ships he has already built for my 1588 collection. The photos are all the work of Julián.
This boat went through several iterations. Thanks to some helpful criticism at the Anchorage website and TMP, plus Julian's insistence on perfection, I present, the new Admiral's barge of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán y de Zúñiga-Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada.
