We have a new boat! The 28mm Canoe for the Natives. With an increased focus on the conflict in North America, Fire on the Frontier includes several North American Native tribes factions in Blood & Plunder. Those factions finally have their own boat: the Birchbark Canoe. In this post, we’re going to:

• Look at Blood & Plunder’s new 28mm Birchbark Canoe model
• Analyze the canoe stats
• Compare the new canoe to other boats and the older canoa
• Go over an easy way to paint the Birchbark Canoe

The Birchbark Canoe Compared to other Blood & Plunder Boats

This new canoe is slightly larger than the dugout canoe but considerably smaller than the Piragua.

The Birchbark Canoe is slightly longer than the Canoa model and wider in the center, but the narrowing ends of the boat limit model capacity. The Canoa can hold 9 models, the longboat 12 and the Birchbark Canoe can hold 11 models. The Piragua is a major step up, holding about 20 models.

Other than model capacity, the Birchbark Canoe uses the exact same stats as the Canoa.

Birchbark Canoe Hull

Made of resin, the birch bark canoe has the fine detail you’d expect from a Firelock model. My copy had a couple of bubbles that I filled with Green Stuff, but nothing major.

Here’s the model straight out of the box. There was a little lip of resin along the bottom of the model that had to be scraped off.

But other than that and the tiny fill I did with Green Stuff, there was no further prep I had to do beyond washing the model.

Scraping off that lip of resin makes the model look much better on a water mat.

Most birchbark canoes were actually smaller than this model. This size would have been a “war canoe” or a boat intended for transporting larger quantities of furs or trade goods. Compare this model with the Brigade Miniatures canoe that only holds 5 models:

Here is a good example of a larger birchbark canoe in art:

Stats for Blood & Plunder Birchbark Canoe

The model currently comes with the same Canoa stat card. Fortitude and Integrity are 2/3 making it very fragile. There are a host of special rules! Sweeps 4 lets it move along pretty well when a unit is assigned to the Sweeps. Paddles lets you move around at 3″ even without a unit assigned to the Sweeps. Low Profile 4 makes it very difficult for cannons to this low-lying boat. Unstable makes it very painful if you ever do get hit. And finally, Ship’s Boat lets you use more than one boat to hold larger units when necessary.

The only real change is the increased capacity and the different look.

Painting the Blood & Plunder Birchbark Canoe

This is a pretty easy model to paint. I primed with a light brown primer, dry brushed with grey/white, then used a mix of Citadel Contrast and Army Painter Speed Paints to finish the boat.

Next, I drybrushed over the entire model with some lighter paints.

I used 3 colors of Folk Art craft paint for the drybrush, starting with Camel, then using Linen over the top of that, and finishing with Ivory White. This brings out the fine texturing and details and provides a good base for the Contrast/Speed paints.

For the basic color of the entire model, I used Citadel’s Aggeros Dunes Contrast Paint. For the bindings and accents, I used their Snakebite Leather.

I darkened some of the joints further with Cygor Brown to give it some good contrast. This was an easy paint job that accurately reflects the appearance of real birchbark canoes.

I added a bit of weathering effect with a darker paint along with the waterline but it’s not necessary.

I also hit the inner part of the binding of the rim with a lighter tan paint to provide a little more contrast.

Birchbark Canoe Photo Gallery

Got a share a few more pictures of this sweet little boat on the table!

I love the bark texturing on this model! Great sculpting.

Final Thoughts on the Blood & Plunder Birchbark Canoe

This is a fantastic model and will really bring the right look and feel to your North American battle between the French, English, Iroquois, Wabanaki, and other North American tribes in Blood & Plunder. The power level is there, with room for a couple of extra models beyond the original Canoa. You can purchase this model here from Firelock Games for $24.

You should grab yourself one or three of these models!

Essential Features:

• Detailed, quality, and accurate sculpt
• Fills a new mid-range boat niche
• Great for North American conflict
• Easy to paint. Especially with the extra textures.

For more thoughts on how this boat functions within Blood & Plunder, read this ship article all about the Canoa. For a complete guide to all the ships, check out our Ultimate Ship Guide for Blood & Plunder.

And be sure to check out these articles for more Blood & Plunder painting guides.

Are you excited about the new look and styling of the canoe or will you stick with the dugout Canoa version? I have 3 more of these ready to paint up for my favorite Wabanaki force.

Thanks for reading!

By Joseph Forster