Okay, I admit I really don't like this toy that much and I can already hear what you're sayin', "Then why did you buy it!?" Well you see, I'm one of those who, when they've started a collection, likes to complete it so years ago I started into Pyro Army vehicles to help round out the Little Green Army Men, so I latched on to this. The trouble with that whole line of thought in regards to collecting is sometimes I don't follow through. I stopped buying the Pyro stuff after getting only a couple of items because they started getting stupid expensive (I have to find the others - they're buried in The Cave somewhere).
Anywho, back to the barge. This is just a strange toy. Think about it. Can you imagine some TV commercial announcer admonishing kids to "...forget your fleets of sleek Ocean Liners, and your Battleship Groups, and get your very own COAL BARGE - New from Pyro!" - oh joy. Yeah, this elicits about as much excitement as dirty rubber pancake. On a practical note - in a toy-wise way - it can only fit a few soldiers in the hold so it's not much good as a troop transport. Vehicles don't really fit on it too good either. Pyro made these in other colors as well for 'civilian' use but really, the only people I can see benefiting from this toy are the model railroaders. With a good coat of grime and weathering and a little extra detailing, it would actually look good floating down a river and hauling coal on a model railroad. The thing measures 7 1/8" (18.09cm) L x 2 5/8" (6.66cm) W x 2 3/8" (6.03cm) H. I s'pose one could use it to haul supplies up and down the waterways but for my money - and toy fun - I'll stick to Jeeps, and trucks, and tanks, and....
Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina