Back To The Sea

Once again I find myself drawn back to Blood & Plunder (and other "Piratey" projects) after a break painting Miniatures for other Games.

I finally finished my Corvette - and am awaiting a day dry enough to spray it so the painting can begin.

I had great fun building this, and cant wait to finish it (weather permitting).

I also finished a 4-man Unit of Sea Dogs, and have just started a unit of Forlorn Hope.

(Sorry about the unpainted scratch built fort wall as the background, it was at hand when I took the photograph LoL).

Blood & Plunder: Raise the Black

Firelock Games Website

NOW BRING ME THAT HORIZON!

With the Blood & Plunder "Raise the Black" on the Horizon, I won't lie I'm getting more and more excited - the plastics are looking great.

And frankly ASSUMING they match well in scale with the Metals, I REALLY cannot wait.

Combine that with the fact theres a two-player starter set on the Horizon - the future is VERY bright for Blood & Plunder!

Fuller Information can be found here - https://www.firelockgames.com/raise-the-black-kickstarter/

AVAST! A Birthday Haul (Part Two)

I've only dabbled with Blood & Plunder so far, a very small crew - no Ships, and only PDF's of the Rules.

But as of NOW - I can take to the High Seas! (FINALLY).

Thanks to my Family (and it having been my Birthday)!

I'm a Happy Pirate!

The Bulk of it was from Gaming Figures (VERY fast shipping), the Gorgeous Book was from Wayland Games (great, but not as fast as Gavin LoL) - it would all have come from Gaming Figures, but the Big Red Rulebook went out of stock sadly.

FREE BLOOD & PLUNDER SOLO RULES!

In this troubled time we are living through, the lovely people at Firelock Games have released free Solitaire Rules for Blood & Plunder!

You can Download them here - https://www.firelockgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BP-Solitaire-compressed.pdf

Savvy?!

HE'S A PIRATE!

Sadly, no hobby time yesterday at all so there was nothing to write about!

HOWEVER, I did notice that Boards & Swords Hobbies did have the Online Exclusive Spanish Commander in stock - and as I'm one of these weirdo's that always wants more than one Force for the games he really enjoys, I ordered one.

https://www.boardsandswords.co.uk/collections/blood-and-plunder/products/spanish-commander-online-exclusive

There stock seems to be dwindling a little, but maybe a few additional orders might get them to do some restocking ;)

You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner . . . you're in one!

No, not really - I just used an Zenithal Undercoat on these, white over mid grey - rather than white over black, as I didn't want them too dark.

But Linda (my Partner) thought they looked like Ghost Pirates (and I thought the Barbosa qoute was a good hook for a post title).

I plan on blocking them in with thinned paints that have had extra medium added to stop pooling.

When dry, an all over Medium Brown wash (formally known as "Zombie Shader" - I favour Army Painter paints these days) - then highlight as needed.

I want them to look well-worn and grungy.

They are Pirates after all, but the Captain is only going to be "grungy around the edges" ;)

AAAARRR, THERE SHE GROWS!

Another Game I'm crazy for is Ghost Archipelago, and its Parent Game Frostgrave (you might notice Links for you might notice Links for North Star Military Figures (who do the Miniatures) and Joseph A. McCullough's Personal Blog (he's the Author) the sheer Swashbuckler/Sinbad nature of Ghost Archipelago puts it firmly in this Seafaring Adventurers Wheelhouse.

Along with preparing Crews at the moment, I've been making a start of Desert Island Terrain - which will, of course, also work nicely for Games of Blood & Plunder.

My Facebook Group "Frostgrave Underdark"  (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Frostgrave.Underdark/) Covers all of Joseph A. McCullough's games, so pics like these get shared there as well).

I've started out, like everyone, with some Fishtank Ornaments for Ghost Arhipelago - which barring the ruins, which could be part of some abandoned Abbey - won't really work for Blood & Plunder (but more on those later).

I've started using the old GW Jungle Trees - I've already done three copses of small/shorter jungle foliage (I've been a Hobbyist longer than I care to think about, so I've got little hordes of Treasure LoL).

But after seeing Will Holland's post in the official Blood and Plunder Facebook group, I was inspired to make some Palm Trees out of the same plastic components.

I've made eight trees, all based on 30mm MDF Bases - I've yet to use the filler on the bases, but they look great to me so far!

As you can see, even after the copses and palm trees - I've still got some parts left to do more as well!

I was planning to spray undercoat some miniatures today, but as I don't have a Garage (or a spray box) I rely on British Weather to get anything done - and it's been damp and windy today sadly.

Still, LOADS to do!

SHIVER ME TIMBERS - IT BE BLOOD AND PLUNDER IT BE!

I've been looking for the perfect set of Pirate rules since the time I first started Wargaming, after devouring the Blood & Plunder rulebook from Firelock Games (finally) I decided to order, just a few Miniatures to see how the game felt.

Thanks to Gaming Figures for getting my delivery to me so quickly, and its especially praiseworthy considering they didn't know I was ordering anything for review purposes ;)

The thing that most struck me about Blood and Plunder was how "scale-able" the rules seem, you can play games with a relatively small number of miniatures all the way up to quite large forces that take up most of the day to play.

My ONLY issue so far, and its a niggle - I've been doing this hobby for more years than I care to think about, so its a matter of effort rather than a complaint - there are a few defects, extra metal where there shouldn't be (mostly deforming faces slightly) miscast weapons (mostly a case of filing the barrels of pistols and muskets so they are flat not rounded - but in one case, a dagger blade needs re-sculpting/replacing. But again its a matter of work rather than a complaint).

Other than that, I love the dynamic nature of the Miniatures - the poses are great. Really full of life.

I've started with the Online Exclusive English Commander (mainly so if I buy the English Nationality Starter Set I've got two different Captain models), a Sea Dogs Unit, and a Forlorn Hope unit.

According to Firelock Games Blood & Plunder Force Builder - thats 59 points. Enough so when my friends Toby and Stuart start building their forces, we can have a little scrimmage to see the Lie of the Land as to how the rules feel.

As a total Pirate Geek - I have to give the Rules 10/10 as they are fresh, exciting, and accurate - I'd love to give the Miniatures 10/10 as well. BUT (theres always a big but right?) the casting issues (the molds will definitely need refreshing soon) has slipped them a point to 9/10.

I cannot wait to get more so I can start painting and playing!

SHIVER ME TIMBERS - IT BE BLOOD AND PLUNDER IT BE!

I've been looking for the perfect set of Pirate rules since the time I first started Wargaming, after devouring the Blood & Plunder rulebook from Firelock Games (finally) I decided to order, just a few Miniatures to see how the game felt.

Thanks to Gaming Figures for getting my delivery to me so quickly, and its especially praiseworthy considering they didn't know I was ordering anything for review purposes ;)

The thing that most struck me about Blood and Plunder was how "scale-able" the rules seem, you can play games with a relatively small number of miniatures all the way up to quite large forces that take up most of the day to play.

My ONLY issue so far, and its a niggle - I've been doing this hobby for more years than I care to think about, so its a matter of effort rather than a complaint - there are a few defects, extra metal where there shouldn't be (mostly deforming faces slightly) miscast weapons (mostly a case of filing the barrels of pistols and muskets so they are flat not rounded - but in one case, a dagger blade needs re-sculpting/replacing. But again its a matter of work rather than a complaint).

Other than that, I love the dynamic nature of the Miniatures - the poses are great. Really full of life.

I've started with the Online Exclusive English Commander (mainly so if I buy the English Nationality Starter Set I've got two different Captain models), a Sea Dogs Unit, and a Forlorn Hope unit.

According to Firelock Games Blood & Plunder Force Builder - thats 59 points. Enough so when my friends Toby and Stuart start building their forces, we can have a little scrimmage to see the Lie of the Land as to how the rules feel.

As a total Pirate Geek - I have to give the Rules 10/10 as they are fresh, exciting, and accurate - I'd love to give the Miniatures 10/10 as well. BUT (theres always a big but right?) the casting issues (the molds will definitely need refreshing soon) has slipped them a point to 9/10.

I cannot wait to get more so I can start painting and playing!