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 One)

Thanks to my lovely Mrs, I was able to secure my desired Debonn Crew for Freebooter's Fate - and whilst they came with a strange mix of 1st and 2nd Edition Cards in English (leaving me in a weird place for playing games LoL) they are truly gorgeous.

Minimal Cleanup as usual with any Freebooter Miniatures, its hard to tell how lovely they are "in the flesh" as bare pewter is really hard to take a good picture of (especially with my inability to actually TAKE a good picture LoL).

I'm so pleased (and lucky) to own these, they are now a cherished part of my Freebooter's Fate Collection!

Iconic Ships from Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Series

If you ever fancied modelling the Iconic Ships from Pirates of the Caribbean and wondered where to start, FEAR NOT - I Captain Blackwood am here to help!!! (OK, its me really - sorry, got carried away there).

In this post, I'll cover the Ships from the Pirates of the Caribbean Movie series - and indicate either what real-world ships they are based on, or give you the inspiration for them!

The Dying Gull

Starting with the most recent first, the latest ship to be introduced into the timeline of the Pirates of the Caribbean is the Dying Gull! Seen in the Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - the Dying Gull is designed after a single-masted sloop class and is portrayed by the Rainbow Gypsy which is a Scottish trawler. This Dying Gull features eight gunports, one swivel gun, and no visible cannons.

The HMS Interceptor

Pictured is the Ship "The Lady Washington" before it was repainted and dressed for the Movie.

Appearing in the very first installment of the Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie Series, the HMS Interceptor was a  brig in the Royal Navy serving His Majesty King George II. This brig was believed to be the fastest vessel commissioned by the Monarch. In reality, the HMS Interceptor is portrayed by a replica of the Lady Washington ship which a Brig that sailed the waters of the Caribbean through the island of Saint Vincent during the latter half of the 18th century.

The Queen Anne's Revenge

This ship appeared in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is based on the nonfictional merchant sailing vessel which was launched from England in 1710 and was named the Concord. A year after the ship's launch, it was captured by the French and used as a slave ship. In 1717, near the island of Martinique, that the ship was captured and used as a vessel by pirates. By 1718, the notorious (real) pirate, Edward Teach, or better known as Blackbeard, captured the ship and ran it aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. The Queen Anne's Revenge in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is a modified Frigate.

The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman is one of the most notable fictional ships in the whole of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series. It is a combination of a galleon and fluyt ship which is a Dutch sailing vessel that is originally designed as a cargo vessel. One of the inspirations for the Flying Dutchman's look is the 17th-century real-life Swedish warship called the Vasa (you can read about my post about the Vasa here - https://keelhauling-4-fun-and-profit.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-vasa-almost-perfectly-preserved.html). This ghost ship was also inspired by the legend story of the ship with the same name or De Vliegende Hollander in Dutch. Although considered as 17th-century nautical folklore, many notable people in the 20th Century have reported sightings of the Flying Dutchman.

The Black Pearl

The ship that features the most is Captain Jack Sparrow's, Black Pearl. From the film's background, the Black Pearl was originally a merchant vessel that belonged to the East India Trading Company that was hijacked by Sparrow. Originally called "The Wicked Wench" it is an odd hybrid of a galleon and an East Indiaman.

Mordheim Pirates!

Mordheim is one of my all time favourite Skirmish Games (the same way it is for many I would imagine) so I was quite pleased to find this Website earlier in the week for a Mordheim Campaign set in and around the Pirate Isle of Sartosa - https://sites.google.com/site/styroheim/sartosa

Whilst I am not a huge fan of having Warhammers Chaos Powers represented in my Pirate Games, if you left them (and even other Fantasy elements out) you would have a good basis for playing games using the Mordheim Ruleset!

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!