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

Deckhand "Schmitty" Done (Black Scorpion Pirate Miniature)

I've not been too well recently, nothing serious (not the C19 Virus luckily) just a nasty cold - it sapped my desire to paint, which is a big ole' bummer.

But I managed to finish Deckhand "Schmitty" Done one of my Black Scorpion Pirate Miniatures (sorry about the picture, I'm rubbish at taking them - it will all look better as a group with natural daylight).

You will notice he's on the standard 25mm Base Black Scorpion uses, in spite of my excitement at using Blood & Plunder 20mm sized bases - I was informed by Stuart and Toby (my only opponents for Cutlass locally) that THEIR Crews are based on 25mm round plastic bases. So in my always ongoing desire to be fair, I quickly rebased mine the same (yes, I'm that much of a softy).

So much more to do!

Gary Chalks "Build Your Own" Pirate Ship!

Way back in issue 82 of White Dwarf, Gary Chalk wrote an article called 'All The Nice Dwarfs Luv a Sailor'.

The article that appeared in White Dwarf 82 gave rules for sailing and fighting with Ships and includes basic instructions for building said vessels.

As you can see, the ships are crudely built (but effective) - but leads me onto my next point.

These lovely Pirate Ships created by Gary Chalk . . . .

Later on, Gary did an article for Wargames Foundry's Magazine - about how to scratch build your own Pirate Brigantines - and they are lovely models, a little lacking with regards to the masts/sails but nothing that can't be sorted out should that be seen as something thats an issue.

They WERE on the Foundry Website as well for a while, but as of 2009/2010 they have been unavailable.

But for those interested - you can now download them here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=14nWCZw1sGAS9yDfg9eCzpjN-DACB6YcZ

Early Days . . . .

I've not painted for a couple of days, I kept fu**ing things up and was really feeling down about things. Tonight I gave it a go again, early days with these - and whilst I didn't make super fast strides - I feel better about things.

Lets see how I feel when I get to the detailing 😏

STAND AND DELIVER!

"I'm the dandy highwayman

Whom you're too scared to mention

I spend my cash

On looking flash

And grabbing your attention"

Well, here he is - my English Privateer (and excuse my crappy camera skills - I'm utterly useless at taking good pictures).

I wanted him to be a bit of a "Dandy" and as only rich people wore purple in the 17th Century, I thought it conveyed that

Now, on with the Crew!

SETTING SAIL . . . .

Picking up your brushes after a long hiatus can feel pretty daunting - fracturing my wrist, various family crises, and then have much of the house refurbished (it started with the office, where we had an electrical fire) meant its been a good few Months since I've put any real "Hobby Effort" in at all.

Setting up properly is important, as its almost like being a newbie - but knowing what you are doing LoL!

First I glued my models to slightly bigger 25mm MDF Bases.

This was an important step because A - I have early onset arthritis, which means I'm a "dropper". So holding on to a chunky painting handle is easier for me (and the 20mm bases don't fit snugly enough in the one I have). & B it (obviously) means I don't have to handle a model while I'm painting it.

Then I sorted out a selection of paints in various colours into a Box (in this case from one of Lindas jigsaws - don't worry she didn't need it, she makes her puzzles permanent and keeps them in an Artists Portfolio).

This will speed things up, no searching for colours in the main tool box - I've stuck with mostly Army Painter, a few Vallejo, and some Citadel Washes (theres also some Mother of Pearl food paint - made permanent with Mixing Medium. For Buttons and Brocade style Fabrics should I decide to go that way).

Wish me Luck!

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" ;)