As part of the Raise the Black Kickstarter project, Firelock Games has made a series of sprues of multi part, hard plastic miniatures for Blood & Plunder. The Sailors sprue is central to the Blood & Plunder 2 Player Starter Set which means most Blood & Plunder players have a few sets of the minis to build and paint now!

The crew here at Blood & Pigment has been building and painting as fast as we can since the Kickstarter and we wanted to share our various takes on the Blood & Plunder Sailor models. They have a good bit of customization built into the kit, and if you’re creative, you can push variations pretty far! Especially if you’re willing to pull parts from other sprues.

Joseph’s Scruffy Pirates

First, here’s a set of plastic sailors from Joseph, assembled to primarily represent the basic Pirate unit with mostly pistols and melee weapons. The painting was done using primarily Army Pinter Speed Paints with additional highlighting on most of the colors. The goal was to use the scruffier looking hats and heads for these pirates models.

Dan’s Mixed Pirate Crew

Next we have a set of the full six sailors from Dan!

This crew has a good variety of light and dark skinned sailors, typical of some of the pirate crews of the early 18th century. Speed Paints were used on this set as well.

Guy’s Well-Dressed Pirates

Below is Guy’s first set of Sailor models.

These models show what you can do with “standard acrylic paints” using a wash and highlights.

This set of minis demonstrates how you can use the arms in various ways give the impression of a full coat, or, using the sleeves with lighter cuffs, you can give the models waistcoats.

Joseph’s Test Sprue Crew

These close-up shots of Guy’s models showcase the interesting and intense faces on these models.

The set of models above was the test set of minis sent to Joseph in preproduction. These are early prototypes assembled prior to the development of the instructions. This means some arms were not as well matched, resulting in poses looking a bit less natural.

These models were painted with “conventional” base, wash, highlight methods with the idea of representing more of a Pirate Hunter or Royal Navy style of crew.

Dan’s Various Sailor Models

Below are some sets of sailors from Dan, sorted by intended unit type.

The models above are armed with buccaneer guns so they can be used as Jamaican Privateers, Later Flibustiers, or Pirates with Buccaneer Guns

This set could be Pirates with Brace of Pistols.

And this set could be the core of a heavily armed veteran sailor unit like Roundsmen with grenades and blunderbusses.

Guy’s WIP Shots

Check out these WIP shots of Guy’s set of Sailors:

Jason’s Crew

Painted using a combo of acrylic craft paints, Citadel Contrast Paints, and homemade washes. Some sailors with a range of boarding pikes and brace of pistols with a few sliced shoulders to allow for new arm positions.

Several duel-wielding sailors with two guns… one for each of you.

More boarding pikes, a grenadeo throwing model with a blunderbuss for an upgraded soldier. A cannon crew member with a linstick from the Box of Plunder.

4 Sailors converted to a cannon crew using the Box of Plunder that came with the Kickstarter. A simple hand-sculpt of a cannonball in the left hand of one crew member mimics the metal cannon crew miniature versions.

The best crewman from the 2023 Summer of Plunder event has joined Jason’s Raise the Black sailor crew!

Final Thoughts on the Sailor Sprue

The sailor sprue is pretty flexible and lets you customize your models to a high degree. There are plenty of extra pieces on the sprue to let you have fun and create different looks with different builds.

We’ve had fun painting up these first sets of minis and we hope this gallery gives you some inspiration for painting your own.

Additional Content Suggestions

• Tips & Tricks for Assembling Raise the Black Plastic Miniatures
• How to Make an Easy Long John Silver Blood & Plunder Mini
• Complete Guide to Raise the Black Plastic Miniature Sprues
• 18th Century Sloop Building Guide Video for Blood & Plunder
• Painted Stede Bonnet, Charles Vane, and Amaro Pargo Miniatures.

Featured Products

• The Blood & Plunder Blackbeard vs. Maynard Two Player Starter Set comes with 4 sprues of these sailor models.
• You can buy 12 models on two sprues in the Sailors Unit Box