The new Blood & Plunder multi part miniatures are great. The instructions for some of the kits can be a tiny bit frustrating. They work, but they don’t fulfill my wildest dreams for miniature instructions. In this article, we are going to give specific parts lists and photos of 24 unique Blood & Plunder miniatures built just from the Sailors Unit box found in the Blood & Plunder 2 Player Starter Box.

If you’re just starting to build your Blood & Plunder miniatures, you have lots of options while putting these together. The main defining factor for what kinds of units your minis can represent is their weaponry. Your choices are:

• Pistol
• Brace of Pistols (2+)
• Musket
• Musket and pistol(s)
• Explosives
• Boarding Pike
• Blunderbuss
• Sword or Axe (standard melee weapon)

One good way to build up your 24 minis is 12 with muskets and 12 with pistols, with some explosives, blunderbusses, and some melee weapons thrown in. The boarding pikes are cool but there aren’t many units that can actually use them in the game right now, so I wouldn’t focus on them too much. If you want to use a boarding pike, it could be a good way to mark a Character like the Reformado.

But this article isn’t focusing on those choices! This article will give you parts lists to build 24 different unique pirates (or 4 unique ways to build a set of 6 pirates off a single sprue).

Modifications & Combos

A few of these combinations requires some trimming, or reshaping joints, but most of them are straightforward combos that aren’t difficult. Don’t be afraid to trim necks a bit with your hobby knife. Altering the angle of the head can change the character of your miniatures a lot. The two leaning bodies are a little tricky, but if you’re up for messing with the neck joint, that can open up a lot more head options for those bodies and give you some unexpected and dynamic poses.

The trickiest combos are the minis that are holding a musket with both hands. Those can be difficult to dry fit. I only did two of those combos, but you could do 8 with your 4 sprues, in addition to many more minis holding a musket with one hand.

Without any more boring introduction, here are 24 unique pirates. They will be presented in groups of 4, all using the same torso.

While building this was my thought process, progressing from L to R in the images below:

1. Most basic according to instructions
2. Second variation according to instructions
3. A little more complex, maybe drawing from outside the parts used in the instruction diagram.
4. Most exotic, plan for some trimming and use several pieces not used in the instruction diagram

Body A

Stand around guy.

Body B

The leaners!

Body C

Surfer bois.

Body D

Stand around guy 2.

Body E

Fancy coat man.

Body F

The Commander.

How to Use This Guide

I don’t recommend building all your minis up just like these. Build them to fit the way you want to run your crew! I skipped over several possibilities here. For instance, I could have/should have included more men with blunderbusses so I have more options for that upgrade (very common in units in Raise the Black). I also could have included more boarding axes.

Build the minis from this guide that look good to you. Use these as “Sailor Recipes” and cook up what sounds tasty. Then mix up some of your own combinations!

One of the hardest parts of building these minis is selecting the right arms for the job, and I hope this helps a little with that.

Final Thoughts

Firelock Games’ Sailor sprue is an impressive product! You can make a huge variety of poses and include a huge variety of weaponry. But in it’s very flexibility, it can be a little frustrating knowing where to start. The sprue instructions aren’t as helpful as they could, but including instructions for every possible variation would be insanity. I’ve seen a lot of great variation out there and I’m sure there will be no crew exactly the same when those ships full of sailors hit the tournament tables!

Before signing off, I should mention that there are even more possibilities for mini modifications if you start to pull parts from other sprues. The Militia, Native American and Soldier sprues can all be pirated to supply you with more bits to make these sailors even more fun. Save all those extra pieces as you build your Militia/Soldiers/Natives and then experiment. There’s lots of variations to make if you enjoy this sort of thing!

More Sailor Examples

For more takes on the sailor models, check out our Sailor Showcase article with sets of sailors built up by all four of us here at Blood & Pigment.

Additional Recommended Reading

• Tips & Tricks for Assembling Raise the Black Miniatures
• How to Make an Easy Long John Silver Blood & Plunder Mini – a great kitbash from the new plastic minis.
• Complete Guide to Raise the Black Plastic Miniature Sprues – Full breakdown of all the bits on every sprue
• 18th Century Sloop Building Guide Video for Blood & Plunder
• See some of finished and painted pirates from the Blood & Pigment Crew: Sailor Models Showcase – Painted Blood & Plunder Miniatures
• Learn how to build a custom Benjamin Hornigold kitbash model

Product Recommendations

If you have yet to pick up some of the new plastic miniatures, here are a few quick links to get some from Firelock Games directly.

• Plastic Sailor Boxed Set
• Raise the Black 2-Player Starter Set
• Plastic Militia Boxed Set 
• Plastic Soldier Boxed Set
• Plastic Cavalry Boxed Set
• Plastic Native American Boxed Set

Article and miniatures by Joseph Forster