We got another special Blood & Plunder character model to show off! The Sailing Master sculpt was part of the this year’s Summer of Plunder Organized Play Kit. I finally got my mini painted and he’s ready to do some fancy sailing!
This article is part of a series showcasing several of the new Character models released by Firelock Games over the course of 2025. You can check out the Sharp-Eyed Lookout, the Bosun, and the Drunk Pirate model, and the Cook miniature.
Blood & Plunder Sailing master Model
The Sailing Master mini is nice new sculpt, and produced in the highly detailed 3d printed resin that continues to impress. Holding a speaking trumpet in his left hand and giving a commanding gesture with the right.
With a tricorn on his head and a long coat, he has some class and is well dressed as an educated man should be!
Painting the Sailing Master Model
I chose a blue coat with yellow trim. The red waistcoat might be bordering on hobbit style, but blue and red always look good together!
I used paints primarily from the Monument Hobbies paint set for Blood & Plunder for this model, along with washes from the Citadel line. For the metals I used Vallejo which I find to be far and away the best metallics.
The button holes came out pretty terrible, but such is yellow paint… I could have been neater.
It appears he has a cloth wrapped around his head under his hat, and that was a bit difficult to paint.
Using the Sailing Master in Blood & Plunder
The Sailing Master is presented in the No Peace Beyond the Line expansion for Blood & Plunder. The cost for this Character was increased from 3 to 4 points in the No Peace Beyond the Line Errata. The Sailing Master Character is a Fighting Man, which means the listed cost is in addition to the cost of the model. You’re basically upgrading a guy in your unit to be your Sailing Master for +4pts.
This Character is available to most factions (all except the Natives), and it must be attached to a unit with the Sailors or Expert Sailors Special Rule. He has one Command Point with a range of 4″ which can only be used for ship related actions like Changing Sail or performing an Advanced Maneuver. He also comes with the Expert Sailors and Sailing Master Special Rules.
Safe to say, this character is all about masterfully sailing your ship! He can help raise sail, he can provide a crucial Command Point (which always counts as Dedicated) to perform an important Advanced Maneuver, and his unit will always be good at this actions, passing on a 4+ with the Expert Sailors rule.
And last but not least, that creatively named Sailing Master Special Rule helps fine tune your sailing, letting you move 1″ slower or faster than your current speed. This rule has also received a slight errata, since first published, making this speed adjustment a free action.
Once per turn, a unit that includes this model may take a free action to attempt an Advanced Maneuver that will temporarily increase or decrease the ship’s speed. If the Test is successful, the ship may increase or decrease its speed by 1″ the next times it moves only. This increase is allowed even if it would exceed the ship’s Top Speed, and if it does, a Lucky Hit is applied to the rigging as a result. A ship may only benefit from the effects of this rule once per round.
This is a really fun rule! It has two basic uses, and then lots of other opportunities if you’re getting into fancy sailing. First, it can help out ships with a heavy Windward Penalty, like a Fluyt or Galleon. Moving 2″ upwind can be very punishing, and if you can use this speed boost once per turn, it can help you either get back to sailing large quicker, or just keep you moving at a semi-decent speed if you need to move upwind.
The other clear and brutal use for this model is for the rocket style “Fast Boarding” style lists that just want to make contact and board the enemy as fast as possible. It can be worth it to take a Lucky Hit to your Rigging if you it means you can grapple and board a ship and stop it from hitting you with serious cannons again!
He’s also just a great way add Expert Sailors to your unit if you don’t have easy access to a unit with that rule but would benefit from it.
Or maybe your captain isn’t really great at sea and he needs someone to actually manage the ship. The Sailing Master is there for you! It is worth noting that a few Commanders have the Sailing Master Special Rule as well, and since you can only benefit from using the rule once per turn, this Character wouldn’t be as valuable if you’re using one of these Commanders:
- William Kidd
- Mateo Perez De Garay
- Don Andres De Arriola Y Guzman
- Chaloner Ogle
- Captain Baptiste
- Laurens De Graff
- Captain Daniel
- Abraham “Admiral Crimson” Crijnsen
- Amaro Jose De Mendonga
How Can You Get a Sailing Master Model?
Well, that’s tricky. This model was released as part of the 2025 Summer of Plunder Organized Play Kit, and while it will certainly be available at some point, it is not currently for sale on Firelock Games’ website. I’ve seen a few go up for sale on eBay, but as of writing this, I didn’t see any listed.
Firelock Games has a large Kickstarter project scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, and I would be surprised if this mini wasn’t part of that project! It’s fun to have is a special mini from the OP Kit, but it needs to be available for everyone!
I’m hoping for some new Character Packs, kind of like the “Civilian Blister” that contains the Pilot, Spy, Captured Merchant, and Local Guide. It would be awesome to be able to get the Sharp Eyed Lookout, Bosun, Carpenter, and Sailing Master all together for a bit of a discount! One can dream.
I’m really loving the Character models Firelock Games has put out over the last year! Not only do they look great, but they help me remember I actually paid for that Character in my force, which helps me remember to use the Character which helps me win games!
Sailing Master Photo Galleries
More photos!
Sailing Master Model by Fernando
Fernando recently painted up his Sailing Master.
More Sailing Masters from Around the Community
Here’s some more great examples of painted Sailing Masters from painters around the Blood & Plunder Community.
This first version is painted by Tom G and used with permission.
Next we have a WIP shot of Jason Klotz’s Sailing Master:
And some shots of Dexter’s Sailing Master along with some other characters:
And finally a couple shots of Garrett Swader’s Sailing Master:
Final Thoughts
The Sailing Master is a great Character in Blood & Plunder, valuable on almost any ship. This is a great new model and I hope everyone who picked it up during this year’s Summer of Plunder is getting him on the table and letting him help you sail circles around your opponents. Keep an eye out for this model to become available sometimes soon!
What other Character would you like Firelock Games to sculpt?
Article and paint job by Joseph Forster
I’m trying to hold off painting mine until the Pirate Paint off.
There’s loads of new characters to paint up!
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