By Garrett Swader

The new wave of blood and plunder minis for the 17th century are on the way. I was given the special privilege to be the first to paint some of the early preview minis for the project. If you know me and my Blood & Plunder history, you know exactly what commanders I painted first. 

New Spanish Commander sculpt 

First off, the sculpture work that is coming out of Firelock lately has been great. The new generic 17th century Spanish commander adds to the fine body of work coming from the Firelock games sculpting team.

The detail is exquisite on the face, on the sword hilt, and on the coat buttons. Just all round phenomenal work.

About the miniature

This mini has a pretty standard floppy wide brim hat that is cocked up on one side. Next the long curly hair (possibly a wig or a “periwig”) is in line with the hairstyles of the mid 17th century. The face of the miniature has a confrontational expression and you can really feel this guy fighting for his reputación and calling out buccaneers to face him.

Next we have the coat and waist coat. The coat is long, almost to the knee, and a straight cut. This is very typical of the latest fashions of a “justacorps” from the courts of Louis XIV or Charles II. The waistcoat is similar if a bit shorter in length and worn under the coat.

Note the Horse above next to the guy wearing boots, cavalry soldiers wore boots not sailors. A white likely linen shirt sticks out at the cuff, and he also wears cravat which is replacing the collar around this period.

He has ribbons tied to each shoulder and a cape across part of his back. He wears a sash which was common for officers. His sword is a very ornate cup hilt rapier and he also challenges his enemies with a short dueling dagger. 

Breeches are not noteworthy which was the style if your coat was long enough to mostly cover them. He wears boothose, a garment worn to protect one’s stockings from boots. In this case worn with shoes and not boots, as was fashionable for a short period of time in the early 1660s.

Painting the Spanish commander

I used Monument Hobbies paints for this project with a mix of Citadel shades and Vallejo metallics. 

I’m really happy with the way he turned out and I think he is one of the best models I have painted. 

The new Spanish commander with other Spanish commanders

Here are come comparison shots of the old commander from the first Kickstarter

This original Spanish commander is metal, and one of the first miniatures I ever painted for Blood and Plunder. I think I’ve gotten a little better over the years. The Online Exclusive commander is resin and a more recent pant job.

Be on the lookout for this legendary commander in my next preview. Joseph beat me to the punch for the new Marineros, but I want to do articles like this for the other Spanish minis coming in the new line.

And the ultimate set of Spanish commanders:

New Spanish Commander Painted by Dr. D

Spanish Commander painted by Joseph Forster

Final thoughts.

This will be another great offering for the Spanish Nation from Firelock Games. As always the resin minis are high quality and durable with minimal imperfections.

This mini offered a great painting project and I can’t wait for the wider community to get their hands on the new miniatures like this one.