The votes are in and we have some winners to announce! The Oak & Iron and Terrain categories have concluded at the end of February and there were fantastic entries in both sections.
Oak & Iron Finalists
Here are the top 3 finalists for the Oak & Iron category.
2nd & 3rd Place Oak & Iron
We had a clear frontrunner, but the 2nd and 3rd placing ships were exactly tied! This 1st Rate Ship of the Line by Dave Brandon and this beautifully rigged Queen Anne’s Revenge by Percy M tied for 2nd and 3rd places.
The rigging on both of these ships really set them apart, along with flags, and even a longboat in tow on the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Very impressive work.
1st Place Oak & Iron
And our first place award goes to Montgomery M for his Spanish Galleon!
The painting on the stern, and the red & yellow geometric design all along the hull on the ship are amazing.The sails are very impressive and who can resist the iconic Spanish red cross bottony on the sail.
Montgomery has won one of the 2026 Great Pirate Paint Off medals for 1st place!
You can see the full Oak & Iron gallery here.
Terrain Finalists
The Terrain category is always one of the most interesting, but also the hardest to judge. There is always a wide range of entries. Here are the top 3 entries by the popular vote.
3rd Place Terrain
In third place we have a church ruin submitted by Greg P. This is a scratch built entry with some real attention to detail.
The crumbling plaster on the front of the building is a great effect. Great work Greg!
2nd Place Terrain
In second place we have another church, but in less ruinous state! This Spanish Mission building by Carlos MG caught my eye as soon as it was submitted. I want that on my table!
1st Place Terrain
And voted as the winner, by a very clear margin, we have the “Corsair Tavern” by Mike A.
This thing is amazing. Massive and built from scratch! Here are Mike’s notes on his creation:
This piece is scratchbuilt (except for some bits of furniture and scatter)& is based on half timbered taverns to be found in ports on the South Coast of England. It represents a meeting of pirates of legend discussing their interests in the Atlantic triangle and middle passage with a representative of the Catholic Church and Barbary pirates. In homage to Blood and Plunder’s hopefully upcoming move across the Atlantic.
Mike has a well-earned win here and we will be sending him a 2026 Great Pirate Paint Off prize medal.
You can see the full Terrain gallery here.
Final Thoughts
Well done painters! We have seen some really great work this year, and it continues to come in! Congrats to Mike and Montgomery for their winning entries here, and to all the painters who entered the Oak & Iron and Terrain categories.
The next categories we will be focusing on are Port Royal and Blood & Plunder units. Check out some of the early entries and upcoming prize support here in the March 7 update post.