Hunting for figs in 15mm - 18mm scale: UPDATE: Now seeking ships and boats!

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

Hello all.

In my infinite wisdom I'm starting yet ANOTHER project, this time it's swashbuckling in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy, with a dash of fantasy and a sprinkle of Hollywood and no regard for historical accuracy! What I'm looking for are a few extra bits and pieces. My scale is 18mm and I'm using the models from Blue Moon. What I'm chasing are a few more 'bad guy' (meaning soldiers, governors, etc) personalities and some fantasy pirates, either in a large 15mm scale or true 18mm scale. Also if anyone can point me in the direction of some models such as wenches, sea monsters, dinghies or barrels or crates or whatever else in an appropriate scale. Oh, and boats!

UPDATE: I'm now in the market for a handful of ships of various types suitable to 15mm-18mm gaming. I've already ordered the Pirate Brigantine from Blue Moon and I'm looking for a couple of ships like sloops, galleons, longboats etc that will match in scale and style without breaking the bank.

[von Lucky]

For ships there's some nice plastic 1/72, 1/96 and 1/100 kits around (Revell, etc).

For Pirates, there are Grumpy's:
http://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=329_330_331&sort=3a

But no idea how the compare to Blue Moon (and I can't find a comparison online).

[Mako]

Peter Pig makes a lot of nice figs, and civilians.

Can't recall if there are any "wenches" in their Pirate range, but there are some nudes in one of their other ranges, IIRC.

I'm doing 15mm as well, and using vessels from a variety of sources, as well as making some of my own too, to fill in various gaps.

Bought a nice, big, armed merchant for Blackbeard too, just for grins.  Works perfect for 15mm - 18mm scale.  See pic below, with Peter Pig crew on board - their light guns fit the top deck rail gunport openings perfectly, too:

[Stéphane]

If you strat with blue moon minis don't buy peter Pig or rebel minis. they are to small among Blue Moon.
Prefer take more references in their 3 musketeers (wenches + ladies+ other ) or FIW range for "bad governor guy" I think.

[Mindenbrush]

Bluemoon are more 18mm than 15mm and have extensive ranges. Better than OG but not quite in the Essex standard of sculpting, easy to paint
https://www.bluemoonmanufacturing.com/index.php?cat_id=39

[Calimero]

I have a similar project (amongst many other). I beef up my collection with civilian’s packs from their (Blue Moon) Three Musketeers, ECW and AWI ranges. I also buy the camp set from the ECW range. I finally added some "regular" troops from their SYW range and some mounted officers, also from the SYW range that could be painted as civilian gentlemen. Khurasan Miniatures WSS range is, as far as I can tell, a good fit to Blue Moon, size wise.

Blue Moon/Old Glory also have boats for the period. As for other scenic elements, I don't really know but there should be some out there.

EDIT; note that there are some figures in the Blue Moon ranges that are smaller than other…

[Jagannath]

As Callimero says, I'd go blue moon because there's a big pirate range plus some stuff in quite a few other ranges. Loads to be getting on with.

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

Thanks for the replies!

I've got a bunch of models coming from Blue Moon, including some soldiers from their FIW range to act as opponents to the pirates. I've also ordered some zombies from them with the intention of converting them into pirate zombies through some head and weapon swaps. And I ordered some tribesmen to act as cannibals, so my pirate crews will have to face off against soldiers, cannibals and the undead in order to win their gold!

I'll have a look through Blue Moons other ranges for anything else that might grab my eye. I've also been in contact with Khurasan miniatures who tell me they are about to release their own 18mm pirate line, and I've found these fellows: http://totentanz-miniatures.com/product-category/totentanz/ who produce some nice renaissance style undead models, but I'm not sure how they'd go scale-wise.

There's a few manufacturers doing undead pirates, but so far I''ve only found them in 'true' 15mm, and none in 18mm. If converting models in 18mm proves to be beyond my skills, I'll probably just buy some 15mm undead pirates and put them on slightly elevated bases to mask the height difference.

Has anyone used the Hirst arts molds to create terrain for 15/18mm models? I have a couple of the 'fieldstone' molds which are pretty sclae agnostic, I might be able to put together some ruins/forts/sea-walls etc from those. What about trees and shrubs and stuff? All my gaming to this point has been in 28mm so I'm not really sure what is out there or what works best for smaller scale stuff.

[FifteensAway]

A bit late to this thread.  Peter Pig is, generally, smaller but can still be useful - I'd just keep them in separate units.  (Which I actually do for my collection.)  

For boats, not ships, Peter Pig makes one and Blue Moon 25s has several options in their Shipyard range - crews for the boats from Peter Pig.  Also, look into Thoroughbred.  Ships, again, Blue Moon as well as OG25 Shipyard in the 15 mm section.

For size matching to Blue Moon, Irregular (might be a tad bigger even) and Lancashire Games are good fits.  Essex will also work.  And don't leave out Minifigs, several good pirate figures in their range.

All depends on how 'pure' you want to be with sizes.

For scatter terrain like boxes and barrels, besides miniatures hobby stuff, look at HO detail suppliers - BEST being a good place to start.  And don't fear using Fimo type clays that you can sculpt yourself and gently bake in an oven to a suitable hardness (though a bit brittle).

For architecture, take a look at Stone Mountain Miniature's Vauban fortress - get some of the walls with the Spanish towers.  There is great scope.

Oh, and you must look at Rebel Minis pirate range - female pirates and the sea wench I think are important to your goal (and they might have skeletal pirates but that really isn't my thing so just check out their web page).

Most important: Have fun!

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

Thanks for the reply, that's given me some stuff to work with! I've got a 1/100 plastic model ship sitting on the shelf and I ordered the Pirate Brigantine from Blue Moon as well. Next order might see me collect another ship or two to populate docks and things, but most (any) actual ship-to-ship engagements will be fought using 1/1200 ships and using the Galleys and Galleons rules.

I've got a few of the Hirst Arts Fieldstone molds, does anyone know if these are scale agnostic enough to use with 15/18mm models? It would be a bit cheaper if I could get away with making sea walls and forts using these molds rather than spending cash on new stuff.

On a related note, it's been a touch over three weeks since I placed my order with Blue Moon and checking their website, my order is still listed as "awaiting shipping". Is this normal?

[FifteensAway]

Gracchus, not sure where on the planet you are but that seems a bit long.  However, they go to a lot of shows within reach of their western Pennsylvania home base so if your order coincided with a show there will be a bit of delay, especially if they got a lot of orders.  Just send them an email and expect a reply within a few days (weekdays!) and check status.  I've always found them to be a great company to order from.  If lots of resin in the order, that will cause delays, though.  Worth waiting for.

Another source for ships are cheap 'mantle piece' ships.  Cut off the base and the keel (carefully with a sharp chisel - preserve your fingers!) and you have what I call a semi-waterline model, nicely rigged for gaming purposes (though hard to place figures on).    Here in California the best place to check are Ross Stores but they seem to be hit or miss as to when they are in the stores.  Sometimes Hobby Lobby has them but at nearly three times the price for the EXACT same ships.  That has been my main sources but I might just switch over to Blue Moon and Thoroughbred for true waterline models designed for gaming.  Who knows when, though.

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

Yeah, I emailed them and got a nice quick reply. That's a good idea about the 'mantle piece' ships, I'll keep an eye open for some. I'm in Australia

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

UPDATE: I'm now in the market for a handful of ships of various types suitable to 15mm-18mm gaming. I've already ordered the Pirate Brigantine from Blue Moon and I'm looking for a couple of ships like sloops, galleons, longboats etc that will match in scale and style without breaking the bank.

[Mako]

I've got a pair of ships for you, if you like the above pictured Armed Merchant / Queen Anne's Revenge / Man of War - works perfectly for Blackbeard and a few others.  Asking $20 for it, plus shipping, which is quite reasonable for a vessel of its size, in 1/100th (15mm/18mm scale).

I also have a Chinese Junk too, for the same price (see image below).

Also, have some 32mm Pirates of the Caribbean figs, factory painted too, in case anyone wants some character figures for their Blood & Plunder games, or to go with their Black Scorpion minis.  $5 for a set of 3, or $10 for all six available.

Both are brand new, and made of high impact plastic, so are a bit more robust for a gaming vessel, as opposed to styrene model ships.

See my add in the For Sale section of this site.

Old Glory sells some small boats in 15mm as well.  I recommend the one with the masts they sell - comes in a four-pack, or did.

The Sailpower rules people also have some nice, small 15mm boats too.  Not advertised on their website, but that are shown in photos on their Facebook page.  They run about $5 each, or so, depending upon the size, and model.  I especially like their longboat, jollyboat, and dinghy (the latter cost a little less).  They usually have them for sale at conventions and shows, so inquiring about them would be a good idea.

They also have some larger vessels too, e.g. Bermuda Sloop, Cutter, cut-down Armed Sloop, Brig, etc., etc..

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

Thanks for the offer mate, but they're not exactly what I'm after at the moment