Pirates ... for my son

[Duke Donald]

The last thing I needed was yet a new project. However, the other day my son told me he wanted to play with pirate miniatures. I tried to convince him I should rather finish one of my numerous ongoing projects instead for us to play but to no avail. The discussion went along the lines of:

Son "Daddy I'd like you to do pirates."
Me: "cyber-pirates?"
Son: "No, proper pirates!"
Me: "Pirates from the Antiquity?"
Son: "No, proper pirates!"
Me: "pulp pirates?"
Son: "No, proper pirates!"
Me: "cavemen pirates?"
Son: "No, proper pirates!"
...

Trying to be a good dad, I gave in and put everything else on hold to do "proper pirates". Besides, I wanted to build some sailing ships after having admired the ones by Mad"Joli Bateau" Mike.

I decided to go for a small Brigantine and found this picture I liked


And this is the current state of the build

[tomrommel1]

good start

[Silent Invader]

A lucky son (and an even luckier dad!   ) 

[Andym]

good start

Agreed! What's the hull made from?

[racm32]

You are a good father. I hope my son grows up wanting to play.

[shandy]

Agreed! What's the hull made from?

Yes, I'd like to know that too. It looks very nice! Pirates are also a favorite with my nephew, and I have to admit also with me 

[Duke Donald]

Thanks for the feedback.

What's the hull made from?

The core of the hull is made out of sheets of 1cm thick insulation foam. I cut them individually to a rough shape and then glued them together and sanded the whole thing. I then covered the hull with sheets of 3mm insulation cut in strips 3mm wide. There is a mix of Tamiya - extortionately expensive - hobby foam, and some salvaged from old packaging, and it's hard to tell the difference.  The planking is made out of 2mm cardboard as I'd run out of plasticard.

A lucky son (and an even luckier dad!   Wink)  Smiley

and

You are a good father. I hope my son grows up wanting to play.

It gives me an excuse to spend so much time on the hobby 

Some progress, at this stage it looks a bit like a Chinese junk; must be the chopstick!



Now I have to put the build on hold, first because I've got to catch up with work and also because I need to wait for the cannons I've ordered to arrive; I need to know their exact size before going any further with the ship.

[rumacara]

Adopt me.
I need pirates.

[Duke Donald]

Ships are cool but a game needs mini. Thus, I decided it was time to go to the dreaded Mountain of Lead. I told my son to let his mum and siblings know I loved them if I wouldn't make it back. The expedition was successful as I managed to extract from its clutches two boxes of pirates before it threatened to engulf me under an avalanche of unpainted minis.

This is the haul with the six minis below the boxes the ones my son chose for his starting crew.

[Golgotha]

Can't wait to see more here looking very promising keep it up.

[tomrommel1]

looking good so far

[HerbyF]

That looks like a really fun project. I'm looking forward to the day my son wants to play pirates too. 

[carlos13th]

Thats a lot of pirates.

[War In 15MM]

That's a impressive built.  Creating a ship with balanced bows... that's talent.

[Duke Donald]

Thanks everyone for the nice feedback.

I managed to find some time to paint the first three minis. They are from Black Scorpion, and while they are not the most sophisticated sculpts nor the best casts, they were a joy to paint.