A Merchant Captain for Legends of the High Seas

I've been super busy with the last of the summer tourists and have not had much time for painting or blogging.  Despite the hectic Dog Days of Summer, I have been able to complete a few minis lately.  Since I only have time for a quick update I'll focus on one of them....a merchant captain for my Legends of the High Seas campaign.

 

The miniature is part of the Pirate Captains pack from Old Glory Miniatures. The scale is a bit off from the vast majority of the miniatures I'm using (25mm compared to 28-30) but the addition of the base evened out most the difference.  Of all the miniatures in the pack, this guy is my favorite.  Although he is not armed with a cutlass and only a hint of his pistol is visible, he still strikes me as an opposing figure.  However, since he does not exactly fit the popular image of a pirate captain, I decided to use him as one of the non-pirate citizens of Port Largo.

Though I do not have his background fully fleshed out as of this post, I know he will be serving as a merchant captain on the island.  A pirates plunder is only as good as the coin it can be sold for and that is where this gentleman will play a role.  I envision him as a law abiding mostly law abiding citizen trying to make a living in a port town infested with pirates. He will purchase their ill-gotten gains and sell them to colonists in Charles Towne or some of the other islands.

To set him apart from the mostly colorful pirates I've been painting, I decided upon a fairly muted color scheme.  His britches, boots, hat, and stockings are low key and blend in with the mini.  The blue for the coat was chosen to make him stand out just a bit without being overwhelming.  The grey for the vest was my own private little joke representing his ambiguous position in a pirate society.  The best feature is his chubby cheeks.  Though my iPhone photo does not show it very well since everything is washed out (I had camera troubles with my Nikon on the day of the photo), I worked hard to accentuate that feature and make them stand out while still giving his cheeks and bald head a bit of sunburn/tan from working in the tropical sun.  Now that I have the camera sorted out, I'll try to snap another photo and add it below to illustrate the skin tone I'm describing.

Well, that's it for now.  I have miniatures to paint......

Closing text

Pirate Profile - William "Billy" Bullard

William "Billy" Bullard was born in Dover sometime around the early 1670's.  His exact birth date is unknown but according to Bullard himself, he signed on his first ship when he was a "lad of twelve years."  According to papers found in London, William signed aboard the sloop Deliverance as cabin boy on the 8th of March, 1683.  If his memory served him correctly, that would make his birth date 1671.

 Little is known of his childhood save what he has told this author during our last voyage together.  Many a night was spent listening to his tales of adventure as a lad on the docks of Dover but I have been unable to verify any of the information.  He told me his father was a sailor but was lost at sea when Billy was very young and he remembered little of the man.  His mother however, is another story.  To provide for the young Bullard she apparently turned to less than noble ways of earning money.  She became a favorite at The George and Dragon for many a sailor and it was no doubt here that William first felt a call of the sea.

As he grew older, William spent less time around The George and Dragon and the promiscuous ways of his mother.  His days were spent on the Dover merchant docks where he dreamed of a life at sea when not begging or stealing food.  It was on these docks that a chance meeting changed his life.  The young urchin was caught stealing hard tack by none other than the good Captain William Hastings, master of the Queen's Fancy.  For some odd reason that even Billy can not explain to this day, instead of beating the young rascal or worse, the captain pitied his lot in life and took him for his own.

In time Billy grew to love the old captain, yet in the beginning the relationship was strained.  Young Billy, as the captain began to call him to differentiate the junior from the senior, wanted to take to the sea on the Queen's Fancy with Captain Hastings, but instead the lad was made to stay at home with Abagail Hastings and was schooled as best as could be afforded.  Though Billy longed for the sea, he proved himself a capable student and excelled in his studies...a trait that would serve him well in his later years.

Finally in 1683, William "Billy" Bullard was allowed to go to sea with Captain Hastings, now master of the Deliverance.  It was during this first voyage to the West Indies that the young Bullard showcased his uncanny ability for navigation.  He would routinely match or best the navigator's plotting and seemed to intimately understand the currents, tides, and winds of both the wide open sea and areas closer to land, even though this was his first ocean voyage.  This gift did not go unnoticed by Captain Hastings or the ship's crew.  In fact, on one particular stormy evening after the ship's cable parted, Billy was able to help guide the Deliverance through a gap in the reef line and out to the comparative safety of the open sea despite poor visibility and challenging sea conditions.  This heroic feat earned the boy gratitude and a respected position among both the officers and crew.

William Bullard continued on his first voyage as cabin boy in name only.  Even as a young lad, the superstitious crew began to trust Bullard's instincts and adopted him as their good luck charm.  Before navigation decisions were made, the officers and crew would insist that Captain Hastings have a word with "young Billy".  In this manner, William gained rank rapidly and became a fixture upon the Deliverance for the next eight years.  As a side note, the Deliverance was lost with all hands on the very first voyage undertaken after Billy left.  (Author's note:  Captain Hastings was not on board the voyage either).

Great love and respect grew between the elder William and the younger.  But in 1691 their ways parted.  At this point in his career, Captain Hastings was more than happy to continue the routine crossing of the Atlantic from Bristol to the West Indies but Billy Bullard felt the call of the great unknown.  He served as sailing master and navigator aboard both merchant vessels and Royal Navy ships of war with great distinction until 1699.  It was in this year that his navigational abilities brought him to the attention of William Dampier.  Having already circumnavigated the world one time, Dampier was about to attempt the feat once again.  He was given command of the 26-gun ship St. George and signed on William "Billy" Bullard as navigator.  For the next two years Bullard gained invaluable experience and returned as one of the foremost sailors of his time.

But Bullard was not one to rest upon his laurels.  When Dampier was hired by Woodes Rogers in 1708 as sailing master aboard the Duke, Dampier in turned insisted that William Bullard accompany him.  Once again Billy rounded the world in a very profitable voyage, capturing three Spanish vessels in the process. But the trip would prove costly on a personal level.  A bullet from a Spanish sharpshooter found its mark during the last ship to ship action of the voyage and Billy would have perished if not for the valiant efforts of Stancil Jones, the ship's surgeon.

It was on this fateful voyage that Alexander Selkirk was rescued from the Juan Fernandez islands off the coast of Chile.  Selkirk had been the sailing master on board the ship Cinque Ports which had accompanied the St. George on Bullard's first circumnavigation.  Selkirk was marooned when he complained of the ship's seaworthiness and left on the island with little more than a musket, gunpowder, a few tools, and rope.  Bullard and Selkirk were on friendly terms and Billy did not take well to the marooning and it may have been from the urging of William that the Duke rescued Selkirk more than four years later.

William "Billy" Bullard returned from his second circumnavigation both well off financially and quite experienced.  Rather than settle down to an easy life on land however, Bullard continued to serve as sailing master aboard both merchant and privateer vessels.  It was as navigator on the latter that he achieved his greatest fame.  With his unmatched knowledge of the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas, few foes could out sail or hide from him.  Many a captain has credited Bullard's navigational ability as the deciding factor in the success of a voyage.  And though he is getting on in age, it is in this capacity that he continues to make a name for himself today.


Profile:   S     F     St    D    A   W    C    Fa   Ft                   Recruitment Fee:  16 doubloons
             -----------------------------------------
              6+   2     3     3     1     1     3    2     1                     Retainer:  7 doubloons

* Once per game, William may reroll both dice when using the Master of the Wind ability and choose the highest single result from both attempts.

* William "Billy" Bullard acts as a hero in game terms but must be hired like other hired hands.  He is a bit more expensive due to his added point of Fate and ability enhancement.


(This is the first of a series where I will profile characters created for my Legend's of the High Seas game.  Though the background will include elements of historical people, places, and/or events, any resemblance to actual history is purely coincidental.  Readers may use the profiles for their own games as long as I am given proper credit.)

Make Yer Mark To Join Me Crew

Four more piratey-types are ready for the game table.  Despite the wonderful weather calling my name for the last few days, I was still able to complete these scallywags in time to meet my monthly miniature goal.

This port is full of rascals.

From left to right: Henry Duvalier, Preston Gibbs, Jim-lad, and Don Rodriego.

I am fairly pleased with the way these seadogs came out except for the fact that once again one of the Artizan miniatures is showing casting imperfections around joints and interfaces.  And just like the last batch I did not catch the flaw until too late.  Even if I had, I am not quite sure what I could do about it.  The areas are too small and difficult to reach to try to re-sculpt with greenstuff and good luck getting a file down there.  I'll be a bit more diligent if I buy more from Artizan and if I see a repeat of the flaw, perhaps I'll try a bit of PVA glue to act as a filler before priming and painting.

The first rascal to sign the ship's articles this week is a young rake named James Monroe.  The crew simply calls him Jim-lad however and the young man seems to enjoy his new name.  He served for a time as cabin boy aboard a merchant vessel but wasted no time jumping ship and turning pirate when his vessel was captured.  Though young and not yet grown to maturity he is already making a name for himself on the high seas.  And don't let his boyish looks deceive you.  Jim-lad has already put three men to the knife and bedded several wenches......all before his sixteenth nameday.

Jim-lad, aka Mickey Cooke from Artizan Miniatures.

Artizan calls the miniature "Mickey Cooke" and it comes in the Juan Corso's Buccaneers pack.  The sculpt is fairly nice (despite the flaw I spoke about above) except for the legs.  They look a bit too slight to me when compared to the rest of the body.  Though "Mickey" sports a nice pot belly that one is more apt to find on an older man, I find that due to the size and face, he makes for a great cabin boy. Perhaps he is just a well-fed cabin boy.....

Jim-lad and his small legs.

Next in line to make his mark is Don Rodrigo de Coruna.  Little is known of his past save that the Spaniards both love and fear him for some deed performed in defense of San Juan.  The Spanish Crown has given him Letters of Marque that basically amount to a blank check.  He pillages the shipping of other countries at will and has even been known to sack a Spanish town from time to time when his luck and provisions run low.  Though his countrymen back in Spain call him a hero, those that live in the New World call him "Diablo"....a name that it is rumored Rodrigo has grown quite fond of.

Don Rodrigo de Coruna.

Artizan produces this miniature as well and can be found in the same pack as the one above.  In fact, this is the Juan Corso figure.  I very much enjoyed painting this mini due to the flares, nooks, and crannies.  I'm certainly not the greatest painter around by any means but when sculptors give me ample folds and high spaces to help me shade and highlight, the outcome is better than average for me.

Artizan calls this miniature Juan Corso.

I was able to try a new technique on this model and I must say, I'm quite pleased with the result.  Painting all these pirates, I was quickly growing tired of black or dark brown boots.  Lighter shades of brown did not look realistic to me however.  On a whim, I decided to basecoat these boots with Oiled Leather (Reaper) and then apply progressive glazes of Dark Skin (also from Reaper).  The result was a boot that not only had great shading, but looked like soft and supple leather to the eye.  I also used this technique on the boots worn by Cain after finishing the boots on Rodrigo first.

The final two new pirates are both from Black Scorpion.  These guys have been sitting around for a bit (along with several others from the line) and I've been eagerly awaiting to get to them.  Though some of the sculpts look to be a bit on the fantasy side, I'm quite happy to have them in my collection.

First, meet Preston Gibbs (I'm sorry but I HAD to use the name since the resemblance to Gibbs from the movie was uncanny).  Preston has served aboard ships plying the Caribbean since he was a lad.  Good humored and full of wit, he is a favorite with the crew no matter what ship he is sailing with at the time.  Gibbs is also a free spirit and drifts about the ports of the West Indies, quite literally going where the wind blows.  His whims and flights of fancy also includes his loyalties.  Though not known to betray his current captain and crew, it is certainly not uncommon for Preston to sign on with another ship, country, or even side, once he returns to port.  He was last seen serving aboard a privateer vessel operating out of Bermuda.

Preston Gibbs ready for boarding action.

As mentioned above, this miniature from the Able Seamen 1 pack from Black Scorpion reminded me of Kevin McNally who played Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  It was tempting to paint him up just like the character in the movies but although I "borrowed" the name for my game, I'm not a complete pirate, so I tired to be original here.  I like the sculpt but I was not crazy about the large axe.  It borders on the heroic scale used by GW and Reaper to represent weapons on their models.  However, the large size did not bother me enough to go through the trouble of converting it to a more realistic boarding axe.

Preston Gibbs and his striped stockings.

I really like the stockings I painted on Gibbs.  I'm not sure how historically accurate these are, but the striped version shows up commonly enough in movies and print that I could not resist trying it.  I had a very difficult time trying to tone down the whites and reds however...especially since they were next to the shorts that I painted a worn linen color.  A very light glaze of Gryphonne Sepia (Games Workshop) seemed to do the trick though.

The last in line to sign the manifest is Henry Duvalier.  Henry is a French privateer known throughout the West Indies as a lover of women and hunter of pirates.  With his red hair, dashing good looks, and timely attire, it is no wonder that the daughters of every prominent family on an island are locked away when his ship comes to port.  Despite their best efforts, and because of his, many a maiden has succumbed to Henry's advances.

Henry Duvalier is quite dashing.

He is just as deadly with pistol and sword as with sweet words however, and many pirate can attest to that.  Captain Duvalier patrols the waters of the Caribbean in search of sea robbers and offers them naught but a swift end.  He is rightly feared by the brethren of the coast.  If the tales be true, the crew of a pirate sloop about to be captured by Duvalier ran themselves aground on a reef and braved drowning rather than face the wrath of the Frenchman.

Henry Duvalier is without equal in close combat.

This mini is also available from Black Scorpion and can be found in their Privateers 1 pack.  Just like Gibbs above, this particular sculpt reminded me of a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl.  I was tempted to paint the mini to resemble the way Will Turner was dressed in the final scenes of the movie.  But once again I decided to go an original route.  As I painted the figure, his background began to form in my head (as is often the case when I paint miniatures) and I slowly changed my plan of attack from a rough scoundrel painted with dark somber colors to a flamboyant privateer strutting his stuff.  I'm glad for the change as I think Henry Duvalier certainly fits his character.

How many of you paint miniatures this way?  Do you have a background in mind before you start or is it governed by the painting process itself?