A Primer on Custom Pirates CSG

Although the game has been out of print for many years now, Pirates of the Spanish Main and its associated expansions, collectively known as Pirates CSG, is a wonderful game with delightful pieces that can still be found on ebay. Even if you don't want to play the game with the original rule set, each miniature can easily be adapted for other naval games. Occasionally, one may want to customize a ship to meet a particular need or simply for visual appeal, and this can range from simply swapping out masts (kit-bashing essentially) to completely changing the paint scheme or even physically modifying the hulls and sails.

A relatively simple kit-bash and repaint.

A much more involved re-design.

Overall I would say there are two main ways of changing the outward appearance of a ship.

1. Paint directly onto the miniature.

2. Create a design on paper and then glue the design directly onto the hull.

In method 1, the painting can be as detailed as you would like, but several things must be made clear. The finish that these models have do not take paint well, and any coat that you paint on will scratch off very easily. If you do not want to remove the design already on the ship, you will have to prime the model. Otherwise, you must remove the design that the ship came in with a fine sandpaper. The plastic will remain slightly rough after this, which usually has enough of a texture to hold onto some paint, although priming here wouldn't hurt. In either case, always spray your finished design with a finish to protect the final coat. A gloss finish is recommended to as closely match the original ships as possible. 

A painted design with lots of detail. 

With method 2, you have much more control over how the design will look as paint takes to paper very well. However, unless you are using a very glossy paint the models will never have the same glow as the original models. The extra paper will also bulk up the model a bit, but this can be hidden somewhat by darkening the edges of the paper.

A paper design. 

Whichever method you decide on, remember to have fun and start simple. Overtime as you become more comfortable, your designs can become more complex and soon you will find clever ways to make your models that much more unique.

Happy Modeling!

Custom Star Wars Miniatures

I finally got around to fixing up my Republic Commandos, who looked altogether too clean for the job they would be doing. It's amazing what some black wash can do, and adding small details here and there can really spruce up the appearance of a miniature.

Republic Commandos

Use of Terrain

So I put the building on one of the maps I own, and it blends into the map very well. I tried this on a variety of the maps, and the color scheme really lends itself to being on a wide swath of maps. I'm glad that I was able to meet that particular goal.

Star Wars Miniatures battle.

My next goal for now is cleaning up a few of the miniatures that I find to be poorly painted or could be made to look even cooler, so once those are done I will post them onto here!

Completion of Painting and Detailing

I've now completed the dry brushing of the building, and I must say I am satisfied with the way the colors came out. Adding the reddish hues gave the brown a nice warmth to it while adding some rusting effects, overall creating a nice tone. At the back of the building I added some tubing using a good old fashioned drinking straw, the remaining piece of the zip-tie, and some wiring. Using wine red mixed with orange gave a nice corroded look to the pipe, ensuring that it did not look too new.

The pipe. 

Eventually I felt that the back needed one more touch, so I painted a discarded felt tip marker cap to look like a chemical barrel of some sort, using the same paint scheme as the pipe and some wiring to give shape.

Much of the detailing is now very visible, with some clones for scale.

I'm glad this project turned out so well, and I'm looking forward to using it in some battles! I've gone ahead and posted some staged shots to showcase the look of the thing.

Clones enter the building to perform some scouting. 

The building gives them a great view of the battlefield, as well as slight cover.

An AT-ST attacks!

Painting Continues

After the texturing finished drying, I began layering on the base coat with a deep brown. The acrylic paint had to be watered down in order to preserve the texture, as I found that brushing it on normally tended to obscure the work I had done earlier. This took about three coats, and even though the building looked very dark with the occasional patchiness, that would be remedied with dry brushing. I also gave the interior of the hall and upper story some splotches of brown so that the next coating of grey would have some variation to it.

The base coat. 

For dry brushing, I opted to use tan with successively brighter layers by mixing in a light coral for warmth.

With highlights.

I decided to leave the top floor/roof a deeper color to provide contrast, and in some cases I drybrushed a small amount of orange to represent rust. If you look closely, there is also a door control panel to break up the color of the front a bit. I like how this looks, and I feel that it can blend into more types of environments using this color scheme. The next step is to add finishing touches and to seal the paint.

Details and Texturing

So I decided to clean up the upper story a bit as I decided it looked too square, so I added a top bar and some triangles to break up the appearance.

The improved upper story.

If you look closely around the door, I also cut some zip-tie strips to glue around the door, and with some dry brushing it should come out to look like grating. I've also done some scoring on the walls and edges to give the terrain a used look. The tower in the back has also gotten a few details in the form of wiring. 

Texturing!

After the detailing, I used filler to create texturing and too fill in the gaps, mostly around edges where individual foamboard pieces were glued together. Another key area was the dome, as I wanted to avoid the appearance of just having it be glued on. Using some filler the edges the sharp change was gradually converted to a sort of fillet. Next I'll have to let this dry and then get on to the base coat, which I'm thinking of using a dark brown so that the building can fit into more worlds than the Mos Eisley vibe I was thinking of originally. 

SciFi Building Work-in-Progress

After hashing out a few plans to finally make some terrain for my Star Wars miniatures game, I decided to go with a foamboard building that had a Star Wars feel to it but could be easily swapped into any other science fiction game. I still need to do some detailing, but overall I'm pleased with the way the piece has come out. For my first attempt at large terrain sets I think it went well.

Some Clone Troopers explore a newly created building. Inexplicably supported by an Imperial AT-ST (for scale). 

The Space Dinosaur Welcomes You

So far I have had a fair amount of success making custom miniatures for a number of games such as Wizkids Pirates of the Spanish Main and Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Miniatures. When trying to find inspiration for these games online I found that there weren't very many pictures of custom items, so I decided to make this blog to help anyone who might be in the same boat. Although both these games are out of print, many of the same techniques and ideas should carry through to other miniatures. I'm also an avid model fan, and will occasionally make posts about the hobby. I also draw and paint, and I have a heavy bias towards Sci Fi. From time to time, I will post how-to's along with example pictures.

Here are just a few samples:

A custom 5 mast ship from Pirates CSG.

Some background pieces under construction. Pirates CSG.

A game of Mech Warrior with Friends

I hope that to anyone who finds this blog that you find the information within useful, and if there are any questions, comments, or requests to feel free to send me a message!