Monday, May 31, 2010

Size comparison between Blue Moon Pirates and Peter Pig minis

Hi, folks. If you're a newcomer to 15mm scale like me, you're probably wondering how the different manufacturer's ranges stack up against each other by size. I had recently bought some Peter Pig and Minifigs cowboys, along with the new Blue Moon Cowboys, and was really surprised to see the size difference between Blue Moon and some of the other manufacturers. So when I bought some of the new Blue Moon Pirates, I was more more prepared for the size difference. The Blue Moon Pirates are 17-18mm at eye level, whereas my Peter Pig Pirates and Minifigs minis I have are true 15mm. I don't particularly mind the size difference, though, people in real life are different sizes, too. But if you're a stickler for scale, you may not want to mix the old true 15mm figs with the new Blue Moon Pirates.

Here's a couple of pics that show the size difference between Blue Moon Pirates and some Peter Pig minis.

Blue Moon Pirate Captain on left, Peter Pig Female Pirate Officer on right. Paint job in progress.































Blue Moon Pirate range European Captain on left, Peter Pig native on right




































Rebel Minis Ninja on left with Blue Moon Eurpean crewman on right



































Minifig Apache on left, Blue Moon Cowboy on right.



























I don't have any pics right now, but I have some 15mm Splintered Light minis Ghouls, Black Hat minis Renaissance Spanish, and a bunch of 15mm Rebel minis, and they scale in pretty well with the Blue Moon Pirates, though all of them are a little smaller than the Blue Moon Pirates. And the Rebel, Black Hat, and Splintered Light minis are noticeabley larger than the Peter Pig true 15mm's.

I hope this has been helpful. I'll try to post more size comparison pics when I get everything together.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Blue Moon 15mm Pirates!

Every time I went to the Blue Moon website to buy more Cowboys, I kept seeing their Pirates on their opening screen. Finally I broke down and got some. They are very nice sculpts, big 15mm (more like 18mm to the eyes like the Cowboys) and very easy to paint. The only thing I don't like about them is that the packs don't have as many uniques sculpts as the Cowboys line does.

So far I have the Pirate Captains pack, the Pirates & Treasure pack, the European Captains & crew pack, Artillery guns and Artillery crew packs. I'm now waiting on the Civillians pack and The Pirate Brigantine. I also got some very nice swivel guns from Thoroughbred miniatures and some Black Hat minis Renaissance Spanish Halberdiers and Arquebusiers wearing morions and breastplates. I know they're a little out of period, but everytime I think of Spanish fighting Pirates I see morions and breastplates. :) The Black Hat minis are very nice, and are also big 15mm, but not as big as Blue Moon.

Since I had a bunch of minis I needed buildings, a harbor and ships. Fortunately for ships I already had 2 of the Flagship Games ships which are pretty well sized for 15mm, and 2 Weapons and Warriors Pirate ships I had converted. I've since made 2 scratchbuilt ships in 15mm scale based on Gary Chalk's plans from Wargames Illustrated, and a 15mm scratchbuilt Junk, which is manned by the way, with Rebel Minis 15mm Ninjas. Who says Pirates and Ninjas don't mix. :) Now all I need are Vikings! :)

Well, the Pirate bug just keeps biting, so then I got my son Mark to help me with a Pirate terrain board, based on Gary Chalk's Wargames Illustrated series of articles. The harbor is completed, there's a couple of hills, apier and some docks, a Spanish Adobe Architecture village, a Spanish Church (all ala Gary Chalk in 15mm), small jungle, a small native village with some Peter Pig Natives awaiting painting as well as some more Peter Pig minis for the Spanish colonists. Last build was a 15mm pseudo star fort made from the Hirst Arts Egyptian mold.

Today I'm alternating working in the yard and doing touch-ups on the ships. Here's a few pics:
Harbor view


Fort









Fort guarding the harbor







Governor's compound







Gary Chalk style Spanish Church






Native village in the Jungle:






I hope you enjoy the pics. I'll try to post some more as things progress. I still need to get pics of the minis, but only have one crew painted, so far.

Joe