Declaration of War, and the Carmín Corsario

 Red reckoning beckons.

First, pirates. This is the dreaded Carmín Corsario I intend to use for Blood and Plunder. His figure is from Reaper miniatures instead of Firelock games. I am fairly pleased so far, though I do not consider him finished. The shirt lace around the neck and cuffs needs to be whitened up, and the coat could do with a final layer of highlights. Still, I managed the skin quite well at least. This figure was an attempt to feel out a paint recipe instead of researching one. What I normally do is find an online recipe for each section of a figure and stick to it. This takes time, but helps me stay confident with colour choices. This time, I just went straight to the painting, feeling out which paints and combinations to use. XV-88 is a very good vest colour, and it matches the colours of the crown of Aragon, which would be reused in the modern Spanish flag, although that design was not present in the golden age of Piracy.

Where was I? Improvising a recipe, yes. This was more tenuous than my normal style of painting, as evidenced by the difference in style between him and the earlier B&P figures I've toyed with. But this is more authentically mine, in a sense. Except the odd shine which I cannot really explain. My best guess is that I mixed too much thinner into the washes. Once I have gone back and fixed a few last details I can try using a matte varnish, I am told it might help.

And eyes! This image is proof that I can now paint two pairs of eyes on a figure and have them be roughly the same size. I cannot yet make guarantees regarding the pupil shape staying consistent, but this represents progress nonetheless.

Now, onto more serious matters. This year has been the final straw on a long and maddening road. For practically the whole of this decade I have been barred, no, robbed of a proper Halloween season. Wretched mundanities have conspired to take from me any time to appreciate the atmosphere, to watch films, assemble a costume, or even paint more than a handful of figures. No more! I have just vanquished a mighty business trip, and having returned rich with a bounty of hotel soap and airline earbuds I may now cast aside any vestiges of normalcy in favor of unrelenting horror. I have not just missed out on two weeks worth of October, but two weeks and five years. This must be rectified!

Now, I declare war on three dread foes:

-My schedule, for binding me like so many chains of dark iron

-My pile of shame, for holding so many deliciously twisted figures out of reach upon the sprue

-My own laziness, for bringing ruin to this place and dust to my miniatures

I prefer not to speak much of future projects, for fear that I will overpromise. But in that fear can be found motivation. I thus declare, freely, that I purchased on sale a bag of Victrix Napoleonics, a box of Perry knights, and some wood filler.

There are those of you who will know what this means, and those who will not. Both parties should prepare accordingly.