"How do you base your pirate figures?" Topic

I am collecting a modest group of 54mm pirates for skirmish games on both land and boats. I am torn between using a ship's deck color without texture which will look good on deck or a sandy texture which will look good on a sandy island but odd on a ship.

What have others gone with?

Thanks!

I went with the sandy beach look.

I did 28mm figs with a sandy textured base.

I also use the sand look

28mm figures on washers. I paint the base with Tamiya Desert Yellow or German Panzer Yellow.
It works for the beach and on deck.

I am planning to use bases that match each Ship for the Pirates or Navy, and bases that match the terrain for the land based units.
That way I can keep track of each faction without wondering who belongs to what crew all the time.

On H-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-r-r-r-rdwood bases, of course.

DM

I use 15mm pirates, Peter pig do an amazing range. They are based on sandy pennies, most pirate actions occur on land, storming the town, kidnapping the governors daughter, getting into a bar room brawl. My 15mm ships usually are there to be objective to get back to, or fire platforms to support the attack.

Clear bases work very well too.

DM

I once saw some plastic ancient looking coins in a kids pirate dressup kit. You could weather the coins with a wash and dull them down a bit and mount your figures on the coins.
Yes it does sound tacky but if done right it could look really good. Each faction could be on a different colour or type of coin.
If you type "pirate coin" into an eBay search you get plenty of choices.

I would probably use Counterfeit coins myself.

Sand really isn't a bad choice, since before commencing battle on naval vessels, it was common practice to throw sand on the deck, to keep everyone from slipping around in all the blood, from the wounded, and dead.

LOL Don.

I prefer sandy aspect, light brownish colour. Light brown is not too shocking aboard a ship; on a sandy beach it's a bit darker than sand colour but still acceptable. And the sailors/pirates will probably also walk on earth/grass and in town, so this colour is good everywhere.

I use a darker tone for bases which don't go aboard ships (town civilians and militia, slaves, etc), but it does not make a big difference.

When I put together my 28mm Pirate collection I included a lot of figures for my town and those I placed on bases with cobblestone using JTT molded plastic, but the pirates I put on Woodland Scenics fine tan ballast for sand and I added a touch of fine burnt grass to provide a little color. You can see the way they look in my Pirate Gallery at warin15mm.com/Pirates.html

Sand's the easiest, and you can color it so it look okay on wood or dirt.

Sand all the way

Sand.
It looks right on the island, and is easy to rationalize on the ship if you wish.
Pirates aren't real careful about wiping their feet after all.

With a parrot on my shoulder and eyepatch.

Nashville, those are beautiful figures. Richard

Way back when, I left my bases sandy color like OFM and Nashville to mimic sand or planking. But they always looked crappy to me. If I had time, I'd re-base my pirates with half sand-half plank. Or sand over exposed plank.

Both.
Some I use sand, and others I use resin scenic bases.