Chinese/Malay-style Pirates From Pressman's Plastic Figures

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The figures are well-proportioned 28mm figures that fit well with Foundry (see photo) and the larger 25mm metal figures on today's market. Their swords are shaped more like Arab and far-eastern exotic blades than western pirate cutlasses, so little or no modification is needed there. The swords are a bit fat, though, and the fastidious modeler might file them thinner (don't ask if we did).

Cutting the Bases - The round bases are too large, especially for shipboard figures. Cut a rectangular window 5/8" x 3/4" (16 x 19 mm) out of a piece of thin sheet plastic or card. Place this over the pirate figure and trace the outlines with a fine-point permanent marker onto the pirate's base. Orient the figures differently on the base for variety - make some face a bit left, some a bit right, some directly forward. Cut the excess off the base with flush-cutters, which leave a flat edge that requires little or no filing. I use the Xuron brand, side-cut style, sold at hobby shops. They are an indispensable hobby tool. I also have a pair in end-cutting configuration.

I originally cut the bases only 1/2" (13mm) wide, and found that the figures are a bit more easily knocked over than most metal figures. If you use magnetic basing, the magnetic material or metal glued onto the bottom of the base will lower the center of gravity, increasing stability. The easiest solution, however, is just to cut the bases 5/8" (16mm) wide.

Priming the Figures - After modifying the figures, I primed them with Modelmaster Light Earth military flat spray enamel. This medium brown forms a good basis for the pirates' skin, shoes and brown clothing items. It's also a good basic color for the figure's base.

Painting - These are pirates, not uniformed troops. Most of my pirates' trousers are some shade of linen color, but the rest of the clothing is as motley as I can make it. Because all the figures have the same pose, it is important to get a lot of variety in the paint jobs. Mix up headgear within a unit. Paint some pirates with the sleeveless jacket a different color from the shirt and some with the shirtsleeves the same color, as if the jacket itself has short sleeves. I emphasized the stripes on only a few figures, preferring a solid color look, minimizing the cast grooves, though these contrast-enhanced photos show the grooves up a bit too strongly. I usually painted the leg below the pants as skin. Don't forget to add a sash belt of contrasting color.

A few have the head-kerchief painted solid, but most have the top painted black to represent the pirate's hair and only a band of color around the head as the kerchief for a more oriental look. The dangling ends can be painted as cloth, or painted black to represent hair. Cutting away part of this piece or fraying the end with the cutters can give a different shape to these ends for variety. Clipping it away entirely will leave a little ridge that can be painted black to represent a Chinese-style queue (pigtail). Paint one or two pirates with skin-colored tops above the headband to represent shaven heads or skin-colored tops with a black stripe for scalplocks. Drybrush a golden light tan highlight onto the face and skin areas. Add a sinister drooping black mustache down to the jawline. Quick strokes of black create eyebrows and eyes, if you care.

The old Disney movie Swiss Family Robinson features a long attack by Malay pirates, and can provide inspiration for painting the pirates' clothing.

Basic Pirates - The first pirate is simply the stock Pressman figure. The only modification is that the headcloth is painted as a band with hair painted above it, as described above.

The second pirate has the top of his head clipped off and a conical rice-fiber hat added. Don't stint on the hats. Lots or rice-hats give variety and an oriental feel to the unit. Instructions for mass-producing the hats are given at the end of this page.

The third pirate has a thumbtack shield and a special headband of epoxy putty. Years ago, I found some brass thumbtacks with an embossed flower-like pattern in the center and held onto them until just the right figure came along that needed an ornamented round shield. Officers or noncoms can get a special headwrap to identify them easily - I used epoxy-ribbon-putty from the bodywork section of the auto-parts store (the Bondo and Cargroom brands both work well). Just make a thin worm of the putty and wrap it around the figure's head, pressing it down with a small tool to sculpt the shape and making a small peak in front. I put a dab of silver or gold on the peak, as a badge or ornament for the leader figures.

Sailing Crew and Gun Crews - For unarmed sailing crew figures, I clipped off the sword and the pistol, and cut or filed off the top of the heads to add the big sombreros that I had seen in photos of Yellow Sea junk crewmen. The sombrero brims curl up strongly in the front and back. Mine is just a circle of paper, with a lump of epoxy putty for the crown. Whether such hats would have coexisted with the turbans, headcloths and rice hats at the same period, I don't know, but they look great, are easy to make, and identify the sailing crew.

The other figures are gun-crewmen. I clipped off the swords and pistols and drilled out the right hands to hold the tools of their trade. The bucket on the rammer's base is just a section of tubing. I give the gun-crews full, bright red headcloths to help identify them on the crowded decks.

Riflemen/Musketeers - The first figure has a Ral Partha Egyptian/Dervish rifle across his body. His hands needed reconstructing with epoxy putty. I cut partway through his elbow to bend the lower arm forward, and puttied the gap. The second figure has his sword hand drilled to take a Partha jezail, and a full putty moustache. The third figure has a rather clunky musket of brass rod, plastic scrap, and putty, with a pistol of the same materials added to the other hand.

Special Figures - A bit of extra effort on one or two special figures adds fun and variety to a group which is basically all the same pose. The first figure has his hand drilled for a naginata made from his sword blade and a piece of brass rod. A band of pirates must have at least one guy with a knife in his teeth - shim brass cut and filed to shape. Alan put a putty parrot on the shoulder of the next figure and fashioned a wooden (or is it whalebone?) leg for the last one from a bit of plastic. The last figure also has a little square of putty on the front of his headdress to represent a flat bow, as worn by the Japanese and others on their headbands.

Pirate Chieftan - It took a bit of work, but I got a chieftan out of the Pressman Blackbeard figure. I ground away the wild beard, boot-tops and torso detail with a motor tool on slow speed. I made a turban and pants-legs of epoxy putty. The Mauser pistol is filed from plastic scrap and glued on. The clothes are painted with metallic paints for a satin effect.

Mass Producing Conical Hats - Sculpey polymer clay is a must-have item for the gaming hobbyist. It bakes hard in the oven or microwave and the resulting piece can be filed or sanded and glued onto the figure. Of the various grades, Sculpey II has the best texture and flexibility. To mass-produce the hats, chuck a short piece of 3/8" dowel into a variable-speed drill. As it turns, use a large medium-grade file and sandpaper to work it to a conical shape. Take your time and don't damage yourself. Do the same to the other end, but give it a more rounded shape. Then wet the ends and press them into a small slab of Sculpey which will function as a mold. Bake the mold piece hard. Then wet the mold cavities, and press small balls of Sculpey into into them. Pull the completed hats out of the mold with a piece of masking tape, then bake them in the microwave, and glue them to the figures.

Figure Availability - Though the game is out of production, the figures are still available direct from Pressman at an astounding $2.00 per set of 20. At the bottom of the Maj. General's Pirate Battle Game page is availability information, and a link to the Pressman order form with prices, which you can print out and mail to the company.
Note: As of June 2003, Matt Dinkel reports that Pressman is out of the pirate figures. - a pity.

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