Black Seas: How to Paint your French ships

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell

Hey everyone, what’s going on? As if I didn’t need a new project, but I’ve jumped right into Black Seas, by Warlord Games. This is their 2nd naval game, hot on the heels of Cruel Seas, Black Seas takes place in the Age of Sail, 1770-1830, including the Napoleonic Wars.   With my good buddy Scott ‘Obsidian23′ Roach picking the British, I would once again be painting blue and playing the French, much like my Black Powder army. I’ve decided to use Warlord Games’ suggested French Navy paint set, with a few tweaks of course.

 

 

 

Warlord recommends these colours:  Army Painter Oak Brown and Matt Black, Vallejo Off-White, Buff, Medium Blue and Old Wood.  If you have something similar on hand use that, personally I found the Oak Brown too dark and Old Wood not light enough.  In this example, I’ve assembled a 5th rate Frigate and based on a 30×60 mm MDF base, note I’ve primed grey, don’t paint directly onto the plastic, it’ll come off. In case you need to know what piece is what and where it goes, check out this video: 

Paint Buff over the outer hull upper area, the bowsprit and all mast tops.  if you are doing a Brig, do the full masts

 

Next up is the main deck.   Use Flat Brown or Oak brown or any dark brown really.

 

Apply Off-White to the folded shrouds on the bowsprit, foremast and mainmasts, and paint the lower foremast and mainmast. Any ship’s boats are white also, as are the Hammock netting (across the middle deck, no guns behind them)   If you are doing a frigate or larger, the captain’s quarters/wardroom windows I painted white as well.

 

I’ve used a coat of GW Contrast paint Aggaros Dunes over the Buff and the brown decking, as well as the shrouds and hammock netting. Army Painter Soft Tone works too, brings out the planking detail.  Let dry thoroughly again.

 

 

Apply Medium Blue on the hull interior walls, top planking of the hull, and if you want, on the stern plate to decorate.

 

Matt Black over every cannon, every yard, the Crowsnest and anchors.   Do the upper deck cannons black as well as the wrappings around the lower foremast and mainmast.

 

I’ve decided to paint the cannons and anchors a dark steel colour, the black looks too unfinished to me

 

Apply a Blue Tone over the rear window frames. You will be re-drybrushing the white later, so you don’t need to do each square individually or anything.

 

I’ve added a white strip after going over the window frames and used a 005 technical pen to put up a name ‘Courage’ since I am not using my metal stern plates from the French Navy Fleet box in this example.  I also went over and re-detailed with white the shrouds and deck details like hatches, etc.

 

All that’s left is the Rigging (tutorial upcoming now that I’ve figured it out) and the sails and flags and ratlines.

Pro-Tip for the rigging, you NEED gel super glue such as Gorilla, and you NEED pincer tweezers as well as regular tweezers.. pincer tweezers are those that you need to squeeze them to OPEN them.

Hope this helps you guys get your ships started, while you wait for the paint to dry, may I suggest our first two battle reports.  Try it as a drinking game: Every time I get ‘Critical’ed, take a tot of rum!  Rigging will be the least of your problems!

 

Scenario 1:  Out of the Fog     

 

Scenario 2:    Letter of Marque   

 

Catch you next time!

 

Matt Varnish, AKA Dennis Campbell, plays Team Yankee, Flames of War, and Black Powder and now Ancients and Black Seas in the frozen wastes of Canadia.

Check out my youtube channel for hundreds of Battle Reports if you like here: