Tuesday 1 March 2016

15mm Somali Pirates from Khurasan Miniatures..........,

.............15 Somali pirates from Khurasan Miniatures, all 15mm, will more than likely use these in my African Militia forces or I just need some speedboats..........





Many Somali pirates see themselves as good guys. And at one point, they were. After the government in Mogadishu collapsed in 1991, neighboring countries began illegally fishing in Somali waters. The first pirates were simply angry fishermen who boarded these foreign vessels and demanded a "fee." But as the illegal fishing persisted, some early pirates banded together and called themselves "coast guards." They claimed to be looking after Somalia's territorial integrity until the government could pull itself back together.


These weren't the only vigilantes on the scene, however. Other pirates made their debut robbing U.N. ships that were carrying food to refugee camps in Somalia. These bandits argued that if they hadn't taken the food, warlords would have seized it on land. And they had a good point. Warlords gobbled down at lot of Somalia's relief food during the 1990's.




But from these perhaps defensible beginnings, piracy spread farther from Somalia's shores and evolved into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Today, pirates are blunt about their motives. In late 2008, after a band of pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter full of weapons and demanded $25 million for its release, Sugule Ali, a member of the pirate crew, told a reporter, "We only want the money."





By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only 9 vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with zero successful hijackings.Control Risks attributed this 90% decline in pirate activity from the corresponding period in 2012 to the adoption of best management practices by vessel owners and crews, armed private security on board ships, a significant naval presence, and the development of onshore security forces.


In January 2014, the MV Marzooqah initially sent out a distress signal indicating that it was under attack by pirates in the Red Sea. However, the container vessel turned out instead to have been seized by Eritrean military units as it entered Eritrea's territorial waters.

76 comments:

  1. definitely not waters in which you'd sail into on your yacht

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  2. Very cool figures and nice write up

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  3. Great post Mr Lurker! Cool fig's too.

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  4. I thought this was a great entry Fran, fabulous, characterful sculpts brought to life by your good self.

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  5. Lovely figures and a very informative write up. Cheers!

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  6. THey're very useful figures and you've made a nice job of them too. Do well with the opsprey 'Black Ops' rules.

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  7. We only want the money - that degenerated fast, didn't it?
    Nice figures, Fran!

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  8. Lovely work Fran...I mean matey!

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  9. Those look cool Fran and great looking new looking blog Fran!

    Christopher

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  10. Very cool - I was just looking at these yesterday. I like Khurasan's figures, but they are almost cartoony arent they?

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    1. His old afghans were as well but lately they're a lot better like the Israelis!

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    2. Thanks for that - ill have to check them out. I just painted a couple old afghans (well, I guess they are)

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    3. He just released some new ones!

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  11. Great looking modern pirates Fran, great looking modern pirates...

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  12. Not much in the way of "Arrrr" etc. with these guys. I'm guessing

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  13. Colorful and dangerous looking "Skinnies" (per Black Hawk Down) :) Love the new banner too!

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  14. Great job, have to watch the ones with the rocket launchers haha everything usually boils back to the money.

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  15. It is good to see you enjoying your modeling time, my General. Well done on the pirates.

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  16. Those are very nice - 15mm speed boats now that's a modelling challange.
    Cheers
    Stu

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  17. Nice job on the minis. They look great. Can't wait to see the speedboats you come up with.

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  18. Wow, who'd have thought they started with decent intentions? And now here they stand with rocket launchers holding people hostage for money. (Great figures, though!)

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  19. There`s plenty of Pirates on Face Book too!
    However to the point of comment.
    Fine and Dandy painting on these tiny`s Francis Lee. BB

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  20. Looking nice and not a jolly Rodger in sight. Good job

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  21. Nice work Fran and nice bit of background too.

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  22. Cracking job Fran! Love the bases compliments the miniatures paint jobs nicely.

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  23. Sweet painting and basing Fran you even have the odd shell suit!!!

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  24. Nice rundown on the pirates, and great minis.

    Love the new banner at the top of the blog too!

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  25. These look like the despicable Pirates from Rayonia. You need to send some Australian peacekeepers to sort this problem out and soon. The world is looking at you for firm leadership in these challenging times!

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  26. Nice work Sir Fran. They do look the part.

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  27. Cool figures and some interesting history. Nice work Fran!

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  28. Interesting info especially how they started out with good intentions but then turned to the dark side.

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  29. That was a lovely entry Fran!

    You've changed your blog theme. It's dark, it's mysterious, it's scary....it's you!! :0)

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  30. Thanks for the history lesson on the Somali pirates. I think a lot of them do still see themselves as those good guys, and that is what they intend to be, but it's definitely a case where actions have spoken louder than words.

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  31. Great post Francis! So tiny minis, and yet so masterfully detailed - you really bring these fellows to life. Fine piece of information, too! Cheers!

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  32. The sculpts look a little goofy, but character isn't a bad thing. After all as you remind us, pirates are people too, good or bad. Nice paint jobs, and the little historical rundown was an interesting read.

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  33. Great job Fran! I am now much more informed about Somali pirates, thank you. Do they come in 28mm?

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