Weekly Waffle #425 – The Noble Admiral

20th June 2026

The Mojo

Well on this weeks’s weekly waffle it’s been a real mixed bag. Busy as usual but I have managed to get in some quality Hobby time. No real disasters which is a good thing but it’s not all been plain sailing. The mojo has been there but the talent, not that there is much to start with, has been a bit lacking.

But I’m making progress on the projects I have planned in and I’m coming up with new ideas all the time. I just don’t know where I’m going to find the time to bring them all to fruition. But it’s god to have them floating around so I always have something to be working on.

And I’ve booked a summer holiday but more on that in a future post.

On The Work Bench

The workbench this week has been a tough one. I don’t know why but I’ve just not been able to get any of the colours right for this lady. It’s not be a lack of mojo or even a lack of ideas about how I wanted her to turn out. It’s been a complete failure to translate what is in my head onto the miniatures.

In principle I’ve just been trying to replicate what was on the box art. But I’ve just used all of the wrong colours. And by that I don’t mean I wanted to paint something blue and it turned out yellow. More that I wanted a really vibrant blue and that isn’t what I’ve ended up with.

I think the who miniature is just a little flat and doesn’t have the vibrant feel I was hoping for. Although having said that I would still be happy to place this lade o n the table for a game. But there will always bee that niggle at the back of my head that it wasn’t quite right.

So the task now, or more accurately going forward is to figure out what I’ve done wrong. Because at the moment I simply don’t know. And I have three more members of her crew to paint up.

But I think that is symptomatic of our hobby. The dwarf last week all seemed to work really well and then you move onto something new and it doesn’t. The key I think is not to let it get you down and to just carry on.

Anyway enough of me winging. What do you think of our Nobel Admiral.

(Pictures of Admiral here)

Detailed miniature figure in a blue coat with yellow trim, pink sash, and tricorn hat, standing on a textured round base against a black background.

Painted miniature of a Napoleonic-era officer in a blue coat with yellow trim and pink cloak, standing on a textured round base against a black background.

Tiny painted figurine of a person in a blue coat with yellow trim and a pink hood, standing on a round textured black base.

Small painted fantasy miniature figure in a blue and yellow military-style coat with a red sash, standing on a cobblestone base; the figure wears a blue helmet/face mask and holds a weapon.

Colorful pirate miniature in a blue coat with a pink feathered hat, standing on a textured circular base and holding a pistol.

Colorful pirate miniature in a blue coat with yellow trim, holding a red object, standing on a textured circular base.

Colorful painted fantasy miniature figure in a blue coat with yellow trim and a pink plume, standing on a round cobblestone base.

Small painted miniature figure in a blue coat with yellow epaulettes and pink headscarf, standing on a cobblestone pedestal.

Colorful fantasy miniature: a blue-coated figure with yellow trim and purple plume, standing on a cobblestone base.

Small painted pirate miniature in a blue coat with yellow trim, tricorn hat, and red sash, standing on a textured circular base.

Miniature pirate/naval officer figure in a blue coat with yellow trim, red sash, and hat, standing on a textured base against a dark background.

Colorful painted pirate miniature in a blue coat with yellow trim and a purple hat, standing on a textured base on a black background.

Miniature pirate captain in a blue coat with yellow trim, holding a pistol in his right hand, standing on a cobblestone base on a black background.

Back view of a small painted miniature figure in a blue coat with yellow trim and pink hood, standing on a textured black base.

Small painted miniature of a soldier in a blue coat with yellow trim and a pink plume, standing on a textured cobblestone base.

Miniature pirate figure in blue coat with yellow trim, pink scarf, holding a mug, on a cobblestone base.

Miniature pirate figure in a blue coat with yellow trim and a tricorn hat, standing on a textured base against a black background

You can find more Carnivale images here on their gallery page.

Tactical deep dive

There is an absolute peak of magnificent, unadulterated arrogance that you can only truly achieve if you are a high-ranking member of the Venetian aristocracy in Carnevale. We’re talking about a level of snobbery where you don’t just walk down the street; you expect the cobblestones to actively apologise for being under your feet. If you’ve been following our regular weekly chats here at terminatortids.co.uk, you’ll know that the Patricians are usually defined by this exact breed of psychopathic, silk-wearing blue-bloods who treat a casual Tuesday evening murder spree like a high-society networking event. But if you look past the masquerade balls and the decadent palazzos, down toward the salt-sprayed wooden docks of the Arsenale, you find a completely different flavour of aristocratic madness. Enter the Noble Admiral.

Welcome back to the waffle, hobby family! Grab yourself a warm brew, clear some space on your painting desk, and let’s talk about the absolute pinnacle of naval authority in La Serenissima. The Noble Admiral is a Leader choice that swaps out the delicate rapiers and ballroom etiquette of the traditional Venetian Nobles for a heavy sabre, a flintlock pistol, and the unshakeable belief that the entire ocean, and every wet ditch in Venice, belongs to him by birthright.

Ruling the Waves: The Lore of the Noble Admiral

To understand why the Noble Admiral behaves the way he does on the tabletop, we need to take a quick dive into the murky, post-Rent waters of Venice’s naval expansion. When the sky tore open in 1793 and plunged most of Italy into the depths of the Mediterranean, Venice was left uniquely spared, blinking in the eerie luminescence of eldritch magic. While the lower classes scrambled to survive and the Doctors of the Ospedale began their horrific medical experiments, the wealthier Patrician families did what they always do: they looked for a way to turn a global catastrophe into a massive profit margin.

The most ambitious of these aristocrats didn’t want to just sit around inside the city limits wearing bird masks and stabbing commoners. They saw a vast, shattered world out there, ripe for the plundering. They funded massive private fleets, built heavy warships in the Arsenale, and sailed out into the treacherous, mutated seas to establish trade routes, hunt down sea monsters, and forcefully relieve foreign ports, like Constantinople, of their gold.

The men who command these fleets are the Noble Admirals. In the grand narrative of Carnevale, a Noble Admiral isn’t just a military officer who earned his rank through merit or tactical brilliance. He is a high-born patrician who bought his fleet, hired his crew, and treats the entire Mediterranean as his personal playground. He is a veteran of brutal ship to ship boarding actions against pirates, Ottoman privateers, and the scaly horrors of the Rashaar.

This background leaves a profound mark on how they look and act. A Noble Admiral doesn’t hide behind a delicate velvet mask or rely on a household butler to carry his coat. He is a swaggering, battle hardened warlord draped in fine naval tailored coats that are inevitably encrusted with dried sea salt and the blood of his enemies. He is used to roaring commands over the deafening crash of cannon fire and the howling of ocean storms. When he returns to Venice, he brings that exact same “quarterdeck authority” to the narrow alleyways and crumbling stone bridges of the city. He treats the canals of Venice exactly like the decks of an enemy ship, a space to be conquered, cleared, and held under the iron boot of his command.

The Iron Quarterdeck: The Noble Admiral on the Tabletop

Now, let’s put down the lore books, push aside the fluff, and look at the raw mechanical reality of what happens when this splendidly dressed tyrant commands your gang on the tabletop. If you are used to running a standard Patricians list led by a traditional Venetian Noble or a Capo, the Noble Admiral is going to offer you a completely different tactical experience. Where a standard Noble is a precision duelist who thrives on finesse, the Admiral is a blunt instrument of absolute command and terrifying offensive presence.

As a Leader choice, the Noble Admiral is the undisputed anchor of a Venetian Privateers list. His stat profile is exactly what you would expect from a high-tier Patrician character: incredibly robust, boasting excellent protection from his high-quality naval armour, and packing a melee punch that can open up an armoured opponent like a tin of sardines. He carries a heavy boarding sabre that turns his combat activations into a whirlwind of high-strength, high-damage strikes. If he catches a squishy Henchman or an unsuspecting Guild citizen out in the open, he will dismantle them in a single combat phase without breaking a sweat.

But it’s his role as a commander where he truly shines. The Noble Admiral brings a unique mechanical flavour to the Patricians through his Command Points and specialised abilities. In Carnevale, managing your activation order and maintaining board control is everything, and the Admiral handles this with a ruthless efficiency. He is designed to lead from the front, pushing his subordinates, such as his loyal Wayfinders, Ottoman Pirates, and heavy naval sentries, into the fray with absolute authority.

His presence on the field creates a massive “bubble” of operational efficiency. When your Henchmen and Heroes are fighting within sight of the Admiral, they aren’t just fighting for coin or survival; they are fighting under the terrifying gaze of a man who will gladly have them thrown to the sharks if they fail. This translates to crucial mechanical buffs, helping your crew pass discipline checks, shake off adverse conditions, and maximise their combat output precisely when the lines clash on a stone bridge.

Weathering the Storm: Tactical Synergies

What makes the Noble Admiral such a brilliant piece to pilot is the way he interacts with the rest of the Privateers box set. As we discussed in our recent look at the Wayfinder, the Privateers box leans heavily into a ranged, tactical play style that isn’t traditionally common for the close combat focused Patricians. You have Ottoman Archers providing long-range fire and Ottoman Pirates holding the line with chainmail and cutlasses.

The Admiral acts as the perfect conductor for this symphony of violence. While your Wayfinder is perched up on a balcony using his telescope to call out targets and strip away the defensive benefits of cover, the Noble Admiral stands squarely in the centre of the street, acting as an immovable roadblock. He invites the opponent to try and charge your fragile ranged line, knowing full well that anyone who gets close enough will have to answer to his boarding sabre.

Furthermore, the Admiral possesses a very respectable ranged threat of his own in the form of his high quality flintlock pistol. While he isn’t going to out-shoot a dedicated marksman, it gives him a brilliant “utility” option. He can advance down an alleyway, fire a shot to crack the armour of an approaching monster, and then use his remaining actions to charge into combat and finish the job. He bridges the gap between the static defensive shooting of the Privateer henchmen and the aggressive, high mobility vertical movement that defines a good Carnevale gang.

The Verdict: A Masterclass in Malice

Let’s look at this through our signature, down to earth perspective of a regular kid playing with toy soldiers. Does the Noble Admiral deserve a permanent spot on your workbench, or is he a luxury choice that should stay in the display cabinet?

If you are a Patrician coach who wants to break away from the traditional “masquerade party” aesthetic and try something that feels rugged, thematic, and tactically distinct, the Noble Admiral is an absolute triumph of a character. He fundamentally changes the identity of your gang. Suddenly, you aren’t playing a group of bored rich kids playing games in the dark; you are playing an organised, highly professional military unit that treats the canals of Venice like an active war zone.

The resin miniature from TTCombat is spectacular. It perfectly captures that specific brand of historical fantasy swagger, the flowing long coat, the heavy tricorn hat, the hand resting casually on the hilt of a massive sword, and an expression that screams “I have never been wrong in my entire life.” Painting him is an absolute joy, offering a fantastic opportunity to work on rich naval blues, crisp white linens, and the bright, polished gold trim of his epaulets and buttons. It’s a model that commands attention on the table long before you even roll a single die.

Ultimately, the Noble Admiral is a fantastic example of how a single Leader model can completely recontextualise an entire faction roster. He brings durability, unparalleled combat punch, and a level of command control that can easily turn a chaotic street brawl into a thoroughly organised route. He doesn’t ask for your opponent’s permission to control the board; he simply takes it, logs it in his ship’s ledger, and orders his crew to throw the remains into the lagoon.

Are you ready to take the commission? Do you prefer your Patricians to be elegant ballroom duelists, or are you ready to lace up your sea boots and march onto the docks with the Admiral? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if there’s another captain, doctor, or canal, dwelling horror from the world of Carnevale you want me to review, drop a comment and I’ll see what I can bring to life on the painting desk! Until next time, keep your blades sharp and your powder dry!

The Wrap Up

That’s all I have for you this week. Not quite as successful as I was hoping for but I’m still making progress. I will back here at the same time next week and I’ve started dropping other bits of content during the week. So if you’ve enjoyed the waffle why not try some of that. So until next week, keep safe and may all your projects go well.

Red Rose Wargaming

Trapped Under Plastic

Tabletop Dominion