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That's the mon for the Nanbu clan, who used to rule the area where I currently live.

Having only 30-40 minutes a day to paint has forced me to be more focused in order to maintain my productivity. I have managed to knock out a few cavalry models:



This elite samurai is wearing a nio do with a yaro kabuto. Google gave me a photo of a set of armor almost exactly like this model, except that the lacing and lacquer wee faded with age. I went with brighter colors to reflect the pride and status this guy would probably have had.



This guy is wearing a nanban-do. "Nanban" comes from a Chinese word meaning "the (non-Han Chinese) southern barbarians." In Japan, this was how they referred to Portuguese and Dutch traders and missionaries. Apparently, helmets and breastplates were prized among the samurai, but invariably underwent modification to make them more Japanese. I tried to paint dapples on this guy's horse, but it didn't turn out so well.



This is Ii Naomasa, one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's generals at Sekigahara. He equipped every soldier in his armies with red-lacquered army for the psychological effect. Both he and his army were called "Red Devils." It's hard to tell, but I did the lacing on his armor in black rather than yellow,.



Finally we have Ishida Mitsunari, the samurai lord who opposed (and lost to) Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sekigahara. He was supposed to have been an able general and shrewd politician, but lost to Tokugawa's ability to form coalitiona and alliances.

Here are a couple of group shots:



And that's it for April. I really enjoyed painting these models, and I will probably keep with the Samurai theme for May, as well.

These all look great. I love how you take the time to make them representatives of actual historical people. I may be joining your Asian coalition next month, I have a bastardized collection of samurai and Asian troops that I have been contemplating making a second KOW army with.

Great stuff, Josh. I have to agree with Theo - it's great to see that detail of differentiation and representation in your models.

Nice work on the cavalry, I really like the red one.

EDC

Thanks guys. The Steel Fist samurai are pretty easy to individualize because they are all individuals, the unlike the WGF kits, for example. I plan to crank out some movement trays this weekend, but after that I will start some more samurai, I think.

I'm still a couple of days from having anything new to share, but my son insisted that I show this photo:



Today is Green Day (みどりの日）, a national holiday in Japan, so everyone in the house has the day off. About an hour ago, my son decided he wanted to "play" a "miniature game." Rather than the usual high-low roll off we usually do, he opted to unload both the samurai and orc cabinets and set up this diorama, which he then photographed about 100 times. This is the best shot we got of the whole battlefield at once. The two armies are both bigger and smaller than I thought. I guess I need to paint some more...

Always good to see an armies on parade, looks excellent.

How old is your son?

Very cool. Sometimes nothing beats getting all your painted toys out and admiring your hard work.

EDC

Theo: He's six. Just started elementary school.

EDC: It is nice. Someday I hope to actually game with them.

Nice work on the samurai, and nice models. I've got some Assault Group samurai (Gempei era) that I really need to get around to painting on of these days.

That's a great age, my three are 13 and twin 11 year olds, only recently (due to zombicide) have they even bothered playing anything.

I'm about to begin my Asian themed army, what colors do you use for flesh tones on your figs.

Groundh0g: Thanks. I didn't know about those TAG models. If I didn't have so many already I would probably pick up a few.

Theo: I paint the flesh tones on the samurai just like I do all light skinned models-- AP Barbarian flesh, AP soft tone ink, followed by a Barbarian flesh highlight. I want to avoid the horrible orange-yellow Shang Chi effect, and anyway at this scale there really isn't much difference.

Not quite one year ago, I painted these guys:


They are, of course, Clan War samurai. They are nice enough models, but ten isn't really enough for a Kings of War unit. After finishing the hero/elite types at the end of April, I decided it was time to finish off this unit. First up, two mre samurai that I actually painted before I came to Japan in 2002:


I did these guys before Google Image Search was a thing, which is why they have silver armor rather than historically accurate black. The violet lacing probably should have been darker, as well. Note that I painted their eyes, in contrast to these two:


I did these probably five or six years ago, when I first discovered Citadel washes. I did their lacing in blocks, which I then washed with Badab Black. The wash worked pretty well, but I then ruined the effect by using a solvent-based, brush-on sealer, which stripped the paint off the sharp edges. These will be relegated to the center/back of the unit.

Finally, some new models:




I went with traditional colors on the lacing for these three. I also opted against painting their eyes, as they are supposed to be rank-and-file troops and their eyes would be invisible anyway.




My son has recently been fascinated by all things samurai, and we have been watching NHK's latest Taiga drama, Sanada Maru. Two of the main characters spend a lot of time in armor, and I decided to base these last two on that. One has black lacing over black lamela, the other has brown lacing.

Finally, one more very old model:


This is one of the hero models that came in the Clan War starter box. His paint job is at least ten years old, and if I had it to do over I would have spent more time on the lacing. But he's finished, and he'll work well enough to act as leader and bring the unit up to 20 strong:

Those Samurai are looking gorgeous. Can't wait to see what's coming next.

Nice trip through time. Your painting have definitely come along.

EDC

Definite improvement in both skill and knowledge of the armor over the years. I love the ornateness of the almost rainbow colors on the suits.

Man I miss L5R, but I think FFG bought all the rights to the game last year so we might see a new version come out (hopefully plastic) in the ne t year. We will at least see a newer version of the RPG coming out.

After cranking out a bunch of identical models last week, I wanted to work on something more unique. Thankfully, I had these models from the second Steel Fist kickstarter campaign waiting for me:



This guy is wearing katanugi-do, simulating the wearer removing one sleeve in preparation for violent action. I chose a red/brown color for the armor plates. His standard is from the cavalry set I painted last month. I'm planning to give that unit horo instead, leaving this one free.



This guy's armor is pretty standard. His helmet is modeled on a crab, which was a symbol of strength. The armored skirt on his helmet sticks out too far to give him a back banner.



I screwed up the white balance when I saved this photo, but it doesn't make much difference. He's wearing a sort of scale armor, and the helmet looks weird to me, although it's supposed to be based on a real, historical example.



This guy is wearing a tengu-mask with his helmet. I painted his armor as fur rather than feathers as the sculptor suggests. His back banner also came from the cavalry set. I'm not sure what it is supposed to be, so I painted it white.



This guy is wearing nio-do, modeled after the emaciated torso of a Buddhist ascetic. I chose this head to complete the look. The plates of his armor are gold, but the photo makes them look yellow.



Here's a group shot. I plan to add four of them to the other eight from this series to complete a Kings of War regiment of foot guard, with one guy left over to act as a hero. I'm a little burnt out on samurai for now, so I plan to work on Ogres for the rest of the month.

Lovely figures there Joshin. I particularly like the way you have thought about your colours based on the history of the armour etc. Can't wait to see more

Those look excellent
Will the ogres be "Oni"?????

It's pretty easy to do historically accurate models because Japanese arms and armor are so exhaustively documented and preserved.

The ogres are from Mantic, but I paint them with a blue/grey skin tone, not wholly unlike oni.

Great looking Samurai, Josh. It'd be easy enough to re-black the armour on the first two to get rid of the silver, and the finished unit looks great. The dual-army show takes the cake, though. They look fantastic.

You sure know lots about japanese armour and stuff. It's very impressive! Love how unique they all are. Favourite is the furry samurai

 ckig wrote:
You sure know lots about japanese armour and stuff. It's very impressive! Love how unique they all are. Favourite is the furry samurai

Almost everything I know comes from Osprey books. And I like the furry guy too-- he was the most characterful model in this set, I think.

Nice new crop of samurai

Azazelx: It would probably be a simple job to black over the silver, but given my backlog of models with no paint on them whatsoever, probably not worth it. I'll just stick 'em in the middle of the third rank where they'll be invisible.

Grimdork: Thanks, they were fun to paint.

C'mon! It'll take you 5 minutes! Or less.

Just do it when you've got the black out for something else.

 Azazelx wrote:
C'mon! It'll take you 5 minutes! Or less.

Just do it when you've got the black out for something else.

Maybe once I start my summer painting marathon.

After all the samurai I've painted in the last six weeks, I decided I needed a palate cleanser. However, I wanted to keep to my theme for May. So, I decided to do some more ogres who I can count as oni allies for the samurai. First up, some ogres with great weapons:


I did these guys using the same techniques for all my other ogres: Vallejo sombre grey for the skin, AP gunmetal for the armor, various browns for everything else, with Payne's Grey or homebrew dark brown glazes over all. You can't see it from the front, but there is a gap at the shoulder of the two guys with swords. I did some hot water bending when I was prepping the models, but apparently I didn't overcorrect enough. I think I have three more of these guys, so I can put these in the front rank so no one ever sees my shameful mistake. Also, the guy weilding the axe has a terribly-executed joint on one of his wrists. I patched it as best I could with Tamiya putty, but it's still pretty ugly. Thankfully, you can't see it unless you pick up the model and turn it upside down.

I also did this guy at the same time:


This is, of course, Mantic's ogre warlock. He's a lot less busy than the regular Mantic ogres, without all the straps and studs and armor plates and whatnot. I painted his simple tunic thing in very basic browns, as if he were an ascetic hermit or something. I found a tutorial for fire that I tried to follow for his fireballs, with a little OSL on his hands. I think I need to practice both some more.

Next up, I have six ogre berserkers that I got off a guy from the Mantic trading facebook group.

Love the Ogre/Oni, the different skin tone really suits them in my opinion (only one that counts ).

Nice work on these ogres, I know what you mean about small flaws - they always bother the crap out of me. However, from the other side of the coin - an observer - they look great!