Fireforge has been showing pics of their new line. Feudal Japan. Multi-part plastic sets and resin sets. I am not entirely sure which sets are which yet, but they look good.

I can certainly use more Feudal Japanese.

looking through the Facebook posts, it looks like all of the above are multi-part plastic except Oda Nobunaga

 VictorVonTzeentch wrote:
I can certainly use more Feudal Japanese.

Said every player, ever! Kidding aside, this is exciting.

Also saw this on FireForge's Facebook:

"Kickstarter will be launched on May after we have shipped the dwarfs for our previous campaign."

Classy move, in my opinion. Probably also smart in a business sense, finish dealing with one project before starting the next.

I've been wanting to do a feudal Japan-themed fantasy army for ages and none of the existing plastic kits do it for me. These, however, are just the ticket!

On the one hand, those faces and proportions are not making me happy. On the other hand, the samurai themselves look good.

I've been eyeing on the warlord games samurai kits for ages to increase my Khand forces, these also look great. Will be interesting to see them next to each other.

Fireforge said that all of their kits will be scaled in line with the Northmen. So these should be as well, which would put them in scale with old Warhammer Empire.

The monks in particular look like they could be useful for RPGS... or as a base for a good Frost-grave Wizard. With some Northmen or other bits you could kitbash some TV Lannisters using the Ashigaru.

I am not sure I really need a Feudal Japanese army, but I am probably in for a box of monks and a box of the Ashigaru with guns...

Also since these are not fantasy, they should be more than 12 infantry/6 cavalry to a box as Fireforge usually only has that premium on their fantasy sets.

I want this, but then I remember I have 100s of the Warlordgames/WGF samurai that I still need to assemble and paint. Hopefully these are slightly larger and more fun to assemble.

Yeah, the WGF ones were a letdown. The so far look pretty decent, looking forward for more stuff.

And if I can use these for L5R, I'll be a very happy camper ^^

I've been mumbling and grumbling about the lack of decent Feudal Japan kits for quite some time.

I'll be all over these, especially if they make the deal a sweet one.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
On the one hand, those faces and proportions are not making me happy. On the other hand, the samurai themselves look good.

The faces are an improvement over the Fireforge Steppe Warrior set. Although that's not saying much.

Will keep an eye on this project. Have all my Clan War stuff still, so I don't need samurai, but I like sohei (warrior monks), and do not own any.

The Three unifiers of Japan when challenged to make a bird sing.
Oda Nobunaga: "Sing or I will kill you!"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi: "Sing or I will make you sing."
Tokugawa Ieyasu: "I will wait for the bird to sing."

The warrior monks could be very useful if the loose clothing makes the bodies work with Victrix or WGF heads (and maybe arms).

Now I have to figure out how to kitbash a Sho’nuff, Shogun of Harlem.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
The warrior monks could be very useful if the loose clothing makes the bodies work with Victrix or WGF heads (and maybe arms).

Now I have to figure out how to kitbash a Sho’nuff, Shogun of Harlem.

If the Wargames Atlantic Boxers ever come out, you could kitbash a Bruce Leroy with that set.

That is my plan. As well as a bunch of Wing Kong henchmen.


Dean Cameron’s pizza man from Men At Work might just be too obscure. “Commie bastard gets no food!”

Sgt. Cortez wrote:
I've been eyeing on the warlord games samurai kits for ages to increase my Khand forces, these also look great. Will be interesting to see them next to each other.

Have you thought about 3D printed offerings from other retailers?

I hope they rank up well. Warhammer Nippon, anyone?

Yeahhh, based on the last kickstarter its a no for me.

 McDougall Designs wrote:

Sgt. Cortez wrote:
I've been eyeing on the warlord games samurai kits for ages to increase my Khand forces, these also look great. Will be interesting to see them next to each other.

Have you thought about 3D printed offerings from other retailers?

I know Medbury is producing Khand models as well and they're on my list . But without having a printer on my own a proper plastic sprue is still the cheaper way to go and more fun for kitbashing. If you know an STL or a source for the axes GWs Khand Warriors have that would be helpful, though. I haven't seen these anywhere.

Being in scale with their Northmen is an excellent news. Hopefully they also do not have integral bases.

Why would these be fantasy scaled?

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Why would these be fantasy scaled?

I think all their new kits will be fantasy scaled like Varangian Guard for example.

I guess that means there's more people buying historicals for Cities of Sigmar proxies than there are actual historical gamers.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I guess that means there's more people buying historicals for Cities of Sigmar proxies than there are actual historical gamers.

Yeah, people like me who do not play historicals but who like the look of the minis, which can be used in various wargames/solo games. I am already thinking about using the samurai etc. in the upcoming Five Leagues from the Borderlands 3rd edition.

 Albertorius wrote:
Yeah, the WGF ones were a letdown. The so far look pretty decent, looking forward for more stuff.

And if I can use these for L5R, I'll be a very happy camper ^^

I have to say, IMHO, I really liked the WGF Samurai line and love the Samurai army I built from them. Yeah, a bit fiddly with all the multi-part options, but easy to assemble. The WGF are definitely more realistic scaled and these from Fireforge do look a bit heroic. Typically most of FF has been more on the realistic side, so this these do seem like a shift to me.

 MDSW wrote:


I have to say, IMHO, I really liked the WGF Samurai line and love the Samurai army I built from them. Yeah, a bit fiddly with all the multi-part options, but easy to assemble. The WGF are definitely more realistic scaled and these from Fireforge do look a bit heroic. Typically most of FF has been more on the realistic side, so this these do seem like a shift to me.

I think the official change happened during their Byzantine Kickstarter. I think the reasoning was fantasy was selling better and many had requested it… plus making everything in one scale makes all of their stuff compatible.

Edit: Here is a screen shot from the Byzantine kickstarter FAQ

 MDSW wrote:

 Albertorius wrote:
Yeah, the WGF ones were a letdown. The so far look pretty decent, looking forward for more stuff.

And if I can use these for L5R, I'll be a very happy camper ^^

I have to say, IMHO, I really liked the WGF Samurai line and love the Samurai army I built from them. Yeah, a bit fiddly with all the multi-part options, but easy to assemble. The WGF are definitely more realistic scaled and these from Fireforge do look a bit heroic. Typically most of FF has been more on the realistic side, so this these do seem like a shift to me.

I already have Perry, Clan War and Zenit miniatures models, and the ones from WFG were very fiddly to assemble and... well, not that good.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I guess that means there's more people buying historicals for Cities of Sigmar proxies than there are actual historical gamers.

Not necessarily. Could just mean more people prefer Victrix and Wargames Atlantic’s scale over Gripping Beast and old Fireforge scales. The plastic Mongols, Byzantines and Arabs I have are all comically proportioned, and look pretty bad next to Victrix and WGA minis. Weirdly, Fireforge’s Foot Sergeants seem to be better proportioned, closer to Fireforge’s fantasy scale maybe.

The renders for these Japanese warriors look similarly squat and thick as the Byzantines, which reduces my interest quite a bit. Especially if they are as relatively-expensive and bits-stingy as the Byzantines.

Man, some of those faces are very bad.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I guess that means there's more people buying historicals for Cities of Sigmar proxies than there are actual historical gamers.

Not necessarily. Could just mean more people prefer Victrix and Wargames Atlantic’s scale over Gripping Beast and old Fireforge scales. The plastic Mongols, Byzantines and Arabs I have are all comically proportioned, and look pretty bad next to Victrix and WGA minis. Weirdly, Fireforge’s Foot Sergeants seem to be better proportioned, closer to Fireforge’s fantasy scale maybe.

The renders for these Japanese warriors look similarly squat and thick as the Byzantines, which reduces my interest quite a bit. Especially if they are as relatively-expensive and bits-stingy as the Byzantines.

Bits-stingy seems to define fireforge currently

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:
Yeahhh, based on the last kickstarter its a no for me.

Hold on, what happened with their last kickstarter?

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:
Yeahhh, based on the last kickstarter its a no for me.

Hold on, what happened with their last kickstarter?

Guessing because the dwarf Kickstarter was supposed to deliver in December, but hasn’t delivered yet.

If I had one complaint about Fireforge it would be their communication. I think they are a stand up company but sometimes dont communicate when they should and sometimes the stuff they do communicate comes off wrong. But I havent had any issues with the stuff they produce being bad, or with them not doing something they promised.

Not sure if models will be comparable to the renders currently provided, but at least renders look great. I don't have plans on getting any more Samurai as of now, but it's still very good news. Finally there will be feudal Japanese plastic kits besides the Wargames Factory atrocity.

 Smokestack wrote:
If I had one complaint about Fireforge it would be their communication. I think they are a stand up company but sometimes dont communicate when they should and sometimes the stuff they do communicate comes off wrong. But I havent had any issues with the stuff they produce being bad, or with them not doing something they promised.

I agree with that. They really need to improve their communication but otherwise I think they are pretty good.

those look really nice, first time i heard of FireForge

Yriel_71 wrote:
those look really nice, first time i heard of FireForge

I suggest then to check their Living Dead and Northmen from their Forgotten World range.

One of these days I’m going to spring for their Albion knights, or whatever their fantasy knights are called.

 Shadow Walker wrote:

Yriel_71 wrote:
those look really nice, first time i heard of FireForge

I suggest then to check their Living Dead and Northmen from their Forgotten World range.

Here is a link to their Northmen/ Undead thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/753391.page

Here is a link to their Dwarf thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/796401.page

From Facebook

"Our mounted samurai with katana. Horo and sashimono will be enough for all the plastic models in the box. "

 Smokestack wrote:
From Facebook

"Our mounted samurai with katana. Horo and sashimono will be enough for all the plastic models in the box. "

Having sashimono for all riders is good, but the horo was usually used only by couriers as it was supposed to stop (or at least entangle) arrows shot at the user's back. Couriers may need to ride hell for leather while pursued and taking arrows from behind, but mounted samurai in battle should be facing the enemy, and so a horo would be of limited use.

As far as I'm aware using horo to stop arrows is a historiographical myth. It was purely status symbol, intended to make the user look intimidating.

I really like cavalry sculpts, and horo definitely looks much better than the one teased together with mounted lancers (or maybe that's just different perspective). Lancers' horo was looking like a deformed stone.

I do like the chunky horses.

I got the Northmen, and the bearded heads are good, but some of the Archers heads are too small.

Next to the Oathmark and old Fantasy humans their faces lack personality, so while initially happy, I have grown less happy with them over time.

So I am undecided at the moment.

New pic on Facebook.

Plastic Nogae Yari Ashigaru, a multipart kit with many different poses to get a dinamic unit. Help us in sharing our pictures of our #kickstarter models

 Smokestack wrote:
New pic on Facebook.

Plastic Nogae Yari Ashigaru, a multipart kit with many different poses to get a dinamic unit. Help us in sharing our pictures of our #kickstarter models

...it's "nagae", you know, "long".

I just report the news... I dont make it. I just copy/pasted whats on facebook.

In one of the comments on face book someone wrote that no ga e means "is a picture" or something like that...

As song as I can put gasmask heads on them we're good

 Smokestack wrote:
I just report the news... I dont make it. I just copy/pasted whats on facebook.

In one of the comments on face book someone wrote that no ga e means "is a picture" or something like that...

Something like that xD, had they written it as "yari no gae" it could have meant "picture of yari".

I learned not to be that guy after being teased, reprimanded, and mocked by my family for my poor Japanese literacy and pronunciation skills.

Seven year old nieces can be so cruel.

(OT but I gotta brag my high schooler aced his Japanese AP test and graduates from Asashi Gakuen next week.)

I hope those spears are more durable then the WGF ones. Snapped my fair share of those.

 highlord tamburlaine wrote:
I learned not to be that guy after being teased, reprimanded, and mocked by my family for my poor Japanese literacy and pronunciation skills.

Seven year old nieces can be so cruel.

(OT but I gotta brag my high schooler aced his Japanese AP test and graduates from Asashi Gakuen next week.)

I hope those spears are more durable then the WGF ones. Snapped my fair share of those.

Being spaniard, pronunciation is easier ^^, and that's really impressive, congrats!

As to the spears... yes, please, more durable than those would be great.

Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

Update on Facebook

"Get a look to our Tokugawa Ieyasu model who will be one of the characters available for our kickstarter."

From Facebook

"Teppou Samurai will be one of the available plastic kits in our next #kickstarter on Sengoku Jidai miniatures. High details and multi-part models to get a lot of different poses with our figures."

Ashigaru poses would suggest that there will be either one or max two boxes with all the weapon options available for them. It would be nice for FF to pack as much as possible into a sprue.

 Shadow Walker wrote:
Ashigaru poses would suggest that there will be either one or max two boxes with all the weapon options available for them. It would be nice for FF to pack as much as possible into a sprue.

I would have thought this too... but if the dwarf kickstarter is anything to go by... the Dwarf infantry was packaged as 4 different seperate boxes. The Bodies and heads were the same but the weapon options on spure were different.

There was the:

* Axes and hammers
* Swords and Shields
* Musket/ handguns
* Crossbows

I would think having all of the Ashigaru stuff on one Sprue would make more sense... but I have a feeling it will be like the Dwarf kickstarter.

Yeah, dwarves could have two boxes, one for cc and one for ranged weapons. Hopefully they will somehow do better with this ks.

 Shadow Walker wrote:
Yeah, dwarves could have two boxes, one for cc and one for ranged weapons. Hopefully they will somehow do better with this ks.

I think It was actually 2 CC boxes... with different options in each box... and 2 ranged boxes. One For crossbows and a seperate one for Muskets. If you buy the Musket box, you dont get any crossbows... So really 4 separate boxes.

Edit: I may have misread your post. If So, Yeah I agree. 2 Boxes (1 for CC and one for Ranged) would have been better.

I Am not interested in the Bow Ashigaru... (guns all the way for me). But I would like a mix of the melee options...

 Smokestack wrote:


Edit: I may have misread your post.

Yes, you did


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Smokestack wrote:


I Am not interested in the Bow Ashigaru... (guns all the way for me). But I would like a mix of the melee options...

Bows for me as I want them for fantasy gaming, and most games I intend to play have no stats for firearms.

 Grumpy Gnome wrote:

 Smokestack wrote:
If I had one complaint about Fireforge it would be their communication. I think they are a stand up company but sometimes dont communicate when they should and sometimes the stuff they do communicate comes off wrong. But I havent had any issues with the stuff they produce being bad, or with them not doing something they promised.

I agree with that. They really need to improve their communication but otherwise I think they are pretty good.

Yup. I'm still waiting for an update on their WW2 naval line, even if it amounts to "We cancelled it."

 kendoka wrote:
Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

Good catches!! Yes, that one Samurai is definitely wrong - or left handed, which I do not think was allowed, but I am not sure! And the thumb-draw for archers... My son was practicing that with his archery and definitely a different way, but super effective with higher draw bows.

And, I did get a few boxes of the Northmen and the Zombie Soldiers and such. The sprues were nice and seemed packed well. Unfortunately, I have not assembled them yet.

 MDSW wrote:

 kendoka wrote:
Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

Good catches!! Yes, that one Samurai is definitely wrong - or left handed, which I do not think was allowed, but I am not sure! And the thumb-draw for archers... My son was practicing that with his archery and definitely a different way, but super effective with higher draw bows.

And, I did get a few boxes of the Northmen and the Zombie Soldiers and such. The sprues were nice and seemed packed well. Unfortunately, I have not assembled them yet.

Oda's swords... People commented on that on the facebook post. Fireforge replied stating "we had production issues to study, now we already fixed that" So I assume that to mean they corrected the sword issue, but we'll see. As far as the bowstring fingers position and the left handed samurai, I havent seen any replies but have seen comments from people on facebook.

"We have designed an entire kit entirely dedicated to command options for your samurai and ashigaru units. Officers, commanders, banners, musicians, accessories, all in plastic to give you what no one else has ever given you until now."

Entire command kit? Interesting. Cannot wait to see more renders.

I wonder if they actually mean a whole command kit... as in a seperate box? Or if its a command Sprue like the northmen or dwarves got?

Edit: from the wording it definitely sounds like a whole separate box... which then makes me wonder if the normal samurai or ashigaru boxes dont come with command options in those boxes.

 Smokestack wrote:
which then makes me wonder if the normal samurai or ashigaru boxes dont come with command options in those boxes.

I think that is the case. One box to give you all your command needs for any squad. Also, it doubles for a use in various skirmish games where you want your models unique rather than clones.

Yeah, they commented on Facebook.

Fireforge Games
" yes, this will be a separate kit (there is not enough space inside the boxes with all the parts they need to insert command options too)"

 Smokestack wrote:
Yeah, they commented on Facebook.

Fireforge Games
" yes, this will be a separate kit (there is not enough space inside the boxes with all the parts they need to insert command options too)"

Now I wonder how many models will be there in the command box.

As usal, from Facebook

"Here is now a preview of our plastic warrior monks assembled with the yumi option."

Hopefully it's Naginata/Yumi in the same box.

 Shadow Walker wrote:
Hopefully it's Naginata/Yumi in the same box.

hai (Yes).

The traditional weapons of the sohei. And one can convert one to represent Benkei. I'd go with tesubo myself, but he reputedly carried seven weapons, of which that was just one.

summer grasses
all that remains
of great warriors dreams
-Matsuo Basho-

Autumn purchases
From Miniature Market
Discount Warriors

From facebook

"Today's preview: musician options that will be in our plastic multi-part kit for samurai and ashigaru officers"

Command kit looks better with each new render.

"Here is now an example of what our samurai models assembled with the Yari option will look like."

I’m looking forward to the samurai and the monks. But after revisiting their box for the Albion Knights, I am really, really looking forward to their ad copy.

...I want to see an albion's knight equipped with "several weapons, axes, swords, and knight's lances".

Are the Albion's knights historical size or the Northman size?

I …think they’re the same size as Fireforge’s Teutonic Knights. I remember thinking a lot of the Albion Knights parts were reuses of parts on the Teutonic Knights sprue. But for some reason I’ve never held both at the same time or stood them next to each other.

 Smokestack wrote:
Are the Albion's knights historical size or the Northman size?

They are smaller than Northmen so I guess historical size.

The Albion are the Teutonic sprues with different helmets basically. Got some I've painted at some point.

 Albertorius wrote:
...I want to see an albion's knight equipped with "several weapons, axes, swords, and knight's lances".

So the average RPG protagonist?

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Albertorius wrote:
...I want to see an albion's knight equipped with "several weapons, axes, swords, and knight's lances".

So the average RPG protagonist?

CRPG at least, yeah

"With our kits for samurai wars you can assemble all sorts of models, including officers, commanders and camps. Please help us sharing our news about our future #kickstarter campaign!"

That command kit will be pure gold for themed dioramas.

 kendoka wrote:
Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

I am in no position to agree or disagree but sir I respect the hill you have chosen to die upon.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 kendoka wrote:
Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

I am in no position to agree or disagree but sir I respect the hill you have chosen to die upon.

While I cannot say if kendoka-sensei is correct on points 2 and 3, he is correct on the first and fourth points. I should have caught them myself, but it has been 30 years since I last took a kendo class and so do not automatically look for correct grips, etcetera. Kendoka's username also means "kendo practioner" in Japanese, which suggests some experience with kendo. Perhaps he has experience with kyudo (Japanese archery) as well.

From posts on Facebook and twitter it sounds like some of those may have been fixed.

Steve

Hopefully they fixed Oda. The upside down daisho was really distracting from an otherwise decent model.

"Our mounted samurai can be assembled as horse archers too, here is an example."




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok, with the number of kits they have shown I am guessing they have to have all the weapon choices in a single box (unlike the dwarves) as other wise we are at like 12 sets now?

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 kendoka wrote:
Gahh.
Errors:
- samurai grip their swords with right hand in front of left. No exeptions.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen use the thumb to draw the bow. They neither draw the arrow/string with their other fingers nor release by separating said fingers.
- japanese (and othern eastern) bowmen always place the arrow on the right side of the bow (due to the thumb draw)
- Oda Nobunaga has his swords upside down like a clueless cosplayer

Also, the positioning of the left arm of the middle bowman is an insult to human anatomy.

I am in no position to agree or disagree but sir I respect the hill you have chosen to die upon.

While I cannot say if kendoka-sensei is correct on points 2 and 3, he is correct on the first and fourth points. I should have caught them myself, but it has been 30 years since I last took a kendo class and so do not automatically look for correct grips, etcetera. Kendoka's username also means "kendo practioner" in Japanese, which suggests some experience with kendo. Perhaps he has experience with kyudo (Japanese archery) as well.

Normally when anyone says 'they NEVER did this' I'm inclined to disbelieve because I've known a lot of people and 'people sometimes do stuff they're not supposed to' seems to be a general rule.

But I've also know a lot of Japanese people, and I've personally been told to use my right hand for calligraphy even though I'm left handed. So when someone say 'Japanese people NEVER did this' yeah, that might be right.

Can confirm. While of course someone tried it in other stances or with other grips, the rather strict ways of budo would mean a loss of face if a Samurai openly disregarded the traditions and practiced something "just the way he felt like".

With Ronins, Monks, Brigands etc. there might be some who don't care.

Anyone practicing japanese martial arts probably knows the feeling being forced to do something that feels wrong... Kokutsu-dachi, nakadaka ippon-ken etc.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

I've personally been told to use my right hand for calligraphy even though I'm left handed.

Can attest to hearing this told to others on many occasions, even though I'm right handed.
When things are supposed to be done a specific way and in a specific order, you aren't allowed to buck tradition!

My wife is a ranked calligraphist and I've lost count of how many times I've been told the only way you write it is THE RIGHT WAY.

Now I want a monk or someone with a giant brush painting a giant piece of calligraphy.

"First look to our Uesugi Kenshin, one of the characters that will be available with our #kickstarter in May."

 Smokestack wrote:
"First look to our Uesugi Kenshin, one of the characters that will be available with our #kickstarter in May."

Plastic or resin?

 Shadow Walker wrote:

 Smokestack wrote:
"First look to our Uesugi Kenshin, one of the characters that will be available with our #kickstarter in May."

Plastic or resin?

It doesn't say but I was kind of assuming all the named characters are resin. Edit[u]: Resin

Steve Pugh: Are these character models going to be in resin?

Fireforge Games: Steve Pugh resin

 Smokestack wrote:

 Shadow Walker wrote:

 Smokestack wrote:
"First look to our Uesugi Kenshin, one of the characters that will be available with our #kickstarter in May."

Plastic or resin?

It doesn't say but I was kind of assuming all the named characters are resin. Edit[u]: Resin

Steve Pugh: Are these character models going to be in resin?

Fireforge Games: Steve Pugh resin

Thanks.

Woah, i wonder what separates Steve Pugh Resin from regular Resin.

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:
Woah, i wonder what separates Steve Pugh Resin from regular Resin.

"Samurai with yumi ready to join our kickstarter on Sengoku Jidai wars! They will be a plastic kit together with samurai with teppou (guns)"

.

So 1 ranged samurai box, 1 melee samurai box, and 1 mounted samurai box are a given.

I wonder how well they'll bash with Death Fields or Star Grave?

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
I wonder how well they'll bash with Death Fields or Star Grave?

They are supposed to be the same size as the Northmen. I have mixed Frostgrave wizard bits with those and they were fine... But I dont have any stargrave stuff yet, so not sure.

Here you can see 3d renders https://fireforge-games.com/3d-viewer/jap/

I like the exaggerated faces.
Not sure about the size of the Katana though.

I was originally just going to get a box or 2, but I kind of want an army. I think I just want a smallish force... I am thinking:

Oda,

1 box of mounted Samurai

1 box of command

2 boxes of Gun Ashigaru

2 boxes of yari or Naginata Ashigaru

1 box of monks

I need to see the sprues for all boxes (hopefully soon they will show what options are in which box) first but I definitely want a box of katana samurai.

Coming soon https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fireforgegames/the-samurai-wars

Looking forward to these.

From FB:"Our Commanders box will contain everything you need to assemble officers for your samurai and ashigaru units. A plastic kit to assemble 10 infantry and 3 mounted models, available by our #Kickstarter"

''Ashigaru Warriors plastic box will contain 24 figures with Yari and Naginata for all models.''

Fireforge stated (in comments) on Facebook that the KICKSTARTER will start next week.

 Smokestack wrote:
Fireforge stated (in comments) on Facebook that the KICKSTARTER will start next week.

Havent they been advertising that it will start "soon" for months?

 lord marcus wrote:

 Smokestack wrote:
Fireforge stated (in comments) on Facebook that the KICKSTARTER will start next week.

Havent they been advertising that it will start "soon" for months?

Originally it was supposed to be may… but then the dwarves got delayed and they wanted to wait til that delivered. I think it was finished later June. Though I have no idea. They kind of stopped talking about the samurai for a while and just started back up the last couple weeks with “soon”. They showed a preview page but didn’t give any dates until that comment today. So next week! But I didn’t see anything that says when next week.

''Samurai Warriors box will contain 24 models. 21 different heads then you will be able to assemble your samurai with or without their face masks. Yari, naginata and katana for all models.''

Hopefully there is a retailer pledge i can look at.

 McDougall Designs wrote:
Hopefully there is a retailer pledge i can look at.

The Dwarves had a retail level. Looks like the Byzantine KS had the same wording in their retail level as well. If you sold Fireforge sprues that would be really great.

Pledge €500 or more
Retailer
If you are interested in participating in this campaign as a retailer, select this pledge and contact us through email address (orders@fireforge-games.com) or our website (www.fireforge-games.com).
Once your pledge have been confirmed at the end of the campaign you can:
- contact us to spend your pledge credit on our existing products
- wait the release of the products getting them before the general release, as soon as the products will be ready for release.

If you are an EU reseller, to be elegible for this pledge you need a valid VAT number for EU sales.

''New partnership with Sarissa Precision Limited ! Join our #Kickstarter this weekend to get the best scenery available for samurai wars!''

Neat.

From FACEBOOK

Join our #Kickstarter launching on friday!
https://www.kickstarter.com/.../fireforg.../the-samurai-wars

Valid Kickstarter preview link here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fireforgegames/the-samurai-wars

~iPaint

 -iPaint- wrote:
Valid Kickstarter preview link here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fireforgegames/the-samurai-wars

~iPaint

Thanks. Wierd, I just copy/pasted what Fireforge had posted.

''The Samurai shooters box will contain 24 models that you can assemble all with rifles or bows, the variety is such that you can decide on an infinity of different poses.''

Judging by the pics, it seems there will be separate weapon/arm frames and body/head frames for each kit. So Ashigaru boxes will have a shared body/heads sprue, then either a melee sprue for yari/naginata options, or a sprue for bow/teppo options.

~iPaint

Those guns are too skinny.

I intend on backing, but I hope they make the guns chunky and heroic.

''The ashigaru shooters box will contain 24 models that you can assemble all with rifles or bows, the variety is such that you can decide on an infinity of different poses''

Cavalry - 12 models, with options to assemble them all with horo/sashimono, katana, yari (also two handed), yumi.

Starts today at 5 PM Rome time... which i think is in 1.5 hours...

Sohei - 24 models with options for guns, bows and naginata. Also size comparison with non-FF models.

Neat models, but I see no real incentive to back now vs. buying retail.

Agreed, only a small discount for backing this early on, but most likely will be available at retailers later on for ~15% off (which I'm seeing most Fireforge boxes on eBay going for ~$28 USD), with free shipping.

Hard to see what the incentive is to back this via KS, honestly, even though I'd like to.

~iPaint

Sadly that is probably why FireForge kickstarters are sooo slow to fund and even then just barely fund... and usually only like day 22 of a 30 day campaign.

I backed at the Daimyo level... I really do want these... but my attention gets diverted in really slow campaigns. Hopefully nothing shinier comes up before this campaign ends...

 -iPaint- wrote:
Agreed, only a small discount for backing this early on, but most likely will be available at retailers later on for ~15% off (which I'm seeing most Fireforge boxes on eBay going for ~$28 USD), with free shipping.

Hard to see what the incentive is to back this via KS, honestly, even though I'd like to.

~iPaint

Maybe wanting for it to exist.

Not going to lie, this would make a great themed 40k IG army (maybe as Gue'vesa?), especially if the rumors of Rough Riders coming back are true. Alas, no new projects for me, but just throwing that idea out there.

I think the incentive is for the mounted commanders, but those are not only locked behind stretch goals and funding, but also a minimum 165 pledge.

Of course, that pledge works out to what you'd be paying at retail with a discount and has a few other goodies included.

I do like they have pile of sprues pledge for people like me who want to sample everything, but I think it's a bit pricey for what it is. Or I'm just a cheapskate. Could be both...

Hmm. I was in at the Daimyo level, But seems like the Early Bird Samurai is a more attractive offering. In the Samurai level you get:
3x Sashimono Packs (12x sashimonos each) with engraved clan logo of your choice
1x Honjin kit
1x Palisade kit

For free. Its 165 Euro Vs the 208 Euro for the Daimyo level. so 43 euro less, but you get 2 less boxes of guys but the above freebies.

In at Daymio level now, but it really depends on if they unlock all the different boxes. Without the commanders, monks and cavalry I will probably drop out again...
I hope FF does alot of advertising and social media stuff, as there surely is a market for 28mm samurai. Many companies seem to think that word of mouth is enough, or that the customers should take care of the marketing...

The sohei are a 90k Euro unlock. Unless interest increases greatly, we'll probably not see them this KS. Being those are what interest me, I've little incentive to back. Got lots of metal Clan War figures, some even painted! So samurai bushi are not an issue for me, but monks are.

Also, I only need a box of 24 for skirmish purposes, so a 3 box pledge is overkill.

 Garfield666 wrote:
In at Daymio level now, but it really depends on if they unlock all the different boxes. Without the commanders, monks and cavalry I will probably drop out again...
I hope FF does alot of advertising and social media stuff, as there surely is a market for 28mm samurai. Many companies seem to think that word of mouth is enough, or that the customers should take care of the marketing...

Pretty sure I got Fireforge advertising every now and then on FB, so I think they're after that.

Hope so. I'd expect them to drum up interest in all the big miniature/wargaming forums, especially the historical ones (TMP, Lead Adventure etc.) but haven't seen much so far...

Well, $37,684 out of the $51,060 goal. So, moving faster than other Fireforge kickstarters.

I did go back to Daimyo level, as while the early bird Samurai level was a better deal, I am not really interested in the palisades or the resin bits... So, the bigger discount on the boxes was more appealing.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ancestral Hamster wrote:
The sohei are a 90k Euro unlock. Unless interest increases greatly, we'll probably not see them this KS. Being those are what interest me, I've little incentive to back. Got lots of metal Clan War figures, some even painted! So samurai bushi are not an issue for me, but monks are.

Also, I only need a box of 24 for skirmish purposes, so a 3 box pledge is overkill.

In the Dwarf kickstarter, the Ram riders and the Musket dwarves didnt fund. But... Fireforge unlocked them anyway. Originally saying that they would unlock but only make them available in the pledge manager to people who had backed over a certain amount. They changed their minds though when the pledge manager actually opened and allowed everyone to select those sets. I would expect that to happen here if they dont fund to that level, but of course that is just me speculating.

Well, $48,297.00 out of the $51,060 goal. This should fund this week.

Funded! The base funding produced samurai shooters, samurai infantry, ashigaru shooters and ashigaru infantry.

Next up, mounted samurai.

“For those who have not followed us in previous campaigns, our company has always tried to meet the wishes of our backers as much as possible.

Compared to other campaigns, our company always puts its face on it, without relying on external agencies for the promotion or the addition of fake pledges.

What we ask for is only a part of the real cost of making the products that we always try to show in the smallest detail and when possible. In past, if a product was not funded by the campaign, we have decided to make it entirely at our expense.


To be of greater help in raising funds for the release of the samurai cavalry we have today decided to decrease the level necessary to unlock all the stretch goals by 5000 € and the first freebie is therefore available to all pledges who are entitled to it.

DATE MASAMUNE WILL COME FREE WITH YOUR PLEDGE (IF IT HAS FREEBIE ALLOWED IN)
Always keep in mind that we will always give a preferential lane for those who participate in our kickstarters compared to those who will enter later during the late pledge who will not be entitled to all the discounts and freebies indicated here.“

This was the update, and in the comments section people were saying that they were mostly interested in mounted samurai and monks. Fireforge wrote “ if there is demand, our company in our previous campaigns has always met the wishes of our financiers. Whenever possible, we invest additional resources to make non-unlocked products available. This is why today we have decided to reduce all stretch goals by 5k, making it easier for the cavalry to unlock at the end of the campaign.”

So it definitely sounds like even if monks are not reached, they will still be unlocked.

I like the look of the models, I just wish the Ashigaru were a little shorter.

 Smokestack wrote:
Well, $48,297.00 out of the $51,060 goal. This should fund this week.

How many plastic sprues is this? 10? more?

First look at the Samurai Wars rules https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fireforgegames/the-samurai-wars/posts/3579364

It has been slow going.

At this point we might not unlock cavalry. Without cavalry and preferably command sets this is a dead deal.

So only 9 more days to go. There seems to be a wall that won't let us get past $53,999. We have passed it a couple times but keep getting knocked back down. Fireforge made the below update.

"There are a few days to go until the end of the campaign.

To entice new backers to participate here are some last news:

if Mounted Samurai will be unlocked, we will unlock also the shown freebies: Tokugawa, Oda and the additional plastic frame
In addition, at the end of the campaign, if we will not be able to unlock the commanders plastic kit, we will create command options in resin that will be available at the end of the campaign on the pledge manager.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE OTHER THINGS SHOWN AND NOT UNLOCKED?
Fireforge games will release the other plastic kit shown in this campaign as soon as possible, then you can be sure that these projects will be released, in hard plastic, but in a more distant future.

Thank you all in any case

We are a small company but as we have shown in the past, we have never lied to our customers. We thank you for your trust and support, we will do everything to continue to deserve it."

Looks like we will get cavalry.

Double deal looks attractive if you move from Daimyo to double EB Samurai, which has IIRC never yet ran out.

"Thank you to your support we unlocked the Mounted Samurai!"

This also unlocked ODA, TOKUGAWA and a free sprue of choice.

First test shots: Ashigaru Warriors and Shooters.

Samurai infantry test shots

Some pics from Facebook. Looking forward to getting mine.

More Ashigaru

Painted Ashigaru with Naginata

Here are the frames of the samurai on horseback:

Assembled samurai

Those are SHARP

 Smokestack wrote:
If I had one complaint about Fireforge it would be their communication. I think they are a stand up company but sometimes dont communicate when they should and sometimes the stuff they do communicate comes off wrong. But I havent had any issues with the stuff they produce being bad, or with them not doing something they promised.

Finally got shipping notice on my order. Last update says that there are "unforseen delays" on shipping and they are about 50% delivered.

Painted samurai

More painted

Got my order today. Only had a chance to assemble 1 of the resin heroes and the free sprue (I got Samurai shooters). It came with 7 legs but only 6 torsos... so made a wizard with some Frost grave parts.

The plastic models are great. Super happy so far.

Ooh I missed the KS for these. Any clue when they will be available for retail?

 legionaires wrote:
Ooh I missed the KS for these. Any clue when they will be available for retail?

No idea about US but in my country retailers already have all kits (could be from KS retail deal though).

 Smokestack wrote:
Got my order today. Only had a chance to assemble 1 of the resin heroes and the free sprue (I got Samurai shooters). It came with 7 legs but only 6 torsos... so made a wizard with some Frost grave parts.

The plastic models are great. Super happy so far.

Very clever kitbash on the Wizard.

I got my guys a while back, I had assumed this was all fulfilled. But Fireforge posted an update so I figured for this thread to be fair I should post it.

December update
user avatar
Fireforge GamesCreator
December 13, 2023
Hello everyone,

Our work in delivering compliance is progressing.

We have currently shipped 80% of orders and more will be shipped by the end of the month.

We are not proceeding at the speed we had expected due to other difficulties that have arisen in the last month, especially further customs delays due to Brexit for the supply of raw materials which, in addition to slowing down deliveries of rewards, have also slowed down our operations business in general.

In addition, difficulties arose due to the delivery of a load of damaged books which required a new reprint to continue sending them.

At the same time we are continuing to follow some reports (fortunately a minority) on some shipments which appear to have been delivered but of which the customer has no trace.

Our support will continue to be total in these situations even years after the campaign, so rest assured that we will not abandon you.

As always, we are sorry for the difficulties but we are working to resolve any problems with as little inconvenience as possible.

I will say again. I love the figures, It is top quality work they do. But comms arent great. There are a lot of angry people in the comments, mostly due to the lack of communication.