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So I recently got interested in making some Samurai-themed firewarriors, and maybe a crisis suit or three. It seems to me that the Tau would lend themselves well to an interesting mix of feudal Japan and high-tech... well, Tau.

I did a bit of searching on this great internet, and didn't find anything, much to my surprise. Seriously, am I just blind or something? Although, I even had difficulty finding a good set of plastic Samurai that were the right size to be compatible with firewarriors. Can anyone point me in the direction where I could find some good Samurai-theme bitz?

[Edit] I did some more searching, and found some stuff, and now I feel stupid for missing it the first time. However, most of the stuff I have found is a higher level of conversion than I am interested in. I'm just looking for some good bitz that would make a group of FW's reminiscent of Samurai, rather than a full conversion.

Green Stuff?

To be fairly honest, the armour of the Fire Warriors and some aspects of the Tau Battlesuits are fairly reminiscent of samurai lacquered armour. The only thing you can add to make them more 'samurai' is giving them feudal Japanese swords, banners mounted on backpoles, and interesting and varied headcrests.

Tau may look somewhat like samurai, but don't be fooled - the real samurai army is eldar.

They have a Daoist aesthetic, where they slowly master different arts over time, whether the art of the sword, or the art of the deathreaper. They also have this small, elite, dying race bound by a strict code of honor thing going on. Add to this a zen-inspired political structure, and a few dropped hints of a shinto-esque animism, and eldar really are where your samurai are at.

Tau are modern Japanese. All about mecha and technology and co-prosperity. If you want the old order, look to eldar.

 Ailaros wrote:
Tau may look somewhat like samurai, but don't be fooled - the real samurai army is eldar.

Curse you for stealing my thunder!

As a "Samurai-themed Eldar" player I did want to suggest some ideas, though. One of the easiest things that you can do to add the desired flavor to the army are the back-banners (sashimono). They're the main way that I tied my Eldar into the RPG/CCG setting that they're based on, and they couldn't be easier to make. There are a few ways of going about it:

1. Simply find sashimono bits. There are some out there, including on the Dire Avengers and Bike Autarch sprues, one of the Hordes armies, or even just Feudal Japanese models, of which there are a few. I started with metal sashimono from the Clan War game, but these are going to be VERY hard to find these days:



2. Sculpt them. This isn't an ideal solution, as unless you are quite handy at sculpting robes/cloth with Green Stuff, it probably just isn't worth the time. I used this technique, sort of, on my Farseer: the banner is actually plasticard, but I used GS to sculpt some rather half-assed folding into the flag.



3. Make them from masking tape. This is quite simply the easiest and fastest method that I've found. For smaller models (Fire Warriors, Gue'vasa), I bent a paper clip into the proper shape and folded two pieces of tape over before trimming it down (see the Aspect Warriors below). For larger models (battlesuits, allied Wraithlords or Jetbikes), a bit more work is required.

First, get some plastic rod and, after running it VERY briefly through a flame at the desired bending point, bend it at a 90-degree angle. Then repeat the folding-over of the tape; this might require more than two pieces to get the desired coverage. Then, using a nice, sharp knife, cut out squares of the flag to give it the look of a larger banner.



Best of luck!

Keep in mind that samurai generally are close combat specialists and Tau hate close combat. That said, here some ideas:

Fodder for conversions:
Triad faction of Urban War:
http://www.urbanwarthegame.com/acatalog/copy_of_Triad_metro_boxes.html
http://www.urbanwarthegame.com/acatalog/Triad_Blister_Packs.html




Wargames Factory makes plastic Ashigaru and Samurai. Hoard o'Bits offers single bits from those kits.

Here a samurai Tau by Insaniak:


Here another conversion:

I'd love to see how your project turns out. Some amazing conversions being posted in this thread!

 Magc8Ball wrote:

 Ailaros wrote:
Tau may look somewhat like samurai, but don't be fooled - the real samurai army is eldar.

Curse you for stealing my thunder!

As a "Samurai-themed Eldar" player I did want to suggest some ideas, though. One of the easiest things that you can do to add the desired flavor to the army are the back-banners (sashimono). They're the main way that I tied my Eldar into the RPG/CCG setting that they're based on, and they couldn't be easier to make. There are a few ways of going about it:

1. Simply find sashimono bits. There are some out there, including on the Dire Avengers and Bike Autarch sprues, one of the Hordes armies, or even just Feudal Japanese models, of which there are a few. I started with metal sashimono from the Clan War game, but these are going to be VERY hard to find these days:



2. Sculpt them. This isn't an ideal solution, as unless you are quite handy at sculpting robes/cloth with Green Stuff, it probably just isn't worth the time. I used this technique, sort of, on my Farseer: the banner is actually plasticard, but I used GS to sculpt some rather half-assed folding into the flag.



3. Make them from masking tape. This is quite simply the easiest and fastest method that I've found. For smaller models (Fire Warriors, Gue'vasa), I bent a paper clip into the proper shape and folded two pieces of tape over before trimming it down (see the Aspect Warriors below). For larger models (battlesuits, allied Wraithlords or Jetbikes), a bit more work is required.

First, get some plastic rod and, after running it VERY briefly through a flame at the desired bending point, bend it at a 90-degree angle. Then repeat the folding-over of the tape; this might require more than two pieces to get the desired coverage. Then, using a nice, sharp knife, cut out squares of the flag to give it the look of a larger banner.



Best of luck!

I just love that army.

Its even more impressive in real life

By the Greater Good, those are some nice armies! And thanks for the advice! I probably won't get a new squad of FW's until early October, but in the meantime, I will try out some of the suggestions, and look into getting some Samurai minis and their bitz.

When I finally get them and start working on them, I will post pictures of my progress.