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Closer to done now, but touch ups needed after taking photo and seeing details

Also started blocking in parts on the Samurai/leader fig.

Hopefully can get a couple hours on him tonight/tomorrow.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
More work on the leader. There were no color pictures of him, so clean canvas to play with. I’m thinking of taking the hair lighter, but that might make the whole model too light. Suggestions?

Nice work so far on that commander. I think the hair would look better in a lighter color, not unlike Takeda Shingen.

Also, samurai armor was metal, but the plates were usually lacquered to keep them from rusting. Black was the most popular, but red and rust were also used.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Nice work so far on that commander. I think the hair would look better in a lighter color, not unlike Takeda Shingen.

Also, samurai armor was metal, but the plates were usually lacquered to keep them from rusting. Black was the most popular, but red and rust were also used.

For some reason I thought armor panels were wood that was highly lacquered . Make sure sense it was metal though, no idea why I was thinking that.

If I go white with the “hair”, I think the white fur lining around the rest of the clothing and on the blacksmith will probably go to a dark brown, which will fit with the eventual bear. What do you think of that idea?

Per Josh’s suggestion I went to the white hair and then went with a darker fur color high will hopefully tie the bear in when I get it.


Also starting to work on the next model, an unblessed ashigaru.

Speaking of Takeda Shingen: If you have a chance Theo, watch Kagemusha. It's a Kurosawa film, one of his Samurai epics. As to be expected with Kurosawa, the visuals alone are worth the time. And it's a good movie all around, unlike Ran, which was beautiful but dull, based on Shakespeare's King Lear -- my least favorite of The Bard's works. Now, Throne of Blood, based on MacBeth, is a much better movie. One of the final scenes, with the Archers shooting at Mifune's character...That was real fear in Mifune's eyes. Real archers shooting real arrows at him. Then there was Sanjuro, with the first blood gush on film.

The white hair does work well. Armor was made from metal and leather. lacquered of course. Japan is a rather wet place.

^ the man speaks true on many levels. Now go watch kagemuaha. And love where the dude is going.

Thanks guys, I will have to find time to watch all of his films, but it’s not an option currently. Time I spent a precious commodity, this weekend I was off and had no time to paint, so I took the last two hours to finish my entry for Gravens I am the Knight competition. I’m copying my entry over here so I can share the fun with everyone.

I give you Bat Knight: Black Plague style.

In the village of Gotham a Plague has fallen upon the population, but no ordinary plague, not even a wrath of an angry God, no this plague was made by man. A court Jester who tried to betray the King and take the crown for himself using foul magics, alchemical skills and forbidden knowledge of the underworld. His plans were spoiled by the loyal family Wayne, but not before the village had been decimated by the poison spread in the water supply that turned the poor of the city into mindless zombies who’s pale skin, darkened eyes and devilish grins showed their corruption. Driven insane by the chemicals the Jester wanders the streets, dancing by the pale moonlight as he and his ravenous pet bunny reek terror among the free citizens of Gotham.

Village outskirts sign desecrated by the lunatic and his pet.

The Jester in his royal reignments

The pet bunny who was pulled from a top hat within the court and devoured the guests and the royal family. All one has to do is look at the bones that are left to see the gnaw marks left by his huge gnashy teeth.

The Bat Knight with his twin axes he climbs sheer walls and drops down on his nemesis, gliding on his unfurled cloak. Some think he is just as mad as the Jester, others think he is seeking vengeance for his lost family but all agree that he is a Knight unafraid of the dark.


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Edit: also just finished Bushido guy #4

He is an unblessed ashigaru, basically a newb.

All four done so far. I really need a better way to photograph my guys besides my iPad and an overhead light

Red Harvest wrote:...MacBeth...

Good work, Theo'. Look great and fun theme.

Lovely stuff as usual Theo

Needs... Ham

Dr H wrote:

Red Harvest wrote:...MacBeth...

Good work, Theo'. Look great and fun theme.

Thanks Dr. H

JoeRugby wrote:Lovely stuff as usual Theo

Thanks Joe

inmygravenimage wrote:Needs... Ham

Maybe this should be called the bunny plague and not the Black Plague.

Anyway I notice Miniaturemarket had some replacement figures for Rise if the Kage and ordered them last night and picked them up today.


The two different colors of each are to signify concealed/discovered for the ninja and alert/untalented for the woman. They seem a little small compared to my Minimoto guys, but at $1 each I figured I’d try it out.

Also behind them I found some pillars that would make great objective markers for the game. Then I remembered when I was at home that Gits had already used them back on his page 568 , oh well....steal from the best .

In the far row of the pic I sent one of 6 columns from one of the zombicide kickstarters. They look more Roman to me, but might be used.

I am really enjoying your foray into Bushido, the leader is an especially good sculpt and you have done a great job on him. That weapon looks brutal.

ListenToMeWarriors wrote:
I am really enjoying your foray into Bushido, the leader is an especially good sculpt and you have done a great job on him. That weapon looks brutal.

Thanks , I’m enjoying the work as well. The models are much better than the basic warlord games samurai I was struggling with.

Well got some work on my ashigaru for the Minimoto Clan.

3 ashigaru, one came with the starter set, the other two are Jyoto ashigaru. Also in the pic is Hisoka, a spry old dude who can work with my clan. He helps flesh out the group and sets snares.

Also tossed on a few layers of washes on the pillars. Nuln oil, then a few spots of sepia and then another layer of Nuln oil.

The sculpting does all the work for these models, not more than 10 minutes total on the pillars. I’ll add some kanji to the tops to make them different, won’t be as good as Gits, but his ideas were pure gold.

Those ashigaru are nifty models, despite the unusual helmets. I reckon the helmets would help them fit in with non-samurai warbands and such.

I don't follow Gitsplitta's P&M blog. Where are the columns from?

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Those ashigaru are nifty models, despite the unusual helmets. I reckon the helmets would help them fit in with non-samurai warbands and such.

I don't follow Gitsplitta's P&M blog. Where are the columns from?

You should follow his P&M, the last dozen pages or so are almost all Bushido.

The pillars are Wizkids Deep-Cuts 72591 pillars, 4 in a pack for $4.99. They come preprinted so you can paint them right out of the package. I thought the helmets were strange, but then again I am a stupid Gaijin.

Lots of small stuff lately, none worth posting, but here’s some recent tiny projects that I’ve been using as a distraction from getting my Minimoto Clan done.

Rain barrel, bath tub, hiding spot, place to put rice. The inner tube I used for making this has an inside dimension of 25mm so some figs like this ninja can get inside while the inside dimension of the sticks is 32mm so my Minimoto guys can barely fit.

Lid on the larger one is removable.
Also loved how Gits made his area objective markers for his tournament he ran, so I snagged that idea too.

I couldn’t find coasters the size he was suggesting, so I just glued the sticks together on a tape backing. Need to do a few more. The wood grain to me looks like old boat planking which would be great for Jung Pirates......not that they might be next for me.....because an opposing force is needed.

Nice woodworking.

Theo's got wood...

Thanks Dr. H, I’ve been playing with my wood lately which has slowed down my painting. But hopefully it will help sell the feeling of the table when I’m done.


Inspired by a pic from Wikipedia, a Little Zen Rock garden. Not the best, but a good initial try.

I’ve been thinking of an opposing faction for the Minimoto Clan, and a few of the armies stand out to me.

First is the Cult of Yurei: basically the Bushido’s version of the L5R shadowlands army. Undead, crazy humans and monsters. I’m leaning more towards the undead group of these guys. These guys could be from anywhere, but I just see them as failed samurai and the people the clan could not get to in time. Lots of models as some undead are just a few points each.

Secondly the Ninja: because.....Ninja , with some sort of training hideout in the mountains. Low model count army.

Lastly the Silvermoon Trade sindicate: the greedy underworld merchants with hired thugs who prey on the less fortunate. Bandits with headquarters in the remote mountainside who try to get some of the money made by the fine Minimoto blacksmiths. I haven’t looked too much at these guys yet, but it fits my idea of half good half bad as I could make them kind of like Robin Hood, or go full on mobster with them.

Suggestions anyone?

That's a nifty little garden. Have you thought about adding rake lines to the gravel?

I vote for bandits. They'd give you a Seven Samurai vibe.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
That's a nifty little garden. Have you thought about adding rake lines to the gravel?

I vote for bandits. They'd give you a Seven Samurai vibe.

Thanks Josh , this was just poured gravel over glue. But the texture sand I have will go in a more permanent garden display I do later. I just wanted to try it out for scale. The grain on this gravel was still too large I believe, but I had it from another project so I thought I’d give it a go.

Speaking of the seven samurai.....Warlordgames posted a preview pic in the Test of Honour Facebook page of their upcoming Seven Samurai miniatures . Scaled for and with game content for Test of Honour. I think it’ll be out by Christmas.

Little more progress. While I liked the store look I got from my test bases, they wound up too fragile at the thickness for the bases so good old Stirland Mud is being used.

I’ll add some high mountain sort of tufts to it and I have been trying to find some of the GW Valhalla Blizzard texture, but all three local shops were out of it.

Still lots to do on Hisoka, and I think I’ll pick up a brighter red for some of the fabric and the Samurai mask.

They look so good Theo!

Nice zen garden, and lovely minis as well!

Those bushido minis are looking fantastic. Well done.

Love the zen rock garden Theo

Hey Theo, Gits:

Warbases just opened a kickstarter called The 55th Day in Beijing which is all about laser cut MDF buildings and scenery, including hand carts and such. For all that it is China (Boxer Rebellion setting) the look seems good for Japanese Bushido.

Link is here, f you care to take a look:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1385763591/the-55th-day-in-beijing?ref=discovery

shasolenzabi wrote:They look so good Theo!

Thanks Shaso, good to see you back and active again.

CommissarKhaine wrote:Nice zen garden, and lovely minis as well!

Thanks CK, larger garden planned, but sand will be different.

Da Boss wrote:Those bushido minis are looking fantastic. Well done.

Thanks Da Boss, I’m really enjoying them.

JoeRugby wrote:Love the zen rock garden Theo

Thanks JoeRugby, got to get my Zen on .

Meer_Cat wrote:Hey Theo, Gits:

Warbases just opened a kickstarter called The 55th Day in Beijing which is all about laser cut MDF buildings and scenery, including hand carts and such. For all that it is China (Boxer Rebellion setting) the look seems good for Japanese Bushido.

Link is here, f you care to take a look:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1385763591/the-55th-day-in-beijing?ref=discovery

Just looked at it, the large village is looking promising, definitely Chinese as opposed to Japanese, but might make it work....I set a reminder on it for later. Thanks.

Also just worked on the basing a bit. Ring edges in two colors to denote front and back arcs. Mud was given a drybrush of tyrant skull and then glazed with waywatcher green. Definitely more to do on the basing, but the glaze was heavy and needs to dry. Also finished Hisoka, he is in his own colored clothing as he is a mercenary, but painted his base to match the army. I also took the reds up to a blood red color which helps them pop more. They were the color of the base ring, more brownish than reddish.

Any suggestions for basing additions would be great. I’m thinking of adding a few small rocks here and there and some clump foliage, possibly some small purple flowers if I can track them down.

GCT website back up, now has the two new Minimoto figs available. possible order being placed today .

In the mean time I finished basing my figs, until I can find some colorful small flowers to go onto the bases that is.

Each base got a small rock as our mountain home should have some, and a small clump of hearty foliage.

Also in the picture is a WIP monk training pole terrain piece, slows movement down, but otherwise no LOS blocking. Also the barrels are a pack from Wiz Kids Deep Cuts, I really like their pieces of terrain, and they are pre primed. Just a simple coat of paint and a wash and they are ready.


Columns from the Massive Darkness KS Campaign. If I make a temple board then these can be internal structures or objectives.


Lastly a WIP pond. The ring of rock is 4” diameter so I can use it as an objective without having to cut a 4” circle again. I used a CD as the base then just drew my circle with a compass. Many layers of Elmer’s glue ahead for this. Not sure what I’ll put in the middle. Possibly a statue or just a rock clump which will point which direction the controller is.

All looks great Theo.

Adding some koi to the pond?

Your muted color scheme is very nice. Most folks go fairly elaborate for samurai, and this is a nice, realistic, change of pace.

Smart move on the pond. No water effects instead of PVA glue?