Samurais Part 1.

20Feb
by patmcf

Samurai’s Part 1.   23cmx12cm

Well I have had a change of plan and have skipped on to the new project my Samurai series.  This was the first one I started but had to put it on hold as I realised I didn’t have enough cavalry so I had to buy some more.  They are part of the great series put out by Zvezda.  The detail is great, and is so good that it would be hard to mix them with other makers’ sets.  They are really suited to the new size dio’s I’m doing at the moment.

Well there isn’t much to say about it other than the wall that I scratch built after seeing a guy called Adam on you-tube who builds 28 mm terrain.  It turned out just how I imagined the wall would. I then knocked up an old fence and made a small wire tree, put down some sand and static grass, and that’s it, all pretty simple.

I have to say most of the time was taken up painting the figures, as you might know that’s not my strong point so I really had to put more effort into doing them.  It turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would.

Well that’s it, keep well, and I will post another one soon, Cheers Pat.

30 thoughts on “Samurais Part 1.”

      1. deturnation

        Tell me about variants, I’ve just started researching surcoats/jinbaoris… next to the little colors that each armor part can take and if you wanted to do named characters this gets real fun! ._.

        Liked by 2 people

  4. Kuribo

    You didn’t make me wait too long and by going from Lord of the Rings to Samurai, you’re really checking all of my boxes, Pat! And notice that John liked it too. You killed two birds with one diorama so to speak here! 😀

    I really like the sense of movement and how dynamic it is. Its a strange thing to say but the wall really fits the setting too. I’ve often thought about doing a diorama from this setting but have never found miniatures to my liking. Hopefully one day, I will!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks Jeff, the extra cavalry I needed arrived a lot sooner than I expected so I wasted no time in popping it up so as to deliberately make you giddy 😅😅😉. Funnily enough it was John that started the idea some time back when I saw some oriental terrain he had made , so when I came across the zvezda figures I was on my way , them I came across the guy making the wall and hey presto it all came together😃.So what you say is right , one has to have the suitable figures , ones you think will really work to do the job, fingers crossed you find the ones you like in the near future🤞🤓.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. Kuribo

        Haha, I appreciate that! I’m not surprised that John was influential here. His interest in Samurai is infectious! Truthfully, I don’t know if there will ever be high quality sculpts in 28-32mm for this period of history but if it happens, I’ll certainly get some and paint them!

        Liked by 3 people

  5. Dave Stone

    Great dio Pat, has movement, dynamics and interest, so ticks all the boxes, great work on the samurai as there armour has a lot of detail, I find the Chinese armour of the same time quicker, but not as interesting.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  9. lorenzoseventh

    Hi Pat that’s an interesting diorama. I also liked the zvezda samurai but had to draw the line somewhere on my plastics mania. The wall is very interesting – I could not find adams terrain video – any chance you could provide a link? Thanks Lorenzo.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  10. deturnation

    Oh the Sengoku Jidaii minis you’ve told me about!

    First up: Your scenery game is spectacular! This looks incredible, I love the wall and the tree, I’m not that well versed in botanics, but I know this looks like something that would grow in the Nipponese isles. And the wall has an amazing texture.

    Now for the minis, there great, I love some Medieval Japanese (there medieval era goes from the 12th-17th century compared with ours). The helmet on your first image is something, that could be found in the 12th century already, for example worn by Miyamoto no Yoshitsune, in fact I would argue it is an replica of said helmet https://thefirstshogun.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/6/9/20696060/326087802.jpg?293 ), but you’re probably aware of that haha. 😀

    I really enjoy your different color-choices for the armors, they really stick out individually but somehow still look cohesive.

    But what I actually enjoy the most is your diorama-composition.
    It’s really delectable to watch a cavalry charge scene that is accepted by braced pikemen to protect their firing line, which became something of importance in Japan via the monk warriors of the Ikko Ikki incidentally.
    It is also a fabulous choice to choose a scene that’s close to a building, as most battles were in fact sieges instead of field battles in Japan.

    Well that’s everything I got so far.
    Or in short: A great diorama with great scenery and great composition for one of my favorite themes.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Well thanks Anthony for those very kind words, I’m certainly no expert on the Japanese medieval period and it only by chance I thought of going with this theme, but I’m glad I did as it been fun painting up theses guys. The helmet was given to me by one of my sisters after her husband died , he worked with a company that had a lot of dealings with the Japanese and was given it by them as they were big on gift giving, I think it was back in the early eighties. It does look very much like the one in the picture you put up, I feel there souvenirs were a lot better than ours , crappy stuffed koalas 😅😅😉.
      I was pleased with the outcome of the wall , simple but very effective , the wire trees were loosely based on ones I had seen in old paintings and worked out ok, not great but ok fo the job🤔
      The problem is I have set the bar so high the next ones will be pretty ordinary 🤔🤓.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. deturnation

        I also have my knowledge exclusively from video games, original images & videos from youtube, but those are pretty good to get to know your stuff (and I think a few historical blogs with scientific sources).

        Oh that’s so Japan, gifts are a must in their culture, you cannot come back to your workplace, if you’ve been on vacation without buying (this is to be stressed) something for every single co-worker and the boss. There are special shops and special items for that occasion even.

        But those koalas would probably be equal in worth, as it usually has to be some speciality or something extremely typical, so I’m sure the Nipponese loved them to bits. Especially if they were cute or goofey. And if you go by suveys, Australia is Japan’s favorite country anyways.
        Ordinary is always welcome though, as only the ordinary sets the base for the great, if everything was great, there was no great. x)

        Liked by 3 people

      2. patmcf

        😅😅😅👍🏻I love that idea ! Just lucky the Australians didnt pick that one up as I have worked in a couple of places with sixty to seventy fellow workers😳. I would have spent the whole vacation shopping 😅😅😜.

        Liked by 2 people

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