42mm samurai: Ashigaru loading arquebus

The first of my black-armored figures. I'll do this ashigaru, an ashigaru bowman and one or two samurai with black armor; maybe I'll do some different color lacings. I'm not trying to paint figures to be all part of one army, but I am trying to paint them enough to split into two motley groups for skirmishing: Red armor vs. black armor.
I DO like this palette of black, green and light blue. It may be worth repeating for another ashigaru or two (after I order more :)
I still haven't decided on a mon, and now I'm thinking they really don't need one; I think the figures look just fine without.

These have really been a joy to paint up. I think I may treat myself to a few more for my birthday comin' up here in a couple days.

Here's a better pic to illustrate the size of these figures. The other figure is a Games Workshop Empire gunner. He stands 28mm from foot to eye (an industry standard):

42mm Samurai: Ashigaru standing with yari

So, to combat my fear of painting with red, I decided to paint something with lots of red. And, hey, it turned out all right! I have a samurai I also want to put into red armor, and that's all of the red I'll be dealing with for a bit.
I have two more ashigaru left, one with a bow, and one loading an arquebus. They'll both be in black armor.
I still haven't decided on a mon (clan symbol.) I may just leave the ashigaru without any mon.
The ashigaru have been painting up fast and easy; My next order will probably include a majority of ashigaru.
In the meantime, I can't wait to see how Steve's monks and ikko ikki sculpts turn out.

It's snowing again!

So I'll probably get a little more painting done today.

42mm Samurai: Ashigaru with yari, wearing straw rain cape

I like this figure a lot. That may be due to the fact that it's only the second of the range that I've painted so far. But I like the minor oddity of a straw rain cape; and Steve Barber has done a nice job of letting the ashigaru's armor show through toward the bottom of the cape (pancho?)
I was worried about how the red would turn out, but it looks good!
I've settled on a flesh recipe: Foundry Spearshaft 13B as shade, then Flesh 5B, and Flesh 5C.
I also like blue lacings with the red armor; I'll probably do one more ashigaru (standing with yari) in the same scheme (red armor/blue lacings). I also plan on doing one red samurai. That will be enough painting with reds as I can take- I just don't have enough patience to wait for multiple clear layers of red to dry (Foundry, as do most paint companies, has thin, transparent reds. Honestly, I'm sure the red pigments are one of the more pricey- so the paints are thin to save costs. Can anyone recommend a good red? I do have some old Reaper Pro Paints reds, but they're old and have a few rogue crumblies in them.)

Oh well, back to the samurai!

"Samurai noodles!!! Samurai noodles!!!!" (3 points if you can name the movie)

42mm Samurai: Peasant with yari

Ok, same peasant, better picture (and a comparison shot with one of my old, large trees, more of which I am contemplating making now.)

42mm samurai update: Peasant spearman finished

Here's a quick shot of my first finished 42mm Steve Barber figure, a peasant (with poor lighting.) I'll get a better photo later; I just wanted to celebrate my first finished figure of the range. I'm still working on a decent Japanese flesh tone recipe. This one is Foundry Dusky flesh6A as a base, then successive highlights of Foundry Flesh 5B. It looks all right, but it still feels a bit drab.

Now I wonder how those reeds are going to react to the spray varnish? I may have to make some kind of screen/mask. I hope it works out, I plan on reeding up one of my ninja bases, too. I reckon' I could varnish figures first and then add the reeds? Oh well. We'll see what happens to Takezo Musashi here first.

The slow ox: 42mm samurai update

Still waiting for some 40mm bases to arrive from the Warstore; the blizzard, I'm sure, has delayed them. In the meantime, I've based and primed what I could. I can't wait to start paining these. I've chosen an ashigaru (charging with yari, wearing straw rain cape) and a peasant to paint first. I want to start easy before going on to the more complex samurai armor.

I'm also going to have a terrible busy next two weeks at work (newspaper never sleeps!), so I may not be as prodigious with these figures as I have been in the past. They WILL get painted; it'll just take some time. And maybe what I need right now is to take my time painting.

The ox is slow, but the earth is patient.

Quick and dirty bayonets

There's a thread over at the Lead Adventure Forum asking how to make durable bayonets. Here's my solution, though it's not the easiest (especially at 28mm) and doesn't have the best results (asthetically speaking). But it will provided a tough (and SHARP) bayonet.
This is just a hypothetical solution; I haven't actually tried this.

When it looks like this outside....

It usually looks like this inside:



With the first blizzard of the year raging outside, I had plenty excuse to stay indoors and work on my samurai. And, well, I finished all the build work! Still waiting for bases to be delivered (and will be waiting longer because of the storm). I'll be using 40mm bases for these figures; this size of base is maybe a touch-JUST a touch-too big, but 30mm was way too small.

Usually, I'll cut away the integral bases and pin the figures direct to a greenstuff-filled display base, but that's usually because I'll have the figure standing on stone of some sort. This time I'm leaving the integral bases on- one-because these are substantial bases which would require a lot of work, and two, the figures will mostly be standing in grass with some shrub and tallgrass accents. Anyway, here's my little 42mm samurai gang all put together with new weapons, various sashimono and new crests.

Dropping the hammer! Making your own swords; no fire needed

I prefer durable blades for my minis, so I usually clip the lead blade off my minis and forge my own blades out of brass rod. Above are the tools I use: A jeweler's anvil (about $20-30), hammer, clippers, needlenose pliers, some brass rod and, most importantly, safety glasses! My hammer is a little bit rusty; this is a good indicator it should probably be replaced. You also should grab a metal file to smooth off any burs (rough barbs left on your brass rod after clipping.)

Since I'll be making a katana, I'll need a curved blade. So before I do any hammering, I use my needlenose pliers to gently bend the rod into a slight curve. Do this slowly and in small increments or it will look like you have a kink in the curve of your blade. Done, now it's time to hammer!


I don't think it makes a difference which end you start on, but I prefer to start at the tip of the blade. Lay the rod on the anvil and strike the end of the blade with your hammer, then move down a couple millimeters and strike again. After some practice, you'll find a nice rhythm and striking force. Hammer down the length of the blade and then back up to the tip, making your strikes at equal distances and with as much as the same force as possible. This will keep your blade's height as constant as possible. After couple passes down and up the blade, turn the blade over and repeat the process.




You'll notice the rod starting to curve on you, making for a crooked sword. Simply take your needlenose pliers and gently bend the sword back into shape. The brass rod will build up a little heat as you hammer, so bending and plying should be a bit easier. (It won't get so hot that you can't handle the rod, though.)

After you've hammered a blade to the length and height to your liking, clip the tip to make the point. Since I'm making a katana, I only need to make one diagonal cut. Make the cut, then use your file to smooth off any burs.


Clip the blade off the main rod, viola! You have a blade! Drill a hole using the same drill bit you use for whatever size of rod you use. There will be that part of the blade near the hilt where the flat blade merges with the round rod. Enough of this area will be hidden in the drill hole in your mini, but if it bothers you, you can use a sharp, flat file to carve out more of a slit-shaped hole so that more of the blade fits into the hole, making for a more natural look.




So this blade turned out pretty good! It's a little long, so I just need to clip the tip further down the blade, otherwise, it just needs to be fit and glued! And Bob's your uncle.

Steve Barber models: You get what you paid for

Oh boy!!!! My samurai have arrived, and they are fantastic models! After having them in hand, suddenly the price seems inexpensive; these are hefty models (NOW I understand the 30% shipping charge- these were heavy!- Shipping is worth it). They are also great sculpts- my compliments to Steve Barber.
The models come loose in ziplock bags with weapons, sashimono (for most figures) and random samurai crests for the samurai. The ashigaru who have nageyari (long spears) are actually provided with steel pins and separate lance heads. The yari and bamboo pole (peasant)are still pewter and maybe a touch (just a touch) thin, but I planned on replacing them with brass rod anyway; I'll use the original weapons to accessorize terrain, bases are what not. I also plan to hammer out my own katana and no-dachi blades on the anvil. The blades with the figures are just fine, but I prefer (and do this with all my new figures now) brass blades for their durability. The figures also come with pre-drilled hands to accept yari pins, or other weapons and accessories. These are low-maintenance figures, which will allow me to focus on painting.

The size comparison photo is of Steve's ashigaru w/straw rain cape (SAM27) next to a Warcrow samurai figure. Keep in mind the Warcrow figure is actually about 33/34mm from to to the top of his head. Steve's figure in this photo is standing on a 40mm display base.
Note: On the armored samurai photo, you'll see a small hole in his lower back; That's to accept the base of the sashimono (them cute little flags samurai wear on their backs.)
Ok, that's enough for the inadvertent figure review- I was just psyched to get these. Time to get some more bases ordered, figures cleaned up and weapons hammered out. I also think I'll peruse and see what I will purchase in my next samurai order.

(By the way: These arrived just in time- A blizzard will be underway starting tonight through the next day and a half. I love Iowa.)

(Shameless plug) When in Kansas City...

...or more specifically, Overland Park, Kansas, have a visit to Table Top Games and Hobby. Lots of minis (including a lot of stuff I usually have to get through mail order) good terrain/modelling/basing/painting bits, a good selection of games (board and RPG) and an excellent collection of painted figures on display. The shop also has a very nice and comfortable gaming room with what looked like a dedicated painting area.
The place is a little difficult to find, it doesn't have a storefront that can be seen from the road, but it's worth the little search. You could also give the owner, Phill, a call (913-962-4263) and he could probably guide you to his store better than I.
I don't normally plug stores, but this one was nice, and the inventory seemed very minis and mini-painting friendly. And Phill (Phill, was that you I spoke to?) was a friendly and knowledgeable person. All my visits to Uncle Nick and Aunt Dani will now include visits to Table Top Games.
Phone: 913-962-4263
Web Site: www.tabletopgameandhobby.com
Physical address: 6840 W. 105th St., Overland Park, KS 66212

Note: To follow up the Baron's comment below, here is the web site for Recruits: http://recruits.mtswebsites.com/