I have been reviewing my semi-painted lead mountain and have become reacquainted with my Samurai. I have amassed a sizeable Two Dragons samurai force many years ago and have been dabbling in ways and means to present them on the tabletop. I started out with the notion of DBA sized and based 'armies' representing several major houses, Tokugawa, Takeda, Uesugi and Hojo. However the stands do not adequately represent the troops or the combinations of figures with various heraldry etc. that I would like to field. I've tried going bigger and having a stand per Mon but having to make arbitrary decisions as to who does what goes against my historical grain. Lion-Rampant offers better sized but fewer units but is also a little samey in army composition. I like the idea of larger units but that would probably mean abandoning a couple of clans and opting for just two armies. I am intrigued to know how BAW compares...
Any advice from fellow Clans out there?
Neil
I'm seriously revisiting this 20year old project. Looking at my Late Hojo forces (which are among the most partially completed) I have the makings of a Lion-Rampant sized force. There are 5 colour regiments so I'm designating one the HQ unit and 4 as 'clans'. To simulate the mixed 'feudal' look each 'clan' will field 1 DBA-esque 3 or 4 figure stands of cavalry, 1 of foot samurai, 1 Ashigaru shot, 1 Ashigaru with spears and naginatas, 1 of Nagae-yari (pike). 1 in 4 stands of missile troops will be a stand of Ashigaru archers. When combined they will make up the 12 fig regiments. I'll add a CiC and 3 COs and separate Tsukai-ban stands which will bring it closer in line to BAW. I can then up the proportions of figures when I finally finish the bases I've got. I have disproportionate numbers of spare foot samurai in do-maru armour. I can always field them as better equipped Ashigaru since not all had the basic gear with Jingasa hats. They will look more like the troops in Kurasawa's films.
How big is the Hatamoto unit in BAW? Is it one stand like in AK47 or a fully fledged unit?
Neil
The BAW hatamoto is a full unit of either foot samurai or horse samurai.
The hatamoto in BAW can strike out for a turn but then must return to the C n C. This makes them a strike force which punches out and then withdraws. It cannot loiter in the battle line.
martin :)
Many thanks for the clarification, Martin.
That makes perfect sense and makes me very happy.
I have the makings of a 12 man Hojo Hatamoto foot unit. The Hatamoto had sashimono with kanji characters that when arranged made up a Haiku poem. I have recreated two stands and a stand with more generic Hojo mon so just need to come up with a stand with 3 more figures...
It is so weird coming across 20yro painting and basing, though I'm happy with the handmade Nobori and the hand painted sashimono at least...
Neil
Good news.
There is contributor here that did BAW in 5mm and his battles looked wonderful
martin :)
Thanks Martin,
I'll take a gander
Neil
I'm looking to create some sub-general/clan leader stands. The majority of my troops are based to DB* (40x20, 40x30 and 40x40) so I will be following that. It seems to me a mounted commander, nobori-bearing foot soldier and foot samurai bodyguard on a 40x30 stand would work comfortably... could that fit in with BAW?
Neil
I'm rediscovering some 20yr old hand painted heraldry amongst my 1570s Tokugawa/Oda (from the Mikata-ga-Hara and Shitara-ga-hara period).
They are Two Dragons samurai with handmade nobori of Sakai, Honda, Sakakibara, Ishikawa and Okubo contingents. I re-equipped Ashigaru with Nagae Yari (pikes) so I could protect the missile troops. I am particularly pleased with how the Okubo butterfly sashimono came out... Sakai Tadatsugu's skull and clouds sashimono is not featured.
These will form the nucleus of a larger army moving forward probably each clan fielding contingents which I can combine into a field army.
Neil
They are lovely, Neil.
Great painting of the heraldry, and those pikes are very nice too.
Simon
Thanks, Simon,
As well as the taketaba I'm also scratchbuilding some more archers' pavises in the interests of economy as well as curiosity. I rediscovered a box file with all my past offprints and notes so I will be concentrating on finishing existing stands. It feels good to persevere with this project especially since I have physical proof of the hours I've already invested in it.
Neil
Those Japanese look very nice. Best keep clumsy hands away from them.
martin :)
Thanks, Martin
I know what you mean, the Nagae Yari and Nobori and add-on sashimono are quite fiddly to model (and to game with I'd imagine). Hence the appeal of your samurai with integral sculpted sashimono (and rather nicely posed as well) The only thing that put me off getting them in the past was the fact that not all troops had them and I could not see a way of converting them. They are also a tad smaller to paint the heraldry on. However, I am thoroughly looking forward to creating some extra units using the PPs to recreate that mass battle 'Ran' effect!
Neil
So I now have a plan. I am systematically going through my existing nucleus of painted and semi painted figures and concentrating on completing one clan at a time. First up, the Sakakibara. S. Yasumasa was one of Tokugawa's prominent generals and fought at Anegawa, Mikatagahara and Nagashino. The clan mon was a cartwheel but interestingly his ashigaru bore triple sashimono flags. Luckily 20yr ago I took a stab at making my own sashimono from paper superglued to wire with moderate success. By cropping these narrower I have amassed most of what I require. In this case each clan has a minimum of 8 stands; Commander, Tsukai-ban, Cavalry, Foot Samurai, 2x Ashigaru, Nagae-yari and Shot. The only down side is for the Sakakibara clan this entails making 11 triple sashimono i.e. 33 or 198 devices painted!
Once I have all the heraldry in hand I can assemble the units and paint them to completion! Wish me luck!
Neil
Good luck Neil ;D
I think you will need a good dollop of it, but am sure the results will be worth it.
Simon
The sheer number of semi-painted figures I have is a bit daunting. There are however some big gaps in my inventory which my latest consignment of PP Ashigaru and foot samurai will fill. Having started to put paint to metal I am discovering just what lovely sculpts the Ashigaru are in particular. I am sure a few more will be required ;D. The integral sashimono, while somewhat smaller than I am used to, are proving to be a real boon. They are far less fiddly than the Two Dragons and psychologically taking a figure to completion is more straightforward and proving an incentive. I'm still at the assembling and sorting figures into units stage, but the Sakakibara and now the Honda and Sakai are beginning to emerge from the chaos.
Neil
Cracking on steadily, 6 clans of Tokugawa troops are now well on the way. Each Faction will be a minimum of 48 stands. The PP Ashigaru with spears are a joy to paint and far easier than the Two Dragons samurai. I have just put in an order for the spring offensive to hopefully expand 6 Go-Hojo clans by summer.
Neil
I hope that the Shogun series is providing good inspiration, Neil!
Simon
Indeed it is, Simon
I just hope I haven't jinxed my painting mojo by placing an order for more Ashigaru while I have several stands still on the boil...
Neil
I understand that Martin doesn't make Ninja, Amida assassins, etc as the rules are not skirmish, but maybe a suitably set Gamette could provide the inspiration and impetus for some?
Simon
I'm leaning more towards a more familiar medium scale conflict using Lion Rampant, much as I have done in 25mm for my Westerosi. Up to 8 clans can be combined to create large forces of up to 56 stands or smaller clashes with only a few clans apiece...
Anyway, the thing about Ninja is you shouldn't be able to see them at all if they are any good! ;)
Neil
Am I mad?! - probably :o . In an effort to accelerate the painting process I have abandoned my usual batch painting figures on a strip of card to completion before transferring them to their final stands. I'm now getting the basic colours on, giving them an ink wash to show the detail then gluing them onto their final stands, doing the groundwork and only then picking out the details to finish off. It also helps me reorganise and marshal the figures I've got. I figure if I can't get my brush to them I probably won't notice the omissions anyway...
Anyone else out there adopt a similar method?
Neil
I paint all mine like that Neil. It does compromise the final paint job but gets it done quicker I reckon.
martin :)
That is reassuring to know, Martin.
I started doing it with my C20 figures, mainly because of the simplicity of the uniforms compared to Medievals. Why I had not thought to extend the process to the Samurai I'll never know. Perhaps it was the extra fiddliness of the Two Dragons figures with their add on sashimonos... I have to say I am really enjoying painting up the PP Ashigaru.
Neil
Thanks for using PP chaps Neil.They will fight better (or not)
martin :)
I'm sure my Go-Hojo, Takeda and Tokugawa clans will look more intimidating AND fight better with the PP Ashigaru, Martin. The jury's out on whether I have enough cavalry to complete 3 entire armies. I would like to supplement the very limited poses of the Two Dragons figs with some of the great PP cavalry action poses, as well as some commanders in due course.
Gotta get some of my existing leadpile finished first though...
Neil