February Motivational.

 

Until next time, have nice day...

Hobby Spending - February 2024.

 

A quiet month for February, with only two purchases this month for the hobby.

First up is the bargain of the year!

This is the first edition Clan War Rulebook, army book and all the cards needed to play the Legend of the Five Rings miniatures game.

This was released in 1998 and flowed on from the popularity of the CCG which the game started with and was at it's apex of popularity at that time.

Normally you can find either the rulebook OR the army book, but never the cards, so when this popped up in my eBay search for a fiver, I pounced on it and stuck an offer in for twice the asking price.

Next up, Rattlecans:

So, I painted up all those Tyranid reinforcements for a gaming day which was cancelled because my son brought a viral chest infection into the house which floored all three of us, fantastic timing during the half-term week off from school so we couldn't do anything...I digress.

This meant that I wasn't able to restock on badly needed supplies from Element Games and had to go on the search for rattlecans whilst waiting for a train to be unloaded at work.

I found the above, in a Matt White finish, from The Range for just shy of £7 each, and picked up two cans. I've never used the range of paint before, but it turned out great, so that's a local(ish) supplier of primer, after my LGS shut down last year.

I am in desperate need of super glue now however...

Number crunching time:

Clan War Rulebook and Cards - £10.

Two cans of White Primer - £14.

Total for January: £24.

Budget for January: £50.

Over/Under Yearly Budget: under budget by £61.

Two months into the year and well under budget, I may treat myself and order some terrain for the Feudal Japanese Project, depending on how the car fares with it's M.O.T. next month.

Until next time, have nice day...

The Feudal Japanese Project - part 2.

 

Following on from the previous post, we take a look at the other units I got built a week ago.

We'll start with a base of Samurai Cavalry:

These were more in-depth to build, being separate riders, horses and Sashimono.

The problem here is that the models, whilst looking beautiful, have very small contact points to the base.

One horse is connected by one foot to the base!

So they all got drilled and pinned to the bases to try to add some strength and stability to them in the long run.

There are another two based of Cavalry to add to complete the unit fully, I may do another base of four and make the third base three models strong for variation.

The next unit is the first of several fantasy units I plan on adding.

A unit of three Sohei Oni*:

An Elder in the center, flanked by a Tetsubo wielding Oni to either side.

The two Oni are the same model printed twice, I can live with the limited amount of poses, as these models cost me around sixty pence of so to print according to Chitubox.

The Elder Oni was a must buy because I find the pose and model really nice, he has a certain charm about him I think.

Tetsubo are great heavy wooden clubs which were often studded with metal. The great strength required to wield them was often admired, and people who could wield a Tetsubo were often referred to as Oni themselves!

Next is the second base of Sohei:

I already had a base of Sohei built which I had began painting before the big build session, but I've added the second oval bases to the unit, this makes a total of twenty-one Naginata armed Sohei, they'll be joined by another ten or eleven on a third base eventually**.

The Warrior Monks are one of my favourite parts of Japanese history, as unlike western monks, the Sohei Buddhists were not peaceful men and had a hand in politics and warfare for almost five hundred years or so, until Oda Nobunaga broke their power in the late 1500s.

Lastly we have a selection of character models I printed out, the first three are commander types:

The two on the left with the spear and axe*** are Hatamoto from Kyoushuneko.

The third is a Samurai from the Katana armed pack, but without a helmet.

Hatamoto were the highest rank of Samurai before one could become a lord and own land. They were often picked to be bodyguards for lord's due to their prowess and loyalty (but even that could be bought).

The Samurai here I am going to use as a Hatamoto, but the three models will form part of a unit for an Age of Sigmar army I have enough models for.

This is a Horse Messenger:

These riders delivered orders between the different clans who had arrived to fight for their liege-lord, the Daimyo, and were very high ranked in the army.

The large thing on his back is called a 'Horo', it was a canvas covered bamboo frame which would inflate as the rider galloped along, not only showing his rank and which army he fought for, but the theory was also that it would deflect arrows shot at him as well.

Whether that is true or not I don't know, I don't believe anyone has tested it in the modern age to prove it.

Adding to the fantasy section we have a Yamabushi Mountain Monk and a Nine Tailed Fox:

The Yamabushi were another section of monks of the period, but often wandered rather then being tied to a shrine or monastery.

The Nine Tailed Fox is the first miniature which is not a Kyoushuneko STL, but is still really nice.

It started as a 75mm display print which I scaled down to 32mm to match the army.

Kitsune, Fox Spirits, were a major part of Japanese folklore and would often be tricksters and helpers at times, I'll go more into that when I get round to doing a showcase of this miniature when it's painted.

Well, that's everything built so far, this project is going to take quite a while to complete due to the sheer size I want to make it.

We're talking three or four divisions per army and I have to build two armies as I don't know anyone else with any interest in the period itself.

I'm going to work up to finishing off a well rounded force for each side first, so I can play a few games with them, but the aim eventually is to have a real masses battle look to the forces, the benefits of 3D printing is that this is actually a viable project, especially financially. The Katana Samurai unit for the last post cost approximately £3.20 to print eighteen miniatures off.

Also timewise for creating the miniatures, 3D printing is again mental to think about.

I can get up at 04.00am to get ready for work and just plug the USB stick into the printer and set it going. When I get home after a twelve hour shift, I can check the build plate and hopefully, there will be a raft of completed miniatures waiting to be washed and cured.

After some maintenance on the printer I can do the same the next day and have a couple of units ready by the end of the working week.

Now if only I could paint that fast!

Speaking of, I'm off to go and paint some of these now.

Until next time, have nice day...

*Sohei - Warrior Monks.

  Oni - Japanese Demons.

Demons aren't necessarily evil in Japanese mythology, they are associated with evil.and misfortune, but can equally be seen as omens of good fortunes, depending on your point of view.

**I keep mentioning about adding a third base to each unit.

The way that I'm going to organise the big bases for the unit is as follows:

One Base: Small Unit.

Two Bases: Standard Unit.

Three Bases: Large Unit.

This is to keep things in line with any ruleset I choose to use, but also give a nice big number of models to field.

***Sometimes called "Ono" Axes are a rare weapon in Japanese warfare, as most fighting styles of the period were two handed and were very finesse orientated, an axe on the other hand is not a subtle weapon...

The Feudal Japanese Project - part 1.

Last Saturday, in the midst of a chest infection, I had a big hobby building day.

Being "All Tyranid Out" for the time being, and lamenting the fact that the illness had cancelled our gaming day, I turned to my long held dream of a big feudal Japanese wargaming army.

I posted before about 3D printing Kyoushuneko Miniatures and took the plunge head first, ending up with this:

That is a 40k combat patrol sized box, filled to the brim with Ashigaru, Samurai and Sohei foot soldiers, I have another one curing with Samurai cavalry in it!

Carrying on with the theme of the last post, and making them multiple game useful, I dug out the big oval bases, small plastic bases and magnets.

This was the result after an afternoon of work*:

Various units and characters awaiting base texturing and printing.

Twenty-one Yumi Ashigaru:

The Yumi is a Japanese longbow, and for the longest time was the preferred weapon of the Samurai as they fought as Horse Archers back in antiquity. They transitioned to foot soldiers over time, but the need for archer support remained.

I have twenty Ashigaru, the peasant class foot soldier, here including full command of Banner Bearer, Horn Blower and Ashigaru Kashira (sergeant, he has the Sashimono banner on the left hand base). Also included on the right hand base is a Samurai Leader for the unit, he's at the front on the very right of the base.

I have to add a third base of troops to this unit to make up the full sized "Large Unit" I plan on fielding for games like Hail Caesar.

Next are Eighteen Katana Samurai:

The Samurai, or Bushi, are the real draw of the armies of this period. They have a mystique about them, which thanks to some revisionist history** and the massive amount of pop-culture from Japan have cemented the idea of the "honourable" Samurai in peoples heads. 

These are the fantastic Katana armed Samurai, which I took pains to only add helmeted figures to the unit, this does mean some repeats of poses, but I can live with that for the effect of the massed unit.

The Sashimono banners are added to all Samurai miniatures in the force and look great when grouped together, again I need to add a third base eventually.

There are some odd numbers with the units I've shown, and I could probably have squeezed more figures onto those oval bases, so why haven't I?

Whilst well organised and disciplined, armies of the time were not as drilled and line focused as say the Romans were. Not having to form a rigid shield wall for their maniples, the armies of the far east would have battle lines which buckled and bulged in places. I wanted to reflect this by grouping the men on the base in a fashion which looked like a military unit with discipline, but reflected the fighting styles of the period and setting.

Likewise with the odd numbers, recruitment was a case of being sunning by your lord, and bringing troops with you, there was no set/rigid number for the size of a unit, that I've found, everything is estimated if it wasn't documented at the highest level.

With the armies being semi-fantasy in nature for this project, I think I can get away any historical inaccuracies in this regard.

I've typed on for far too long already, so I'll details the other units and characters I got built in the next post.

Until next time, have nice day...

*There isn't really any assembly necessary as these are single or two piece for the cavalry miniatures.

It's just cleaning off any remaining supports and regluing any bits which broke off due to the nature of resin.

The longest part was actually sticking all the Sashimono to the Samurai.

**Not so much revisionist as romanticism, the whole code of Bushido was created well after the Sengoku Jidai, the civil war which saw the peak of Samurai power and influence.

Like the Knights of the west, honour and chivalry could, and would, be thrown out the window at the first opportunity if it meant winning and surviving.

Infestation - part 9.

 

The Tyranid force has been growing again, with more reinforcements. These were all meant to be used in a game today, however, due to the onset of a chest infection, I had to cancel. I was driving the eighty-odd miles to Stockport to play with toy soldiers when I can't stop coughing every ten minutes or so...

Anyway, I thought I'd showcase the bits which I have now gotten finished starting with a unit of three Tyranid Warriors:

I bought these after the last game, as I realised quite early on that I needed more Synapse control for the smaller creatures, and I needed some ranged firepower to try to take on the Tanks of the Guard.

The Devourers are a good mid range assault weapon and the big Venom Cannon is a Tyranid Lascannon equivalent. Their melee combo of Bonesword and Lashwhip are just nasty, as they cause instant death on failed leadership tests after s wound is suffered.

The box comes with that many spare parts and options though, that I found an STL of Warrior bodies, and I've made up a Prime on foot and a second unit of three warriors to add in the future.

Next up we have the gristle of the army, lots and lots of Termagants:

Both sets of these are the older miniatures which I bought for cheap off of eBay and refurbished for my needs.

The ten at the top with the Fleshborers will be added to one of the twenty strong units I already finished bringing them up to full size.

The ten at the bottom all have Devourers as their weapon*, meaning they'll give a little more longer range fire whilst we charge at the enemy.

Two more Von Ryan's Leapers:

These two models are the remaining two from the two Leviathan starter sets which started this project off, they're still some of my favourite 'New Nids' of the force reboot, and I have another three to add in due course.

A second Biovore/Exocrine:

The same 3D printed STL as the last one I showcased, with a third waiting to be built, they'll give me some good long range firepower.

And the final Winged Tyranid Prime:

I know that in tenth edition, Winged Primes cannot be equipped with a Venom Cannon, so why have I done it?

Well in fifth edition, the unit called Tyranid Shrikes, we're basically a unit of Warriors with wing upgrades as standard. They could take all the upgrades from Warriors, so I've put all three of the Winged Primes together into one unit to make a Shrikes unit which will accompany my Winged Hive Tyrant and give some mobile fire support.

Lastly, here's a photo of everything I've painted up this year so far for the Hive Fleet:

Not a bad little showing if I do say so.

Points wise for the AHPC points counter we have the following:

Three Tyranid Warriors - counting as mounted model because they're in that middle size category - 30 points.

Fifteen Termagants** - infantry sized - 75 points.

Two Von Ryan's Leapers - infantry sized - 10 points.

One Biovore/Exocrine - large model - 20 points.

One Tyranid Shrike - mounted model as it's the same size as the Warriors - 10 points.

For a total of 145 points added to the total from this lot here, and a chunk added to my total miniatures painted this year as well which I'm pretty pleased about.

I'm going to focus on a different project for the time being, and might add a unit or two to the force in the future but not for a while I think.

Until next time, have nice day...

*Alright there are two in this unit with Spinefists, but I will take what I can get second hand off of eBay, they'll just "count as" Devourers.

**I did already paint five of the Devourer armed Termagants before I started the AHPC tracker, so I'm going to be honest with myself and not count those.