From StuartL - Samurai (26 points)

A second entry for this week, in this case a group of samurai-era figures from the Perrys and some terrain from Sarissa Precision.

These figures were originally intended for the Water Feature bonus round along with some water-filled rice fields. Sadly some evil kappa decided to curse my efforts and my rice fields were rendered useless. So, standing firmly on dry land, I have 2 samurai, a warrior monk and a travelling priest. Behind them stand two storage barns. The barns were lifted up off the ground to help dry out the harvest and to help keep pests away.

Samurai are one of those forces that look magnificent when you field a fully painted army of them. They are also one of those forces that make you question your life choices. The Perry's don't help matters by sculpting their figures so well. So many small details, so very very many.

The samurai are both sporting 'sashimono' (the small flags on their backs), these are painted with a small black circle in the top half. This symbol is a simplified version of their clan's 'mon'. In this case, the black circle denotes the Kuroda clan. The Kuroda clan served the Toyotomi clan during their invasion of Korea and then later took the side of the Tokugawa during the battle of Sekigahara.

Sashimono were used to identify friendly troops in combat, since armies during the 'Sengokujidai' (warring states period) very rarely wore uniforms. They were usually only worn by melee troops, being quite heavy and liable to blow about in the wind, they made firing a ranged weapon more difficult.

These figures will all probably be used for Ronin, as and when I get round to playing it again.

And to make the life of my assigned minion a little easier, I have included a tape measure to provide some size information for the barns. They are 6" wide in total, 3" deep and 4" tall at the highest point, so about 1/4 of the standard 6x6x6 cube.

By my estimates, that comes to 4x 28mm figures for 20 points, plus 5 more of 1/4 of a cube, for a total of 25 points and 1 more to my squirrel tally.
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Now this is how to get on the good side of a minion, always give the measurements. Thank you, Stuart!

Your quarter-cubesworth and the four figures nets you 25 points, plus an extra for the mon on the two samurai.

Well played Stuart - you certainly aren't letting the rice grass grow beneath your feet!

Ev

From PaulO’G - Koryu Buntai and Ghillie Suit (55 Points)

Better late than never right? I thought so too!

To add to the figs' authenticity, I painted them watching the adventures on Shintaru in the classic series The Samurai

I've let myself down in the challenge this year.  Perhaps I should have listened a bit more closely to my inner cynic reciting the challenges of moving 16,000 kms to a new house, job, country, hemisphere.  Anyway, despite not making my total I was determined to avoid being a 'no entry guy' and at least have one worthy entry.  So finally, here are 9 samurai of the Koryu Buntai faction for Ronin.

My favourite 3 figures in the Buntai

I had no plan to buy this game or its figures but once again I became a victim to shininess after meeting the game's author Chris Woodfield at CanCon and having a great chat with him over dinner and beers (first world problems, I know).    However, painting these got me rather frustrated because after almost 2 years without a brush in hand, my skill fade was far worse than I had expected.  Anyway, I have them finished now and am happy to register 45 points worth of achievement.

All the colour and patterns was quite a change from my usual figure styles and camo.

but I'm rather pleased with the clothing.  The base flowers add to the colourful appearance too.

I'd like to thank two people in particular.  Actually now that I think about it they were the ones who peer-pressured me into this in the first place...

Firstly Miles, who very kindly donated not one but two beautiful Langton 1/1200 ships to my cause.  I had every intent of making those my entries (and even accepted a Naval side challenge ) but unfortunately logistics issues made that an untenable proposition (yes they somehow got mixed up with my sea freight and only just arrived).  On the plus side I still have them to look forward to painting and they now have more squadron mates in my inventory.  Thanks Miles, I'm looking forward to giving them the attention they deserve. 

 And to show my appreciation, here is a spreadsheet just for you:

My challenge productivity: started badly and tailed off in the middle...

Secondly, thanks to Dux who came to my rescue at the eleventh hour with the gift of an Army Painter basing set so I complete my submission- thanks mate, that was very thoughtful !

So thats my entry for this year - way off course from where I thought I would be but much better than a zero point no show (plus I like to think that I have some reasonable mitigation).  I hereby also concede my three side challenges.  Regardless, I'm happy to be on the scoreboard and am looking forward to putting these figs on the table.

I would also like to present this bonus figure: The 1:1 scale camo had its own challenges and took me away from my other modelling projects but the smile on The Lad's face is priceless (this ghille suit is for his upcoming Cadet Corps bivouac).  If a 28mm fig is worth 5 points then I leave the value of a 1680mm fig up to the judge's consideration :-)

Ahh, it's great to see you Paul! I know you've been very, very busy with your relocation of life but, hey, it is a painting challenge isn't it? Nevertheless, I see you've picked up the gauntlet magnificently with this entry as those Samurai are fabulous! I think what you may have lost in 'skill fade' others would be delighted to possess as both the uniforms and basework are excellent on these figures. (After seeing that first grey-haired model I think I need to get this set...)

That ghillie suit is amazing (do you Australians call it a 'Yowie Suit'?). I literally can't see your boy in the first shot. Wow. Great work Paul - that's got to be worth 10 points at least. ;) 

It was great having you para in, Paul - I just knew you'd make an appearance! Let's hope you can be with us longer next time out. :)

From DavidL - A Miscellaneous Retrospective (44 Points)

For this, my final entry in the Challenge, I present a miscellany of figures that, quite coincidentally, touch on some of my very first entries...

First up, we have what will be my third (and hopefully final) version of Malifaux's Taelor. Way back when I posted my "Hired Guns" crew, I talked about how dissatisfied I was with the "official" versions of this character - neither the plastic or metal sculpts did much for me. I found a suitable substitute in MicroArt's "Alice Tinkerly" but...I still wasn't completely satisfied. Her laid-back pose didn't match Taelor's fearsome combat abilities.

Then I spotted this excellent figure, part of a special edition boxed set from Bombshell Miniatures. The animation of the pose combined with the ludicrously huge industrial wrench told me at once that I'd found my version of Taelor:

The crazy eyes were a bit of a happy accident...

One of Taelor's signature moves is "Weclome to Malifaux!" Indeed.

This next piece is one that I don't plan on seeing featured in many games, but it was too cool not to pick up when I placed an order for my Ikko-Ikki from Kingsford: a giant taiko drum and a horagai player blowing on his conch shell.

This painted up in an evening and will make a fine centerpiece on display with my Ronin factions.

Lastly, we have the final figures for my 25-point Skorne army for Hordes. More Titans! First, the fearsome Bronzeback Titan.

In keeping with his name, I gave his central ridge of spiky hair a greenish cast, evoking a verdigris patina on bronze.

I believe this is the largest model for this base size in the whole WarmaHordes line. I could be wrong, but all I know is: you wouldn't want to see this guy bearing down on you in the middle of a battle!

"I heard they shaved a gorilla."

And here's another Titan, a Defender, to act as bodyguard for my caster.

Although not as large as the Bronzeback, he is at least as equally impressive, with his ornate armor and shield.

As before, I've left his back banner blank pending a decision on what sort of custom sigil to put on it.

Finally, we have the reason why everybody loves to hate the Skorne: the Agonizer. Not only are these guys a pain for any Skorne opponent mechanically, they're the living embodiment of the true depths of Skorne evil. It's a baby Titan (read: baby elephant!) kept in a state of perpetual pain and agony, which in turn is used to fuel the magic of nearby warcasters.

This is my second Agonizer in the list, and painting them never gets any easier. It's kind of funny to feel so ambivalent about one's own army. Everyone has to play the bad guy from time to time, I suppose...

All those hooks! Poor baby...

Inspired by a co-worker who is out sick this week with conjunctivitis, I gave this Agonizer infected eyes oozing with pus. Ewww!

The trio together.

I'll leave scoring for the taiko set up to Curt, but assuming I get 12 points each for the two Titans as was scored for my first Titan entry, this tally should put me just over my points goal, which is fantastic - I arrived at my target via the age old, time-tested method of pulling it out of thin air, so I'll be glad if my estimate worked out.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Curt for hosting this carnival yet again, and to extend a big thanks all the other participants for sharing their amazing projects and paint jobs. I entered into this contest with the intent of simply finishing off my existing collection of unpainted figures (a goal I succeeded in!), but through the course of following the other entries in the challenge, I've been inspired to start three new projects!

I intend to keep working away at the new projects over the course of the year, but I'd be surprised if I'm done with all of them by the time the next Challenge rolls around (should Curt so choose to favor us), and in that case I'll see you all again next year! It's been a wild ride and I can't wait to do it again...

From Curt:

Lovely figures David! Those two Titans are gorgeous (and a bit intimidating) and that Agonizer looks like it would work very nicely in a Cthulhu setting, but I must say my heart is taken with your taiko set - lovely character there.  

And yes! You've hit your target quite handily with this entry David - well done young man!!

It has been a pleasure Mr. L - I hope you join us the next time the Challenge rolls out.

From DavidL - 28mm Samurai Skirmish (55 points)

Continuing in a skirmish vein from my last entry, here's a war band (or buntai as the game calls it) for Ronin, Osprey's samurai skirmish game.

This was my first time painting 28mm samurai (I've done 10mm samurai in the past) and I'm now firmly convinced that this particular genre compares very closely to Napoleonics in terms of fiddly painting detail and potential for eye-catching, colorful "uniforms." On the one hand, I love how everything turned out; on the other, I can't begin to imagine painting a whole army of these guys! Lots of detailed brushwork was called for.

I have another buntai in the painting queue, a band of Ikko-Ikki - fanatical peasants out to destroy the system. Rather than painting up a bunch of generic samurai and peasants, and being unable to resist my history-geek tendencies, I've placed both forces in a historical context: the Ikko-Ikki uprising in Mikawa Province during the autumn of 1563 that culminated in the Battle of Azukizaka in January of the following year. That battle was one of the first victories of a young lord named Matsudaira Motoyasu - later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu, unifier of Japan.

The buntai I've assembled here is modeled around the spark that caused the uprising: "Fighting broke out in 1563 when Suganuma Sada, a Matsudaira retainer, entered the Jōgū-ji temple in Okazaki, and confiscated its rice to feed his own men."

Thus, I've chosen to paint up Suganuma Sada and his hungry escort.

Unlike Napoleonics, there is a fair bit of room to get creative with choosing colors and so forth, especially for minor figures like Sada. His outfit is a riot of colors, but I think they hang together nicely. It helps when you have an excellent figure to work with, as with this Kingsford figure.

Although I'm usually averse to doing elaborate, diorama-style basing, I couldn't resist throwing in a Perry casualty figure as I had some extra real estate on the base. (I painted the casualty with a Takeda clan mon, as they were also early foes of the future Tokugawa.) The mon on Sada's back is a decal transfer from Veni Vidi Vici and was, mercifully, quite easy to work with.

I hit the "lacquered" bits of armor with some gloss varnish to provide a bit of a shine.

As was often the case, different temples in the region aligned themselves with either the Ikko-Ikki or the local lord. Here is a warrior-monk (sohei) ally of Matsudaira's from the temple of Daiju-ji.

That blade means business!

For the ashigaru (infantrymen), I mostly pulled from the Ronin starter set put out by Artizan, but I supplemented with an excellent banner bearer from Perry Miniatures. The banner pattern is based on one used by Tokugawa over the course of his career.

For the sashimono (back banners) of the infantry, I wanted to put on the Matsudaira family crest, but it's so intricate I knew there was no way I'd be able to free-hand it like I did the Takeda mon. I was unable to find an easily-acquired set of Tokugawa transfers, so I set out to make my own with some decal paper.

The experiment was mostly a success. The ink ran slightly when I sprayed the fixative, giving the crest a slight reddish outline...but I kind of like how it turned out, actually. Chalk this one up to "happy accidents."

Not counting the casualty figure on the base, there are seven infantry figures and one mounted figure, which totals 45 points. I'll leave it up to Curt whether there are any points in the Takeda casualty as well.

The long holiday weekend promises some excellent painting opportunities, so hopefully I'll be back next week with the Ikko-Ikki!

From Curt:
Ahh, this takes me back to our '47 Ronin' theme from the 3rd Challenge - good memories. These are absolutely gorgeous David! I love the monk's orange robes, and Sada is brilliant in his lacquered armour, but I'm particularly taken by his standard bearer who is holding the stabilizing cords - a wonderful model and very evocative of the period.  

I'm going to give extra points for the mon and the casualty figure so 55 points total. Well done David!