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Thank you for visiting my blog which showcase and reviews on old and new figure kits from my collection and new releases. Please check out my painting guides and references with special resources on anything on Samurai. Hope you like it and will come back to see what I have been up to.

If you have any suggestions or questions, do not hesitate to post a comment or send me a message to the following email address: grimelius88@gmail.com

Best regards!

yellowcat

September Update

September marks the end of summer and the return to school for students. It is also a good time for figure sculptors to return to the basics—especially when it comes to creating accurate historical figures.

By basics, I mean research, research, and more research are essential. Before sculpting begins, a figure sculptor must study historical sources, clothing, armour, weapons, hairstyles, cultural details, and the overall appearance of the subject. Careful research helps transform a figure from a simple miniature into a convincing representation of a particular person, period, and place.

This month, my reviews focus on three figure busts whose designs are based on research carried out by their sculptors and approved and released by their respective producers:

- Mongol Warrior, 13th–14th Century by Steel Empire Miniatures
- Kitsune by Alexandros Models
- Song Dynasty General by One Miniatures

Although these three busts represent very different cultures and historical or mythical subjects, they share an important foundation: the effort to create believable figures through careful study and attention to detail.

In the reviews, I will examine how successfully each sculptor has translated research into sculpting, focusing on anatomy, clothing, armor, accessories, facial features, and the overall impression of the busts. Returning to the basics is never a step backward. On the contrary, research is the foundation that allows figure sculptors to create accurate, expressive, and convincing work.

I hope you enjoy these picks, and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

I also paid tribute to master figure sculptor Sergey Zlobov, who passed away in August, in a two-part article.

Thank you!

August Update

August is here, and August 3rd is the BC DAY holiday where I lived. For this month my review is a 1/4th scale Female Samurai Bust by UK sculptor Paul Willetts Sculptures. Paul is a garage kit sculptor who is also interested in the Samurai mystique, armour and weapons.

I also updated the article on Taisho versus Taisho, including new details about the Skytex release.

Enjoy and do leave your comments. Thank you!

July Update

July 1st is Canada Day. I was working hard to finish my review for this month. For this month my review is for De Tara Takeda Shingen. A 120mm resin and white metal figure kit. It is an old kit from the late1990s or early 2000. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave your comment. Thank you!

June Update

  

June is here so as for FIFA World Cup Soccer 2026 is being jointly hosted by three countries: Canada, Mexico and the united States. Canada is hosting 13 matches. 7 matches in Vancouver BC Place stadium and 6 matches in Toronto Stadium.

For this month, my review is for Pegaso's Genghis Khan. A 200 mm figure kit sculpted by master sculptor Viktor Konnov. I believe this is his last kit for Pegaso. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave your comment. Thank you!

May Update

For this month, my review is for another rare mounted Samurai white metal kit by Seil Models. Samurai with Strong Bow, 13th Century A.D. It is a pity that Seil was no longer in business. They produced some very fine figure kits. Years later there was a company YZ Cesar indicated they own Seil masters and selling pre-paints which were cast from those masters. I have also posted two more articles: Can you believe... and Samurai warrior doll. Hope you like it. Thank you for looking!

April update

Spring is finally here. My review is a bit late for this month because I am almost burnt out from last month's working on Spotlight On articles. This month my review is for a rare samurai kit, "The Red Devil Samurai Commander", from Fort Duquesne. I also post in the Gallery an Alien tie clip, which I sculpted and painted some yearas ago. I hope you like it. As always, please leave your valuable comments. Thank you!

March update

For March, I would like to acknowledge and to honour master figure sculptor Ray Lamb. Ray is a master figure sculptor, designer and caster from the first golden age of figure modelling. The article is in three parts. Part one is on Ray himself during the early seventies. Part two is on his company, Poste Militaire and Part three is about his sponsorship for the Euro Militaire. I have also posted three Poste Militaire catalogues in PDF files for you to download. The articles are under the What's New and References tabs. Enjoy and don't forget to leave your valuable comments. Thank you!

February update

As the year of the snake is coming to an end soon, the Year of the Horse, including the upcoming Fire Horse year starting Feb. 17, 2026, signifies a period of rapid change, high energy, and forward momentum. It symbolizes freedom, independence, and hard work, with a focus on taking bold action and overcoming obstacles.

A happy 2026 production year to all our vistors.

For February, I did a Samurai kit review which title Kato VS Kato and Baking Super Sculpey the right way for References. Please check it out and give me your valuable comments. Thank you!

January 2026 update

Happy New Year to all our visitors. For the first post of the new year, I would like to pay my tribute to figure designer/sculptor Richard Almond. Richard was a prolific and talented figure designer/sculptor from the first golden age of figure modelling. The article is under What's New and References tab. I may be posting some more reviews and garage kits later this month. Thank you for visiting my blog.

  

December update 

As the year comes to an end, I wish to all my visitors a Merry Christmas, a Healthy and Prosperous New Year. For my last Samurai kit review for 2025, I present to you the Japanese falconer bust by De Tara from my grey army. I hope there will be more for 2026.

Thank you for visiting my blog and looking forward to all your comments.

November update

Finally after working for over for two months, the two articles on Samurai O-yorio Egawa and Odoshi are all finished and now they are posted under "What's New" and "Samurai resources" tabs. Lots of information on the two overlooked subjects. Hope you find them informative and useful. Looking forward for your valuable comments.

October update

I am working on an article on Samurai O-Yoroi Egawa and Odoshi lacing pattern since September. It should take another two to three weeks to get it finish which will then be posted under Samurai Resources. So stay tuned for the updates.

September update

Summer is over and I notice there is no new Samruai figure kit in the figure kit market. So I am doing some Samurai figure reviews from my grey army. So far I have done Kato Kiyomasa hunting tiger, Mounted Taisho, Taisho, The Trophy, and Chinese Boxer for the historical kits.

It's been more than nine months since I launched this personal blog. So far, there are 400 vistors from over 30 countries and over 12,000 pageviews. But there is only a handful of comments. I would like to see more comments from my visitors. I do not make any money (absoutely zero revenue) from my blog. Not like other blogs or websites, they generate revenue for their owners by the number of vistors or running ads or selling something. 

For anything new or my new reviews, they are always under the "What's New" tab or under "Blog Archive" on the right column of my blog.

Thank you for visting my blog.

June update

I did a quick review on Pegaso 16th Century Samurai Warrior bust. It is a preorder for the upcoming World Model Export in Versailles.

April and May update

I had not done anything in April due to my brother had passed away. I have been working hard in May/June on a couple of my new PDF files. They are now ready. Please check them out under Samurai Resources. Thank you for looking!

My PDF files update

I am gradually uploading all my Samurai PDF and uniform plates PDF files that were once available on PlanetFigure many years ago and were deleted. They are now avaliable again only on my blog. New ones are in the works. Please check them out under Samurai resources and References tabs.

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