SAMURAI-SAIHAI, WAR BATON & FAN

 SAMURAI-SAIHAI, WAR BATON & FAN PDF  HERE

SAMURAI-GUN POWDER FLASK

 SAMURAI-GUN POWDER FLASK PDF  HERE

SAMURAI-HAND CANNON & FIRE ARROW

 SAMURAI-HAND CANNON & FIRE ARROW  HERE

SAMURAI-MATCHLOCK

 SAMURAI-MATCHLOCK PDF  HERE

SAMURAI-PISTOL

 SAMURAI-PISTOL PDF  HERE

SAMURAI-YARI & NAGINATA

 SAMURAI-YARI & NAGINATA PDF  HERE

Water Mixable Oil Paint

This is my repaint of a 1/6 scale doll head of Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV drama using the Grumbacher Max water mixable oil paint. 

The doll head is made out of some type of rubber material. Solvent paint like traditional artist oil or enamel will never dry on this kind of material due to chemical reaction. The paint will become sticky. The only paint will dry on this type of material is water base paint like acrylic. Since Max paint is water mixable oil, I have given it a try and paint the doll head using my same technique as with traditional oil with all of my figure painting. The result is excellent and it dry up nicely to an egg shell finish. The only problem is, it is impossible to remove any mould lines on this rubber material.

SAMURAI-JINBAORI

 SAMURAI-JINBAORI PDF  HERE

Le plumet Rigo Plate (Part 1)

Le plumet Rigo 1-63 Plate PDF  HERE

Le plumet Rigo Plate (Part 2)

 Le plumet Rigo 64-126 Plate PDF  HERE

Le plumet Rigo Plate (part 3)

Le plumet Rigo 1-126 plate list PDF  HERE

Consulate-Empire Series

Dedicated to the special Uniforms, Flags, Standards and Pennants of an army that astonished the world for a generation. The magnificently embroidered Uniforms of the General Officers, sit alongside the richly braided Uniforms of the Drum Majors, Musicians and Sappers parading beneath the folds of the Flags and Standards that flew from Madrid to Moscow, via Valmy and Fleurus... without forgetting Cairo.

Uniformes de Conrad

Pierre Conrad 72 Uniform Plates PDF  HERE

Tanki Yoriaku Hi Ko Ben

Samurai armour and equipment manual PDF  HERE  

Medieval Forge Miniatures Samurai (Part 1)

Here is my two in one review of Medievial Forge Minaiatures 75 mm of Imagawa Yoshimoto and Minamoto no Tametomo. They were both sculpted by Ableev Nikita and were released in 2024. Please note this review is based on the product shots for sculpted detail and historical accuracy. I did not purchase the figure kits, so there are no detail and close up pictures of the resin parts.

First up is Imagawa Yoshimoto. 

This sculpt master was shown on social media in March 2024 and was released in May.

Detail of the release

Title: Imagawa Yoshimoto

Manufacturer: Medievial Forge Miniatures

Scale: 1/24 75 mm

Sculptor: Ableev Nikita

Material: light grey resin

Price from: 49.50 € to 69.95 €

From the product shots, Yoshitmoto is wearing his armour, carrying a tachi on his right hand. The kit product shots show two different sets of left arm. One of the set with the left hand is holding a Gunbai Uchiwa (war fan) and the other set is a raising left arm with a trophy head in his hand. It also shows a choice of two different head, a regular head without the face mask and the other with a face mask.

Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川 義元, 1519 – June 12, 1560) was a Japanese daimyo (feudal lord) of the Sengoku period of Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as the number one Daimyo in the Tōkaidō (海道一の弓取り, Kaidō-ichi no Yumitori). He was the brother-in-law of Takeda Shingen and Hojo Ujiyasu through marriage to his sister. He was one of the three daimyo that dominated the Tōkaido region, a daimyo so powerful that he was known as "the best archer in the Tokaido region."

Yoshimoto was known for his diplomatic skills and was a good civic administrator. His appearance is an unusual one, donning the fashion practices of Japanese women during this age. He blackened his teeth and wore makeup.

He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become Shogun. He was killed in the village of Dengakuhazama in Okehazama (The Battle of Okehazama桶狭間の戦い, Okehazama-no-tatakai) by Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長). He was 42 at the time of the Battle of Okehazama.

Imagawa Yoshimoto’s armour

The figure kit's armour kind of resemble the Haramaki (腹巻) armour once own by the the Hozoji Temple in Japan which is said to have been worn by Imagawa Yoshimoto. If this is true, it would be the only surviving piece of armour connected to Yoshimoto.

This Haramaki also looks like the one Imagawa Yoshimoto gave to Takechiyo (Tokugawa Ieyasu) when Takechiyo celebrated his Genpuku ceremony at the age of 14, Yoshimoto Imagawa gave him the Kurenai Ito Odoshi no Haramaki. Tokugawa Ieyasu was held hostage in Sunpu under the Imagawa clan from the age of eight. When Ieyasu was called Takechiyo, he received the education appropriate for him to become a military commander from the Imagawa clan. This Takechiryo Red odoshi Haramaki was restored in the possession of Shizuoka Sengen Shrine collection in 2018 and was on display at the Shizuoka City Museum of History.

Takechiryo Haramaki armour was restored by Shizuoka Sengen Shrine 

The restored and a replicate armour was displayed at the Shizuoka City Museum of History

Imagawa Yoshimoto's kabuto

The black and gold kabuto with a dragon maedate of Imagawa Yoshimoto, and the two-piece armour painted in Buddhist red with navy odoshi lacing on the Do. 

In 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto was killed in the Battle of Okehazama. Okabe Motonobu, the lord of Nagashima Castle, negotiated with Oda Nobunaga, requesting to exchange Yoshimoto's head for his own withdrawal from Nagashima Castle to be allowed to take it back to Suruga Province for burial. After Oda Nobunaga agreed, Nagashima Castle was opened. 

During the early summer, the head of Imagawa Yoshimoto had severely decayed, and on the way, passing by Toko-ji Temple (東向寺), Okabe Motonobu buried the head there, while the kabuto was kept by the Okabe family and later dedicated to the Sannomaru Shrine (三の丸神社), Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture.

The Sannomaru Shrine, has lost its decorations and neck guard, and the dragon maedate has been broken off, likely due to destruction by the Oda army.

Statues of Imagawa Yoshimoto

There are statues of Imagawa Yoshimoto and Oda Nobunaga which stand at Okehazama Historic Battlefield Park (桶狭間古戦場公園) in Nagoya city. The park is located at 3-chome, Okehazama-Kita, Midori-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Perfecture

On Tuesday May 19, 2020, a bronze statue of Imagawa Yoshimoto in armour had been installed at the north exit of Shizuoka Station (静岡駅, Shizuoka-eki) Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan to celebrate the 500 anniversary of Yoshimoto’s birth.

Here is a 1/6 figure with colour reference for Imagawa Yoshimoto's armour:

Armour: is a black and red suit of gusoku

Other Armour components

Kabuto: A black and gold helmet with dragon maedate

Me no shita bou: A black mask with a mustache

Kote: Gold

Haidate: Gold

Suneate: Black and gold

Seno: A gold and red armour tie

…..Continued in part 2

Medieval Forge Miniatures Samurai (Part 2)

Thank you for looking!

Medieval Forge Miniatures Samurai (Part 2)

…..Continued from Part 1

Up next is Minamoto no Tametomo.

The sculpt master was shown on social media in August 2024 and the figure kit was released in October.  

Detail of the release

Title: Minamoto no Tametomo

Manufacturer: Medievial Forge Miniatures

Scale: 1/24 75 mm

Sculptor: Ableev Nikita

Material: light grey resins

Price from: 54.00 € to 64.95 €

From the product shots, Minamoto no Tametomo is wearing his armour, holding the yumi in front of him. He is carrying a tachi, arrow case and arrows. The kit product shots also show a choice two different heads. One of the head is wearing the kabuto and the other with the eboshi.

Minamoto no Tametomo (源 為朝, 1139 –April 23, 1170), also known as Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo (鎮西 八郎 為朝), was a Japanese military commander in the late Heian period. The eighth son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, the younger brother of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and the uncle of Minamoto no Yoritomo.

He was 7 feet tall and in many legends that his left arm was about 4 inches longer than his right. A celebrated archer whose bow was more than eight feet long and required the strength of three ordinary men to bend it. He could shoot arrows — their heads as large as spears. It is said that he once sunk an entire Taira ship with a single arrow by puncturing its hull below the waterline.

The historical Minamoto Tametomo joined his father, the general Tameyoshi, in the seminal Genpei wars. In the first major battle — the Hôgan Incident of 1156 — Tametomo fought against Taira forces led by his brother, Yoshitomo. The victorious Yoshitomo ordered the execution of Tameyoshi and the exile of Tamemoto.

After the Hōgen Rebellion, the Taira cut the sinews of Tametomo's left arm, limiting the use of his bow, and then he was banished to the island of Ōshima in the Izu Islands.

During his banishment to the island of Ôshima in Izu, Tamemoto conquered some of the neighboring islands. This brought forth an imperial expeditionary force to hunt him down. With no escape, Tametomo took his own life, said to be the first recorded instance in which a samurai committed ritualistic suicide by cutting open his abdomen (seppuku).

Minamoto no Tametomo’s armour

The Kozakura Ido O-yoroi /Small Cherry Bloosom Leather Armour(小桜韋黄返威鎧).

This O-yoroi is a famous piece of armor owned by Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社)on Itsukushima in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the "Three Great Armours of Japan" refers to three armours (O-yoroi) made in the late Heian period that are considered to have particularly high historical value and are also considered to be of excellent quality as works of art among the armour (armour helmets) that still exist in Japan. 

Armour with cherry-patterned yellow leather lacing (小桜韋黄返威鎧 kozakura kawa kigaeshi odoshi yoroi); formerly belonged to Minamoto no Tametomo. Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, Japan

It is one of very few remaining O-yoroi from the late Heian period, and although it has lost the kyubinoita that covers the left armpit which protects the heart from enemy arrows, it still retains its elegant and dignified appearance and has been designated a National Treasure.

The " kozane " (small metal plates) of this O-yoroi are approximately 8cm high and 5cm wide, making them the largest of all existing items. The term "O-arame no armor" that appears in military chronicles describes an O-yoroi made of large kozane, and this O-yoroi has a magnificent design befitting that description.

At the same time, the influence of elegant aristocratic culture can be felt in the "odoshi", the "kozakuragawa" (small cherry blossom leather) with a delicate cherry blossom pattern dyed in indigo on a white background leather, and the " kanamono " (metal fittings) in the shape of cherry blossoms plated with gold and silver.

Another major feature of this item is that the " kabutobachi " (helmet bowl) is made using the extremely rare technique of "ichimaibarisujifuse (一枚張筋伏)," in which a single sheet of iron is hammered into a hemispherical shape and decorated.

According to current shrine testiomony, this armour was used by Minamoto no Tametomo, who played an active role in the Hogen Rebellion, but there is no such information in documents and records compiled up until the end of the Edo period, such as the Shuko Jishu (集古十種). Since Itsukushima Shrine was under the protection of the Heike clan (平家一門), including Taira no Kiyomori (平清盛), it has been pointed out that this armour may in fact be related to the Heike.

Final thoughts:

 

On Imagawa Yoshimoto

An exciting piece from Ableev Nikita but this figure is full of inaccuracies and mistakes for the particular period. For example the haramaki armour, the kabuto, the kuwagata, the chest boards, and the fur shoes. The odoshi is badly sculpted. There are also some strange ornamental components that embellish the armour and sode added by the sculptor. All these inaccuracies and mistakes are due to lack of research. It looks like the armour is a mix and match from Japan different periods.

On Minamoto no Tametomo

I was hoping for another exciting piece from sculptor Ableev Nikita but was disappointed. At first glance on the sculpt master, it has quite a number of parts which are historical inaccurate and questionable.

 1. Tametomo a military commander was from the Heian period (794-1185), he should be in his O-yorio (大鎧) but the figure is depicted a Doumaru 胴丸,the set of armour used by lower and middle class samurais from the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

2. The figure is wearing Gyoyo shoulder guards instead of the Sendannoita and Kyubinoita chest board.

3. The kusazuri, kabuto, kuwagata, haidate and suneate they are not from the Heian period and where is the Kegutsu (Fur Shoes)?

4. The ebira arrow case, the ya arrows, tsurumaki bow string holder and kuwagata are all questionable.

5. The figure arrow fletching has only two feathers. For Japanese arrows the arrow fletching should have three or four feathers and up to six rather than just two as with the figure.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately both figures have suffered the same mistakes on the armour. Samurai is not an easy subject to tackle and most sculptors are lack of knowledge especially on the armour. Japan different periods have different style of armour and the sculptor needed extensive research to get it correct.

Despite of the historical inaccuracies, both figures look impressive when painted. If historical accuracy is not important to you, buy it and enjoy your painting.

Thank you for looking!

SPARTACUS

Kit name: SPARTACUS

Scale: 1/6 scale resin

Sculptor: Wayne THE DANE Hansen

Producer: Wayne THE DANE Hansen

Release date: 2000s?

Limited edition: Rare kit, OOP

Fantastic likeness of Kirk Douglas in the movie Spartacus. Very nice sculpt for the arm chain mail. Wayne did the sculpt as a sculpt demonstration article for KITBUILDERS magazine.

Thank you for looking!