Hi Everyone,
Here is my review of Fort Duquense 120 mm mounted Red Devil Samurai Commander, Army of Ii Naomasa.
Details of the releases:
Title: Red Devil Samurai Commander ca.1600
Manufacturer:
Scale: 120mm (1:16)
Sculptor: Traditional hand sculpted by Emmanuel Valerio
Material & no. of pieces: 49 light yellow tan resin and 3 pieces of plastic coated wires
Cast by: ?
Order from: I purchase this kit from a PF member
A superbly sculpted figure kit by Emmanuel Valerio of a 120 mm mounted Red Devil Samurai Commander figure kit of the Momoyama period of the ca.1600 He is wearing the tosei-gusoku (modern armour), carrying his tachi sword and yari, and ready for the battlefield.
Here are the castings parts.
Parts View
The
The resin casting of the one in my review is cast in light yellow-tan resin. This is a rare kit; the casting is sharp, crisp, and clean, but the resin is of inferior quality due to its brittleness.
Unfortunately, due to the resin brittleness, the kit arrived with parts and bits broken and scattered inside the box.
I am not sure why the Ziploc bag was not zipped and there
were three cuts on the bag. The parcel was not opened by customs for
inspection.
After spending a couple of hours trying to figure out all
the specific broken parts.
Here are the broken and missing parts:
1.
Horse front leg is broken
2.
Sword is broken from body
3.
One bridle head is broken and missing.
4.
Two bridle pins are broken
5.
Tassel parts are broken and missing
6.
One of the Kabuto’s Fukikaeshi(ear) is broken off
7. Sashimono flag post is broken, mounting brackets are broken and are missing
8.
One of the Katakama-Yari blade is missing the
tip
9.
Some mounting pins from tassels are broken and
missing
This kit is not new. Whoever previously owned this kit knew
the horse leg was broken and put it back in the bag with all the parts.
Most of the spruces had been removed and were not in the bag.
I have repackaged the kit.
I paid good money for this kit. US$120 plus shipping cost. Major Disappointment! Never buy any kit without a parts picture shown in the listing. I personally prefer white metal over resin cast kits due to resin brittleness.
My Rating Summary:
The Red Devil Samurai Commander
The Red Devil Samurai Commander is most famously associated with Ii Naomasa 井伊 直政 (1561–1602), a prominent legendary samurai commander and general under Tokugawa Ieyasu of the Sengoku period who commanded an elite, terrifying vanguard known as the Akazonae ("Red Devils"). He was one of the four Tokugawa Shitenno, "Four Heavenly Kings" of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.
His forces wore distinctive, blood-red armour and ferocious combat style to intimidate enemies and identify themselves on the battlefield.
Born in 1561 into the prestigious Ii clan of Totomi, he was
forced into exile during his childhood due to persecution by the Imagawa clan.
In 1575, he became a close attendant to Tokugawa Ieyasu and regained his right
to inherit the family headship. In 1582, he reorganized former Takeda retainers
to form the "Ii Red Armor Unit" and participated in battles such as
the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute and the Siege of Odawara. In 1583, he married
Hana-hime, the adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and in 1586, he moved to
His most famous hour
was during the decisive battle of Sekigahara in 1600, where his "Red
Devils" spearheaded the charge and drew first blood, outpacing the troops
of Fukushima Masanori and attacking Ukita Hideie's contingent. helping unite
He died in 1602, aged forty-one. His premature death has been widely blamed on the wound he
received at Sekigahara. His son, Naotaka, with the support of Tokugawa Ieyasu,
later constructed
Ii Naomasa's armour
Collection of
The helmet is a vermilion lacquered Etchu-style helmet. It is simply constructed, lacking any attachment devices for ornaments such as crowns. A flaps hang from the half-cheek armor with a hinge in the center. The cuirass is a simple, two-piece Buddhist cuirass with no decoration, making it rugged and practical for combat. The gauntlets are of the Bishamon type, with sleeves attached to the upper arms, and hinges on the sleeves to improve the fit to the arms. Even though it is armour passed down through a daimyo family, the armour used by the first generation in actual battles, covered in the dust of war, is simple and purely functional like this item.
Ii Naomasa's armour, worn at Sekigahara.
Collection of
The striking, bright red set of armour worn by Ii Naomasa remains in the Hikone Castle Museum彦根城博物館.This armour was exceptionally heavy at the time, weighing 27 kilograms. The average samurai armour was 15-18kg. The reason for the excessive weight was the thickness of steel, and amount of urushi lacquering coated over it. It was built to withstand matchlock gun shot at relatively close range.
Unfortunately, during the Shimazu clan's retreat, as the Ii gave chase, some lower
ranked Shimazu troops formed a human barrier to slow the pursuers down, giving
their lord time to escape. One such group fired upon Naomasa as he neared, one
of the shots hit him in the shoulder, right between the outer edge of the upper
cuirass and the sode, the outer protectors, the only opening in his armour.
Although he survived being shot, he died prematurely nearly two years later
from what is believed to have been the wounds suffered at Sekigahara.
Incidentally, Tokugawa Ieyasu personally attended to his friend's wounds at
Sekigahara, and the medicine Ieyasu gave to Naomasa also remains in
Hikone.
Although it has been said to be the armour of the first Ii Naomasa, historical records suggest it is more appropriate to consider it as the armour of the second Ii Naotaka. The cuirass is made of two pieces of iron plates joined together horizontally in a series of arc shapes, joined at the right side of the torso. The helmet is head-shaped, and the crest is a gold-leafed Tensho-style side crest. It also has a throat guard, making it more formalized.
Progress is being made. This armour is also said to have been laced with
black thread during the
The flags and banners
of Ii Naomasa
The banner used by Ii Naomasa was a red-based banner with a gold well-frame crest, which would have been highly visible on the battlefield.
In the Ii family, the banner indicating the general's location was called a "Matoi." According to one theory, the Matoi was approximately 240 cm tall.
The character "井" (I) inscribed on Ii Naomasa's banner is called "igeta" (井形), and this character is also used as the Ii family crest.
Besides the theory that this "井" originates from the character "井" in Ii's name, there is also a theory that it comes from the fact that the birthplace of Ii Tomoyasu, the first head of the Ii family, was a well.
The Horse Banner
(horse flag): used by Ii Naomasa along with his "matoi" (fire banner)
was a "gold-leafed fly-catching horse banner."
This horse banner is said to have been used by Ii Naomasa in battles such as the Battle of Sekigahara and the Winter and Summer Sieges of Osaka. It was placed beside the general (Ii Naomasa) along with the matoi to assert his presence.
There are various theories about the origin of the "fly-catching" design, but it is speculated that it symbolizes a wish for the capture of the enemy general's head.
Sashimono (Back Flag): The individual samurai wore small flags, known as sashimono, attached to their backs. For the Ii clan, these were typically plain red, or white with a red/black clan crest to differentiate their units on the battlefield.
Nobori (Banner): Their larger battle banners were also famously bright red.
Ii Naomasa Flags and Banners Paintings by Emmanuel Valerio
About figure sculptor Emmanuel Valerio:
Emmanuel Valerio is a proficient sculptor, painter and author. He is very knowledgeable on the subject of Samurai. We live in the same city. In 1997, with his sculpt of a 120mm Samurai archer "Defender of Kyushu" won gold in SCAHMS California show both best medieval award and best of show award.
He indicated he sculpted all his masters in Milliput using
just a tooth pick. Some years ago he mentioned on the miniature page forum he
was resculpting the
In recent years he does paintings on Samurai Heraldry, Battle Flags and Standards.
Some figures and kits sculpted by Emmanuel Valerio
