Still got some Temple of Ro-Kan to review from prior to Salute and it's very easy to be excited about this one, the awesome male Kitsune, a Yokai (class of supernatural beings in Japanese Folklore) called Kyuubi. Here is his blurb from the website.
Unlike the female Kitsune the males of this mysterious and seclusive yokai race cannot shapeshift and instead keep the form of an anthropomorphic fox. Kyuubi is a skilled warrior and hunter of those his people feel are to blame for the current imbalance in Jwar. He serves a swift and decisive punishment to those Shisai and Shugenja abusing the spirits for their own ends. Waiting silently in the cover of the foliage before striking like a vengeful spirit against the enemies of the Temple.
I love the figure for Kyuubi, so I wanted to do right by him. I wanted to stick to natural earthy colours and emphasise the animal nature of the sculpt. trying to stick with my orange theme for my Temple faction I painted his fox fur in orange but shaded it with brown ink not red. Because of this I couldn't paint his clothing in orange as well so went for Khaki and a lovely greyish colour for his cloak - this was Vallejo German Field Grey shaded with black ink. His tunic was painted with Vallejo US Olive Green and shaded with green ink. Looking at him I'm very pleased with the result, however I've just noticed in the photos that I've painted his eyes white when they should be yellow. I may very well get around to this, at some point, maybe......
Last but by no means least I have Ashinaga Tenaga, this bizarre pairing comprises of a long legged being (the Ashinaga) with legs up to two Jo (6 metres) and a long armed being (the Tenaga) with arms up to three Jo (9 metres). Here is the blurb from the website.
Ashinaga Tenagis are usually sited in streams or rivers and it seems that they have a deep connection with the water, able to commune with the water around them to turn the land into a sea of mud.
Again I had to go with more natural looking colours but painted the breeches of the chaps in orange to tie in with my theme.
In the game, I'm planning on using the Ashinaga Tenaga to slow and hold powerful characters until Po or others can deal with them. Kyuubi is more of an fast, ambush type chap, dashing forward and striking hard before disappearing.
That's my Temple Faction complete for now, no doubt I will add more to them at some point, probably the female Kitsune and more monks as well as Aiko and Gorilla and other stand out models but I want another faction to oppose them so onwards and upwards!
I wrote this post prior to Salute and there are some more editions to my Temple faction post Salute so i'm sorry if this post is a bit contradictory (im also working nights at the moment so my head is a bit scrambled!) but in the meantime.....
Hope you enjoy
Hope you enjoy
dGG
61:43 (-18)
figs bought:painted (difference)
What an interesting, if slightly bizarre set of miniatures! And they've done their job; made me search Japanese folklore. What a hobby we have! And more the better for it. You've done them justice with the painting - great job.
ReplyDeleteIndeed and this is just a small selection of ONE faction, the whole range is an eclectic mix of historical and folklore/fantasy and imho some of the best miniatures around. As you said Tim they have done the job and made me research the lore surrounding them as well as adding GCT's take on them to the posts.
DeleteThanks :-)
Nice work and range of figures!
ReplyDeleteThank you Fran, sorry to have missed you last weekend
DeleteVery nice indeed, Andy. The Ashinaga Tenaga has to be the strangest Japanese folklore creature I've ever seen. I'm learning a lot from your posts, so well done, mate!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bryan, they are indeed bizarre but surely based on a real incident/sighting of a couple of fisherfolk maybe? Real life spawning folklore?
DeleteThese are superb! Such wonderfully dynamic miniatures and they look amazing altogether in the group shot.
ReplyDeleteThanks sir Michael, more to come post Salute and they are some crackers!
DeleteNice work dude! Although still too much of an anthropomorphic cuteness overload for my taste. The Ashinaga Tenaga is more my speed of weird. What a strange beast! I have had completely the wrong idea about Bushido. Thought it was all samurai and martial arts, firmly grounded in history, I had no idea at all about the mythology angle.
ReplyDeleteIt's all good dude :-)
DeleteYou also have demons and all sorts of nasty Bob, some that will definitely be more your speed of weird ;-)
The more I see and read of this game, the more I want it myself. It intrigues me deeply, perhaps more so because I truly understand nature magic told in folk lore and legends of old. It is part of my indigenous heritage, just like Enid Blyton's Brer Rabbit and Richard Adams Watership Down might be an institution to an English person`s upbringing; so too does eastern myth make me smile and is as much a part of my childhood, from Bushido, Ali Baba, Forty Thieves, and the entire Arabian Nights.
ReplyDeleteI think the more you read the background myths, lore and tales that surround a game be it Far-Eastern for Bushido, The dark ages and Viking mythology for Saga or even straight up history for WW2 games, the more you buy into it, become invested in it and the more you enjoy the game imho. Scenarios become more interesting and more keenly fought. I think the term commonly used by gamers is "fluff" (and I'm guilty of using it!) doesn't do the games justice and I think it is as, if not more important than fame mechanics in enjoying the gaming experience.
DeleteThat should read *game* not fame mechanics - damn autocorrect ;-)
Deletehehe, I hold the typo cup, so don`t worry.
ReplyDeleteYes you are absolutely right. The `fluff` for many deeply rich game (with a history to discover) is at least as important as the game itself; and how it plays is sometimes even secondary to this. A prime example of this might be FFG`s Arhkam Horror.
Nice work, Andy. The kitsune has to be my favourite of the figures from this faction so far - the other one is a good example of the weirdness I mentioned last time.
ReplyDeletehe is cool, there is certainly plenty of weirdness to be had in the game, at some point I may start collecting "Wave" which is the Oni then it will get weird.....
DeleteWow, stunning brushwork Andy, and that's a truly formidable looking "Bushido" line-up you've put together. Its clear you've really got the "Bushido" bug at the moment and I'm only hoping it doesn't become infectious ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hope it does Simon, the models are stunning and I've got more post Salute...... ;-)
ReplyDelete