More temple warriors

hi all

I promise that the next post on Wednesday will be part one of a Bushido AAR, but I still have models waiting for review for Bushido including some on order with Wayland Games which should round out both of my current factions nicely.  So if you're waiting for me to get back to the zombie wargaming you'll have to wait a bit longer i'm afraid. If you're waiting for or wondering why there is very little Warhammer wargaming despite the title of this blog, then i'm afraid you'll be waiting even longer as that has slipped right down the pecking order.....

so to the post then I'm going to review some of the recent additions to da Grotto, Aiko and her Guardian are some of my favourite models for Bushido - right up there with Mizuchi. I love the background for this little lady and her very protective simian. 

The Temple of Ro-Kan gain some real punching power, the mighty fists of a Gorilla. Fiercely protective of Aiko, the Gorilla is a fearsome opponent at the best of times, when he is imbued by Aiko’s blessing he becomes almost invincible

There is a cracking story that provides an excellent background for this pairing on the GCT website and I'm not sure I would be allowed to replicate it here so I have attached a link for you to the website here. In fact all of the stories give a good insight into the game and are well worth a read (here's a link) 

With the Guardian I googled silverbacks in order to try and replicate the colours and patterns of gorillas.  Although I have seen many gorillas as I'm lucky enough to live close to two wildlife parks with amazing facilities and conservation efforts for Lowland Gorillas I 'd forgotten that they were not just black and silver and that often they had brown patches mostly around their foreheads/crowns but some on their flanks.  For my beast I stuck with just the forehead and crown to break up the rest, as I wanted him to be a big Alpha he had a liberal covering of silver from shoulder to thighs.  

Aiko was dressed in initiate robes for the Temple and as part of my faction she had the purple inititate's stripe to her traditional orange.

As for playing these guys, it really is a case of protecting Aiko at all times so she can control the big beast and blessing him with her Ki feat either increasing his strength or armour and then healing any wounds post fight.  The beast will wade in and just smash up most opponents enhanced by her blessing and maybe a card or two.

Also high kicking their way into da Grotto are a pair of young monks. First up we have Riku...

A favourite of the temple elders and new initiates alike, Riku personifies what it means to be a Monk. His mastery over water allows him to achieve awe inspiring feats on the battlefield, creating walls of water out of the very air to hinder his opponents

Hotaru thanks the Kami’s for guiding her to the Temple of Ro-Kan and Master Ekusa. She has learned to contain her powers but still fears unleashing her full potential. Hotaru’s desire to control her innate abilities provides little comfort for opponents left ablaze by her fiery attacks. The Temple have found a welcome addition to their order in Hotaru.



Riku was a joy to paint, really enjoyed the figure and the same with Hotaru, I had a chance to practice my elemental paint palette.  i do struggle a little painting water effects as I tend to go a little bit too blue! but this water is being dynamically drawn from the air using a Ki feat so wasn't going to be anything other than pure water! i did try to add some greeny blue tones but they suffered in the poor photography.  I particularly enjoyed painting Hotaru's flames with blending of tones from Vallejo light sand up to orange brown, i wanted the source of ignition to be almost pure white with the ferocity of Hotaru's "flame on" attack.  Both monks get either white stripes or a white sash to indicate their status in the order.


hope you enjoy

dGG

97:60 (-37)

figs bought:painted (difference)