Monday 8 May 2017

Yuuki and co

hi all

more purchases from Salute! for you today.  These guys were on the shopping list and are most likely going to be straight into my Temple warband for next year's Masters.  Yes that's right, despite my mediocre performance in the last tourney i'm going to put my name forward to compete in the national competition next year.  Determined to give myself the best chance I'm going to take my beloved Temple of Ro-Kan faction and I'm going to be trying out loads of different combos in order to find the right synergy, a future post will go through other potential choices and my reasoning behind them .  Yuuki will certainly be in contention, with the kami a possibility.  To the miniatures then...


Yuuki’s quickly found the name of the wind, where others hear only whistle and whisper. Yuuki hears the chatter of excited and boundless Kami. She is an able warrior and much like her element; rarely still, in play she is light and airy like a summer breeze but when called upon in battle she is a direct and relentless howling gale. Her vitality is endless and her speed astounding, her body a blur of motion as she unleashes blow after blow, an unstoppable storm of Rokan’s fury personified.


Yuuki is a lovely cheap(ish) monk who can fulfill quite a few roles in the warband.


First up, she's quick! yes her move is the basic 4 but she is "light footed" meaning she is unaffected by terrain.  She has "jump up" meaning she won't stay prone and most importantly she as an extra 1" move at the beginning of the turn meaning she can flit out of melee if it's going a bit south or get closer to an idol etc...  The main reason for getting her however is the "Vitality" Ki feat, getting that extra activation is absolutely vital at times.


modelling wise I decided to add a resin tortoise to her base courtesy of Ben Calvert-Lee's Master Crafted Miniatures, I think it just adds something fun to the mini.

base colours with the Kami too

shading

finished


you'll notice (i'm sure) that I didn't follow the painting from the website, in that I haven't tried to depict her foot moving so swiftly and channeling the wind.  Firstly I haven't got the painting skill and it would look really poor if I attempted it.  Secondly, I just don't like it!

Next is the second model from Salute! The Kami of Reflection....

The Kami of Reflection is a beautiful if alien spirit. The icy tendrils that form its mortal realisation are hard as diamond but brittle as glass. As it moves the light from Amaratsu flows through its body, deflecting the energy of friend or enemy to prevent rituals and prayers alike.


not only can I use this model for the Temple faction but also for the Jung and Tengu too! I think this is kami of the void, one of the 6 elements of Japanese mythology. This has not been confirmed by GCT so is just a guess on my part.



Use wise, this creature should be fairly handy to have knocking around.  Unlike the other Kami he doesn't provide boosts to friendly models stats but instead protects them from psychic intrusion/attack, albeit at the expense of itself.  Seeing as I often have a member of my warband under psychic domination when I face warbands like the Savage Wave, this could prove to be pivotal.



Paintwise, its probably not apparent from my awful photography, but I used Gloss Varnish for the first time in years to bring a bit of shine to the crystalline body of the Kami.




hope you enjoy
dGG

28 comments:

  1. Great work Andy, agree that I am not a fan of the white foot, a sculpted effect around the foot would have looked better. Can see the gloss varnish on the Kami, great work

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    1. I think you're prob right with the sculpt mate

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  2. They look great but it is a shame your finished work photos are a lot darker than the WIP photos. I'd love to see them with better lighting.

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    1. Yes I should have taken them where I took the WiP as well as on the board

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  3. You SHOULD go to the tournaments more. It was so clear in your last write up just how much pleasure you had at the event, and taking part must have felt euphoric for you. I think you have found your niche with Bushido and made it YOUR niche. Attending as many tournaments as you comfortably can is just a next natural step and progression.

    I also happen to think your Yuuki looks as nice as the one on the GCT Studios cover art. Why, because you made her YOURS, and didn't just copy. I always respect that so much more in a miniature than slavish carbon copies of other people`s work.

    Kami is one of those hard to paint and awkward to bring to life pieces we all dread. I think you mastered it nicely enough though, and I especially like the base. You have improved the line markings no end as well.



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    1. Thanks Tarot, I think you're right about the tournament scene, I really enjoy them and Bushido fits my style of laid back play.

      Thanks for the encouraging words too :-)

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  4. Absolutely superb and I am going to have to get some tortoises!

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    1. thanks mate. Master Crafted Miniatures are the guys you want.

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  5. I think you`ve captured Yuuki nicely. One of my favourites I`ve seen you do I think. I do like seeing a subject grow and grow like this. You`ve stayed with Bushido a long time now and I have enjoyed everything you write about it. Just as an aside, I may not dig deep enough to go the Bushido route, but I did look closely at Warlord Games wayyyy cheaper alternative "Test of Honour" but in the end, I dunno, somehow it just didn't do it for me. Didn't feel right somehow and wouldn't have given me that Bushido `Ooomphff` feel and tone I was looking for - on the cheap.

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    1. me too buddy.

      Test of Honour left me a little cold tbh Steve, maybe if I hadn't found Bushido but now its a little sterile. Bushido offers that fantasy/mystical element that appeals to me.

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    2. oh absolutely so Andy. I too looked at Test of Honour as a possible way into Bushido without all that horrendous cost. I was drawn by the idea of all those cool miniatures included in the starter box set, and six samurai too I believe? But I don`t know, somehow I couldn't bring myself to do it.

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    3. yeah i was quite excited when i first saw ToH being advertised as I thought this is something I can get behind and the price was right but still.....

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  6. Another two cracking figures Andy, I like that "Kami" figure, I have no idea what I'd do with it but I do like the sculpt.

    The second I saw Yuuki though I thought "Chun Li", of Streetfighter fame, sorry just a throwback to my misspent youth.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. absolutely Roger, there is a lot of Streetfighter influence - some of the ninjas are very Scorpion, Kenko could be Ryu. Matsu could be Chun Li too.

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  7. Yukki is a very dynamic sculpt (a bit too much for my tastes and you've done an excellent paintjob on her. Her abilities seem to be very effective and could prove her to be a 'must have ' in your temple set-up.
    I do however think you've excelled yourself with the ice kami, which I really, really do like (goodness knows why).

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    1. it's definitely an interesting model for sure Joe, he was actually quite fun to paint too

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  8. "more purchases from Salute! for you today" - I did wonder why, when I visited the "Bushido" stalls in the afternoon of the show, they were completely out of models!!! ;-)

    Terrific painting, with the Kami being my fave tbh - I don't know why but u really seem to excel at the elementals for some reason. Yukki is very well painted as well though, and I love the tortoise. There's something very "Street Fighter" about her, which may mean I own her myself, as I did buy a few of the range previously when I was in a "SF" mood.

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    1. bwahaha my evil plan for Bushido domination is working!! I've actually got about twenty more but by the time I get them painted Salute will be long behind us...

      I must admit Simon the elemental side of it is a big reason as to why I was attracted to the Temple in the first place - that kind of "Last of the Airbender" type stuff!

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  9. They both look superb...I'm particularly taken with Yuuki! Great stuff!

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  10. Really nice work dGG. That tortoise is cool. :)

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  11. I knew if I waited a short while the Bushido troops would appear again. I am NOT disappointed!

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    1. I'm never too far away from Bushido Clint :-)

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  12. These sure are very attractive models. This Bushido is a sore temptation and no mistake.

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    1. They are, there are more beautiful models to come too Dave

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