A Trio of Villains for 'Hametsu'

Hey There!

This trio of villains is for our Hametsu adventures. Two bosses: a Shikigami a Nogitsune, and a Oni Captain. In Hametsu the Bosses enter play when the heroes find enough clues to their whereabouts, and/or when they've dispatched the lower-level minions. As you'd expect, the Bosses are VERY tooled-up and are designed to provide a unique and tough end-game for the players. 

First up is the mysterious, willowy and floaty Shikigami. This is a 3d print from the very talented Cobra Mode. I really like how elegant and otherworldly this model is. Its been sitting on my paint desk for months while I pondered how to approach it. In the end I decided to keep it simple, with just a few bold colours, trying to mimic with its robes opening flower like a tulip. 

For its war fan I used the airbrush to put in an unstructured rising sun motif along with kanji script on each side symbolizing Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. 

The Nogitsune (Spectral Wolf) is from DM Stash on MyMini. Again, another beautiful sculpt. Fairly straightforward paintjob on this guy. Fun to work on with all the deep-set textures, a veritable playground for Contrast paints. 

Finally we have the Oni Captain. Another 3d print from Cobra Mode. He has a sort of a Hell Boy vibe going on which I just ran with. 

Yeeash, that Kanabo he's toting is something else! You're not going to walk it off if he taps you with that thing.

A final shot of the three villains set against some heroes that I painted last year.

Thanks for dropping in for a visit!

- Curt

Oni Shamans for 'Hametsu'

 

Here is another small addition to my fantasy Japanese collection for 'Hametsu' with two Oni shamans.

These are 3d prints from MyMiniFactory. I scaled them to 40mm to fit in with my other Oni baddies. They will provide some much need spell-casting for the Oni villains.

This rather elegant female shaman is from Lord of the Print. Unfortunately the facial detail was a bit soft, and I tried my best to help it along with the brush, but to no avail. Still, a lovely model to work on.

I will claim her for a trip on Sarah's Book Cart to the Giftshop where I'll be meeting up with Lady Sarah for a co-authored entry!

This hipster male oni shaman is from Kyoushuneko Miniatures.

Cheers!

- Curt

Oni Villains for 'Hametsu'

Back to my Hametsu project. Here are five Oni demons to pit as villains against our intrepid heroes. This is the the first group of five.

I wanted a motley bunch of rogues for the Oni, thinking they should all be unique in their overall look. Thankfully, there are a load of Oni models available on Myminifactory, so I was fairly spoiled for choice.

I printed these at 40mm to make them more opposing when set against the character figures which are around 30-35mm. The red edge on the base is to denote their 180 degree field of vision in the game.

Thanks for popping in. I hope you have a great weekend!

- Curt

Japanese terrain for 'Hametsu'

I figure a new game requires new terrain, so here are some tabletop additions for our ongoing 'Hametsu' adventures.

First up is a Japanese family grave. I understand from my reading that these grave markers are called Haka. In doing a bit of research I found that they often are adorned with flowers, incense, and sometimes have these long, elegant wood planks called sotōba. These boards would be inscribed with the names of the deceased and set beside the formal stone markers. I've done a somewhat crude facsimile of sotōba using thick paper, scribed with ersatz kanji, stained and then glued into place.  3d models from Terratribe Scenery.

These bamboo barriers are from Village Hope Miniatures. I thought they'd add a bit of colour and texture to our miniature streets and alleyways. I used this picture I found online as a reference for painting.

I really liked the look of this whimsical little tea 'cart' from CobraMode. 

I thought it would serve nicely as a 'Loot Marker', or perhaps just as an interesting little accent for the tabletop. 

Several of the scenarios in 'Hametsu' are set within built-up urban environments, so I figured that some formal walls were in order. These are 3d prints from Making Tlon which I've scaled to fit my figures. These were started prior to the Challenge but now benefit from a few extra sections, a good highlight and some cleaning up, so I'll claim them as my 'Overdue & Returns' entry. I decided not to glue the wall sections together as they look alright separately, and it allows me to store them away more easily (I think I can go out on a limb and say storage is a going concern for many of us in the hobby).

Thanks for dropping by!

- Curt

Characters from 'The School of Strength'

Here is my last trio of heroes for 'Hametsu'. These are the archetypes from the 'School of Strength': the Gaijin, the Sumo and the iconic masterless Ronin.

Similar to most of my other figures for this project, these are 3d prints that I sourced from MyMiniFactory and Thingiverse.

I really enjoyed working on all three of these models as they are so evocative of the period and very well designed. My hat's off to the sculptors. 

The Gaijin ('outsider' or 'foreigner) is based from a Renaissance Spanish rodelero which I thought would work nicely since the Portuguese were the first Europeans to make contact with the Japanese in the 16th century. 

I was thinking of what kind of colours to do him in and found some great images of the Papal Swiss Guard in their red, buff and blue livery which I thought that was perfect. I imagine him a lost Guardsman, perhaps the bodyguard of a Jesuit, or perhaps a Prince of the Church, stranded in Japan and making the best of his lot.  

For a bit of fun I added a Japanese lamellar spaulder to protect his right shoulder. I was thinking of giving him the distinctive leg faulds as well, but didn't want to hide his fancy European trousers (it's all about cutting a dash, right.). Model by PeculiarCompanions.

The Sumo was fun to do as well. I wanted to make sure I did a decent job on his skin as, um, there's a lot of it being that he's a big boi! I also really wanted to give him a tattoo, but wasn't confident on my freehand bush skills to do a dragon, so I used two rose decals from an old Sisters of Battle sheet, which give a close approximation to chrysanthemums. Done. 

There is an armoured version of the Sumo which I may do later to reflect the progression of the character - but that will be for another day. Figure by The Dragon Trappers Lodge.

The Ronin is one of my favourite figures of the series. Such a wonderfully dynamic pose, with him giving his all with his terrifying nodachi two-hander. Somebody's going to have a real bad day with this fella in front of them. 

I also really like the texture of the sculpt, with the deep folds in his trousers, his sinewy musculature and the spikiness of his hair and beard. A ferocious character to be sure.

And to close, here is the wrap up shot of all nine characters for the heroes.

Thanks for dropping in for a look!

- Curt

School of Stealth Heroes for 'Hametsu'

Moving forward with my 'Hametsu' project, here are three characters from the School of Stealth: a Shinobi (ninja), a Geisha (bard), and a Matagi (archer). These archetypes are very different from the previous School of Magic in that they are a little more subtle in their support of the larger group, but are still very powerful in their own manner. 

All three of these models are 3d prints from MyMiniFactory. I usually print my '28mm' skirmish stuff at a more heroic 32-35mm as it seems more in-tune with the small-scale action on the tabletop.

The Shinobi is from 'Artificers Mini'. Not much to say about this guy. A black-on-black badass ninja fella - death in goth pyjamas. Nice simple pose, which I prefer to the more over-the-top models frequently on offer. 

He'll be a great addition to the party due to his obvious stealth and assassination abilities.

The Geisha is from 'The Dragon Trappers Lodge'. I really like how the game reflects this character-type without regressing to the standard trope. She uses songs and deception/inspiration to either influence her fellow heroes, or mess with the opposition.  

I really like this mini with her elegant pose, and all shrouded in magical energy. She was a lot of fun to paint. Nonetheless, she is quite delicate, so I'm not sure on her survivability on the tabletop, hopefully she holds up well.

The Matagi is from 'Kyousheneko Miniatures'. As you can imagine, the Matagi are a great at long-range missile support, and suppressive fire. They're also good a setting traps, which can be very handy. 

I love the distinctive over-the-head draw back pose of this figure and the elegant asymmetric bow. Very evocative to those who have seen Japanese archers ply their craft.

...and I'll close with a group shot of the heroes so far. One more 'School' to go!

Thanks for dropping in for a look! 

- Curt

Lesser Oni (Kappa) for 'Hametsu'

In 'Hametsu' there are a wide assortment of villains with which the heroes have to overcome, ranging from the Oni, to the fearsome 'Bosses' and over-the-top 'Raid Bosses'.   The lowliest of the low are the Lesser Oni.  These are essentially the luckless mooks within the game's monster hierarchy. Individually they are fairly easy to dispatch, but if encountered in a mob (which invariably they are) they can be quite dangerous to an incautious adventurer.

The Hametsu figures from Black Site Studio are beautifully designed, but I find the cost of shipping to Canada is prohibitive. So begun the long process of looking for viable 3d proxies online (two of the heroes were in my previous post originated as stl files). During my search I came across a series of models from Sharedog Miniatures depicting Japanese water spirits called Kappa, which I think will make fun Lesser Oni for the game. 

In doing a bit of research I found that Kappa have a shallow depression on the top of their heads which holds a small pool of water. If this water is spilled, or dries up, it makes them weak and sluggish. Yes, how wonderfully odd! The list of defensive measures to ward against Kappa is quite lengthy (and rudely funny), so I suggest you look them up for a laugh if you have a moment.

I decided to give my Kappa a sort of tree frog look, so I used blends of vibrant Citadel Contrast and Vallejo Xpress paints over a white basecoat. Overall I'm happy enough with the effect and they should stand out well on the tabletop.

For those who are wondering, the yellow on the front base edge denotes their arc of vision, which is a big deal in 'Hametsu' which is all about keeping out of sight and timely ambushes. I chose the bright yellow as I'm planning on gaming with these online and I hope the colour will help with on-screen identification.

Thanks for dropping in for a look!

- Curt