Skirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai THE …nstarmagazine.com/PDFS/RONIN THE KORYU BUNTAI.pdf · 1 RONIN Skirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai PAINTING THE KORYU BUNTAI

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RONINSkirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai

PAINTING THE KORYU BUNTAIThe Koryu Buntai box set gives you the perfect starter army to begin playing Ronin. This set is a particular favourite of mine. I think Steve Saleh has reached new heights with the subtle modelling of the samurai clothes, and they all have very characterful faces. Also the fact that they are not in armour, gives a great opportunity to go to town on those outfits and make every one an individual character.

INSPIRATIONAlthough I didn’t have any illustrations for Koryu Buntai the as such, I took inspiration for the colours for their clothes from the film Seven Samurai. It is true that this is a black and white film but luckily for me I was pointed to a place on the web that had sketches of the clothes from the movie in colour and these were invaluable as guidance on painting the models. I spent a long time studying the designs and trying to figure out how best to represent each design on a tiny model!

Where there was no illustration I referred to my collection of historical samurai books, all the while trying to keep my colour palate for them very much Japanese in style.

UNDERCOATINGIt is worth going over any model carefully just to make sure there are no sprue, flash or mould lines, clean any off with a sharp scalpel and a fine file. Undercoating is essential as it provides a consistent surface on which to apply the next coats of paint, and it shows up the detail on a model much more clearly than shiny bare metal. For the undercoat I used Humbrol enamel matt black. I usually undercoat in oil based paint as I find they give better coverage on the bare metal.

THE PAINTI used Army Painter War Paints to paint Koryu Buntai, mixing up colours to suit my style and preferences. The Mega Paint Set provides an adequate range of colours for almost all needs, but you will always need to mix colours to get the desired results, however I have tried to work out colour combinations to reduce mixing if possible.

Below. Koryu Buntai Initiate with katana

THE KORYU BUNTAI & THE SEVEN SAMURAI

http://www.humbrol.com/shop/paints/enamel-paints/aq0366-33-black-matt-50ml-enamel-paint/

http://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=111&cat=326&sub=412&page=1

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PAINTINGThe figure painting follows my well known method of working from dark to light shaded up from a black undercoat. This three or more colour painting method uses successive tones of colour (shade, middle and light) which are added to the model in layers, working up from dark to light. This creates a bold three-dimensional effect of shadows and highlights, the layers of colour giving greater depth and subtlety to the model. For the facial detail and for the eyes I used an Insane Detail brush. For the rest of the model I used a Warpaints Detail brush.

THE SAME COLOURSEven though the models are all highly individual, there were colours that were the same on all the models, which I have listed below in this preamble. I did most of these colours first and all together, to try and speed up the painting process a bit.

EYES & FLESHThe flesh and eyes on all this Buntai are in the same colours. I wanted the Koryu Buntai to have a noticeably different skin tone from Europeans so planned my painting accordingly, the skin tone is slightly exaggerated but I think it needs to be so that it is noticeable, on such a tiny model on the tabletop.

EYES Whites are 1. AP-WP1102 - Matt White

The irises are pure 2. AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown

FLESH AP-WP1122 - Fur Brow1. n

AP-WP1127 - Tanned Fles2. h mixed with AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

plus 3. AP-WP1102 - Matt White


plus a tiny bit of 5. AP-WP1104 - Pure Red (for the lips)

SOCKS, LEGGINGS & MOST SASHES

WhiteAP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh


plus more 3. AP-WP1102 - Matt White

pure 4. AP-WP1102 - Matt White

MOST SANDALS

Mid-brownAP-WP1123 - Leather Brow1. n

AP-WP1123 - Leather Brow2. n mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

plus more 3. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

and lastly more 4. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

Below. Painting the flesh.

http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=4660





















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MOST HAIR, SCABBARDS & PATTERNS The black was done at the end after all the other non-metallic colours.

Black AP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

plus 2. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone



WEAPON BLADES, GUARDS & POMMELS Done after the black.

Above. Painting the flesh. I wanted the Koryu Buntai to have a noticeably different skin tone from Europeans so planned my painting accordingly, the skin tone is slightly exaggerated but I think it needs to be so that it is noticeable, on such a tiny model on the tabletop.

SteelAP-WP1131 - Gun Meta1. l

AP-WP1130 - Plate Mail Meta2. l

AP-WP1129 - Shining Silve3. r

AP-WP1136 - Dark Tone In4. k

WEAPON GUARDS & POMMELS Done after the steel.

BrassAP-WP1133 - Weapon Bronz1. e

AP-WP1132 - Greedy Gol2. d

AP-WP1132 - Greedy Gol3. d mixed with Foundry PP044C - Burning Gold

Foundry PP044C - Burning Gol4. d















http://wargamesfoundry.com/paint_and_brushes/single_paint_pots/any/any/burning_gold_light_pp044c/?sector_id=


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THE MODELSI will list all the colours (even those listed above) with each model, in case you are going to paint each Samurai individually, rather than batch paint the same colours over the whole set.

SAMURAI ONESenior student with Nodachi He is quite a simple model with his massive Nodachi sword.

KIMONO

WhiteAP-WP1102 - Matt White mixed 1. with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White2.

KIMONO PATTERNWhich I took to be stylised arrows and flights in red. On the white kimono, I first painted the arrow shafts in the base red. I then joined them up in a sort of zigzag pattern to represent arrow the flights. Then I highlighted the whole design. Lastly I added the small black and green design elements over that.

RedAP-WP1105 - Dragon Re1. d


plus more AP-WP1102 - Matt White3.


With small patterns in black (as above) and green (same as on Uwa-obi below)

UWA-OBI (sash)Green

AP-WP1112 - Angel Gree1. n

AP-WP1112 - Angel Gree2. n plus AP-WP1109 - Goblin Green



WARAJI (sandals), BELT CORD & SWORD GRIPRed

AP-WP1124 - Oak Brow1. n plus AP-WP1105 - Dragon Red

AP-WP1105 - Dragon Re2. d

AP-WP1104 - Pure Re3. d

AP-WP1104 - Pure Re4. d plus AP-WP1106 - Lava Orange

BAGSBrown

AP-WP1123 - Leather Brow1. n




YellowAP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown

AP-WP1121 - Desert Yello2. w

plus 3. AP-WP1107 - Daemonic Yellow and AP-WP1102 - Matt White


plus more AP-3. WP1102 - Matt White

pure AP-WP1102 - 4. Matt White





















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WEAPON BLADE





WEAPON GUARD AND POMMEL














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SAMURAI TWO Quite complex patterns on this samurai but worth the effort I think.

SHITAGI (shirt)AP-WP1102 - Matt White mixed with AP-1. WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow



pure AP-WP1102 - Matt White4.

SHITAGI PATTERNI painted the shirt white first, and then I marked on where the small circles were going to be with a soft pencil, very lightly. Then I painted the small circles in using only the main colour and one highlight. Then I dotted in the very tiny dots in black.

Green small circlesAP-WP1109 - Goblin Gree1. n

AP-WP1109 - Goblin Gree2. n plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White

Red small circlesAP-WP1104 - Pure Re1. d

AP-WP1104 - Pure Re2. d plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White

Tiny black dotsAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k

KOBAKAMA (tight trousers)AP-WP1127 - Tanned Fles1. h plus AP-WP1104 - Pure Red plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White



plus even more AP-WP1102 - Matt White4.

KOBAKAMA PATTERNI started this pattern by marking a circle of dots to be the centre of the flower, and then I painted in all of the petals for that flower. When I had done one flower I marked out the next one, far away enough from the first so the petals didn’t overlap. I repeated this process till the trousers were full of flowers. Don’t worry if the petals are a bit wobbly, that just adds to the ascetic asymmetric Japanese look.

Black flowersAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone














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UWA-OBI (sash) & TABI (socks)

AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh




WARAJI (sandals) & HAIR BAND Which can be all straw rope, or wood with material straps (for posh ones).





SAYA (scabbard)AP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone




ALL METALWORKAP-WP1131 - Gun Meta1. l































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SAMURAI THREE His clothes are definitely the most complex of all of them, and has by far the longest description. However, they are broken down into smaller sections so can be tackled in manageable quantities.

HAKAMA (big trousers)His trousers are white fading into green. I did the white first to about half way up the trousers leg.

AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow




I the painted the top half in green making sure that it overlapped the white slightly.

AP-WP1111 - Greenski1. n

plus 2. AP-WP1109 - Goblin Green

plus 3. AP-WP1109 - Goblin Green

pure 4. AP-WP1109 - Goblin Green

BLENDINGThe tricky part was to blend between the two colours to get a soft fade between them. I did this by using by thinning the Goblin Green down with water to a wash and then painting this on at the junction of the colours. It took several coats to achieve a satisfactory result. I also did the sword grip in the green while I had it mixed up.

SHITAGI (shirt)The shirt is dark red

AP-WP1105 - Dragon Re1. d plus AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown


AP-WP1105 - Dragon Re3. d plus AP-WP1104 - Pure Red

above plus 4. AP-WP1106 - Lava Orange

SHITAGI PATTERNThe pattern is in pure white, three dots with three lines below. I did all the dots first to get the position right, then when back and did the lines below the dots.


JINBAORI (short coat)This has a very complicated pattern. Firstly I painted the bottom band of the coat in white. Then I painted the yellow band and then the black. Finally I added the designs.

White bandAP-WP1102 - Matt White mixed with 1. AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow























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Yellow bandAP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown




Black bandAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone




The black designs on the yellow band were painted on in pure AP-WP1101 - Matt Black, just some blobs in roughly the right shape. The design on the white band was more complicated. Firstly I painted on a sort of diamond crosshatch pattern in black across the white; I then painted in four tiny circles of white in each diamond to make the pattern. Fiddly and time consuming, but effective I hope.

AP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k

AP-WP1102 - Matt White2.

UWA-OBI (sash) & TABI (socks) AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh




WARAJI (sandals)AP-WP1123 - Leather Brow1. n








KATANA BLADE





KATANA GUARD & POMMEL













































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SAMURAI FOUR A superb characterful model, representing the oldest member the party, with very appealing colour combinations.

UNDERSHIRT & TABI (socks) & KIAHAN (gaiters)





PATTERN ON THE KIAHANGroups of four tiny dots in turquoise.

AP-WP1114 - Crystal Blu1. e mixed with AP-WP1111 - Greenskin plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White


KOBAKAMA (small trousers)AP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown



plus more AP-WP1102 - Matt White4. STRIPES ON THE KOBAKAMA

Dull GreenAP-WP1124 - Oak Brow1. n plus AP-WP1110 - Army Green



plus even more 4. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

JINBAORI (short coat) & SHITAGI (shirt)At this point I also painted the green bits of his JINBAORI and SHITAGI. Then I painted the rest of his JINBAORI and SHITAGI in a contrasting ivory colour, including a small circular motif on the JINBAORI.

IvoryAP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bon1. e mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown

pure 2. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone

AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bon3. e plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White



























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WARAJI (sandals) & UWA-OBI (sash) & Sword grip





TABI (socks) AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh




METALWORKAP-WP1131 - Gun Meta1. l




HAIRAP-WP1118 - Uniform Gre1. y























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SAMURAI FIVE Possibly my favourite of them all, with a wonderful face and a classic samurai pose.

HAKAMA (big trousers)AP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown

plus 2. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow with AP-WP1107 - Daemonic Yellow



The patterns on the HAKAMA are groups of six dots in AP-WP1101 - Matt Black. I painted the centre dot in for all of them first, and then grouped the five dots around it.

UWA-OBI (sash) & TABI (socks) & KIAHAN (gaiters)





At this point I also painted in the white border on the JINBAORI (short coat) in the same white as the above. This also has a pattern of random very tiny black dots.

JINBAORI (short coat) & SHITAGI (shirt)Both of these pieces of clothing are mostly turquoise with a contrasting tan band at the top of the JINBAORI.

TurquoiseAP-WP1114 - Crystal Blu1. e mixed with AP-WP1111 - Greenskin




TanAP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w plus AP-WP1106 - Lava Orange plus AP-WP1123 - Leather Brown




The patterns on the tan band are four dots in AP-WP1102 - Matt White.
























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WARAJI (sandals) & UWA-OBI (sash) & sword grip









KATANA BLADE






BrassAP-WP1133 - Weapon 1. Bronze



Foundry PP044C - Burning 4. Gold




























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SAMURAI SIX Another superbly posed model depicting a senior student with katana.

HAKAMA (big trousers)AP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1124 - Oak Brown




The design on the HAKAMA is in AP-WP1101 - Matt Black.

SHITAGI (shirt)His blue shirt has small pairs of white lines as a pattern. As with the trousers they are very asymmetrical so you can get away with a degree of fudging the pattern as you go around the shirt.

BlueAP-WP1115 - Ultramarine Blu1. e




The design on the SHITAGI is in AP-WP1102 - Matt White.

UNDERSHIRT, HAIR BAND, UWA-OBI (sash) & TABI (socks)


































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KATANA GRIPAP-WP1105 - Dragon Re1. d





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SAMURAI SEVEN Another classic samurai in just his quite plain kimono.

KIMONO AP-WP1121 - Desert Yello1. w mixed with AP-WP1106 - Lava Orange and AP-WP1123 - Leather Brown.

plus 2. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

plus more 3. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

lastly pure 4. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

KIMONO PATTERNAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed

TABI (socks) & KIAHAN (gaiters)AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh




PATTERN ON KIAHANPatterns of three spots in light blue.

AP-WP1113 - Electric Blu1. e plus AP-WP1102 - Matt White

UWA-OBI (sash)AP-WP1124 - Oak Brow1. n plus AP-WP1105 - Dragon Red


AP-WP1104 - Pure Re3. d

AP-WP1104 - Pure Re4. d plus AP-WP1106 - Lava Orange





























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KATANA BLADE



























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SAMURAI EIGHTLooking a bit more like a Ronin this lone Samurai definitely has wolf like qualities.

KIMONO His long Kimono is very plain, and is all one garment despite having different colour top and bottom halves.

Dark grey - top halfAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1102 - Matt White




Brown - bottom half AP-WP1123 - Leather Brow1. n mixed with AP-WP1101 - Matt Black




UNDERSHIRT & UWA-OBI (sash)AP-WP1102 - Matt Whit1. e mixed with AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-WP1108 - Necrotic Flesh































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SAMURAI NINE Sensei (teacher) with katana (a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands) and wakizashi (shorter sword, being worn together with the katana was an official sign that the wearer was a samurai).

HAIRAP-WP1118 - Uniform Gre1. y




HAKAMA (big trousers)AP-WP1119 - Wolf Gre1. y mixed with AP-WP1101 - Matt Black

AP-WP1119 - Wolf Gre2. y



JINBAORI (short coat)AP-WP1124 - Oak Brow1. n

AP-WP1124 - Oak Brow2. n plus AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow

plus 3. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow


SHITAGI (shirt) and sword grips AP-WP1102 - Matt White mixed with 1. AP-WP1117 - Ash Grey and AP-AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow




SAYA (scabbards) and eye patchAP-WP1101 - Matt Blac1. k mixed with AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone































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KATANA & WAKIZASHI BLADES





KATANA & WAKIZASHI GUARDS & POMMELS





VARNISHINGMake sure all the paint on the model is thoroughly dry before commencing varnishing.

GlossThe models were then given a coat of Humbrol polyurethane gloss varnish and set aside for 24 hours to dry completely. Be careful not to let the varnish

pool, especially between legs. You don’t need a very thick coat of varnish.

MattThen they were given two coats of Anti-Shine Matt Varnish. Be even more careful when painting on the matt varnish. When applying the matt, brush it out well from any nooks and crannies where it is likely to collect and pool.

BASING The bases are 25mm round plastic skirmish bases from Renedra. I used superglue to stick the models in place, blowing over them with a cold hairdryer to prevent the glue whitening off onto the models. When positioning the models I made sure the model looked right on the base.

I them filled in-between the models bases with household filler and then left that overnight to go hard. I then glued on some horticultural sand with PVA glue, (4Ground PVA).

When the sand was dried hard I painted the whole base with

AP-WP1123 - Leather Brow1. n.

I then dry-brushed on 2. AP-WP1121 - Desert Yellow quite heavily.

Then I dry-brushed on a layer of 3. AP-WP1125 - Skeleton Bone.

And finally a light dry-brush of 4. AP-WP1102 - Matt White.

FLORAI then added some flora, tufts of The Army Painter - Battlefields AP-BF4127 - Swamp Tuft and AP-BF4129 - Jungle Tuft secured in place with superglue.
















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Documents

Skirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai THE …nstarmagazine.com/PDFS/RONIN THE KORYU BUNTAI.pdf · 1 RONIN Skirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai PAINTING THE KORYU BUNTAI