Kato Kiyomasa, samurai general in 90mm

 It's been a while since my last post. Not because I didn't feel like or because I wasn't doing stuff.

On the contrary.

When I finished my 54mm knight Owain Glyndwr (see my last blog post), my eyes fell on a plastic tupperware container which had been languishing in the remote corners of the war chest for years and years on end. Inside the container was a 90mm metal model of a mounted samurai general which I had built in my late teens or early twenties and in time bits and pieces started coming off.  Luckily, though, I saved all of them and having given up of any immediate repair, I stored the lot in the container and left them there, all forgotten.

So six months ago I opened the container for the first time in decades, checked that all the pieces were, indeed present and set to work on restoration. I have to say at this point that this model is one of a series of samurai models from Poste Militaire. These were all the rage in the eighties and today are looked upon as classics. This one is a sculpt of samurai general Kato Kiyomasa - apparently more renowned for his prowess of hunting tigers than for his generalship - by Ray Lamb. I don't think these eighties' models are up to the standard of today's sculpts but they are still very nice and imposing pieces. One thing I had noticed in the past was that the horse's hind leg had buckled under the weight of the metal (the whole thing with base weighs in at just shy of 1.2kg) so one of the first things I knew I had to do was to reinforce the legs with brass rods drilled as far up the legs as possible. The whole thing was stripped down to bare metal and rebuilt from the ground up. This is the result.

This is what I had muddled through forty years ago. Poor Kato !

All stripped down

Had to reinforce the legs or they would have buckled once more

I thought of putting a roadside lantern on the base so I scratch built one

This project was a marathon during which I met quite a few hurdles but which I thankfully managed to overcome. I hope you like the end result and thank you all for visiting and commenting.

Hope not to take so long before my next post!

Mike

Another 54mm figure - Owain Glyndwr, Prince of Wales

 

Owain Glyndwr (or Owen Glendower, or Owyn Glyndwr) lived between the 14th and 15th centuries and was a Welsh nobleman who revolted against the English and succeeded in ending their rule in Wales. In 1405 he proclaimed an independent Welsh state which lasted a full five years (!) before the English under Henry IV invaded and reconquered Wales once again. Henry V later twice offered Glyndwr a pardon but was rebuffed on both occasions.  Glyndwr, who had in the meantime adopted guerilla tactics against the English,  disappears from the radar around 1415 and his ultimate fate seems to be a bit of a mystery as no further information about him is known after that date. It can be said that Owain Glyndwr was the only Welsh Prince of Wales and no other Welshman matched his political and military achievements. My grasp of Welsh history is limited so feel free to put me in the pillory if I have strayed 😄

Pegaso have produced an excellently-sculpted figure of a mounted Glyndwr in 54mm.  The mount is draped in a caparison bearing Glyndwr's heraldic coat of arms of four rampant lions as well as a dragon, that eternal symbol of Wales. Owain's shield bears the rampant lions as well while the dragon is reproduced on his tabard. It is quite an intricate figure to paint and I was apprehensive that I would not be able to do it justice but I have to say that I am happy with the final result. The figure took just short of three months to finish and is entirely in acrylics except for the armour which is airbrushed Vallejo Liquid Silver and lined in Tamiya Panel Liner. Ink is also used in places.

Thanks for visiting and commenting.

 

 

British Coldstream Guardsman in 54mm

Yet again, another 54mm figure from Pegaso.  This time it's a private of the 2nd Coldstream Guards at Waterloo. Not a very demanding figure but it is very well sculpted and the parts go together well. The figure forms part of a commemorative boxed set of two figures, one French and one British.  I have also included a picture of the two figures comprising the set.

 

Two more 54mm figures and other stuff

As has become amply clear from recent posts, my main activity for the last few months has been modelling as opposed to painting and gaming with minis.  I have rediscovered a passion and fascination that had lain dormant over the years but which suddenly returned with a vengeance mostly thanks to the long months of pandemic isolation.  That's not to say I'm not doing any gaming at the moment but it's solely down to board games with the lads of the gaming group. We are currently running the epic Axis and Allies Global War 1939 - a multi player and veritable behemoth of a game which hardly sits comfortably on a table tennis table and which requires multiple sessions to complete. Clearly it has to be left set up and kudos to Dan for his passion and dedicated wargames room as well as to his gentle wife Yuliia for allowing six unruly man-children into her home every Tuesday.

Board gaming on an epic scale - Axis & Allies Global War 1939

On the modelling scene, I have recently completed two new 54mm Napoleonic figures - a French foot artillery officer and a French line infantryman, both from Pegaso Miniatures.  Bases are from Il Basetta, an italian artisan supplying custom made wooden plinths specifically for miniatures.  The figures are painted mostly in Vallejo acrylics with exception of the metallics for which I use AK True Metal paints.  The mud spattering on the line infantryman was done in oils.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, on the domestic front, last Saturday was a very happy day for the family as the son got married. Below is  a picture of the happy occasion, with - from left - my 91 year old mum, my daughter Claire and her partner Vik, the happy groom Steve and his new wife Justine, and yours truly with missus on the right.

 

 

French Guard Chasseur a' Cheval in 54mm

Been a while since I sat down to post something. Doesn't mean I haven't been busy though. Since my last post (gosh, was it eight months ago?), I've completed a few models, managed to actually play a tabletop game (and promptly lost!), have a couple of projects in progress, and have been having regular weekly evening meetings with my gaming group for board gaming. Been on a nice trip in February too. 

Once I overcome my posting apathy I hope to eventually post something on some or all of the above. 

Today I'll start off with a 54mm Chasseur a' Cheval Garde 1815 from Pegaso Models. Pegaso produce beautiful models, their casting is clear and very crisp making their models really nice to paint. The figure is cast in white metal and is painted entirely with acrylics (Vallejo). This has long been languishing in my war chest and I finally found a good enough reason to fish it out.  One of my gaming buddies turned 60 last month so I reckoned it would make a great special occasion present to someone who appreciates this stuff.  As a matter of fact it was very well received.

Would've been nice to add an engraved brass plate but I just didn't have the time to find a decent supplier. If anyone knows of a good one I would be happy if they could drop me a name.

 Anyway, hope you like it!