Cheetors Shonen Knives: Test of Honour 09/05/17

[cheetor]

More awesome painting and photographs! 

Inspired by some of the very beautiful things that I have seen on this forum, very much including your gorgeous photos over the years Blackstone, I have been trying to up my game with that sort of thing for about a year or so.  There is always room to improve but Im getting better and thats the main thing.

Taking the photos "in situ" scratches a very definite hobby itch.  The model doesnt feel finished these days until  I have taken a photo or two of it in an appropriate environment

I just read through this thread and have top admit that I am in awe!

Thanks **GS**, Im glad that you like them.

I'd like to see more, maybe another side for a game of frostgrave or Ronin?

While I wont rule out that possiblility, for now I am going to keep adding figures to this force to turn it into a force for Dragon Rampant.
Rather excitingly, my gaming buddy the talented hobbyist Mr Saturday is putting together a mythological Chinese force later in the year.  If that goes ahead there should be no shortage of fun, strongly themed photo ops.  Fingers crossed!

Super thread, great idea and beautiful painting.
Especially like the newest additions!!
I have been looking at some of those Clan Wars minis for a while now but have been able to stop myself starting anything new (even after watching that 47 Ronin Version which i loved) but i am now weakening.

Thanks Steam Flunky!

I had no experience of Clan War figures before this.  I was under the impression that they were 30mm, but I dont think that they are, even if Mizuki above is rather large (although she is turning into a dragon, so that explains that really).  I plan to pick up a few more CW figures for this project.

But even without doing so I have very many figures ready for inclusion here.  Im quite excited about working on very many of them.

47 Ronin isnt the best film that I have ever seen, but it was entertaining and visually it was gorgeous and a rich source of inspiration for a project like this.

[Sinewgrab]

The Clan War range of figures was mostly 28mm, but was not entirely consistent across the lines, especially for the Crab and Mantis.  Someone over there thought the 'large people' meant shift up to 30 and 32mm instead of 28mm...great figs though - I still have my entire Crane army.

[cheetor]

The Clan War range of figures was mostly 28mm, but was not entirely consistent across the lines, especially for the Crab and Mantis.  Someone over there thought the 'large people' meant shift up to 30 and 32mm instead of 28mm...great figs though - I still have my entire Crane army.

Thats really good info Sinewgrab, thanks.   There are quite a few of those figures that appeal to me and painting that Bride of Fu Leng (Lu Feng?  I can never remember) made me want more, but I was wary of size.

[cheetor]

Most of my terrain is geared towards sci-fi.  I have deliberately avoided the golf course/Doctor Who look that terrain used for both sci-fi and fantasy duties can generate.  I didnt want my sci-fi games to look like they take place in Wales, so I went for brightly coloured foliage etc, a sort of 60s Star Trek look in some respects.

The Shonen Knives project is grounded a little more in reality, being a pseudo historical/mythological sort of force.  I dont have a lot of terrain that can be used to that end so I splashed out on some pre-printed, foamed PVC Plastruct terrain as a thematically linked quick fix to populate "Kurīpu-Jima" (Creep Island).



Other than punch the components out and glue them, all that I did was crudely attack the exposed edges of the buildings where the printer misses with a couple of felt tip pens.  Its a bit crude, but for gaming with it wont be seen at all really I think.  The buildings also make nice backdrops for photographing the members of the force in front of.



I think that the red areas on the buildings are just a bit too "flat" looking, so I will go back and add some shadow to those before the next photo op.



There are more photos (and similar photos of Axioms lovely Pan Tangian force which is to be used at the same gaming event in just over a week visible on our group blog, Scale Creep (hence "Kurīpu-Jima", see?)

Next up is possibly a rather odd Oni or else some objective markers I think. 

Thanks for looking!

[manic _miner]

 Those buildings look good.I was not sure how they would be from pictures online.

[throwsFireball]

Those buildings look good.I was not sure how they would be from pictures online.

I still wouldn't count them as being good.

I'm pretty certain you could give cheetor a literal turd and he would paint it into something to evoke jealousy.

[cheetor]

Those buildings look good.I was not sure how they would be from pictures online.

They are nicer than many card models because they feature actual relief.  They are sturdy and rapid to assemble too.

My sci fi buildings are all painted items, which is nice but very time consuming to get the finish that I want.  These are a good compromise.

I still wouldn't count them as being good.

I'm pretty certain you could give cheetor a literal turd and he would paint it into something to evoke jealousy.

... Thanks throwsFireball... I think   

In an ideal world I would prefer to have suitable hand painted and assembled or scratch built terrain as it would give me more of a sense of satisfaction.  It  requires a huge investment of time and determination though.

When so many terrain projects on this forum are of such high quality, it can give a false sense of what is and is not practical and achievable and (importantly) easily stored.   It would have taken me ages to get together a terrain set for this project and thats all time that I would rather spend painting miniatures really.

I heartily recommend those Plastruct kits.  Even if they wont suit everyones requirements, in this case they are pretty much perfect for mine.

[julesav]

Incredible thread, superb work! An example of precisely the sort of thing that has kept me lurking on Lead Adventures for years! Bravo Sir!

[cheetor]

Incredible thread, superb work! An example of precisely the sort of thing that has kept me lurking on Lead Adventures for years! Bravo Sir!

Thank you julesav!


Objective markers are often neglected in games.  Thats a pity I think, as the reason for the little dollies to be fighting is critical really.

I put these ten markers together for games with my growing Shonen Knives force.  I will use them in Frostgrave and Dragon Rampant games for certain and then in whatever other games require them.



These markers are more generic fantasy than thematically linked to the pseudo Japanese force.  I will rectify that at a later date.

More photos and info in the blog post.

A dog, a hobbit and a dwarf next.  Probably.

[Andym]

Brilliant! I like 'The One True Ring' and the Book of the Dead best!

[Dentatus]

This has so much awesome, I don't know where to begin.

[Admiral Benbow]

Just fantastic creativity and painting!!! 

[cheetor]

Brilliant! I like 'The One True Ring' and the Book of the Dead best!

Thanks Andy.  I like the ring myself too.  The most enjoyable one to paint was probably the one with the food though.

This has so much awesome, I don't know where to begin.

The sentiment is appreciated even if you dont feel inclined to go into specifics Dentatus

Just fantastic creativity and painting!!! 

Thanks Admiral!

I have a few more models painted for the project, but I havent got around to photographing them just yet.  I found myself working on some more terrain for a game this weekend instead. 

I do have lots of plans and models ready for the next batch though.  I hope that you like them too.

---------------

Meanwhile, the Shonen Knives had another outing at a Frostgrave event that my gaming group and I ran at a convention a couple of weeks ago.  We had thirteen players, one from France, several from the UK and the rest from all over Ireland.

It wasnt so much a tournament as a get together with mates.  Everybody knew a few the participants at least, and a number of us knew everyone in attendance.  As a result the atmosphere was friendly, entertaining and great fun.

Some photos:







The standard of the warbands was exceptional really, great paint jobs and interesting models for my Shonen Knives to hurl shuriken at.  Note that most of the models shown below are not mine:







More info and photos in the blog post HERE.

I will have a few more models and terrain bits to show here over the next week or so.  Thanks for looking!

[Steam Flunky]

Wow!!
Those objective markers are beautiful.

[manic _miner]

 Great looking table set-up and miniatures too.Were there traders at the event?