Bandits of the Marsh - and Koreans and Japanese

[Vanvlak]

What is the actual setting/period of the inspiration for this project?

It's complicated.....

The original idea began as a Bandits of the Marsh (The Water Margin) band for Ronin; the book was setin the Song dynasty, so that's 960-1279 CE - which in turn is believed to be based on historical bandits who surrendered in 1121.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin
Crappy video of the old series intro here:
I included the link because the voice-over is reportedly Burt Kwouk (Cato in the Pink Panther films), who died the other day.  

EDIT - better quality video, in German:

I ordered a small collection of stuff from Mr Jimbibbly's Oshiro models - Chinese buildings and walls:
http://www.oshiromodelterrain.co.uk/chinese.html
Unfortunately, the top of the page includes links to Japanese stuff, and boats - which feature a great deal in The Water Margin. But Japanese boats....and a ship....  

I ordered the buildings - and they're BRILLIANT, working on them almost daily, even if it's only 2 minutes stolen from a busy month - and cautiously asked about boats and stuff. Order number 2 is being prepared.

BUT - to accommodate the Japanese stuff I bent the scenario a bit - better list it in point form:
1) I have a band of heroes, who are based on the Bandits of Liangshan Marsh from The Water Margin.
2) To make the setting a bit more unique, I shifted Liangshan marsh to the coast, and then replaced it with a tsunami-flooded area which has been submerged for years, to the extent that buildings are built on hilltops or the tops of old large structures - or rafts.
3) In a final twist the Japanese are taking the opportunity given by the submerged coast to make inroads in China, in a way similar to the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592-1598 (which was planned to include China anyway).

In other words, I am avoiding setting a definite date, although it would have a terminus post quem of 1110 and a terminus ante quem of 1598. Anything in between these dates goes, and models from even earlier periods (someone could be wearing hand-me-downs) are not a problem either.

Oh yes - you also get demons and fantastic beasts. It's a bit like a post-apocalyptic setting come a few centuries early to a very watery sort of land (in China) - only it's not quite land, all travel is by boat....

[Codsticker]

Ok, got it.

The TAG models Wansui suggested are very nice. I find the faces a little stylized but the sculpting, casting and TAG's service are great.