Thursday 29 September 2022

Thoughts about the Land of the Rising Sun


I know, I know - the Test of Honour rules were not part of the birthday haul but I couldn’t resist it! The two boxed sets of figures and The Book of Five Rings are both welcome additions to the collection.

I spent some time reviewing parts of the birthday haul and how they fit in the overall scheme of things. The 28mm Samurai infantry and cavalry box sets finish off rather nicely the selection that recently returned home - I now have 30 infantry and 22 cavalry along with around 50 or so Ashigaru which should be more than enough for my planned Lion Rampant sized set up and also for Test of Honour sized skirmishes.

I also had a closer look at the sprues for the figures. Initially these looked rather daunting - anything up a dozen pieces per figure - but on closer inspection I now feel rather more confident dealing with them. They are quite fiddly for sure but with care should go together well enough. I am looking forward to having a go at these once the ACW ships are finished.

The book is quite lovely. The cover is silk effect and the text is supplemented with a vast array of contemporary artwork on top quality paper. I have this book on my Kindle but owning such a lovely looking physical copy is a real treat and hugely inspiring to look at.

Of course before all this oriental goodness can take place I will have to finish the ACW stuff and also make sure that I have the requisite tools for plastic modelling - everything I have thus far has been used exclusively for ‘woodwork’!

6 comments:

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

Test of Honour
Oh no, you know my secret weakness

David Crook said...

Hello there Geordie,

I have a whole pile of stuff for Test of Honour 1st edition which recently returned to the collection. I must confess to rather liking the rules this time around although I have yet to see what the second edition does with them. I have not explored any specific fora for the game but am a member of the Facebook group which will be getting some attention soon.

The figures are very nice although I am thinking that the Fireforge Samurai, when released, will be easier to use in terms of construction at the very least.

Shigata ga nai

All the best,

DC

tradgardmastare said...

Does your doorbell play “ House of the Rising sun” perchance? 😂
I look forward to seeing where you take this…

David Crook said...

Hello there tradgardmastare,

Sadly not but some of the lyrics have struck a chord:

There is a wargame project way down in old Rayleigh
Devoted to the the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one….

I have not even started and I am already thinking about a fairly significant change….

All the best,

DC

Donnie McGibbon said...

Be interested to see where your project takes you. I have often been tempted by Samurai etc but doubt my limited painting skills would lend themselves to this period, always like seeing others projects though!!

David Crook said...

Hello there Donnie,

Trust me, my painting skills are very limited for sure! I have a few tricks that I want to try out that I hope will make the paint job a little easier. The first thing I need to do though, is assemble them - and that is something that require some careful planning!

All the best,

DC