While not a fan of most of the OSPREY rule sets this one really hit the mark in my book just based on reading through it. Cant wait to actually test drive it with game soon!

We all do it, get interested in a game or period, buy the rules, the figures, maybe even build some terrain, and never play the game! That’s me so far with RONIN one of OSPREY’s stable of rule sets. RONIN covers small skirmishes between Japanese Warriors during the late period of Sengoku Jidai or Warring States in 15^th-16^th century Japan. I’ve always liked the period and have two large 15mm Samurai army’s based for “Battles in the Age of War” by Peter Pig. I now felt the urge to paint some 28mm Samurai but since the amount of detail on Samurai in 28mm would rival Napoleonic uniforms and I did not have the urge to paint 28mm Samurai armies! However, a few handfuls of figures in a very detailed small battlefield setup that is RONIN sounded perfect.

Well, I have had the rules for nearly 5 years, figures for 4 years, and some terrain for 3 years, and still not played, but I have finialy painted my first “Buntai” or group for the game.  North Star Figures makes some excellent figure sets designed for the game and just to get my feet wet I painted up a group of 8 Monks.

REMEMBER… double click a picture to get a lager version.

A good start to my RONIN force! Eight monk figures from North Stars boxed set (metal figures).

Even though they are arguably less detailed than other Samurai figures the colors and getting the simple robes of a monk to look good and stand out is very challenging. I really liked the poses on these figures and the sculpts are very nice. I think the sculptor did an excellent job of getting the Japanese face structure right without it looking comical. The figures were sealed with a gloss coat but then I used a semi-gloss instead of a total matt finish as it gives a bit more depth and richness I like on Samurai figs.

This art work was an inspiration to paint and play a warrior monk force.

The warrior monks of feudal Japan were not much different from their sometime enemy, sometime allies, the Samurai. Politics and alliances in Japan during this period were in a constant state of change, sometimes even during the course of a battle. Dozens and dozens of factions all grasping for power or simply protecting their “piece of the pie”! The religious sects were generally peaceful but not afraid to fight when their interest were threatened, also very well trained, motivated, and fearless when doing it. Some of these monk sects power rivaled that of  Daimyos at the time. Often Diaymos tried to rally the monks to their side and some Diaymos were monks as well having taken the vows of the order. The conflict between Oda Nobunaga and some sects of monks lasted for years, producing some of the most vicious fighting of the period!

Warrior Monks used the same weapons and armor as the the Samurai. They tended to specialize in some weapons like the Tetsubo (club) and the Naginata (polearm). If you took off the priestly robes worn over their armor you might be hard pressed to tell them apart from the Samurai.

Painting these figures was fun and with less sculpted detail on the figures allowed me to concentrate more on the method I used when applying it. Blends, washes, glazing, dry brushing all contributed to the depth and richness in the cloth. I went very simple with my base treatment’s as I did not want it to detract from the figure. I used a style of long grass and crushed stone, common to Japanese gardens.