Warrior Monks for Ronin

In college, I saw Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" for the first time in a film study class.  It sparked my interest in the Age of Samurai and from there, I watched nearly all of his majestic films. Years later, my fascination was rekindled with the PC wargame "Shogun: Total War."  It was a masterpiece of thematic music, 3D graphics, small vignettes and a good AI.  On top of that, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts periodically displays a collection of Samurai weapons and armor.  My son and I always stop to stare at the oversized yari and naginata.  Lately though, the Samurai era has fallen off my plate. I have no Samurai figures or armies, hardly any books on the subject and no boardgames either.

I took this commission hoping it might of rekindle my interest. The figures are for Ronin, a skirmish wargame set in 16th century feudal Japan.  It's described as providing the flavor and excitement of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo." That sounds like my kind of game and I hope to try Ronin before the year is out. 

All the robes were done in triads but my color jumps were tight, perhaps too tight.  Yellow was the usual pain in the arse but the finished product is quite bright and pleasing to the eye. I think my faces are getting better as I break them into smaller sections. The North Star Military Figures are superb but quite challenging to paint.  There's a lot going on with each figure.  One buntai (squad?) down, one bunch of Samurai to go.

I also painted up some oxen for my friend Mark. I didn't base them up as he has Dark Age carts waiting for them.  I'm looking forward to seeing these in our SAGA games over the summer.

This last week was a big one for my son, the composer.  Over spring, Grant wrote a wonderful programmatic piece called The Triumvirate for percussion trio.  The piece has 3 movements, each representing a member of the First Triumvirate of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar. During the final movement, (Caesar), a drummer yells out "The die is cast" in Latin and the Pompey theme mixes with the Caesar theme, as they battle for dominance.  As a huge fan of history, I was thrilled to see these great men of history come to life in this composition.  With this piece, Grant was chosen as one of 7 BMI Young Composer Award winners for 2014.  BMI flew him to New York City for an all expenses paid trip and ceremony. He's the fellow in the front with the yellow shirt.  I don't think his feet have touched the ground since!