SAITO TOGAN WIP So I'm not a fan of the official Saito Togan model, however the trooper profile is awesome. I think the sculptor of the official mini was aiming for dynamic ninja action posing, but it came off as a mess. The guy is doing a high kick, looking the wrong way (not at opponent), slashing a sword and chucking a grenade. I have a background in martial arts and know that this is an entirely impractical way to be fighting. If he was doing a high kick his hands should be up in guard position, sword at rest and his head should be facing his opponent. After this he might ground his stance and strike with his primary weapon the sword. I.e if you are fighting do one thing well at a time and string combos of attacks together. I think the Saito Togan sculpt was an attempt to freeze capture the combo in action but it just looks uncoordinated and unconvincing. What looks better is to freeze capture that one thing/action. Not to mention his ridiculously long hair that would get in the way of a fight and other ninja shenanigans (imagine sneaking a cross some rooftop, tripping over your hair and falling on your enemy - not very gracious lol!). These criticism have deterred me from purchasing poor old unco, crazy hair, togan and I have attempted to convert my own version. The conversion is made up of: * Body - Nakadai Shunya * Head - Shikami Combi * Sword Sheath - Shikami Contender * Webbing and pistol holster - Greens stuff sculpt from Keisotsu mold * Smoke Grenades - 40K Space Marine radar and Imperial Guard frag grenades Result: Hope you like. And hope to share the painted results soon!
Saito Togan (Conversion) Really enjoyed putting this guy together. So satisfying getting good results when converting metal mini, been so long since I tried due to working with plastics that are so much easier. Great to get him painted up finally too.
Ooooooohhh, very pretty! I may need to 'borrow' that pain scheme... Dangit @-V- , where's that :nosebleed: emoji?
I hit major fatigue in continuing painting and collecting this last weekend. Here is a group shot of the guys so far to keep me motivated.
Hopefully getting some time to get games again soon will help! I'm looking forward to seeing them on the table... and then crushing them under power armoured heel. the grenades are teeensy bit too big, but not too bad personally. You could have sculpted a grenade? Hell I could sculpt you a grenade, that conversion is so sweet it deserves it.
Let's see here... A current-issue US M18 smoke is 5.75" base to top of fuse, so 5" for the cylinder, and probably 2" in diameter (smokes fit in the same pouches as frag grenades). That'd be ... wow ~2.3mm tall and about 1mm in diameter. That's a lot smaller than I thought it'd be since smokes always look like they're the size of a big spray-paint can! That's also really easy to make, I have some 1mm plastic rod laying around. Most annoying part would be making the fuse, spoon, and pull ring, spoon would probably have to be paper, some speaker-wire for the pull ring, and a random scrap of really thin plastic for the fuse. Hey, waitaminnit. The Assault Group makes stuff like that, too, in true 28mm scale.
I was never 100% happy with the grenade size, but I'm not confident sculpting things with sharp detail (so if you wanna send me some of your work I'd be more than happy! . In any case I found a solution with what I had lying around, so I'm Ok with it. I should have got plasticard but I have a very select budget and not many opportunities to get to hobby stores (ah the things we give up for married life... like unlimited hobby budget and time lol!) . Actually I did a bit of research and smoke grenades vary in size even today. I know I'm splitting hairs about the topic but its fun to think about these things when you put together your minis. Old school smoke grenades where very large: And even modern ones come in quite large sizes: In any case I figure my Saito skipped picking up some modern infinity grenades and went a bit old school lol!
Not likely Yu Jing(?) scum! The JSA uprising, in the name of the immortal God Emperor (of Japan), will crush all usurpers to the ascendancy of the free Japanese Nation! ...lol ...or we will all die with honour in glorious battle as per our Bushido code!
Funny enough, those are both M18 smokes. They've been in use for a really long time (since the end of WW2, actually)! The M83 smoke is the same size, uses a different, less toxic/less oxygen-displacing chemical to make the smoke. But you are correct that there are smaller smoke grenades out there.
Asuka Kisaragi Never Dies! Can’t imagine JSA without her. She’s just waiting for a new ride Spoiler Gotta say I enjoy painting such sexy minis after painting ugly giant heroic scale meat heads for so long lol!
Close up of Flammenspear Tanko: Spoiler #62archangeleong, Sunday at 8:02 PM Last edited: Sunday at 9:52 PM
Shikami Combi Rifle Just got that other super jump button pusher done! Really like his swords. Spoiler Shikami Bros (Mario and Luigi) #71archangeleong, 1 minute ago
YURIKO ODA Very nice mini, but hard to paint. For some reason I really struggled to get good results with her. Anyway, she's done at last and ready to keep the cheerleaders in line :-) Spoiler
Have you thought of adding Karakuri? I've watched too many Korean doll horror movies to pass up the chance, and they can be posed in all sorts of unnatural marionette positions
