After the Bandits, the Koryu, and the Ninja, I’ve now got a fourth buntai… the Sohei. Usually, I prefer to create and employ my own colors for factions, so this may be the first time I’ve simply gone with the faction colors as presented in the rulebook’s samples. I kinda like the black and white Sohei model in one of the pictures in the Ronin rulebook, but my other three factions are in darker colors, so for these warrior monks, something colorful to contrast was ideal. The traditional orange and yellow work. I used AK colors with a Seraphim Sepia wash for shading. not a perfect shade, but works for me!
A pair of Ronin and a Shugyosha looking for work. Any of these models could be used as either a Ronin or Shugyosha, but in my mind while painting, the two on the left were Ronin and the Ryu-looking model on the far right is the Shugyuosha looking to test his skills against the greatest warriors of my dining room table. The center model with yari (or nagae-yari) is from Warring Clans, the other two are from Bac Ninh Miniatures.
The Rampant series from Osprey is another ruleset I’ve become enamored with in recent years. While painting Ronin models, I’ve kept an eye on what could be combined into a larger force so I could flex the same models between both rulesets. So, without further ado, here’s the 24point Dragon Rampant warband using three Ronin buntais and three mythological creatures, the Yami No Taiyo (or the Dark Sun). Starting with the Jorogumo and going clockwise:
Lady Kage (Leader): Light Riders (Single Model Unit – 4pts)
Shuten-Doji & the Amanojaku: Bellicose Foot (Reduced Model Unit – 4pts)
Shadow Dancers: Scouts with Invisibility (5pts)
Bandits of the Dark Sun: Light Foot with Mixed Weapons (5pts)
Hypnotized Swordsmen: Elite Foot (6pts)
Even though Jorogumo don’t work with Bandits, officially, in Ronin, I painted them in similar colors knowing they were going to be her general foot troops in Dragon Rampant. As shared last post, Jorogumo can lead Koryu by entrancing them. Here, I’m using them hypnotized as her elite guard. The Oni, Amanojakuo, and Ninja…well they’re up for working in her employ for their own shadowy goals.
Five Perry ninjas led by a Shadow Warrior from Bac Ninh. There’s a scenario in Ronin where one side faces six ninja. Looking at the rules in that scenario, plus the Ronin point build guide author Craig Woodfield has shared, this group can also be run as its own, individual Buntai.
Playing some games of Gaslands recently, I realized that I needed a few more obstacle types. I determined that I needed markers to represent vehicles that get wrecked, but I also wanted some destructible terrain.
Nothing new to see here. Just collecting images of all my Gaslands gangs in one post, so I can link players here to see the available gangs I have to run. There won’t be anything new posted here. Sorry if it spams your inbox.
Why did a “2023 in Review Part II” post appear across your feed/search from this little hobby blog? I realize that my review post only captured models painted. Sadly, I omitted the heart of this hobby for me…games played and time with friends. This mini post will capture all the non-painting wins I experienced this year. Like the high number of models painted, this was also a banner year for other accomplishments.
I play in a large (14-16 coaches) Blood Bowl league that consistently meets every other Wednesday. I’ve attended four Blood Bowl tournaments, and performed the best I ever have when it mattered most… the largest BB tournament on US soil… Chaos Cup 2023 in Orlando, Fl. I placed #13 out of over 200. I got in my first games of BattleTech Alpha Strike and Classic (surprisingly, I think I prefer Classic), Ronin, DungeonBowl, Gutter Bowl, and Gaslands (finally!). I played many games of Blitz Bowl and Pokemon against my son. Was able to fly out, or host, games with dear friends scattered across the country for gaming to include running a small BB 7s tournament at the house. And not minis related, but the family was finally able to travel to Japan… which became a large inspiration for my Ronin village. Additionally, I was able to get my post-apoc minis published in an issue of Wargames Illustrated (#428 August 2023 – pic above). The same issue also had articles from Daniel Mersey, Rick Priestly, and the Perry twins. For kicks, I can joke with my friends that those illuminaries of the hobby are “WI contemporaries of mine” hehehehe.
All in all, at 48, I’ve probably had the best year in this hobby that I’ve ever experienced. I’m excited for 2024 and hope I can make the 2023 results the start of a trend!
I meant to get this post out at the end of October, but became pre-occupied. Last October, in celebration of “Orktober” I painted up several flavors of green-skin models to make teams for a few different Blood Bowl titles. This year, I did something similar, but for Undead. Maybe a bit more fitting for October.
Per my last post, I’ve got a few mythical swords-for-hire painted up, but who’s gonna hire them? The Bandits is the first of my two buntais on deck to paint since I’ve got some games scheduled for nest weekend against my opponents Sohei. So, let’s see how this buntai turned out.
The core Ronin bluebook is based on historical gameplay, but there is a pdf resource on the Osprey website by the author Craig Woodfield that includes some fantastical creatures from Japanese lore that can optionally be included in games. I picked up a few that looked easy to paint, so went on a little side quest before painting up my buntais.
Wyrd Stones and Tackle Zones 