We are excited to announce that we've recently purchased the rights to all of the 10mm Castle Arts Japanese buildings, which were sculpted and owned by Alessandro Parrini. The master models and moulds for all of these arrived at Pendraken HQ this past weekend and we'll be sending them down to Ironclad in batches, for John to get them into production.
(https://pendraken.co.uk/ProductImages/PendrakenCastleArts.jpg)
Who are Castle Arts?
Castle Arts manufactured a variety of products, including 10mm Japanese buildings and a range miniatures to go with them. Alessandro recently decided to retire and his website ceased trading at the end of December. Initially there were no plans for the ranges to continue elsewhere, so we're really happy to have been able to purchase these and keep them available.
How do they match up with Pendraken figures?
The buildings have been scaled to 1:160 we believe, so they will be a touch smaller than the buildings we produce ourselves, but we don't think the difference is enough to be noticeable. With these being for the Samurai period it's unlikely that you'd be mixing in any of our buildings anyway, and with this range being so comprehensive, we won't need to add any extra buildings in the future.
What's available?
There are 37 buildings in total, including:
- Dojo and walls
- Village houses and an Inn
- Shinto Temple and gate and bell
- Modular Castle with walls, towers and gates
- Osaka Castle
- Modular fencing
- Horiyuji Temple complex including a pagoda and halls
- Monastery with fences and gate sections
When will they be on sale again?
These are almost all resin products so they will be getting forwarded down to John at Ironclad for him to check over. Some of them may need new production moulds but we won't know that until they've all been checked. We'd hope to have the first batch in production around Salute time, but we'll keep everyone updated as we progress.
Will you be changing anything?
There are no plans to change any of these models at all.
Did you buy the Castle Arts Japanese miniatures range?
We didn't buy the miniatures range, only the buildings. Our own range could do with some work so we've decided to completely overhaul our Samurai figures with brand new sculpts and more pose variety. This job has been scheduled for April/May/June so the new figures will be coming online around the same time as the last of the buildings comes into production.
I think that's all the information for now, give me a shout if there's any queries.
We'd like to thank Alessandro Parrini for his time and help during this purchase, we hope he enjoys his retirement! We'd also like to thank Chris Orr for his initial contact and introduction.
Amazing! :D :D :D
Very excited about this 8)
Oh wow. Now Then I wasn't considering doing Samurai at all ... now???
♪ "There may be trouble bankruptcy ahead ... " ♪ :)
Wow! they are an impressive bunch of Buildings.
OK, what do I get rid of to make room for this?
Children, significant other... :d
Argh! Just when I thought I had finished with my Samurai!!!
Excellent - I'm sure a couple of those buildings will find their way onto my RJW battlefields
Those are rather splendid !! :)
Cheers - Phil
Very nice. I've always liked these buildings, but have resisted so far. But with new samurai sculpts resistance may be futile...
They are gorgeous, aren't they?
What a lovely range of buildings 8). Looking forward to seeing the new Samurai sculpts.
They look tremendous. Having played Ronin in 28mm I am quite tempted by 10mm for the big battles of C16th Japan.
Nice! (Said in a jazz voice)
Can I put in a vote for a few Japanese additions, then?
1) Generals with fancy helmets (esp. Hideyoshi and Tadakatsu)
2) Monks with two-handed hexagonal clubs with studs on them
3) Monks in armour firing muskets, and possibly bows
4) Ashigaru in conical hats/helmets with pikes
5) Civvies
I'm sure other voices will be raised alongside mine....
Those do look splendid. I can see some Shermans and Pershings driving past some of them on Okinawa!
I can imagine some very picturesque tables using these, so much so they'd never be taken apart.
Congratulations, as you are sculpting new figures, it would be nice if you had a rule set to go with the package as well
Take care
Andy
Quote from: Dr Dave on 08 January 2019, 09:57:16 AM
Those do look splendid. I can see some Shermans and Pershings driving past some of them on Okinawa!
Dammit! I was just talking myself out of them!
Very nice indeed.
Started a city idea with 15mm Oshiro buildings and currently owned 15mm armies. Too large to do in the end but this looks interesting and could include a 19 Century slant as well.
Some new Russo Japanese Japanese would be nice as these can cover 19 Century rebellions and 1904 [yes I know another project!]
Congratulations on the acquisition. These are beautiful buildings. I own a couple of them and like them a lot. Will you be acquiring also their figures range?
I see that you actually answer my question in your announcement. Revamping / expanding your range is also good. In addition to the poses already mentioned. Ashigaru arquebus in firing poses would be great. And the current cavalry is on fairly small horses, which could benefit from some bulking up.
Oooooh, Samurai Napoloenics coming up!
I'd been seriously planning to do samurai as my first 6mm project...now though... :-X
Quote from: quasar42 on 08 January 2019, 10:51:12 AM
<snip>
And the current cavalry is on fairly small horses, which could benefit from some bulking up.
My understanding was that Samurai horses were on the small side. So, possibly not?
(http://www.historyplace.com/specials/slideshows/samurai/samurai-111.jpg)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 08 January 2019, 02:09:40 PM
My understanding was that Samurai horses were on the small side. So, possibly not?
My understanding was the same. I recall reading was some controversy over whether the horses would even have been big enough to charge with a fully armoured warrior on their back or if they were just for transportation. I think they did some live experiments and turned out they were hardy enough to charge at a good speed despite being on the small side. Though probably wouldn't have seen the mass cavalry charges like you would in Europe in widespread usage.
Edit: found the link of where I read it http://gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/05/did-cavalry-existed-in-japan.html?m=1
Very, very good news.
I had previously looked at doing a 10mm Samurai project but wasn't
enthused about the Pendraken poses and ended up starting in 6mm.
This will change things.
What would be very helpful is some kind of giuidance on painting these
buildings - not sure if Pendraken would want to include something like
this on the shop website (on the same page as the model buildings).
Just a thought.
Phil
Thanks for all of the comments so far!
Quote from: FierceKitty on 08 January 2019, 09:52:39 AM
Can I put in a vote for a few Japanese additions, then?
1) Generals with fancy helmets (esp. Hideyoshi and Tadakatsu)
2) Monks with two-handed hexagonal clubs with studs on them
3) Monks in armour firing muskets, and possibly bows
4) Ashigaru in conical hats/helmets with pikes
5) Civvies
I'm sure other voices will be raised alongside mine....
We'll be taking some requests in the nxt month or so, when we start to work up the sculpting list.
Quote from: Womble67 on 08 January 2019, 10:09:46 AM
Congratulations, as you are sculpting new figures, it would be nice if you had a rule set to go with the package as well.
I think it'll be a while before I commit to another ruleset! :D We can look at the options out there already and see if we can recommend some for folks though.
Quote from: kabrank on 08 January 2019, 10:32:02 AM
Some new Russo Japanese Japanese would be nice as these can cover 19 Century rebellions and 1904 [yes I know another project!]
The Russo-Japanese range is on our radar to be redone as well but there's never been much demand for it as a period. We'll be getting it done though, as I want to replace all of the old sculpts still lurking in the catalogue.
Quote from: quasar42 on 08 January 2019, 10:51:12 AM
In addition to the poses already mentioned. Ashigaru arquebus in firing poses would be great. And the current cavalry is on fairly small horses, which could benefit from some bulking up.
At least one of the new arquebusier sculpts will be firing, no worries there. We'll also be using the larger horses from our FPW/Naps/ACW ranges, but...
Quote from: Ithoriel on 08 January 2019, 02:09:40 PM
My understanding was that Samurai horses were on the small side. So, possibly not?
...we'll have a look at this as well to make sure they look right.
Quote from: Glorfindel on 08 January 2019, 03:59:13 PM
What would be very helpful is some kind of giuidance on painting these buildings - not sure if Pendraken would want to include something like this on the shop website (on the same page as the model buildings).
That's an interesting idea, we'll have to see what we can do there. I'll ask the original owner who did the painting and see if we can get some info.
On the horse size question, my personal view is that miniature aesthetics trump physical accuracy. Not just for horses but also other aspects of a mini. Sometimes trying to make it physically accurate just does not look "right" on a mini. But that is just me.
And one more pose suggestion: Large rectangular banners. The current banners are on the small-side.
Quote from: quasar42 on 08 January 2019, 09:41:38 PM
On the horse size question, my personal view is that miniature aesthetics trump physical accuracy. Not just for horses but also other aspects of a mini. Sometimes trying to make it physically accurate just does not look "right" on a mini. But that is just me.
You're right and we saw that with the Mongols to an extent. The smaller horses meant that the riders ended up being slightly smaller as well so that they looked 'right'.
Quote from: quasar42 on 08 January 2019, 09:44:49 PM
And one more pose suggestion: Large rectangular banners. The current banners are on the small-side.
The banners will be much better, the old ones are too small and the poles for them are nowhere near long enough to mount on the figures properly, so we can address both of those with the new sculpts.
Excellent news!
Cheers,
Aksu
Would it be worth looking at casting the Sashimo banners onto some of the figures as fixing 100's can be a pain [but equally a pain to remove if not wanted].
May be worth running a poll on this.
Looking at the Russo Japanese Range whilst Russians from other periods can bulk out the Russians the Japanese are the key to a revamp I suspect.
I have held off actually starting this project hoping for Japanese new figures and artillery as these are difficult to proxy from other ranges
Note that with the Age of Rifles rule set for this period and the growing popularity of BBB there may be more interest in the future as 10mm is perfect for both these sets.
Quote from: kabrank on 09 January 2019, 08:33:55 AM
Would it be worth looking at casting the Sashimo banners onto some of the figures as fixing 100's can be a pain [but equally a pain to remove if not wanted].
May be worth running a poll on this.
Looking at the Russo Japanese Range whilst Russians from other periods can bulk out the Russians the Japanese are the key to a revamp I suspect.
I have held off actually starting this project hoping for Japanese new figures and artillery as these are difficult to proxy from other ranges
Note that with the Age of Rifles rule set for this period and the growing popularity of BBB there may be more interest in the future as 10mm is perfect for both these sets.
It looks as though the answer is to offer figures with or without sashimono (if cast-on is a possibility).
Unsolicited advice, worth every penny you paid for it.
On the banners, I don't think we'd be looking to cast them onto the figures. With the banners needing to be at a 90 degree angle out of the back of the figure, it would cause casting problems with some of the poses.
In that case, can the banner poles have the 90 degree turn needed built is, as the old ones could be a right pain! ;)
I would also love to see some russo japanese war love.
Its a period I'd love to do with big battle rules.
Others have said, with BBB out there, you could get more interest now. Plus you could easily mod black powder for it, and I'd be happy to supply mods to the forum, as I have similar already for Russian civil war and ww1 Africa.
I get the costs are high to get them to market, so I'd say to Leon, why not run another crowd funding forum post, like with the napoleonics, to gauge interest? You don't have to go ahead if people don't meet the break even threshold.
You're talking, maybe, three Japanese infantry, three command, and two lots of Russians, more formal, and ragged, to get started. People can proxy some Russian stuff.
So if you're considering redoing them, you could count me in for like 1000 figures for each side!
Quote from: jaztez on 10 January 2019, 10:28:24 AM
I would also love to see some russo japanese war love.
You do know that sounds like niche adult viewing?
I think Russo Japanese Japanese will also need an mg [possible simple conversion from WW2] and the field gun may need a check for scale [the gun is particularly important as the barrell/axel vertical alignment is unusual wrt other guns available for WW1 and 19C (but would be good for some other 19C forces]
I agree.
If it was on the radar to consider, I guess a RJW range would (roughly) need:
Russians in 1881 uniform
Russiians in Gymnastiorka (could the WW1 Russians do?)
Russians in big furry hats/greatcoats (I believe there are some Afghans that can be used with a jacket on)
Japanese early war uniform
Late war uniform
Artillery for both sides
Hotchkiss MG's for japanese
Maxims on carriages for Russians
High command pack for each side
Quote from: kabrank on 11 January 2019, 09:01:30 AM
I think Russo Japanese Japanese will also need an mg [possible simple conversion from WW2] and the field gun may need a check for scale [the gun is particularly important as the barrell/axel vertical alignment is unusual wrt other guns available for WW1 and 19C (but would be good for some other 19C forces]
Also for the RJW
Observation Balloon
Searchlight & crew
Chinese Honghuzi
Lol very ambitious.
I'll stick with hoping for new infantry.
Quote from: Shedman on 11 January 2019, 09:38:04 PM
Also for the RJW
Observation Balloon
Searchlight & crew
Chinese Honghuzi
Talk about hijacking a thread!
Quote from: FierceKitty on 12 January 2019, 01:01:29 AM
Talk about hijacking a thread!
And it was nothing to do with me !
Should I remove one of the rails then ?
However, the RJW is a fascinating war to game, with a fair few rules now enabling it to be played, such as BBB, From Shako to Coalscuttle, Neil Thomas' rules, Black Powder (at a stretch), Square Bashing and so on.
Hmmm sort of yeah.
But the buildings discussion fits in with Pendraken ranges, and Leon did mention in this thread about RJW.
So the defence rests.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 12 January 2019, 01:01:29 AM
Talk about hijacking a thread!
Did one Russian soldier set foot in Japan? That was my point, as the acupuncturist said.
The buildings are suitable for Korea and manchuria.
Are you a mod?
Quote from: FierceKitty on 12 January 2019, 11:51:08 PM
Did one Russian soldier set foot in Japan? That was my point, as the acupuncturist said.
Quote from: jaztez on 13 January 2019, 07:39:37 AM
...
Are you a mod?
...
FierceKitty is not a Moderator, he is a 'character', those of us who have been here a while are more used to some of his ways, and know enough not to want to know any more about some of this other ways ;)
Moderators, such as Leon (aka The Dark Lord or the Nice Mr Leon...) have a blue Moderator badge against their posts
Quote from: jaztez on 13 January 2019, 07:39:37 AM
The buildings are suitable for Korea and manchuria.
Korea? Dammit. That's another reason to buy.
Quote from: jaztez on 13 January 2019, 07:39:37 AM
Are you a mod?
FK may be a mod. He has the Parka and the Vespa. :-\
Can't see Kitty liking 'mod music', though, Nobby :-\
Cheers - Anne Idiot.
Well we all have a bit of a secret music passion, don't we?
I have revealed your ABBA-mania; it's a little known fact that Mad Lemmey loves nothing more than a Motet by Byrd, and perhaps Kitty rocks to the Who.
No, Nobby...I just can't see Kitty 'getting off' on "We don't get fooled again." (Long version)
(Mind you...that was well after the mod era.) ;)
Cheers - Phil
FK's guilty musical secret is liking French chansons populaires a bit more than he should. But solo harpsichord still rules unchallenged.
There's no art like Mozart. Get a Handel on that!
I like the observation about the big three: Bach's music lets you know how it feels to be the universe; Mozart's music lets you know how it feels to be human; Beethoven's music lets you know how it feels to be Beethoven.
And Verdi's music lets you know how it feels to be bored.
And Vivaldi's lets you know how it feels to have two sister's at your beck and call (not his own, I hasten to add) :d :d :d
Hi Leon
Any idea on the terrain item pricing as balancing various projects and trying to see which most viable this year
Quote from: kabrank on 17 January 2019, 08:14:31 AM
Any idea on the terrain item pricing as balancing various projects and trying to see which most viable this year
We'll be trying to stick to the Castle Arts pricing as best we can but I won't know for certain until we get the production costs back from John. I'd imagine the smaller village houses and similar will be £4-£5, same as our Russian and ACW houses. The large temples are a bit of an unknown until I talk to John though.
Sculpts to cover the later Sengoku Jidai and I'm definitely in. I have a medium sized 15mm PP collection but not large enough to not abandon them in favour of 10s
Quote from: Redstef on 19 January 2019, 09:41:29 AM
Sculpts to cover the later Sengoku Jidai and I'm definitely in. I have a medium sized 15mm PP collection but not large enough to not abandon them in favour of 10s
Have you got some pics of those and we can look at adding them to the sculpt list?
Quote from: Leon on 19 January 2019, 07:43:14 PM
Have you got some pics of those and we can look at adding them to the sculpt list?
Hi Leon
This page will probably help - https://balagan.info/15mm-wargaming-figures-to-use-for-samurai-armies-of-the-sengoku-period-1467-1603 (https://balagan.info/15mm-wargaming-figures-to-use-for-samurai-armies-of-the-sengoku-period-1467-1603)
It looks like Old Glory and Peter Pig are the most relevant ranges in 15mm.
Basically you're looking at sashimono on anything that moves and helmets for ashigaru. Less cavalry and bows.
Cheers
GrumpyOldMan
The Daimyo were more powerful towards the end of the period so tended to have a larger and better equipped standing force instead of lighter armoured peasants from the fields, although they were still utilised. Ashigaru with fuller armour would be needed.
Samurai armour had changed to a more practical style than the early type large shoulder guards. Mainly Yari armed, open handed would be my choice ( could dispense altogether with primary armed with Katanna ), with a few Naginata, No-Dachi or firearms.
Ashigaru with Teppo, Yumi and Yari.
Sashimono could be separate casts which will give you the opportunity to offer some of the more unusual styles.
A small amount of Cav, Generals, Maku screen and banner bearers ( again open handed for potential different styles of banners) should be a fairly comprehensive range.
I'll try and take some pics of my 15mm this week
And bear in mind that the spears were often pikes, despite characteristic WRG "in the event of a discrepancy, reality, history, archaeology, and artistic records are at fault" attitudes.
Open handed is a deal breaker for me. Life's too short to glue on and re-glue weapons on scores of figures.
There is no way I'd be gluing on weapons on 10mm figures - it's bad enough in 15mm and something we are changing in the 15mm Lurkio range of ancients, switching them to single-piece castings.
Mark
just me then ;D
here's a useful site for heraldry
http://www.samurai-archives.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1638&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
I'm a crazy person who wants to play Test of Honor a skirmish game with 10MM.
if your making lists of units to produce please check out the range of options in Test of honor
https://us-store.warlordgames.com/collections/test-of-honour/
They are working on a 2.0 Version of the game that will be sold without miniatures packed in.
And you look like an advert.
Sod Off !!
almost all of those products are out of stock because warlord is no longer publishing the game. so pretty terrible advert.
Yeah.....Right. :-*
There is a protocol on this forum. Newbies usually introduce themselves first, as opposed to cold posting a X ref to a commercial site. :-
Do you game 10mm Samurai ? Do you have a name? Location? Serial number? ;)
I'm in the states. I have been working on 10mm Star Wars as they match well with the 1-144 Bandai vehicles. Pendraken was good enough to help me find some roughly equivalent models in their range.
I'm a bit interested in the up coming 4ground nepolionics colaboration with pendraken. Terrain at this scale is very compelling
Mostly I'm interested in samurai and the test of honor game system. I like the idea of building small high quality senic boards to play it on. Also while it's a skirmish game they do large bases with three men Per stand.
ToH has a few really compelling unit choices like ronin, monks, bandits, ninja, female samurai that I feel really flesh out the period.
Thanks for the link, we'll have a look at that and we'll be putting up a sculpting list for the range once we get closer to starting it in April.
8)
Hi Paper
Welcome to the forum, I have test if honor myself but haven't got past the ooh shiny phase and actually done anything with it. Do you know if warlord are going to re release the figs in the future?
I'll also be in for Pendraken samurai by the bucket :)
Matt
Warlord already markets and packages the plastic ToH minis for one of their other rules systems (I think it's pike and shott). So I assume they may re box their metals in time.
Hey maybe pike and shot would be another good rule system for 10mm samurai.
One thing a 10mm ToH may be difficult for is playing interiors of buildings.
Are the castle arts terrain hollow? If not I'm sure I could laser cut little floor plans.
Quote from: Paper on 06 February 2019, 07:42:10 PM
Warlord already markets and packages the plastic ToH minis for one of their other rules systems (I think it's pike and shott). So I assume they may re box their metals in time.
Hey maybe pike and shot would be another good rule system for 10mm samurai.
One thing a 10mm ToH may be difficult for is playing interiors of buildings.
Are the castle arts terrain hollow? If not I'm sure I could laser cut little floor plans.
Not sure if you're interested in card models but there are quite a few and I'm sure that some have interior details,
https://web.archive.org/web/20140414000432/http://www.papermodels.at/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20140414000432/http://www.papermodels.at/)
Try the Asian Castle and Gate, there are instruction files as well.
(http://theminiaturespage.com/news/pics/2009/feb/604490a.jpg)
http://hamapaper2.zouri.jp/thumblink2/thumb55.html (http://hamapaper2.zouri.jp/thumblink2/thumb55.html)
https://papermau.blogspot.com/search?q=japanese (https://papermau.blogspot.com/search?q=japanese)
Cheers
GrumpyOldMan
Quote from: Paper on 06 February 2019, 03:26:04 PM
I'm in the states. I have been working on 10mm Star Wars as they match well with the 1-144 Bandai vehicles. Pendraken was good enough to help me find some roughly equivalent models in their range.
I'm a bit interested in the up coming 4ground nepolionics colaboration with pendraken. Terrain at this scale is very compelling
Mostly I'm interested in samurai and the test of honor game system. I like the idea of building small high quality senic boards to play it on. Also while it's a skirmish game they do large bases with three men Per stand.
ToH has a few really compelling unit choices like ronin, monks, bandits, ninja, female samurai that I feel really flesh out the period.
Female samurai units don't just flesh out the period, they give it lightsabres and rings of power too. (I was going to stick with the carnal metaphors, but the resulting imagery became too nauseating)
Female Samurai ?
Honestly ?....You just know I might fall for that.
Nah....Alexander, you're pulling my leg, (Gerroff !!!!) because you know how hopeless I am as regards 'history'.
Cheers - Phil
My point is rather that there were a VERY few Japanese woman warriors (and probably some we shall never hear of), but units of them are only fantasy. A pity, since I'd like them to have existed, as much as anyone.
There are plenty of exciting cases of female troops in history, mind you.
Well....
Being an historical 'twerp'.....I do like your thinking. Alexander. ;)
I like that !! :)
Cheers - Phil
From my reading I gather that the wives of samurai were sometimes given weapons training so they could defend the family holdings in their husbands absence but bands or units of female ronin (would any self respecting daimyo deliberately take on a female samurai?) weren't thing as far as I know.
Not sure I fancy 10mm gang fights but larger skirmish certainly appeals.
I take it everyone knows the story of Nadezhda Durova? That one's a right jaw-dropper, and it's actually true.
Not that she was Japanese.
Yekaterina Budanova,
Lydia Litvyak,
Roza Shanina,
Rufina Gasheva,
Marina Raskova
Natalya Meklin,
Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya
......
The roll-call of Russian women who fought (and often died) for The Motherland in WW2 gives lie to the assertion, made by several "Colonel Blimp" types from my childhood, that women could never make it in the military. So, it's not that I don't think women could have been samurai, just that the spirit of the times ensured there weren't units of them.
Are the castle arts terrain hollow? If not I'm sure I could laser cut little floor plans.
[/quote]
I have the big castle and it is indeed hollow. Don't know about the others.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 February 2019, 02:14:09 PM
I take it everyone knows the story of Nadezhda Durova?
Errrr....Nope..But then, I'm a pathetic twit. :P
Cheers - Phil
But for Lt Durova to have been wounded at Borodino, with her Tsar's permission to be there...a bit special.
Indeed! Durova (or should that be Alexandrov?) is the first known link in a very long chain of Russian fighting women!
Unless we count Olga of the Rus.
She looks a bit butch to me.
Someone mentions women and the entire thread derails. =)
Sounds like the new set of Test of honor rules and components pack will arrive late summer so I'm looking forward to that! A summer of samurai!
I plan on basing the skirmish 10mm figures on small washers and using sheet magnets for my storage and under play serface. Or maybe basing on magnets and using sheet metal for my storage and play serface.
The latter sounds better the more I think on it.
I wonder if I could store armies inside of mint tins?
Someone mentions anything and a thread derails and ends up in the river too. You'll learn to live with it after a few months here.
It's like a foreign holiday - take the good things there are, and you'll have fun. Try to be in control and you'll go crazy.