1:2 Samurai Armour Build.
Build 1:2 scale Samurai Armour
“And Now For Something Completely different!”
An apt quote from Monty Python for this is an unusual type of model kit. For the next 14 months I will be building a half size replica of Date Masamune’s Samurai armour. First of all a picture of the finished armour and then I will expand a little more on what is involved and why I think that modellers should look outside plastic in a box and be adventurous.
Who was Date Masamune?
Born at Yonezawa, September 5, 1567, died June 27, 1636. Masamune was the head on the Date clan from 1600 during the Sengoku period in Japan. This is also known as the Warring States period or to we in the west, Civil War. Masamune is known for a few things that made him stand out from other daimyo of the time. In particular, his famous crescent-moon-bearing helmet won him a fearsome reputation. As a child, smallpox robbed him of sight in his right eye, though it is unclear exactly how he lost the organ entirely, some sources say that he took out the eye himself, whole others say that a favoured retainer took it out for him. Because of this he gained the nickname "One-Eyed Dragon" due to his aggressiveness and unstable demeanour but it was always used with respect.
Masamune wasn’t just a warlord, but also a patron of the arts and religion. After defeating hostile clans he eventually ruled one of the largest fiefdoms of the later Tokugawa Shogunate. Masamune's greatest achievement was funding and backing one of Japan's few journeys of far-flung diplomacy and exploration in this period. He ordered the building of the exploration ship Date Maru or San Juan Bautista, using foreign (European) ship-building techniques. He sent one of his retainers, Hasekura Tsunenaga, The Christian preacher Sotelo, and an embassy numbering 180 on a successful voyage to establish relations with the Pope in Rome. This expedition visited such places as the Philippines, Mexico, Spain and Rome, making it the first Japanese voyage to sail around the world. Previously, Japanese lords had never funded this sort of venture, so it was probably the first successful voyage. At least five members of the expedition stayed in Coria (Seville) of Spain to avoid the persecution of Christians in Japan.
On to the model.
This model is similar to plastic kits. Really it as a replica as I will be dealing with metal plates, leather backing, tapes, cords, material, chain mail and other items. This is a partwork. For those outside Europe let me explain a little more. A partwork is a model kit that comes with weekly or monthly deliveries under a subscription basis. These partworks are very expensive and this partwork is costing me £36 per month for 14 months – do your own math!
Right now you are probably spitting out your breakfast/lunch/dinner at working out the cost, but let me calm you down. The reason for this expense? We are using exact materials made to scale. You will NOT find this in any model shop in a box to buy complete and so to a degree partworks are limited editions. In the price I get these parts delivered by a not very happy postman (the packages are heavy and very well protected) and phone/email customer support should I have a problem. The excellent instructions are downloaded in PDF format from the Deagostini Website and they have their own forums for customers where members can post for help or to share information and pictures of their build etc. There are other forums as well that deal with partworks and I myself post on a regular basis as I have about 6 partworks on the go at this time.
So during this build (or assembly) I will be learning new skills, such as Samurai Knot Tying, Sewing, mountain and valley folds, chain mail skills and plate armour skills. I will also have to build a stand for this too, so woodwork skills are in the mix as well. I think that there are other skills too, but as I have no Idea on what will come and when or what other skills I will develop It keeps you interested and you see on a monthly basis the armour getting bigger and more complex.
Why should modellers think outside the box? Easy! Something different! Develop new skills and give guests and visitors something different to look at than aircraft/tanks/ships/cars… Already, guests at my house who have seen the work I have done on this have said that they are looking forwards to seeing this in a case and interest has gone up in my work!
Imagine that you build this and put it in a case with LED strip lighting that makes the black metal armour gleam. What is the first thing that your guests and visitors look at? When faced with a cabinet of aircraft/ships/tanks….. Yes! Something different!
There is nothing wrong in being adventurous as a modeller. It is what gives us new skills and may spark an interest in something away from the norm. This is what has attracted me to this partwork as it is something different from the plastic ships, tanks and aircraft I normally charge headlong into and as a consequence quite often mess things up. Patience is a strongpoint with me, but excitement in getting the latest kit etc is usually my downfall.
This armour build is good for me as it will teach me patience in a build, new skills which I can possibly modify to use elsewhere and also gives me a chance to learn how this armour was actually assembled by replicating and using the techniques used by the armour builders themselves. You see this armour used in movies, particularly in “The Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise’s red and black armour and it looks fantastic. Now I have a chance to build/assemble my own half scale set of a famous Japanese Daimyo and warrior.
It will not fit any person, unless you are a very small hobbit and is for display only. Full size wearable replicas cost thousands to buy. Me? I’m happy with this set and learning all about the armour.
For those interested in taking up this, you can sign up for this partwork here:
http://www.model-space.com/gb/military/our-military-models/samurai/
Now then! Let’s start shall we!