1. Copying kits is a crime that hurts original artists & producers. Help support your favorite artists by buying their original works. PlanetFigure will not tolerate any activities related to recasting, and will report recasters to authorities. Thank you for your support!

WIP Critique An Oldie But a Goodie

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by MattMcK., May 18, 2018.

  1. MattMcK. PlanetFigure Supporter

    Hello all- I haven't posted in ages; been away from miniatures for awhile, though I visit PF almost every day to see what's happening in the hobby. With my 50th birthday come and gone, I dragged out this fellow from my grey army. I bought him years ago on ebay but hid it away because I was sure I couldn't do it justice. I got going because I figured my eyes wouldn't get any sharper :) I'm sure lots of us remember this seeing this in books and magazines in the 80s and feeling like it was the pinnacle of the art at that time.

    I've done him in oils over acrylics and have just set the sub assemblies together. I'm not entirely happy with the coverage on the lacing but kind of dread going over all of it again. Any feedback or advice would be appreciated.[IMG] sam 1.jpg sam2.jpg sam3.jpg sam4.jpg
    blaster, Chrisr, oldtrousers and 11 others like this.
  2. kagemusha A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I did this one 3 times back in the day....every one was a total bitch to get to fit....so well done for getting this far (y)

    Only advice regards the lacing...use acrylics...much better covering power for small areas ;)

    Regards

    Ron
    Oda and DaddyO like this.
  3. Viking Bob PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Very clean and tidy paintwork, thanks for sharing.
    Oda likes this.
  4. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    There was the time when everything landschnecht was hot, everything samurai..these still look good..
  5. DaddyO A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Ah that brings back memories Matt
    Love it so far and an enormous amount of work. Even though it's been done many times I always enjoy seeing them painted up

    Blimey Ron a glutton for punishment or did you have a thing about laces? ;)

    Thanks chaps
    Paul
  6. harto Active Member

    Country:
    HongKong
    lovely old Hinchliffe figure, I have one in my stash plus the mounted version which I think this was derived from. You have done a lovely job of putting this together, your version could easily grace the cover of Military Modelling September 1973!
  7. polyphemus Well-Known Member

    Very well done. I also painted this figure two or three times back in the 70's. Anyone looking for one of these figures might wish to look for the one re-engineered and released under the Caldercraft trademark. This later version was intended to be a little easier to construct. Apparently Hinchliffe had a fair few of the original kit returned by over ambitious customers and their retailers.

    The mounted one was sculpted by Paul Knight and was a completely new sculpt although very similar to the original Ray Lamb version. I never really saw the reason for the similarity and I thought at the time that an opportunity had been missed to bring out something totally different.

    Geoff
  8. MattMcK. PlanetFigure Supporter

    I've never seen a pic of the mounted version. I'd love to see it!
  9. bagelman1952 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    England
    I painted this one as a commission when it first came out. It was a job and a half to do . Not sure I would want to attempt it again. You a are doing an excellent job.
  10. yellowcat A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    I painted mine many moons ago. For the lacing, I used a special mixed of Humbrol enamel. The rest is painted in oil and metallic enamel.

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    Here are some pictures of my mounted Taisho:

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]
    blaster, grasshopper, Tom W. and 2 others like this.
  11. MattMcK. PlanetFigure Supporter

  12. Tecumsea PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    England
    Funnily enough I've just bought a part painted one from Bonapartes on Ebay-I'll strip it down and have ago, very opportune that you guys have come up with so many inspirational pics to guide me.

    I also have the mounted figure in the stash-weighs an absolute ton-It also had an optional Dragon base that I have also, not sure if this was part of the kit, long time since I opened the box.

    Keith
  13. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Excellent work.

    Marc
  14. Tom W. Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Germany
    The grandfather of all the samurais that were produced since then and a benchmark even today.I bought mine from a PF-Gentleman from Australia.All in original condition,only the price rises a little bit.:ROFLMAO:
  15. harto Active Member

    Country:
    HongKong
    IMG_1165.jpg IMG_1166.jpg here are the pics from the original instruction booklet for the Taisho.
    blaster likes this.
  16. Matt McGrath Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Excellent work. I have one on my Grey Army. Might have to move him closer to the right of the line.
  17. yellowcat A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Regarding the mounted Taisho. Saw these some years ago on ebay. Figure c0mes in a black box and a plain white cardboard box. I think they are all pirated/recast. Also if the Taisho comes in a plain white box without the round metal base and photo copy of the instruction sheet. It is a recast. So beware.

    mtd taisho recast.jpg

    mtd taisho.jpg

    mtd taisho4.jpg
    blaster likes this.
  18. harto Active Member

    Country:
    HongKong
    Not sure if the recasters bothered to copy but several of the pieces on both the original foot figure and the mounted figure include the Hinchliffe logo engraved on them and a year (inside the Sode for example). All the foot figure parts on my example are marked 1978 and the mounted figure is 1981. Although the figures look very similar, the parts breakdown is quite different. It looks like they tried to simplify assembly with the mounted figure as the Do, Right arm and left arm with bow are all made up of multiple pieces on the foot figure whereas on the mounted figure they are single piece castings. This is still just about the only figure wearing O'Yoroi where the sculptor got all the lacing correct including the attachment of the large shoulder guards (Sode) many of which simply defy gravity on the newer sculpts. The only bit that raises a question with me is the attachment cord for the helmet as most references seem to show four fastening points on the helmet with the second pair of attachments points being positioned behind the ears which I think would make sense given the size and weight of the helmet.
  19. yellowcat A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Sorry to hijack MattMck's thread.

    Yes, there is recast of Taisho and does not come with the round metal base.
    There are two different versions of Taisho. An earlier casting by Hinchcliffe and later by Calder Craft.
    The main differences are some of the Hinchcliffe parts were cast in two pieces (helmet/kabuto and shikoro, left arm and the leg piece). Also be aware some of the right arm and helmet for the Calder Craft may cast as one or two pieces. The Hinchcliffe castings are packed in layers of white foam sheet while the Calder Craft parts are in blister pack with red or blue cardboard. There is also a trade mark logo, copyright and year engrave on one of the foot. They all come with colour assembly instruction. I personally prefer the Calder Craft one mainly of the leg section was casted as one solid piece.

    two.jpg H1.jpg IMG_0012d.jpg blue1.jpg IMG_0003.JPG IMG_0010.JPG IMG_0035c.JPG
    blaster, Mike S. and grasshopper like this.
  20. MattMcK. PlanetFigure Supporter

    Hi-jack away! It's great to learn all the details. If anyone has the mounted version available for sale, feel free to drop me a line!

Share This Page

planetFigure Links

Reviews & Open Box
Buy. Sell & trade
Articles
Link Directory
Events
Advertising

Popular Sections

Figure & Minis News
vBench - Works in Progress
Painting Talk
Sculpting Talk
Digital Sculpting Talk
The Lounge
Report Piracy

Who we are

planetFigure is a community built around miniature painters, sculptors and collectors, We are here to exchange support, Information & Resources.

© planetFigure 2003 - 2022.