28mm Fireforge Ashigaru Shooters

 

the front of the box

 

       Hot off the presses and courtesy of my local Brick & Mortar, Michigan Toy Soldier, we find one of the latest releases from the fine folks at Fireforge Games, Ashigaru Shooters from their Samurai Wars range. Crisply and cleanly cast with no trace of flash and hardly a mold-line these minis are made of a firm medium gray plastic that exhibits excellent detail and will glue up well using normal polystyrene cement (model airplane glue). The poses are active but restrained, no silly leaping or twirling figures, they will rank-up very well. Body proportions are realistic and the figures have delicately detailed hands and faces. Weapons and armor are correct for the mid-late period and these models can easily be mixed with the Samurai Shooters figures from Fireforge to represent poorer samurai or ashigaru that serve a particularly generous lord.

 

 

the back of the box, no hints as to painting  but an idea as to assembly

 

the box with contents, two sprues of bases, four each of bodies and weapons

 

the bodies sprue, side A

note the nine sets of legs

 

bodies sprue side B

there are only six torsos,

 if you can fabricate or find some spares you can expand the figure-count to thirty-six

 

 

detail is excellent, the minis capture the baggy nature of the costume without excessive folds

these should be easy to paint using any of the new "speed paints" om the market

 

I do like the way that the faces are separate from the helmet

 so that they are not distorted in the casting process

 

the kneeling and crouching legs will allow for the minis to

 accurately portray the rank-firing system of the period

 

 

crouching or kneeling poses are often difficult to sculpt in a convincing manner, 

to my eye these bring it off admirably

 

weapons sprue side A

 

weapons sprue side B

 

 I do like that they cast the arrow into the hand drawing the string back, 

I hate trying to glue loose arrows into a model's hand, it just never looks convincing

 

loads of detail, and enough of each weapon to give the whole crew a bow or a musket,

 or any mix thereof that you wish

       This is a top-notch product! The ashigaru were the backbone of samurai armies and the introduction of firearms was a huge advance in their importance on the battlefield. This set allows you to build your entire group as either bow-armed or as musketeers. At roughly $1.60US each they are cheaper than metal, and better detailed than most other ranges. The flexibility of poses and interchangeability with the others sets in the range make this a modeler's delight. I look forward to mounted samurai from Fireforge soon, their medieval horse are excellent.

         Very Highly Recommended!!