"15mm samurai. Who makes the best figures." Topic

Hi!

Im planing to make DBA samurai army (1300AD – 1542AD). Who makes the finest figurest? Eny suggestion…. and yes picture whoud be nice ;)

Surprisingly, most of the Samurai out there are pretty good.

I like Eureka sculpts best link

But for sheer variety nothing beats Two Dragon and they are very decent figures too. 12 packs just of named Generals. Ninjas, Ronin, Peasants, Monks …. I stopped counting at 100 packs.
link

I've got 1000+ figures patiently waiting for when the club decides to kick off a Samurai project.

Two Dragons, nuff said. Expensive, yes (mainly the cavalry these days actually – the infantry price isn't much more than most firms), but spectacularly good, hell yes….

Peter Pig began producing a line several years ago that has some awesome variety and unique figures. They also seem to mix fairly well with the Two Dragons line.

Two Dragons is the best with Peter Pig a close second.

Agreed, 2Dragon (ex Dixon 15mm) are better in both sculpt and variety than any of the others, Eureka and Peter Pig are also good. The 3 ranges do mix well together.

I really like Two Dragons minis but Eureka is very good too.

Since i've not seen Peter Pig i can't comment on that line.

Captain Gideon

I like two dragons figures too! I'll have to look into peter pig. :-)

How about oldglory15s.com figures? Eny experiences?

I have all the OG15's Samurai and happily mix them with the Two Dragons. They have the added bonus of offering both reasonably priced cavalry & sashimonos! Although the Sashimono poles are more fragile than those offered by Two Dragons. :-)

Another vote for Two Dragons. It is the only FoG army (modified from an old DBM army) that I have which is professionally painted.

A DBA Monk army can be made that looks good from certain Old Glory 15 packs.

Have both Two Dragons and Peter Pig both very good but i like PP more.

Paqu73 – I have Two Dragon, Peter Pig and Old Glory. They work well in an army together, but I would not recommend mixing Old Glory on the same stands with the others, they tend to be a little taller. In my opinion, Two Dragons and Peter Pig can be mixed without problems as they are very similar in size and style.

Now for the related question:

Who makes the best PRE-1300 samurai in 15mm?

Sadly, some of the much-vaunted Two Dragons figures would seem to have pumpkin heads…

I do have some Two Dragons figures, but was surprised at the size of the rider's head in the second picture on this page:

link

The OG ones are great. They are the only range of samurai I have so I can't compare them to the others(other than photos I've seen) but they are awesome, especially for the price. My only complaint is on some of the spears; they are a little thin and can break with extended use. This is a problem with most OG15 ranges. They are unfortunately one fo the only 15mm armies I don't currently have posted pics of so I'm no help there.

I would have to disagree with you Skeptic regarding the so called pumpkin heads of Two Dragons Samurai.

For myself i think the heads are pretty good size to relation with the rest of the body,just my two cents.

Captain Gideon

I did not write that all had such heads.

However, if you look at the image of the mounted Ii lord that is just below the "Samurai Lords" section title here, you might notice that his head is almost as big as his torso…

link

I don't (yet) have the full Two Dragons range, so he could well be the exception (I hope).

Skeptic – They are "chunky" especially when placed side-by-side with OG. The Peter Pig minis are very similar.

Lion in the Stars – Take a look at the Essex line. Last time I looked, their entire range was based on the earlier periods.

Skeptic you're right the picture looks weird but i have this figure and his head is'nt that bad(if at all).

I have a very good selection of Two Dragons Samurai and i must say that if i had to choose one maker of 15mm Samurai,it would've to be Two Dragons.

One other thing with regards to Lion in the Stars question about who makes the best pre-1300 Samurai.

First off i don't know if these are Pre-1300 Samurai but i can tell you that they're pretty early Japanese.

The figures that i'm talking about are from Viking Forge if you go to their site and check in their 15mm Historical section you can see pictures of what they make/have so far.

Captain Gideon

Good call Cpt G. I had forgotten about Loren's (Viking Forge) Samurai. Nice clean and stocky models. I am not sure about the era.

In regards to early japanese, I had planned to do a range with War Eagle Designs but pre-Columbian native Americans drew more voted. I had also gotten wind that the early japanese was being done by another company in the near future.

Two Dragon Samurai have very nice detail and animation but they are frankly dwarfish in body proportions. It's a shame as there is so much nice about them but dwarfism is a dealbreaker for me. It's why I don't use Essex unless I'm pretty desperate.

Two Dragons Vikings are even more dwarf-like and so considering the dress and weaponry that's exactly what they look like!

The line I like the most are the Eureka, though I also like the Minifigs and Naismith (very small, but they were made when 15mm actually was 15mm). I actually think Naismith has the best body proportions of all these.

Minifigs. (But then, I DO have an interest in them!)

Tom Dye
GFI

130-1542 covers some significant changes in appearance.

Most people go for the later end of the period(lots more colour and flags). If this is what you are after then probably Two Dragons.

Peter Pig, no contest. Check them out here on my blog:

link

"Who makes the best PRE-1300 samurai in 15mm?"

For horsemen, I really like Minifigs as they are amongst the few manufacturers that capture the correct look of the bulky O-yoroi armour (especially the shoulder guards at the correct angle).

Essex have some nice figures in their range, with separate tachi swords (whoopee, no inaccurate katanas and wakizashis) and quivers, but others are a bit ropey – helmets and shoulder guards that don't really look right. More noticable if you're very familiar with how they should look from contemporary picture scrolls etc.

I also have a fair number of Naismith early foot retainers that look great but the rest of their range are a bit misshapen to my eye.

Having built up quite a force from the above makers over the years I then saw photos of Eureka early foot retainers (not impressed by their cav) on their site and realised I'm going to be out of pocket again…Was hoping to pick some up at Salute but I think they were a no show.

Why hasn't anybody made a 15mm O-mikoshi portable shrine yet???

To top it all I discovered Tumbling Dice's excellent 1/72 early sams (and Yuan Mongols/Chinese/Koreans) a couple of years ago and now my 15mm just look too small…

Beautiful painting, Tony.

Thanks, Durruti.

For some reason, I really like the earlier period actions (and the look of o-yoroi) rather than the huge battles like Sekigahara.

Thank you, Wulfgar. I am currently working on adding some Ashigaru arquebusiers to that army along with a stand for Uesugi Kenshin himself (made by Old Glory from their Daimyo pack). I will probably re-shoot them outside, however as I have learned a little too late that the pictures come out looking a lot better.

Eurekas are nice but pretty much pre-1400.

I would go w/ Old Glory for what you need.

Visit the Viking Forge website, review the photos for our Early Japanese/Samurai and decide for yourself.

vikingforge.datasquire.net