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TAG Gempei Wars Miniatures Review - part 3

 

Monks with Naginata and bows

Not all the miniatures in the range represent Samurai. There is also room for monks with Naginata (GEM-005) or bow (GEM-011). At first I thought these models were a bit bulky compared to the more slender follower figures, almost like the Samurai figures. But then I noticed they (or some of them at least) are actually wearing armour underneath their robes.

Followers with Naginata

The last set of figures are the Followers (GEM-006 & GEM-012), all with naginata, all wearing do-maru*. This is a more slender group of figures, as befits the more formfitting type of armour reserved to the lower class footsoldiers. In some ways I think these are some of the best figures of the range, because of their dynamic posing and the nice selection of facial expressions and hairstyles.

* Do-Maru or Body Wrap armour. It first appeared in the 11th century as a lower class armour for foot soldiers and became commonly used during the Gempei wars. It is a more formfitting type of armour than the heavy O-Yoroi, with no sleeves. It is made from small scales of leather or metal laced into plates with cord and lacquered. The weight rests mostly on the shoulders and it opens under the right arm as opposed to the even cheaper Haramaki which closes in the back.

Special Offer figures

The final two figures are TAG's Special Offer limited editions figures. The Gempei ranges is divided in collections of six packs each. All packs are available separately, but if you get the whole collection, you receive a free limited edition figure. The first offer figure is a Samurai in Yoroi with Katana and a severed head, excellent character figure. The second offer figure is another monk with Naginata.

This concludes the review for now. Overall, I was pretty impressed with this range. The care and attention to detail is excellent and the variety of poses makes each figure an individual. This will make it necessary to plan how they rank up before basing if you want to use them for massive battles, but the result will be most impressive. More of this I say!

Random image of painted figures from TAG site
Random image of painted figures from TAG site

 

Click here to return to the main page of the TAG Gempei Wars miniatures review.

Click here to go to the Samurai on foot review.

Click here to go to the Mounted Samurai review.

 

 

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