Perry Choson Korean Cav - WIP

These are from the two-handed swordsmen set - after a wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain and still needing a shot of Testors Dullcote. Prior to moving on, I wanted to show the effectiveness of the staining process; particularly the black-lining and shading.

This set is unusual in that the riders and mounts are cast as single units. I normally paint the riders and horses separately, so this was a sort of experiment. I sprayed them with a white undercoat and then block-painted them before the Minwax stain. They're missing their bows and quivers - they were missing from the order, but are being sent.

Admittedly, they look pretty rough prior to the staining. After Dullcoting them, some highlighting can be added. They didn't come out too bad, so now I plan to paint the other cavalry as single models - although the spearmen and bowmen are separately cast. I wonder why the Perrys made this set as one-piece figures.

On the gaming front, I was able to get in a trial game of SAGA this past weekend thanks to several of my gaming buddies who supplied the figures and coached the rules. I am intrigued by the battle board concept and the assignment of die towards it. The fast-play and relatively small number of figures needed is something that makes me want to get back into gaming.

Perry Choson Korean Mounted Commanders

Here are the remaining two commanders from the three-figure set. Again, I'm not sure who is supposed to be who, but the Perrys list the set as containing Kwon Yul, Cho Hon and Yi Pok-nam. Earlier I painted one up as Kwon Yul to be the Army General. These two will be part of the heavy cavalry unit - as a noble and the unit leader.

The armor is similar to what the Chinese wore - heavy coats with either scale or brigandine reinforcements. The helmets are also similar to Chinese ones - iron bowls with hanging neck protection. Much more standardized than what the samurai wore during the same period - particularly the elaborate helmet crests that some samurai added for personal recognition.

The Korean gear looks like it would be more functional for cavalry; the heavy, long coat-like armor would seem to limit movement for infantry.

The poses allow for good ranking up in formation.

Still waiting on an order of Perry Choson cavarly - I ordered a set each of the archers, pole-armed and two-handed swordmen. It would be nice if the Perrys made a set of unarmored archers too - in the white and black costumes with hats.

Perry Choson Korean Mounted Commanders - WIP

Need to add their bows/quivers to them, as well as their mounts, but wanted to post some WIP photos. These two are from the same set as the earlier Kwon Yul figure.

The set of commanders are supposed to represent Kwon Yul, Cho Hon and Yi Pok-Nam - three of the more celebrated and successful Korean commanders during the Imjin War. Other than the way they are listed and arranged in the Perry website photo - there really isn't anything indicating who is who. All of their armor is very similar, as well as the facial features.

The guy above has a golden fan which could be the one that belonged to Kurushima Michiyuki and lost , along with his head, at the Battle of Dangpo.

Perry Choson Korean Hwacha (MLRS)

The two rocket artillery pieces for Changun's army based. The figures themselves are on metal washers and can be removed from magnetic topped stands as casualties if needed.

Here are the stats for Korean rocket artillery from the Imjin War WAB list posted on the WAB Forum: "A rocket launcher has a range of 30”. When successful in To Hit, the RL inflicts 2D6 S4 Hits on the target unit at short range and S3 at long range. A RL requires at least 2 crewmen to move or fire every turn, but may not Move and Fire in the same turn. When down to 1 crewman, it may only fire every second turn."

 

The longer and shorter arrows are only aesthetically different for the rules. I will have to do some research to see how they differed in actual battle.

Historically hwacha were used mainly for defense, like at the Siege of Haengju, but I don't see why they can't be used offensively in games.

Here is a period drawing showing a pole used to elevate the firing platform.

However, some sources say they were fired at a 45 degree angle for better range. The Perry kits comes with such a pole, but I chose not to use them.

I'm waiting for some Perry cavalry to add to this army. They are all in armor and Perry doesn't make any unarmored cavalry. I'd like to have a unit of mounted archers that are unarmored. I think Scheltrum makes some, but I don't think they'd mix well with the Perry figures.

Perry Choson Korean Officers

These will be commanders for the two hwacha units. The governor of Pusan, Chong Pal, was known to have worn a set of black armor when the Japanese attacked the port. He is said to have fought bravely before being killed by arquebuse fire

 

Choson Korean armor seems to have been worn mainly by commanders, and appears to be more cumbersome than what the Japanese wore.

Perry Choson Korean Hwacha and Singijeon - WIP

Here is the artillery for Changun's army. Still need to add a commander to each unit, as well as basing the artillery pieces. They are basically the same type of multiple-launch arrow machines called hwacha. The arrows are called singijeon and were an early form of rockets in that they were ignited when launched.

The musician is a spare from a command set, but he could be giving the signal to fire.

The figures and the artillery pieces were block painted and given a wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain prior to a finish of Dullcote.

The carriage is the same for both types, only the top portion and arrows are different.

Here is a link to a Myth Busters episode on the hwacha. Also, more on fused rocketry from an old History Channel segment.

Perry Choson Korean Archers

Here is the bow unit for Changun's army. They can also be in combined formation with the spearmen - filling the rear rank. For now they'll be in their own unit as Open Order Light Infantry with massed missile fire.

Here they are in Skirmish order.

I plan to work on two artillery pieces next.

Perry Choson Korean Infantry - Completed

Here are the three spear units for Changun's Choson army - two regular units with halberds and a militia unit with thrusting spears. They will be joined by archers - who can combine with the spear units as an option.

This unit has the flag of the center commander.

The next two actually have ambush flags, but they look nice so I gave them to them as left and right flank units. All the flags were downloaded from the Perry site.

Here is a shot of the rear of the units.

They are all mounted on fender washers as it eases ranking them up with their lunging poses.

Perry Choson Korean Infantry - WIP +1

Finished the two commanders to lead the regular infantry units.

They are both same pose, but hopefully the different coloring will make them look a little different.

The details and sculpting by the Perrys are always incredibly impressive.

How to Speed Paint 28mm Perry Choson Koreans

Here are some WIP photos of what will be three units of spearmen for a Korean Imjin War army. They are all Perry figures and include two units of regular infantry and one of militia/irregulars. Besides still needing their bases flocked, unit banners need to be added as well as painting the two regular unit commanders.

They were sprayed with a white undercoat and given a block paint job with basic colors. Over this a Minwax Tudor Satin stain was applied, followed by Testors Dullcoat and some highlighting. I really like the simplicity of the Korean costume of the period.

I was fortunate to have obtained these figures from a TMP sale several weeks ago. As I've not felt the desire to paint for sometime, this is a good project to start back up - ever so slowly. The army will be led by my Changun figure, and the Koreans were the underdogs in the Imjin War.

P.S. I recently added word verification for comments as I noticed I started getting a ton of spam comments - sorry for any inconvenience.

Changun and a Mycenaean

I added another Black Cat Bases dog model representing Changun to an earlier completed Crocodile Games Mycenaean. I added a Green Stuff curled tail for the Changun figure. I think it's actually listed as a jackal on the website, but the form is pretty close to Changun. The model is a bit oversized as Changun was medium sized Jindo, but I think he fits well with the Crocodile Games figure. Also, as I reminisce, Changun had a big heart and full of life - so it is indeed a fitting representation of him.

At the moment I have very little to no desire to paint or game. The thought of building a Korean Imjim War army, in memory of Changun, has crossed my mind, but will wait until I feel sure I can complete the project. I still think of Changun everyday and miss him very much. Warmest regards to all, Dean

Changun & Changun - In Memoriam

Here is a piece I painted in memory of my dog, Changun. The mounted figure is from the Perry Korean commanders set. He represents the Korean General Kwon Yul who is remembered as one of the more successful Korean commanders during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the late 16th Century.The figure of the dog is from Black Cat Bases. Changun means General in Korean, and my dog was of the Korean breed Jindo.

My wife's family name is Kwon, and she said her dad proudly proclaims that their family is decended from this very same Kwon Yul. Their family does indeed hail from the same region as Kwon Yul - Andong, South Korea.

The Black Cat Bases sculpt was modified a bit to better resemble my Changun. Green Stuff was used to lengthen his muzzle and also for his perpetually curled tail. I also painted his eyes in the funny almond shape he had in life. Maybe a bit longer in life, but the forelegs remind me of Chang's stance - somewhat stocky looking.

Anyway, I will cherish this piece and keep it in a place that will always remind me of my little Changs. I also hope to get back into painting and gaming again, but I still feel a bit out of it at the moment. Kindest regards to all. Dean