Sunday, January 22, 2017

'East' from AnthonyO: Nakatomi Yakuza

When I began to plan for this challenge I had no real idea other than to rummage through my bits box and hope inspiration would hit me. Well it did in the form of some miniatures I had acquired through a mystery 50 metal miniature lucky dip box I had purchased from Northstar Games.  These guys are from a game called A Fist Full of Kung Fu and formed part of the Yakuza Gangsters set. I had no idea what I would do with them when I found them in the lucky dip and had placed them into the bits box for perhaps an eternal slumber.

Well this painting challenge to the rescue and when looking at them I was inspired to make a gang with a lot of inspiration from those terribly bad yet amazingly good 1980's Police V Yakuza movies. The Yakuza was the arch enemy of every Detective for a good few years, you know the detectives who were top tier martial arts experts trying to atone for losing there partner in a gun fight and were just returning to work after being shot themselves type, or a Green Ranger Seal.

So I bring you the Nakatomi Yakuza Gang in this East v West battle, a ruthless group trying to muscle in on the drug and gambling trade of the New York China Town district. They are led by Tsukuda Yoshimatsu, the son of the clan leader who is trying to prove himself to his father and earn the respect of the clan. He is supported by his loyal followers and treats the local Police Department with disdain, if they can't be bought off they will suffer the consequences with meddling in his affairs!



The Nakatomi Gang, yes I loved the 80's.





Kubo Kado (The Sumo) - A rising star of the Sumo grounds in Japan he fled to the US after it was found out he threw a fight for money. Adopted into the Nakatomi Clan he acts as Tsukuda's personal bodyguard and his signature move is crushing people to death with his bare hands.




Sawa Yoichibei (Onmyōji) - Sawa is the Gang's sorceror, summoning Shikigami to manipulate their enemies or gather information. It is said Sawa is over 1000 years old and has been sent by Tsukuda's father to keep an eye on him.



Tsukamoto Ukon (Uzi) - Tsukamoto loves his Uzi submachinegun and is his weapon of choice when taking down the Gaijin. He moved to New York to study but found himself drawn to the gangster lifestyle and was recruited to the Nakatomi Gang by Tsukuda when he found him playing Double Dragon at the local arcade.



Toma Kane (The Doctor) - Toma is a medical student who acts as the Gangs medic, doubling as the torturer when the gang needs those skills. He has been known to cut his victims up just to practice putting them back together, it is rumored he is acing his medical studies.



Tsukuda Yoshimatsu (The Leader) -  Tsukuda has been given this assignment from his father in an attempt to secure a foothold in the US. Educated at the best schools and universities Tsukuda is a highly intelligent person and knows it, often mocking his victims before offering them single combat with his preferred weapon, the Katana.

Painting

These guys were such fun to paint, the scheme was simple yet effective (hopefully) and suited a bad guy Yakuza gang that were the stereotype in all those movies.  The background was all free hand painted by myself other than the three posters I have printed off and glued on. The dragon is a copy of a wall mural I found online and the graffit is just random ramblings.

24 comments:

  1. Very cool figures and paint job, i like the theme. I really love your backdrop too

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  2. Very cool! Some bad dudes there, Anthony, well done!

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  3. Nice gang of thugs and the background is very cool. cheers

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  4. Cool figures and a great backdrop :)

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  5. Awesome gang full of personnality! The 80s were the best!

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  6. Really cool! Nakatomi, isn't that from a well known action movie? Nakatomi plaza or tower or building? ;-)

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  7. Excellent painting, love the Dragon on the back of Kubo Kado's jacket!

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  8. Nice work on the figures and the back drop is fantastic! I especially like the 'Sumo'.

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  9. Love Kubo's jacket, great submission

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  10. When I see other peoples submissions I always wish I had done that! And I do wish I had done this as a submission.

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  11. Very nice and the backdrop looks great!

    Christopher

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  12. This entry is a contender! So glad these figures emerged from the bits box to delight us. All you need now is a not-Uma Thurman mini in yellow leather with a katana.

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  13. Full points for style, Anthony! Love the figures, painting and the backdrop, but my fav is the former Sumo. Kubo's satin jacket is fantastic with the graphics on the back! ;)

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  14. Lovely, lovely work. It definitely has that 80's Asian Chic happening. I like the pattern on the shirt of the 'fat bloke' and the assassins look like loyal killers. I expect to see Michael Douglas to come in riding a dirt bike, wielding a katana!

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  15. A fun set of miniatures. I really like the Sumo wrestler.

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  16. This is a very fun entry. I got a kick out of the whole concept. Excellent backdrop!

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  17. Thank you all for your comments, I had a blast painting this and just pushing myself from the comfort zone I have been used to.

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  18. Impressive interpretation of the theme! Really like your painting and your backdrop really helps to set the scene. It almost feels like Jackie Chan is just around the corner.

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  19. Brilliant work, and a great theme and style running through the whole collection of street samurai! The satin jacket looks wonderful, and the back-drop is lovely also. Top marks, Sir!

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  20. You clearly had a lot of fun painting this gang and scene. Great stuff!

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