The Chinese Warring States period, particularly the Qin armies, are likely one of the most well documented armies of any, include the Romans! Why? It's the Terracotta warriors. They were built by a crazy emperor to accompany him to the afterlife and include droves of highly-detailed, life-sized warriors made from terracotta. Discovered in 1974, they've been a fascination for history buffs and wargamers alike! So, nartually when a local buddy suggested we do some Chinese Warring States armies to coincide with a tour of the terracotta warriors in 28mm, I was all over that!
The interesting thing about the Warring States Period in China is that it saw the beginning of a large number of small kingdoms with varying cultures begin to be collected into a single kingdom. China during this period was very much like Europe; there were many distinct but related cultures and kingdoms residing very closely. The difference between Europe and China of course ultimately being that China was almagamated into a single kingdom (and later a country), while Europe never was (until now with the EU?). In any case, here is my Qin army!
Chinese Warring States converted chariot general - Posted: July 26, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The final element of my Chinese Warring States Qin army! This is
the heavy chariot-riding general. The design is closely modeled after the first
chariot I built for this army, with larger wheels and some updated bits, and I like it
a lot! The general himself is on the far left side of the chariot, there's a horn
blower holding a banner, and a driver. I am happy with the way this one turned out!
Chinese Warring States converted chariot general - Posted: July 26, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
A front view of the general's chariot.
Chinese Warring States chariot general - Posted: July 26, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
Here's a close up on the general himself. I did some slight conversions
on a cavalry command figure to make him, including a beard. I have seen many images
of the Qin emperor in flowing robes, but I figured that going into battle he would
at least wear some armour; the rich types always wore armour on the battlefield, which
tends to be the opposite with miniatures... In any case, I am happy the way it turned out!
Chinese Warring States cavalry - Posted: July 26, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
This light horse element was a last minute decision. Originally I wasn't going to
bother doing it, but since I had some extra figures with crossbows I figured I would throw
it together! It should make the army more playable as well, and I like the way it turned out!
Chinese Warring States cavalry - Posted: July 11, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The first and last element of cavalry for the Qin army. I will certainly make use of
this element more often that not I think! The figures turned out quite well, and I am somewhat
sad that I don't really have any more to paint and use for this army... Perhaps I will do the
light horse option just to paint more :) Overall, I am happy with them!
Chinese Warring States skirmishers - Posted: July 11, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
Here's the first element of skirmishers for the Qin army. These are based on the
un-armoured warband figures later in the gallery. I drilled out the swords and put in some
javelin/short spear type weapons and carefully bent the hands a bit. They turned out well!
Chinese Warring States skirmishers - Posted: July 11, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The second and last element of skirmishers for the Qin. One of these had a
sword, the other was a command figure that I think was meant to hold a banner pole.
It's the guy on the left of the element. I figured he looked a little more dynamic
as a skirmisher! I have another of them that I will use for the skirmishers in the Yueh.
I am happy with these as well.
Chinese Warring States crossbowmen - Posted: June 28, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The first element of crossbows for my Qin army. The figures are nice; the Renegade figs
all have the same body with different heads... Still, they are nice. These guys are on the move
since they are all standing. Overall, I'm happy with them!
Chinese Warring States crossbowmen - Posted: June 28, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The second element of crossbows, note they all have the same bodies. The head swaps and
varied angles of the crossbows help a lot. The guys are all crouching and readying a bold for their
crossbows. These guys will be known as the chariot welcoming committee :)
Chinese Warring States crossbowmen - Posted: June 28, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The final element of crossbows for my Qin. I got tired of painting the solid coloured
hats about half way through, and here's the boldest example. I am not sure how realistic the
multi-coloured hat is, but it's certainly possible if not likely! Overall, I'm happy with the
crossbow elements.
Chinese Warring States converted Qin Chariot - Posted: June 8, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
Renegade miniatures doesn't make a chariot yet... However, I used the Renegade miniatures
that I had to make it. It didn't take too much. A little putty on the horses (which isn't absolutely necessary)
and some thin card and blammo! It was a pleasure to put together and probably not much more work than
if it was a complete chariot kit instead of a handful of cavalry figs! The only gripe I really have are the
smallish wheels... Despite that, they are great, picked up from Irregular Miniatures.
Chinese Warring States converted Qin Chariot - Posted: June 8, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
This front view shows a bit more detail on how the chariot was made. The driver and the crossbowmen
started life as cavalry riders. The spearman is a standard spearman from Renegade. All that was required
for converting the riders was a couple of bent arms and legs! The horses required a little more work, needing
the head decoration, a strap around the chest, and a little tuft of red fur on the chest strap. One thing to note
is that this is a heavy piece... About 1kg, which is just over 2lbs... Now I know what
Tim was saying when he liked the weight of
metal figures! If this was dropped, I am sure it would be crushed under its own weight! Give me plastic any day :)
Chinese Warring States converted Qin Chariot - Posted: June 8, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
This view give a look at the figures and how they were placed in the chariot. The base of the
chariot is a thin plywood base from Litko that is 40mm by 30mm. You can see the crossbowman's cavalry legs.
Despite them originally being spread wide for sitting on a horse, they look quite natural to me! I pushed them
inwards using the feet, and their still wide stance is easily justifiable for ballance on the chariot. You can
also see the spearmen's little base as well, which I didn't bother cutting off. All in all, I am uite happy
with the way this chariot turned out!
Chinese Warring States - Posted: May 3, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The first of four elements competed for this Qin Dynasty Chinese Warring States
28mm project. I also plan to do a Yeuh army from the period as well. The figures are nice. They really
fit the Wargames Foundry big and bulky paradigm. They are 28mm high, but they are huge! Thanks to that
though they have a lot of character, and although the faces are a bit cliche, they are good reporoductions
of the Terracotta army.
Chinese Warring States - Posted: May 3, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
These elements are all warband elements in DBA. That means they are quite rowdy types that
are pretty tough to control. The reason they were classed as warband is that they were paid by the head,
so, the more heads, the more pay. Why listen to a commander when you only care about hunting for heads?
I had accidentally painted the spear/halberd guys in this colour scheme, even though no spear figures
were required; I was going to use all swordsmen. However, it turns out that the Qin elite foot used both,
so it worked out well!
Chinese Warring States - Posted: May 3, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
Here I mixed in a command figure with funny head wear and bronze armour to mix it up a bit.
It adds a little more armour to
the warband elements, which is always nice! I went with bronze armour because it looked good with the black with
red highlight colout scheme. I really had trouble settling on a colour scheme for these guys, but
I'm pretty happy with what I chose in the end. Black tunics, red trim, variour pants and shoes. One thing
I should note is that the commander's face got smushed... his nose was quite flat on the left side there...
but it worked out all right anyway :)
Chinese Warring States - Posted: May 3, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
The final element of warband for the army. Note that the unarmoured figs all have the exact
same body pose. They varied the head style and position, but the bodies are the same. It's a very old
school methodology. I did a few arm re-posing, and with the spear/halberd guys mixed in the elements don't
suffer too much from the single pose. Over all though, I'm quite happy with the first four elements.
Only eight or nine elements left!
Chinese Warring States - Posted: May 3, 2010 - Manufacturer: Renegade Miniatures
A final picture of all the Qin dynasty warband elements together so far! These figures are quite
large and each element is a pleasing weight! Now I see why Tim in Saskatoon like metal figs so much!