Review Ancient Shu Warrior from MJ Miniatures

[Nap]

Hello to you all ,

One country full of history that is shrouded in mystery is China , a subject not often covered in our hobby , but we have a release from in the latest release.

It is this one:

Ancient Shu Warrior​

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We all know about the Terracotta Warriors an amazing sight , giving an insight in the armour and weapons used by Chinese Armies of the time​

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The Ancient Shu are a different case with information hard to come by , there is wiki of course but thanks to the sculptor William Tsang and MJ I am able to share what details they used .​

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Early history was barely documented if at all​

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The Shu kingdom was located in today's modern province of Sichaun and was very active and flourishing during the Zhou period of 770-221 BC , the Shu alongside the Ba kingdom had no political influence on the Zhou empire .​

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Language and culture of both was very distinct and individual , there have been excavations which have unearthed bronze containers with shapes and patterns .​

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Weapons included "Willow sword" , a short bronze sword often decorated with symbols , the colour being a reddish yellow at the time with the modern name being green bronze, size was 5-7 cm wide and between 37-60 cm in length​

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They also had a Dagger axe or "Ge" , very similar to a pole mounted weapon but smaller .​

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Good references to look at on weapons include:​

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Ancient Chines Treasures from a Lost Civilisation by Robert Baglet​

Ancient Chines Weapons by Cheng Dong​

Clothing was very simple for the common soldiers , generally wool coloured in whites , with patterns in dark reds and browns , blacks . Leatherwork was obtained from Sheep and cow skins and generally dark possibly black .​

Modern reference books are generally written in Chinese but here are some on the Chinese Armies which I must admit I found fascinating reading , full of information , they are from the Osprey series .​

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Continued in next post​

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Nap​

 

[Nap]

Lets see what we are looking at :

Originally announced by MJ both here and FB

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...elease-from-mj-miniatures.75366/watch-confirm



Title: The Ancient Shu Warriors 15-16th century BC

Reference: MJ75-001

Scale: 75mm

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 8 model part plus a sign

Sculptor: Willian Tsang

Box Art: Man Jin, Kim


Firstly we have a new sculptor to the MJ team namely William Tsang , so a big welcome to him.

As always shipping was quick and well packed on opening the box I was in for a surprise as I was expecting a cardboard box but no!! the model has been put into a nice silvered tin , on the top we have the colour picture of the box art with all the resin being held in bags and surrounded by bubble wrap.

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Parts consist of: The main figure , 2 hair pieces, sash end, , shield, 2 hands , a base and small tablet with a inscription in Chinese ( more later on this) ​

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Prep:​

Main figure....remove any resin from under feet to ensure clean fit to the base , sand away casting line running along arms and legs mainly on his right side​

Base... Slight sanding around the edge , use as provided or incorporate in a larger base .​

Shield... Remove small casting remnants from ends ​

Weapon and Shield handle ( both have hands on them) ...Remove from formers​

Sash and hair Pieces...remove from former and fit ​

Tablet...Small casting lug to cut away​

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Starting with the Main Figure itself , a one piece sculpt without the hands, I think without doubt the first thing to say is this fellow is quite "rotund".....but full of character particularly in the face which might not be to everyone taste for sure. ​

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The head is full of details from the ragged and well formed hair showing nice texture with a bandana around his head , the face has nice work on the eye area with the mouth being wide open exposing teeth and tongue , our warrior is well fed with a bit of a double chin in evidence with a looked after waist size as well!!!​

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Hair pieces ( x 2 ) need to be fitted in place as here: ​

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Clothing is both an outer and under garment, both loose and blowing , showing good movement , he has long sleeves with nice texture as well all over , the inner has a torn lower edge , well represented as well .​

Feet are without shoes and the toes are very good indeed , the leg shape having ample calves and legs being apart to the same width as his waist!!​

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Around his waist is a sash , this is very well done one , nice definition , being held in this is the weapon , a sword and a lovely bit of work as well , the handle is wrapped fro grip with the scabbard having the stitches along the edges.​

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You will need to fit the other end of the sash as here ​

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A good pose overall IMO

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Hands these are holding both the shield handle and the axe and look good when fitted , both show really good details​

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The Shield is a nice bit of sculpting with great surface work being shown​

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The Base this is perfectly suitable for the job , sloping groundwork with rocks and dirt being worked into it , there are 2 slots for the feet to go , a little bit of filler might be needed , some will use it as it is others will I am sure incorporate it in larger groundwork.​

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Now then the little tablet sign , this has Chinese writing on it and I was intrigued as to what it meant so contacting my friend MJ he got hold of William and this was the answer​

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----------------------William Tsang's answer--------------------​

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It is my nick name actually created by my friends. And they given my nickname called - Old man. Which is showing on my nameplate in chinese writing. 老人家(Lao Ren Jia).​

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Don't you just love that ...thanks to William for the explanation , so there you have it why not use it on the base​

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Final Thoughts​

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Its good to see a new sculptor working with MJ miniatures , his first is an unusual subject nicely sculpted with great presentation from MJ , the face perhaps is not to everyone's taste but boy he is sort of lovable ..go on admit it a cheeky guy!!...I like it lots . I am very sure we will see more from William , I would like to see him do a bust as well. ​

For more details on this and all the other great releases in all scales why not visit the website at:

www.mj-miniatures.co.kr

e mail: [email protected]

Thanks to MJ for the Review piece and all of you for looking in

Nap

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[Nap]

Lets have some unpainted pictures of the completed and then more of MJ's box art

Resin first:

Now that box art ...Enjoy folks

Nap

 

[mick3272]

Not my cup of tea kev but a very nice review all the same.
Mick

 

[Nap]

Not my cup of tea kev but a very nice review all the same.
Mick

Thanks Mick , agreed not everybody's subject but certainly results in a good display piece

Thanks for looking in glad you like the review

Nap

 

[Oda]

Very,very interesting and authentic subject,extremelly well sculpted and cast.Full of character and personality not just a "generic"face.A promising start for a sculptor.And of course it goes without saying,another marvellous presentation.

Oda.

 

[Nap]

Oda ,

Thank you you raise good points , good to see a different and not generic face as you say

William is certainly a sculptor to keep an eye on

Thanks for posting

Nap

 

[Viking Bob]

Lovely review Nap, seems your knowledge is endless.
As has been said, a lovely sculpt and completely different.

 

[gogok]

Thank You for your Review and good to share for anyone interested or uninterested. I hope this is a first figure you may drop to your must busy model figure in your life timeline.
However, you may interested to understand the little tablet sign.
This is the correct presentations.

 

[Nap]

Hi Guys ,

Bob ,

As you said it is something different certainly looks good painted up


Gogol,

Thank you so much for commenting and for showing the correct way up for the writing ..appreciate .

Thanks for looking in guys

Nap

 

[gogok]

HI Nap,

This is fine to call me. William

Good day,

William Tsang

 

[Nap]

HI Nap,

This is fine to call me. William

Good day,

William Tsang

Sorry should have realised William ...great sculpt ...hope to see more from you

Nap