Interrogations on Samurai armors

[Gregoire]

Hello !
I have recently aquired a beautiful miniature from Medieval Forge.
It's a samurai archer "Minamoto Tametomo".
I made some reserch it's a samurai from the XXII's century.
I found a couple of illustrations from that character.
But when it comes to the actual parts of the armor, I find it super difficult to find photos representing the same types of elements.
It may seem silly but some part I don't know if they are iron or leather or fabric...

Anyone got any clue about how to correctly paint this kind of figure?
From what I gather most people just paint them without any kind of historical accuracy.

Thanks for any tip you may have

 

[malc]

Hello Gregoire

Iron or Steel Scales (kozane): These small, lacquered plates were the foundation of the armor.
Leather: Used for backing the scales, connecting them, and for other components.
Silk: Used for lacing the scales together and for decorative elements.
Brocade: Used for the inner lining and decorative elements.
Precious and Semiprecious Metals: Used for ornamentation and attachments.

 

[Gregoire]

Thanks Malk
One of my main problem is I don't understand the intrications on the main armor, the sode for instance.
I don't understand how the artist made the lacquered plates connected.
On the photo you can see he made dots and then straight lines going down.
I have seen nowhere this kind of features. There is dots when the lacquered plates are empty and not laced together, but when they are laced I don't see any dots on any phtographical documentation I have seen so far.

So has the artist been lazy (which would be strange given that everything on the model seem thoroughly designed) ?
Or am I missing something?

 

[malc]

Hard for me to say but I would suggest that the dots represent some kind of riveting to attach the silk ect.

An expert on samurai armour would be your best bet.

 

[yellowcat]

For Minamoto Tametomo references check out the link HERE

 

[Gregoire]

A huge thanks!
Apparently unfortunately the miniature is full of errors and problems but your link is fabulous !

 

[Babelfish]

A huge thanks!
Apparently unfortunately the miniature is full of errors and problems but your link is fabulous !

Aren't they always?! (Samurai figures I mean)

Samurai are the German Tiger tanks of the figures hobby.

- Steve

 

[Gregoire]

No idea, it was my first samurai lol
I don't mind a few mistakes here and there. The problem on this one is I can't even find a reference armor that more or less looks like what the artist did.
A samurai armor is basically plates of iron laced together using fabric. Here I can't understand how physically the plates are linked together so I would not know how to paint them.