3d-printable terrain for all your samurai wargaming needs
Long time, no see!! How is everybody? Many, many apologies for the delay in finishing this new set, but as some of you might know the Bag End hobbit house project has been keeping me very busy in recent months (please visit the YouTube channel to see more details about that project).
But at long last, the full set of the new Samurai Fishing Village is ready for you to take a look at! Let's dive straight in.....
▲ As you can see, this themed set is pretty HUGE! There are so many items from authentic fishing village life in feudal-era Japan that you can make pretty much any kind of game board or diorama. It will work great for territory feuds and bandit attacks, and is ideal for skirmish-level games or for adding realistic details to larger battles.
▲ Why don't we start with the warning tower? This is a rough-built wooden tower fitted with a bamboo tower and a small platform on top.
▲ The tower can be fitted with a warning bell, or a large paper lantern, and I would recommend maybe adding a short piece of brass wire for added strength (plus the bell/lantern can be swapped out as you need).
This is pretty much the only item in the set that requires print supports. I used tree supports on my printer.
▲ This is the only permanent heavy-duty terrain item in the fishing village set. It's a large wood and stone platform for a covered taiko drum structure, and would have been used for welcoming visiting dignitaries arriving by boat. The small steps would lead to the beach and dry land, while the rest of the structure would be in the sea.
▲ The large stone base section does not require additional print supports in your slicer, but you should carefully remove the built-in supports (circled in red in the photo above) with cutters.
▲ Next we come to an essential part of the fishing village - the jetties. Each wooden piece is assembled from two parts, and these would be connected to the beach via those bamboo ramps.
▲ A busy fishing village would have lots of fish-related industry going on, and these shed structures would protect villagers and their catches from the hot sun and/or rain showers. Two versions of roof are included - thatched and wooden slats, both weighted down with rocks.
▲ This torii gate is built on large rocks, and is often found near fishing villages, where fishermen can pray for calm waters and full nets. It is designed to be used in the sea, near the beach, and makes your fishing village instantly recognisable as Japanese.
▲ After printing the torii gate main section, please remove the built-in prints (circled in red in the photo above), before inserting the horizontal bars.
▲ Another distinctive terrain piece are these "married" rocks, commonly found in the waters near the beach.
▲ The rope connecting the two rocks already has built-in supports to enable it to print correctly, and these should be cut along the 3 red lines shown in the photo above. The tassles are printed separately, and can then be glued on to those 3 locations instead.
▲ There are 3 types of boat in this set. The small and medium fishing boats are common to fishing villages throughout Japan, but the third boat is a special military type for conveying dignitaries from sea-going ships to shore. 
▲ It can be fitted with 4 nobori flags (blank flags are included in the set) and side pavises (blank ones also included). However, if you want to personalise your boat for your army, you can fit any of the clan nobori flags or pavises from our other sets.
▲ Start construction with these two frame pieces, which should be glued together as shown.
▲ Next, glue your choice of pavises into the slots on the side frames, as shown in the photo above.
▲ The assembled frame will look like this, and is simply glued into place on the boat.
▲ The tiller can be made by cutting the end off a paddle and inserting it into the hole at the rear.
▲ Herrings are boiled in large quantities in these large wood-covered pans, and are then transferred to the next device....
▲ The boiled herrings are poured into the wooden crate, and then pressed down using the log and winch. The oil is squeezed out into the surrounding channel, and then collected in tubs and used for lamps and soap.
▲ The pressed herrings are then removed and dried on mats, and later used as fertiliser, as shown as the bottom of this diagram.
▲ The fish drying racks make very characterful scatter items. Simply print two pieces, and glue together.
▲ These large boxes and cloth-wrapped bundles are tied with ropes and used for transporting a variety of goods on both land and sea.
▲ Stacks of long bamboo poles would be used for many purposes in a fishing village (structures, transport, drying racks etc.), and the smaller bamboo mats would be used to wrap goods for transport. A variety of boxes with fishy contents and a pile of fishing nets are also included in the set.
▲ Tubs could be used for storing salt or other items, washing catches, and baskets were often used for transport to and from boats.
▲ Finally, a variety of barrels and lids are also included in the set, and make excellent scatter terrain for your villagers and warriors.
The Fishing Village set is on the painting desk this week, and should be ready for release very soon!
Just some eye-candy to show you today.... a shrine board set up for a Test of Honour game last week - I love the forgotten, slightly ruined feel to boards set in bamboo forests. 
We have a new European retail partner to introduce to you today - SCENERY 3D PRINTS (or Impresión 3D Escenografía), supporting the gaming scene in Spain.
They're printing our full samurai and sci-fi collections of terrain, so if you can't see the models you want there just drop them a line - they'd be happy to add those to the store, too! Take a look and see what they have for you!
It's time for another Test of Honour battle report!! Today we are playing the Ambush scenario, as a chest of gold coins is transported under heavy guard.
Where will the ambushers strike?
▲ The attackers have chosen their ambush site carefully. As the guards march wearily past the ruined hut and towards the welcome sight of a tea shop and tea house on the outskirts of the town, they know they're almost at their destination.
Let's hope they haven't let their guard down too much!
▲ This is the defending force, transporting the chest across back to town. A samurai hero and his devoted lieutenant (on the left) are in charge of dealing with any trouble they might encounter on the road, backed up by two groups of spearmen, archers, a banner bearer and a very noisy sergeant!
Care of the chest has been entrusted to old Master Jiro, who is the only unarmoured model in the force.
▲ The ambushers are led by the bearded ronin Tora, and his lieutenants are cunningly disguised as a geisha and an old beggar. Several ninja will join the ambush, where their throwing knives should help to sow confusion.
The ashigaru deserter (on the right) has also joined the ambushers in the hope of a good payday, but unbeknownst to him, Tora is actually using him as bait for re-directing enemy charges. The castle guards hate the deserter so much that they may HAVE to charge him!
▲ The guards (in RED) start the game on the left of the board, and have to escape with the chest off the opposite table edge. The hero is double-circled in red, and his lieutenants are circled next to him.
The ambushers (in WHITE) have to grab the chest from old Master Jiro and escape off the left-hand side to win.
▲ Master Jiro has been entrusted with the chest, and is limited to only 4" per action, so there wasn't much maneuverability there. The captain ordered his forces to spread out, leaving no gaps in their battleline.
▲ Tora the ronin smiled wickedly as his ambushers crept from their hiding places behind the fences and buildings, ready to attack.
▲ The old 'beggar' strolled forward whistling a jaunty tune, trusting to his years of experience in wearing his disguise. To his right, one of the ninja assassins crept to the side of the tea shop and leapt up on to the low roof. His tabi boots slipped on the rain-slicked wood, and he tumbled down again cursing!
▲ A second ninja darted across the teahouse garden and attempted to climb up onto the gate's roof, but he also slipped on the wet thatch!
With a roar, the enemy spearmen charged across the fence into the garden, stabbing down at the struggling ninja, but failed to pin him down.
▲ The samurai lieutenant of the defending force rushed around the back of the tea shop, and howled as he launched himself at the first would-be assassin, still lying on the ground with the wind knocked out of him.
A wild swing took the ninja's head clean off, and two of his nearby accomplices bolted away in panic!
▲ The geisha Tomoko, seeing the enemy lieutenant had over-extended himself, charged forward with an evil cackle but slipped on the spreading pool of blood, and slid to a halt.
▲ Glancing behind him to check that the chest was well protected by Jiro and the nearby spearmen, the samurai captain leapt forwards onto one of the benches and swung his naginata down at the old beggar. He managed to blood-drop him, before stepping back to take up a blocking position next to old Master Jiro once more.
▲ The ruse was over, so the old beggar charged forwards into the group of spearmen, blood-dropping them as they stumbled backward into the teahouse's paper lantern.
The owner of the teashop, Izumi, screamed her displeasure at the old man, as benches went flying and blood splattered the floor!
▲ The old beggar tried another charge, this time on old Master Jiro himself! The two experienced fighters were evenly matched, and the old men danced back with only minor scratches.
▲ Seeing that the old beggar was out of actions for this turn, the samurai captain decided to go on the offensive and charged straight at the ronin Tora!
The two leaders lunged and parried, but were unable to land any blows.
▲ Tora the ronin decided to play one of his skill cards, and ordered Tomoko the geisha to charge into the samurai captain as a free action. While she didn't cause any damage with her attack, it gave Tora the distraction he needed and he swung both his swords at his enemy, knocking the samurai to his knees and dealing a heavy injury to his leg!
▲ A group of 3 assassins saw their moment and somersaulted forwards across the garden fence, a blur of shortswords descending on the samurai captain at their feet. Outmatched and outnumbered, the captain finally slumped to the cobbles as his blood splashed out!
▲ The guard forces lost heart at the death of their captain and even Master Jiro turned to flee, dropping the heavy chest in the street.
▲ The ambushers shouted at each other to grab the chest from the middle of the street, but luck was not with them... instead it was old Master Jiro who pulled out two action tokens before any of the enemy could react, and quickly rushed back into the fray, grabbed the chest up again and dashed into the teahouse garden!
With age and wisdom comes a certain amount of luck too, it seems!
▲ The devoted samurai lieutenant, having seen his captain cut down in the previous turn, screamed a challenge at the top of his lungs and charged into combat with the ronin Tora.
He knew he might be sacrificing himself just to distract the enemy from pursuing the treasure chest, but his dedication was rewarded when he managed to knock Tora to the floor and deal him a nasty wound.
The nearby ninja group leapt over the fence once more, into combat with old Master Jiro, but failed to stop him as he edged further away!
▲ The geisha Tomoko pounced on the defenceless samurai lieutenant, and stabbed him in the back several times, pulling him down!
▲ But Tomoko's ruthlessness was her undoing, as her foul curses at the dead samurai's corpse caused some of her allies to run away in disgust! Realising what she'd just done, the shame was too much even for herself, and Tomoko also fled away from the blood-slicked cobbles!
▲ It was at this moment, with the street rapidly emptying of enemy troops, that the archer squad finally had a chance to activate. They'd spent the whole game standing at their start position next to their clan banner bearer, but finally spied a chance to act. With calm precision, they took aim at the ronin Tora, who was still struggling to get to his feet outside the teahouse gate, and let fly their arrows.
Tora was unprotected and vulnerable, and had no defence against the shafts as they pinned him to the floor!
▲ With both leaders slain and the chest once more in possession of old Master Jiro, the chest was slowly dragged across the teahouse fence and away towards the corner of the board.
Realising their error, the ambushers rushed to follow Jiro, but his own support troops were quickly catching up.
▲ As old Master Jiro again tried to escape past the bamboo woods in the corner, the old beggar managed to rush around the far side and block his way, with Tomoko quickly following.
▲ As the ninja group tried to trap old Master Jiro from behind, they were in turn attacked by a spearmen group while their sergeant bellowed orders.
▲ Meanwhile the guard archers had been slowly marching up the main street, and took another opportunity to show off their skills, by killing another ninja in the best display of shooting I've ever seen! 8 swords on 4 dice, and the ninja slumped dead across the fence - wow!!
▲ The ambushers had again closed in around old Master Jiro, and it looked like there would be no escape this time.... until the guard sergeant spotted a single chance for success, and ordered his spearmen to charge the last remaining ninja from the group of three.
As they rammed their spears home in his chest, the nearby ambushers had a sudden wave of panic. Since they were all so close to the corner of the board, a ninja, the deserter, AND the old beggar all ran off the board, never to return!
Now the only thing standing between old Master Jiro and victory was the geisha Tomoko....
▲ With bated breath, the next token was drawn by the the guard force - a samurai token!
Master Jiro leapt to the attack, using his well-honed fencing skills to slip past Tomoko's defence, and flicking her knife away out of reach. As his supporting troops gathered around in grim silence, Jiro slashed once across her throat with a grim snarl, and her lifeblood oozed out into the dirt.
The battle was won.
A victory for the defenders. Although it looked quite likely to be a win for the ambushers when Jiro fled earlier in the game, dropping the chest in the process, his insane luck in being able to retrieve the treasure ultimately gave him the victory. At the end of the game, only Tomoko survived until the final turn, while the slow but resolute defenders had finally caught up. A wise old samurai, indeed!
Special Time Sale Offer - 50% OFF ALL THE CASTLE ITEMS!
This is a combination set of ALL the castle items currently in our terrain collection, at 50% OFF:
Samurai Castle Walls Set (fully modular set including gates)
Samurai Nobori Flags (to decorate your castle grounds)
If you've ever dreamed of creating your own Japanese castle board, this is the perfect set for a fully expandable, multilevel layout.
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2 Comments :
Brandon
2025-06-24 (Tue) 23:12PM
I love seeing the diagrams and drawings of how things work. I get caught up in the historical research. I love it! I have a hard time finding historical references.
2025-06-25 (Wed) 2:10AM
Yes, me too! Although it took quite a bit of research to find out exactly what everything did - even with the help of these reference diagrams AND Japanese friends! They were nonplussed too!
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