Kera foehunter:
Now all you need is a panda < dragon warrior> 
Willmark:
That would be more of an epic China reference which is not what Iām going for.
Willmark:
Update #5
Even though my burgeoning force is a mobile mercenary one they still have some heavy artillery, in the case of the mortar is able to be man- handled around by the artillerymen. On campaign they haul it viaĀ wagon. Since I plan on creating this army with an eye towards using it as a Dogs of War force I have to carefully consider its composition to be able to reuse as a many units as possible. The mortar will be part of the armies baggage. For those not in the know, baggage was an important part of 3rd edition Warhammer which Im also taking into account as I assemble the army. Never know maybe Iāll go back go back to playing 3rd.
For inspiration as to what type of force Iām also drawing inspiration from GRRRM tale āA song of Ice and Fireā. In this case Iām drawing inspiration from theWindblown. While perhaps not as blood thirsty the Windblown, the damiyo lord is ruthless in battle one-the-less.
I figured this was a good place to start as I did the same thing with my Chaos Dwarf army: I started with aĀ Ā spell caster then my Hellcannon. Funny I did the same thing here.
At this stage its now primed and ready for paint. 
Willmark:
Minor update
Here is my first ninja painted up. I undercoated white which I donāt normally do so hopefully the colors in the army will stand out more.
In all fairly pleased with him and cant wait to get the rest of his cohorts purchased and painted. Game-wise Iām settling in on this:
8th edition: hunters (scouts) or contingents
3rd: Scouts
Dogs of War: Duellists
NOTE: these are crappy pics, Iāll gave better ones up later.
Willmark:
Update #6
Main camera is still on the fritz so I had to make do. Here is at least a slightly better pics of the first ninja. 
Ive also been a busy little Daimyo working on my Nippon Castle. Right now the rough shape is rounding to form (pizza boxes FTW!) Also I started gluing on what will be the stone base, piece by piece :o
In any event I may need to rethink my idea of a mercenary force, 
Oh and look what came in the mail today. He arrived with a few other minis but I was really looking forward to this one. Iāve wanted to acquire it since the 3rd edition mercenary rules. 
Bloodbeard:
That castle is insane!
Is the roof pieces glued together or is it just tape?
But itās a lot of upkeep - for a travelling mercenary army living on the road seeing the world.
Willmark:
The entire roof is now glued and comes off as one piece. The idea is that the upper sections will be will in three pieces to lift off.
Insane good or bad? O_o
Chico:
Looking really good always wanted to do a force myself, also I would recommend playing 3rd again as itās so much fun Come join us on the Oldhammer forum: http://forum.oldhammer.org.uk/
tjub:
http://www.beastsofwar.com/plast-craft-games/build-kensei-battlefield-plastcraft-games/
Something you could use?
Willmark:
Looks promising
I actually like making my own terrain however. The biggest issue has been simulating the terra cotta style roofs. I know the cardboard trick and have been experimenting with soaking the cardboard to get it to separate from the backing.
Willmark:
No new update yet. Iāve been sidetracked by getting my minis Iām looking to trade organized.
However these guys would be great for Ogres as my dislike of the current range is well known. Bushido sumo minis I like bushidoās stuff but itās not at the right scale. I learned this the hard way with purchasing some of the temple dogs. away to small. So what I need is an idea on scale. Anyone run across these? I have a feeling they are on par with GW humans rather then an ogre.
Vogon:
Looking really good there Willmark. The castle looks like itās had a lot of effort put in. I wish I had the time and skills to do something like that.
Cheers
Vogon
Nicodemus:
Really liking the look of everything so far and am enjoying watching it take shape!
Keep the updates coming!
~N
Willmark:
Minor update
Compared to the pace of my Chaos Dwarf army a few eons back this army is going much, much slower. That in and of itself is not a bad thing I think. I am positively having a great time assembling the army however.
Anyways, here is a few more WIP shots of the scratch built mortar and artillery base. Iām nearing completion of the base with but a few more things to go and have started on some of the colors of the crew. I think Iām going to paint a mon (Japanese symbol akin to heraldry) on the pavasise(s). 
And the crew out of the artillery base:
The last is the torri arch which is nearly done as well; the symbol needs a bit of touch up, Iām toying with writing on the two pillars, but so far I am shying away from it. 
In terms of army expansion I already have the following:
30 Clan Wars samurai with swords (will run as swordsmen- will expand to 40).
18 Citadel ninja (will go to 40+ once I get one of each minis!)
25 Ashigaru spearmen (probably 40) from war foundry
7 Citadel samurai and ronin (6 more on the way)
1 Nippon Rocket and crew
The citadel Nippon dragon is on its way after a good trade! (I know its going to be smaller then I might otherwise like the miniā¦)
I have been working over my idea for ogres in this army and think I have struck up a good one, but not telling yet.
So far problems to be resolved have mostly revolved around the count as Demi-gryph Knights, I know exactly what I want to model them but just I cant find the right models for them after two strike outs. Stay tuned for that.
Yodrin:
Very nice job on the mortar and artillery base, great work!
Willmark:
Update #6
Assembly of the Army of the Far East continues. While Iām slowly finishing off the mortar crew, I started to work on the rocket launcher (the mortar crew only needs about 2 hours to finish so I need to buckle down). Through a recent trade I picked up another of the crew-members for the rocket, but he was missing the top part of the rocket. A bit of gray stuff, wooden skewers and some very thin plasticard later and boom 2nd crew member. I mainly noodled around tonight with the screen and the rocket stand. Finally through yet another trade I have another crew member coming to round out the trio.
Again through my last trade, my unit of classic citadel spearmen has been started. I have another trade that will add 4 more. Iām planning to get them to 30-40. The last spearmen unit im planning will be a online purchase and will represent sohei monks. Probably going to use the Curtey (sp?) miniature line for them, although depending on the blades they might run as halberders.
This unit is eventually going to serve as a swordsmen unit and my other samurai unit that is one shy away from being bulked out) will form my greatswords. Iām still collecting minis and have about 8 more on the way via the next trade. Problem is shields. Now I realize that fantasy Nippon is not Japan but samurai mind would just look odd with shields .
In general my pace is going very slow which has been bothersome, but at least I havenāt lost interest while I get models. This is a very odd situation for me as Iām creating an army without stopping into the FLGSā¦ its all trades through websites or online purchases on eBay.
More to come as I assemble the warband.
Oh, and the Citadel Oriental Dragon from BITD? Its waaaaay too small:
Edit: I also need to stop at a store and get some ball bearings to serve as cannonballs for mortar and later on for my great cannon. Thatās proving elusive as I saw the exact one I want years ago but canāt locate it .
Xx9millxX:
http://www.plastcraftgames.com/en/60-kensei-miniatures
Not sure if you could use these or if they are the right scale but theyāre pretty cool looking minis
Willmark:
I have, thanks for the link.
Soulassassin:
Great progress! I love to see all those scratch built bases and dioramas, look lovely
Chico:
Love your progress so far, Oldhammer used in a modern way