Feudal Japan STL Miniatures

Feudal Japan STL Miniatures: Sengoku Armies in 15mm and 28mm

The Sengoku period is a wargamer’s dream and it’s badly served. A century and a half of near-continuous civil war, dozens of rival clans, a military revolution when firearms arrived, and cavalry doctrine that produced one of history’s most famous defeats. And yet finding decent miniatures for it usually means paying import prices for a narrow selection.

Our March to Hell: Sengoku range covers the age of the samurai in both 15mm and 28mm, printed at home on your own machine.

The Age of Warring States

Between the middle of the 15th century and the early 17th, Japan fragmented into rival domains and the daimyō fought each other for control of it. What makes the period so good on a table is that the armies weren’t uniform. A force in the field mixed mounted samurai with masses of ashigaru carrying yari spears, archers, and increasingly the teppō arquebusiers who changed how battles were decided.

That mix means army building has actual decisions in it. Cavalry, spear blocks, missile troops and elite retainers all do different jobs, and the clan you pick shapes what you emphasise. It’s also visually distinctive in a way few periods manage: the sashimono back banners alone make a Sengoku unit read as Sengoku from across the room.

What’s in the collection

The range goes well beyond line infantry. Alongside samurai warriors and ashigaru formations you’ll find ronin mercenaries fighting for whoever pays, shinobi operatives for the games where a scenario turns on one model getting somewhere unseen, sōhei warrior monks, mounted cavalry and named commanders.

Oda Clan. The force built around Oda Nobunaga’s campaigns, the daimyō who came closest to unifying Japan and who understood earlier than most what massed firearms could do to a traditional army.

Takeda Clan. The great rival, and the clan whose cavalry reputation was the benchmark of the period. Mounted samurai, foot troops and commanders for a force that fights the way the Takeda were known to fight.

Fielding both gives you a historical matchup with real character rather than two identical armies in different colours. The range continues to grow with new clans, heroes and battlefield specialists.

Rulesets these work with

The models are sculpted to standard wargaming proportions, so they drop into most systems written for the period. That includes skirmish games like Test of Honour, Ronin and Daisho, and larger-scale rules such as Pike & Shotte, Swordpoint and Warlords of Erehwon. None of these publishers is affiliated with us and none endorses these models. Compatibility here is about size and basing, not licensing.

Which scale suits you depends on which of those you play. Skirmish games where individual samurai matter argue for 28mm, where armour lacing, mon crests and faces all become paintable. Mass-battle rules argue for 15mm, where you can field the frontages the designer assumed and still have room to manoeuvre.

Printing Sengoku miniatures

Both scales print comfortably at home. Around 0.03mm layer height on resin covers gaming models at either size, tilted 30 to 45 degrees so resin drains and you avoid suction on the base.

Yari shafts, naginata blades and sashimono banner poles are the parts that need support attention, as thin projections always are. Cavalry legs are the other usual failure point. Give both proper support and check orientation before committing a full plate.

Frequently asked questions

What does the millimetre figure in a scale actually measure?
The height from the base of the foot to the eye of a standing figure, not the top of the head. A 28mm miniature typically stands 32 to 35mm overall. It’s why two ranges labelled the same size can look noticeably different, and worth knowing before you mix manufacturers.

Are these compatible with commercial rulesets?
They’re sculpted to standard 15mm and 28mm wargaming proportions, so they work with any ruleset written for those scales. They aren’t official products of any game publisher and aren’t endorsed by one. Compatibility is a matter of size and basing rather than licensing.

Resin or FDM for these models?
Resin wins on detail, and Sengoku armour and banners reward it. FDM is viable for rank-and-file ashigaru with a 0.4mm nozzle at 0.08mm layers, and it’s the better option for terrain. Many people run both technologies for exactly this reason.

Can I mix 15mm and 28mm on the same table?
For figures, no. The difference is obvious and it breaks the look immediately. Natural terrain has more latitude since a tree has no fixed human reference, but buildings give the scale away through doorway height.

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