MARCH TO HELL SENGOKU ODA CLAN

Oda Clan STL Miniatures: Nobunaga’s Army in 15mm and 28mm

Oda Nobunaga is the daimyō who broke the rules. He put arquebuses in the hands of peasant infantry in numbers nobody had tried, drilled them to fire in rotation, and used that to dismantle a cavalry tradition that had dominated Japanese warfare for centuries. Building an Oda force means building an army that fights differently from everything else on the table.

Part of our March to Hell: Sengoku collection, available in 15mm and 28mm as digital STL files with both pre-supported and unsupported versions included.

Samurai and ashigaru warfare

Most Sengoku armies looked broadly similar: mounted samurai as the elite, masses of ashigaru with yari spears, archers in support. What set the Oda apart was scale and organisation. Nobunaga fielded teppō arquebusiers in numbers that turned a supporting weapon into the decisive one, and backed them with field fortifications that forced the enemy to come to him on his terms.

The range reflects that structure. Disciplined yari ashigaru formations form the body of the army, supported by samurai armed with yari, yumi bows and katana. On the table it gives you a genuinely distinct playstyle: where a Takeda force wants to close and break you with cavalry, an Oda force wants you to advance into prepared ground and volleys.

What’s in the range

• Oda Clan samurai warriors
• Yari ashigaru infantry formations
• Teppō arquebus units
• Mounted samurai cavalry
• Daimyō and battlefield commanders

Sashimono back banners, armour lacing and mon crest work are all in the sculpts, which is what makes a Japanese army read correctly at a glance. The range is designed to sit opposite our Takeda Clan collection, so you can build both sides of the rivalry that decided who would control central Japan.

Refighting the Sengoku campaigns

Okehazama in 1560 is the one that made Nobunaga’s name: a force outnumbered several times over that won by knowing exactly where the enemy commander was resting. Nagashino in 1575 is the other, and the reason the Oda are remembered for firearms at all, when massed arquebus fire from behind palisades broke the Takeda cavalry.

Both are worth putting on a table, and both need two forces that fight differently to work as scenarios rather than symmetrical fights.

Compatibility and scale

The models are sculpted to standard wargaming proportions and work with the systems written for the period: Test of Honour, Ronin and Daisho for skirmish play, Pike & Shotte, Swordpoint and Warlords of Erehwon for larger engagements. None of those publishers is affiliated with us or endorses these models.

At 15mm you’re building an army, with ashigaru blocks that have real depth and cavalry wings with room to manoeuvre. At 28mm you’re building a warband, and the armour becomes worth the effort: individual lames, cord lacing and clan crests all become paintable.

Bases are not included. Around 0.03mm layer height covers gaming pieces at either scale, tilted 30 to 45 degrees so resin drains. Sashimono banners and yari shafts need the most support attention, as thin projections always do.

Frequently asked questions

Do these files come pre-supported?
Both versions are included. You get pre-supported files ready to slice and print straight away, and unsupported versions if you’d rather add your own supports or rescale first. Most people use the pre-supported files as they are, and only go to the raw meshes when something specific needs changing. If you do add your own, automatic support generation in ChiTuBox or Lychee handles Sengoku figures well, though it’s worth checking what it does with yari shafts and sashimono banners before you print a full plate. Those thin projections are where automatic generation tends to under-support.

Can I rescale these files, and what should I watch out for?
Yes, and the unsupported versions exist for exactly that. Scaling is a percentage change in your slicer, which is one of the genuine advantages of buying digital rather than cast. Two things to watch. Thin parts get fragile fast when you scale down: yari shafts, naginata blades and banner poles are the usual casualties, and a spear that prints fine at 28mm may simply fail at 15mm. And any substantial rescale means re-supporting, because supports scale with the model and stop sitting where they need to. If you’re moving between the two scales we supply, use the files sculpted for that scale rather than rescaling, since they’re adjusted for it.

What resin settings work for these models?
A layer height between 0.02mm and 0.05mm covers everything, with 0.03mm the usual working setting for tabletop figures. Go finer only on command models you’ll spend real time painting. Tilt the model 30 to 45 degrees so resin drains properly and you avoid suction cups forming on flat surfaces, which is a common cause of failed plates. Exposure time depends entirely on your specific resin and machine, so run a validation print, something like a Cones of Calibration or an exposure test, to establish your baseline before committing a full plate of ashigaru. Cavalry legs and banner poles are the parts most likely to fail, so check those first if something goes wrong.

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