Dragon figure Samurai

I got this figure some years ago in a figure lot. It included two Asian figures made by M&C toys.

This is a 1999 Dragon figure. When I received him, he was clothed from the waist up, nude from
the waist down.

I got three dark navy blue jumpsuits on ebay to dress the three figures, giving them a similar look
as being part of a team. They have been boxed like that for some time.

Lately coming across the box, I decided this figure didn't look right in the jumpsuit, and wanted to
make him a Samurai again. I looked on ebay and found him some Hakama pants that were the
same color as his original outfit (what was left of it) apparently hand-made from a seller in NY.

I looked for foot wear, but all that were historically accurate were made for peg feet, which this
figure didn't have. I found some sandals that I thought would work. I got them and put him together
with equipment from a HOF Joe set. There was a toy store called Kaybee Toys that had three
exclusive Joe sets, all were made with the HOF Grunt figure. One was called the martial arts specialist.
It wasn't very expensive, I liked the t-shirt and the pants and the equipment that came with  the
figure.

So the Katana sword and the short sword are from that set. I didn't include the nunchucks, as I
don't think Samurai used those.

I'm not sure what all of the straps were for in a Samurai outfit, maybe Kimono Troop Command
could enlighten me?

Anyway, here is what I came up with. I hope someone likes him.






Daryl

Wow! what an amazing figure Daryl! Great pick up! look forward to seeing this character progress!

Love that last photo , in fact all the photos are nicely taken . Interesting figure , would like to see some fight scenes of him with an opponent .

Nice work Daryl!!!

Blondeactionman wrote:

Wow! what an amazing figure Daryl! Great pick up! look forward to seeing this character progress!

Thanks Dal! I had this guy in storage for quite some time, recently came across him, and decided to return
him to the way he was when I got him. When I have time I will work on the rest of the team. It was pure
luck that the pants matched his upper clothes.

Daryl

Chip wrote:

Love that last photo , in fact all the photos are nicely taken . Interesting figure , would like to see some fight scenes of him with an opponent .

Thanks Chip! I have a roll of newsprint paper, I occasionally cut a strip to take photos with. I use bounce flash for the lighting.

What I didn't realize until I was putting the new pants and sandals on him, is that the body has more wear than I realized.
I had trouble getting him to stand long enough for the photos. He's a 1999 Dragon figure, and I've bookmarked a couple of
figures from ebay. I think I will need to get him a new body in order to get more poses out of him.

When that's done, and I get my Storm Shadow figure converted to a more pose-able body, that might make a good fight scene!

Daryl

gibri wrote:

Nice work Daryl!!!

Thanks Brian! What is really funny, the day I got the sandals and was finishing getting him together,
there was a Charles Bronson western on tv. In the movie, Bronson's character was traveling cross
country with a Samurai looking for the villain.

I've actually decided to name him after the Samurai character from the movie, Kurodo.

Daryl

All great except those Dr. Scholl sandals. He really needs authentic waraji style footwear, available on eBay. That's what the real samurai wore.
Good luck getting them on correctly though. My own efforts in that regard are documented elsewhere here on AMMO.

LeStryge wrote:

All great except those Dr. Scholl sandals. He really needs authentic waraji style footwear, available on eBay. That's what the real samurai wore.
Good luck getting them on correctly though. My own efforts in that regard are documented elsewhere here on AMMO.

I saw those LeStryge. But my figure doesn't have the ability to wear the split toe socks, and I don't have the knowledge
to lace those to his feet. I don't have the knowledge for the straps at the bottom of the pants. I searched online but
couldn't find how to do the laces. I couldn't find any info on how Samurai outfits were supposed to be worn.

All I could find was modern fashion based on the Samurai. Which told me NOTHING.

Besides, the original Samurai apparently came to an end in the 1800's. This character is part of a modern day team
I'm putting together, and I thought the sandals would look better than athletic shoes or military boots. It's my
understanding the Bushido lasted a while longer after the Samurai.

If you read the description of my working on the figure, you would know that I explained that this figure doesn't
take peg feet, and there are several peg feet for original Samurai available. And that when I got this figure he was
nude from the waist down.

Thank you for pointing out my mistake in spending $14 for a pair of sandals, that I explained in my original post
was NOT historically accurate and was what I could find to fit the figure.

My figure does not have significant toe-gap to wear those tabi socks either. And I doubt you can even buy them. 
Normal white socks look fine and you can pull the strings of the wariji up tight enough between the toes to simulate the look anyway.

Those wariji are quite a triumph of handiwork, and if you do decide to buy some I highly recommend soaking them in a little warm water before you try to put them on. I looked at all the photos online to work it out. 
Difficult, but you already have such a great looking figure I think it would be definitely worth the effort to complete the look.

Thank you LeStryge.

But I think I will keep him as is. The seller, blackopstoys, went to some trouble to make sure the
sandals would fit his feet, including having to modify them to make sure they would fit. I greatly
appreciate their efforts.

And with him being in storage for so long, I didn't realize how much play wear the body has. I had
difficulty to get him to stand long enough to take the photos.

I'm currently looking to get a new body for him. And I have a lot more in the pants and shoes I just got
than I have in the original figure. He was part of a figure lot, and he wasn't the reason I bought it.

I will keep your ideas in mind in the future, should I decide to make him more historically accurate. But
the way I see it, this is a toy. I don't have the collecting budget others have to fund my hobby. I'm
completely happy with him the way he is. Besides, the pants are long enough to cover his feet most of
the time.

I've posted this figure on three different boards. So far you are the only one that has a problem with his
foot wear. All of the comments have been positive.

I'm happy to hear that you think he is a great looking figure.

I am sure Barry was offering an alternative idea my friend .

The main thing to remember here, is if your happy with him Daryl, then that's all that matters .

Apologies TNshooter , I seem to have inadvertently offended here.
I offered advice only.

I realize that now LeStryge. My apologies as well for taking a defensive tone.

And I appreciate the advice you offered.

Considering he is to be a modern character, I decided to go with the sandals
instead, because they were easier. I saw the historically accurate foot wear,
and I thought "man what am I to do with those?"

I don't even know what I'm supposed to do the with the straps at the ankles
of his pants.

I got this figure in a lot, and he was not the reason I bought it. But recently
after finding him after a long time, I decided I should do something with him.
Mainly because I remembered the idea I had for a "Triad" squad, and thought
about finishing the project. I still need to do something with the other figures.

I appreciate your trying to help me, you apparently know more about the Samurai
than I do. Can you tell me what I'm supposed to do with the straps at the ankles
of his pants?

Daryl

Sorry for causing any misunderstanding Daryl. 
I understood you to be asking about Japanese Samurai traditional dress and offered advice accordingly. I meant no disparagement of your figure. If he's "modern" then of course anything goes.
Anyway, those straps you mention are used to gather and tie the very voluminous bottoms of the hakami pants when walking through wet undergrowth or when fighting might involve some fancy footwork. 
I found a pic of the ties in use over tabi socks( they have the large toe divide) and also discovered to my own surprise a far simpler method of tying wariji sandals than I had been trying to manage.



Here's the traditional hakami worn with a kind of gaiter top to protect the shin. Those straps hold the bottom of the pants tight and make this tuck-in far easier.


You may notice some of the participants above are female.
There were female equivalents of the Samurai ( strictly a male term) called "Onna-Bugeisha". They were armed with a long curved blade on the end of a pole.

https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-the-onna-bugeisha-japans-female-samurai-warriors/

You certainly know a LOT more about the Samurai than I do. I only wanted to make him
more like a Samurai, as he was a figure I had from a figure lot.

My searches online didn't reveal near the information you have.

I had a feeling the straps were to tie up the pant legs. But considering my non-accurate
foot wear, I didn't want to do that, as my figure doesn't have any socks.

Thank you LeStryge for the information!

Daryl

TNshooter wrote:

 I didn't want to do that, as my figure doesn't have any socks.
Daryl

Very glad to be of some help. 

If you ever want to go with them, socks are dead easy to make. Don't bother buying the things. (For some reason they are quite expensive!)
Just sew a little tube from the top of a pair of white (or black) men's ordinary nylon business socks. 
Lay the sock flat and sew from about 1.5 inches down from the top at the back of the ankle back up to the hem. Cut and turn inside out so that the seam is on the inside.
The stretch will make them fit.
You can make quite a few from just one sock.

My bloke doesn't have a Ninja sai like yours!
Cool!

Thank you LeStryge for the tip on making socks! Very nice to know.

I'm not aware of any connection between the samurai and the ninja.
Should I drop the sai? I didn't include the nunchucks since I was pretty
sure the samurai didn't use them.

Daryl

Wow Daryl, missed this one. This is awesome Cool you got some from K-B Toys, I miss that store so much, been out of business but a long time now

I am really rusty about Dragon as I haven't research them since My kit-bash days. He looks so great and realistic. I love how you placed his weapons. He is really one of the best customs I have seen in a long time if not ever and I'm just not saying that dude...I really mean that

Thank you Brandon!