Flags, Banners and Gunner's Shield Decorations for
ZVEZDA 8017 Japanese Samurai 16. & 17. Century.
Instruction for use of Flags and Shield Decor from the ROFUR-FLAGS-sheets 1/72-145 to 1/72-151
Plan for Flagbearer-Conversion.

Above: You can see the the wooden shields, behind which arquebusiers would have sheltered while reloading and the banner with the "weapon" or other colourful signs of the different rulers. The shields also have the mark ("Mon") of noble families, which raised the particular battallion. To jugde the several signs ("Nobori"), this picture represents a scene from the Osaka- Campanign 1614/15, where the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu takes the Fort Osaka, defended by Toyotomi Hideyori, after several battles.

Left Picture: Wooden shield with the mark of Shogun Tokugawa.
Right: Banners, from left to right: Tokugawa,..,..,...

Above, from left to right:
A Gunner's Shield (Sticker on the sheet fits exactly on the shields in zve8017),

B Back-flags ( Sticker on the sheet fits exactly on the Back banners in zve8017),

C Company Flag small (Sticker on the sheet fits exactly on the Flag of the flagbearer in zve8017),

D: Personal-standard: For the Standard and big Company-standard on the Samurai-Flagsheets you have to add a vertical flagpole yourself. Plan: see further. For the vertical flagpole you can use the MW-01 Miniatuurwereld.com "Plastic pins for lances and spears 1:72".

Flagbearer are always Ashigaru (simple footsoldiers) with their typical roundhat, so the flagbearer with the Companyflag is therefore shown correctly.

 

Above: the Back-flags of the Samurai were typical for Japan. You should think that the flags would hinder the warriors, but they played no role.The flags were important for identification of the harnassed and therefore unrecognizable warriors. Shields with heraldic weaponry on it, like the European knights had , were unknown to the Samurai.

Sticking the ROFURflag-sheet to the figure is very simple: The sticker sicks very well to the plastic and while stcking, you can still ajust it a little, till it is on the right spot.

When you think that the back-flag is too thick, you can cut it off and simply stick the front and backside of the flag to the flagpole.

Oben: Left a Company flag ("Nobori"), carried in large numbers by the japanese armies in 16. and 17 Century.
Right: the traditional older form of the "Hata jirushi"-Flag (from ROFUR-FLAGS sheet 1/72-145), was not so common anymore. This is the family-piece of the Tokugawa-Sippe, the Tokugawa Ieyasu - who fought for the title of Shogun in 1603 - and had several other standards at that time.

Above: the Gunners shields, behind which the Arquebusiers would find shelter.
Right: the bare shield straight from the box.
It is a good thing, that Zvezda left the shields and also the flags and banners without decorations or reliefs.