Hatamoto Part II

As Stephen Turnbull explains Hatamoto can be translated as meaning, “beneath the flag.” With that in mind the flag is part of the commander’s close retinue on and off the battlefield. Thus my title for this simple Space Marine Command group was given the antiquated Japanese name. The one particular Samurai command retinue which sparked my interest was that of Oda Nobunaga who employed a bodyguard detail consisting of two squads of ten men who were unique because of their impressive uniforms. One squad wore black armour, silver stylized wings and a black Horo (an inflated empty ball on the back of the warrior, very distinctive!); while the other squad wore red armour, gold wings and red Horo. The warriors of a General’s Hatamoto were sworn to protect their leader in battle as well as providing him with tactical advice and occasionally a pool of elite warriors he could count on to lead particularly vital assaults. For more information on Hatamoto and other Samurai history, I would highly recommend looking up the author/historian Stephen Turnbull. His works have piqued and sustained my thirst for knowledge about all things Samurai. Hical, James

Turnbull, Stephen, Hatamoto: Samurai Horse and Foot Guards 1540-1724. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, Great Britain, 2010, 4

Hatamoto Build Breakdown

This “Hatammoto” or Imperial Bodyguard was created from the two plastic kits from Games Workshop; the Space Marine Captain and the Command Squad. Both sets came fully packed with scores of spare bits and pieces that can be used to fancy up not only a single Command unit but also can be distributed amongst the rest of your models to add variety.

Not being technically a player of Warhammer 40K, I purchased these kits with a unique and yet strongly characteristic Space Marine Commander and his tight knit defense unit. The term use of the word “Hatamoto” made this particular unit marginally different from other command groups. The skeletal narrative that I invented for this particular Chapter or as I am referring to it, Regiment of Marines is that they are a combat tested unit which has been raised on and for fighting in jungle environs which justifies the drab green and simple disruptive camouflage used on their body armour.

The various characters or roles identified in this build were the simply equipped Veteran Marine with plasma rifle, the honours adorned veteran with close combat gear, a Regimental Sargent Major with hand crafted bolt gun, the gold encased Regimental Champion and the centerpiece of the squad, the Regimental Commanding Officer. I went about building and painting these miniatures with their individual roles in mind; for example the two models with camo on their armour were completed first as a sort of test run for the rest of the unit. The two warriors with hand weapons were then completed with special care taken to make them unique in their own ways. The final model for the unit to be built was the RCO who was a culmination of all of the various techniques employed on his brothers in order to tie the squad together.

This unit was a great pleasure to build and finish as the kits provided so much variety and opportunity to the end result. Hical, James