The Warhammer Nippon Army (aka the Nippon Mercenary Contingent)

The Warhammer Nippon Mercenary Contingent. From the moment I saw it on p. 156 of the 3rd edition Warhammer Armies book, I was obsessed with this single page of fabled lore.  With the briefest of backgrounds about the "inscrutable Eastern Empire known as Nippon," I was determined to acquire enough miniatures to field a complete 28mm army full of +1 Shock Elite Samurai, loyal Ashigaru foot troops, and a Level 20 Hero Samurai Lord Mercenary Commander mounted on a mighty Temple Dog.  Little did I know that it would take close to 30 years to put together a 2,000 point Warhammer Nippon army with all Citadel slottabase models.

The left and right front units of +1 shock elite Samurai are armed with 30" range long bows, double handed weapons (katana swords), and heavy armour while the center front unit is armed with double handed weapons and heavy armour.  In front of the Samurai units are four Nippon Rocket Crew Skyrockets with 1 Rocket Kamikaze each.  The Warhammer Nippon Rocket Crew were not in the Warhammer Armies list but could be found in the 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle book under "Skyrockets" and "Rocket Kamikazes" in the Engines of War section.

Another angle with a better view of the rear units of ninja, sohei, and samurai in straw coats who act as Ashigaru units for purposes of the Warhammer Nippon Mercenary Contingent list. 

The full Warhammer Nippon Mercenary Contingent from p. 156 of Warhammer Armies, 3rd edition.  Even in this truncated background, I love that last sentence “[s]ometimes Samurai lords deliberately embark their followers into war junks and set sail towards the rising sun in search of adventure, especially if the other feudal clans back home in Nippon are cramping his style.”  Awesome. 

No mention of Cathay in the Warhammer Nippon Mercenary Contingent.  No inclusion of Skyrockets, Rocket Kamikazes, or Kamikaze Suicide Bombers that are detailed separately in the WFB book.  No Ki-rin miniature that I know of was ever produced by Citadel that is a mount option for the Samurai Lord Mercenary Commander.  But it is still as close to an Army Book as Nippon ever got in 3rd edition.