Japanese Torii

Torii with miniature for scale.

 
Recently I discovered the solo miniatures game Five Parsecs From Home from Modiphius Entertainment.  The game, which has a sort of Firefly meets Cyberpunk feel to it, is sort of a story generator that uses randomized prompts to create characters and narratives, with battles played out on a small board with terrain and miniatures.  Like many people my age, my first introduction to the Cyberpunk genre was William Gibson's Neuromancer complete with its urban Japanese high-tech future setting.  So, while thinking about possible terrain for Five Parsecs, my mind automatically went to Japan, and one of the most iconic Japanese symbols, the torii gate.

I started by quickly looking up images online, finding a nice image of a torii with dimensions.  I printed this out for reference, then found that the printed size was already perfect for 32mm miniatures.  This happy coincidence let me use the printed image to measure off all the bits I would need.

The perfect size.

The first step was to cut two Hashira, or uprights.  Fortunately I had a 1/2" dowel that was the perfect diameter.  Next was the addition of the Nuki, the section spanning between the Hashira.  I notched each dowel, then laminated three 1/4" square pieces together for the nuki.  I used the same process for the Gakuuka (center) and the Shimaki (lower span).  The shimaki was sanded a bit to introduce the decorative angles.

 Next was the Kasagi, or upper part of the span.  To simulate the upward sweep of the ends, I glued small bits of popsicle stick to the ends, then sanded them to shape.

 

Kasagi Ends

 

 

With the kasagi finished, the woodwork was done.

Finished woodwork.

Base details were added by wrapping the uprights with card stock, and glue 28mm bases to the bottoms.

It stands!

Then, on to the wood pile.  Er, paint shop.  I hit the entire thing with a rattle can of "Colonial Red," then used craft paint to color the bases and kasagi black, as seen in the opening photo, giving it a traditional color scheme.

Traditional color would be vermilion, but I substituted Colonial Red

Finally, a shot of my workspace.  Yes, I have two desks in the room.  Yes, both are filled with partially done projects.  Yes, I tend to work cross-legged on the floor anyway.

My build area. Comfy if your knees can take it.