Japanese Inspired Warband Creation with Weird Witticism
By Kip Trevaskis
In late 2024, I was fortunate enough to be able to request the truly inspired sculpting talents of Weird Witticism, also known as Will Thomas, whose return to a childhood hobby (like all of us?!) and discovering the 28 Community brought him to sculpting. The rest is history, or fate or a twisted tale of both?
Finding Inspiration
The concept for for the warband from my perspective was easy – my obsession with Japanese culture and history cleared the way for me – how can we express that feudal aesthetic in the setting of the Weald – drawing from Japanese folklore and the likes of Yokai and Shinto spiritualism, sprinkled with an nod to all those anime films and manga comics I had read over the years.
Once we had defined this, Will started concepting and preparing ideas for the miniatures that he envisaged creating, with suggestions about which minis to use as the base of each creation. Before long, the outline for the warband was defined, and a narrative alongside it. Will would create a set of five Gnarl, each following the leader, a withered humanoid Thrall, mixing human and bark elements, in a ragged cloak with some twisted version of a shepherd’s crooked staff.
In tow would be a Weald classic, an Eyetoad, followed by other malformed forest creatures – a deer, a wold and a swarm of birds. It was easy to understand the vision and incredibly rewarding to discuss the plan that was so clearly thought out and not only inspired by the setting, but also the ruleset of ‘The Weald’.
Shaping the Deliverables
As we went back and forth, the concepts became more fleshed out – where would we draw inspiration from – what motifs and aesthetic reminders of Japanese folklore did I want included?
Noh masks (traditional Japanese theatre masks) and Shide (zigzag-shaped paper streamers often seen in temples) were to be key inspiration points as well as the obvious Princess Mononoke reference. The miniatures would also be crafted with a mixture of moss, static grass, sand, dried twigs and other organic materials, as well as leaning into ‘the Rot’ being fungal – each unfortunate denizen being consumed with fungal growths and mushrooms.
Will got to work, and I, in turn, tried to regulate my excitement for this project.
Day of Arrival
…and then the day came, I got to see the miniatures – I received images to confirm their completion, and I was amazed. Will had captured the vibe, the aesthetic, the feel of not only the Weald but the cultural inspiration points we’d discussed. Each model was equally eerie yet fascinating, with clear references to Weald lore, Japanese folklore and pop-culture I’d been obsessed with. Once I received them, I was astounded by the application of detail and skill – each one was so precious, each a one-of-a-kind – they felt like treasures. With that feeling came an overwhelming sense of nostalgia – it was like the times when you first got into Warhammer as a kid and buying that box, glueing them together haphazardly, and just admiring the miniatures that were truly yours, imagining the battles they’d partake on distant alien planets, or fantasy forests, creating little stories in your head. Only this time, these were crafted from everything I adore, a totem to my interests and obsessions.
I’ve not painted them yet.
Which may surprise many people, but I do plan to soon!
They have a certain weight to them, I can honestly say that they’re special to me. You know that question, “If you could only save ten miniatures in a fire – what would you pick?” I know these would be on the list, and next to them, maybe some of those poorly painted childhood Space Wolves!
Weird Witticism AKA Will Thomas has just launched a new website, and you can also find him on Instagram here. Take a look, all his work is insanely awesome! What’s more, he does commissions, and working with him is so smooth and genuinely fun! I can’t wait to see more of his work – and I’m sure he is waiting for me to paint these models – watch this space.
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