Saturday, 11 February 2017

Māori Artillery

More from the ‘Empress Miniatures’ New Zealand Wars range, this time a captured Royal Navy Carronade and a Māori crew.
Now I have to confess that I know little of the Carronade other than what I have gleaned from my limited research, but it strikes me as a particularly formidable short range, anti personal weapon, particularly when in the hands of a determined adversary – perfect for defending one’s Pā against the British!
This lovely set comes with three crew members and again sculpted by the talented Paul Hicks.  I couldn’t resist having a go at their facial tattoos or more correctly the Tā Moko, perhaps an unnecessary addition given the scale of the miniatures, but something that is so literally ingrained in the culture of the Māori, that I thought that it was worth the effort.
A final addition in the form of an etched brass Silver Fern, again a nod to national identity of the group. 

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79 comments:

  1. Phil11 February 2017 at 08:37

    Unusual and absolutly superb!!

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  2. Dannoc11 February 2017 at 08:39

    Yet again another stunning piece of work and such variety.
    Keep it up sir.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:10

      Thank you Dan, always good to work on something Victorian once in a while.

      Delete
  3. Tiago Vitorino11 February 2017 at 08:47

    I've always loved the New Zealand 'thing' and the maori :)

    What a great post!!!
    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:11

      Thank you so much, they certainly have a ferocious reputation.

      Delete
  4. riot ville11 February 2017 at 09:01

    Trust me the tattoo were worth the effort!

    They look great.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:11

      Thats very kind, thank you. They were a worry to do as my hand kept shaking.

      Delete
  5. dramatic katastases11 February 2017 at 09:14

    Excellent! I really like their Tā Moko tattoos.

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  6. Matt Crump11 February 2017 at 09:16

    Lovely little group...but he needs to watch the kick back from the gun !

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:13

      You're not wrong, he's only going to do it once! :)

      Delete
  7. Anonymous11 February 2017 at 09:30

    That is some excellent work. The skin is brilliant, and I particularly love the bared metal on the gun.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:13

      Thank you Roy, I wasn't sure about the bared metal, but knew I wanted to give the barrel a highlight of some description; glad you like it.

      Delete
  8. Zabadak11 February 2017 at 09:42

    Love the skin tones and the facial 'tattoos' were well worth the effort imho.
    Superb vignette.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry11 February 2017 at 11:14

      Thank you so much Joe, I became fixated on the tattoos and had to go for it.

      Delete
  9. Dalauppror11 February 2017 at 10:29

    Very nice indeed Michael

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  10. Pawn Cocktail11 February 2017 at 11:16

    An unusual & very well painted set of figures. Excellent skin tones & tattoo detail!

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  11. Da Gobbo11 February 2017 at 11:32

    As the others have said lovely detail and great work. Maybe I missed the post but what game is this for?

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:35

      Thank you Andy, these are part of my collection of New Zealand Wars, at the moment no real thoughts as how to use them, but 'the Men that would be Kings' is a real possibility.

      Delete
  12. Dick Garrison11 February 2017 at 11:46

    Lovely work as always Michael, The Tattoos are excellent and well worth the effort, but haven't you stolen their souls by photographing them? or is that just Aborigines'?

    Cheers Roger.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:37

      Thank you Roger, I think we are alright with the souls, pretty sure that was just Aborigines - I hope.

      Delete
  13. MartinC11 February 2017 at 11:51

    These a very dynamic which is odd given the subject. Top work as always

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:38

      Thank you Martin, the quality of the sculpts really helps.

      Delete
  14. Mallius Vane11 February 2017 at 11:52

    Superb job! Love the face tattoos!

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  15. Conrad Kinch11 February 2017 at 12:00

    Fantastic. Looks ace.

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  16. Sander11 February 2017 at 12:00

    Some truly original figures, very nice!

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  17. Nimrod11 February 2017 at 12:01

    Nice skin tones, cool looking cannon and lovely tattoos. :)

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  18. Michal DwarfCrypt11 February 2017 at 13:00

    Excellent work sir!

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  19. PatG11 February 2017 at 13:10

    Beautiful work!

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  20. Rod11 February 2017 at 16:28

    Really lovely work Michael. I especially like those skin tones.

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  21. A J11 February 2017 at 16:52

    A lovely little vignette. I believe it was Jack Aubrey, who dearly loved a gun, that called the carronade the 'genuine ship-smasher.' It had a powerful punch at short range, coupled with requiring a smaller crew than the long gun.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:42

      Thank you A.J. and thank you for the insight, that certainly seems to fit.

      Delete
  22. Jay11 February 2017 at 17:07

    Nice vignette.

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  23. Finch11 February 2017 at 18:33

    Not exactly rolling out the welcome mat, are they?

    Looks great. Love the tattoos.

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  24. Rodger11 February 2017 at 19:39

    Fantastic work Michael!Love the paint job and the silver fern is a really nice touch.

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  25. Natholeon11 February 2017 at 20:20

    They look perfect Michael. It can be really easy to overdo the ta moko on 28mm figures, but these are just right. The broken carronade that was at Ruapekapeka pa is still on site there and has apparently recently been restored http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11182899

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  26. The Angry Lurker11 February 2017 at 21:09

    Fabulous work Michael!

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  27. Unknown11 February 2017 at 21:54

    Kapai! Very, very nicely done! And so brave to tackle the tattoos - and succeed! By the way, Māori had quite an extensive collection of artillery in the 19th century - around 165 individual pieces have been identified in this book alone: https://www.mcleodsbooks.co.nz/p/maori-books-tribal-guns-and-tribal-gunners-the-story-of-maori-artillery-in-19th-century-new-zealand?barcode=9781877427527

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    Replies
    1. Unknown11 February 2017 at 22:00

      If you go to the section "Kawiti's Carronade" on this page, you'll be looking at the very gun that I presume Empress modelled their carronade on: http://www.ruapekapeka.co.nz/battle-ruapekapeka/armaments

      Delete
    2. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:50

      Thank you Roly, I really appreciate the kind comments and great links too. Just looking at the Kaiti Carronade, I think you are absolutely spot on.

      Delete
  28. pulpcitizen12 February 2017 at 09:35

    Very nice work full of great little touches from the facial tattoos through to the ferns. Great stuff. :)

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  29. Stuart S12 February 2017 at 10:44

    Great stuff and the facial markings are perfect, something that is really difficult to achieve.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:29

      Thank you Stuart, they were certainly a challenge.

      Delete
  30. Monty12 February 2017 at 10:59

    Blimey! Very nice 😁

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  31. Luca Tempesta12 February 2017 at 16:43

    Wonderful, great job!

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  32. Rog12 February 2017 at 19:25

    Another work of art!!! Outstanding job, Michael!

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  33. Blaxkleric12 February 2017 at 22:16

    Quite simply awesome stuff Sir Awdry. They look truly excellent.

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  34. J Womack, Esq.12 February 2017 at 23:55

    Excellent work. I expect they are about to leap into a haka before firing grapeshot into the British.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:32

      They certainly look like they have murderous intent in mind.

      Delete
  35. Moiterei_198413 February 2017 at 07:35

    A smashing entry Michael! I do especially like your take on the skin tones as well as the tattoos. Does look spot on to me.

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  36. Carrion Crow13 February 2017 at 07:50

    Not a war I'm familiar with, but a lovely and unusual little vignette. Things like this cause me to look stuff up on the Internet, which is a good thing.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Awdry13 February 2017 at 17:33

      Thank you Jez, happy to keep you interested. ;)

      Delete
  37. Giles13 February 2017 at 17:42

    Brilliant stuff, Michael. The tattoos are superb.

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  38. Terry Silverthorn13 February 2017 at 19:42

    Excellent work on those skin tones Michael & that one fellows 'grass'? skirt has quite the colourful palette!

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  39. Cyrus14 February 2017 at 00:29

    Fantastic painting - Empress do make some brilliant ranges!

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  40. FourEyedMonster14 February 2017 at 03:10

    Fantastic work. The whole piece just works. I know it has become a cliche to say you have brought this piece to life but you really have.

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  41. Dai15 February 2017 at 18:38

    A lovely trio. Is a great vignette and hopefully will get some use in the future in a game or two? (The fern is a smashing touch!)

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