Empress Miniatures - Maoris

It seems far too long since the last post, what with the demands of work and the distraction of Lego - 'Pirates of the Caribbean' for the Wii, I have been found in dereliction of my duties with regards to this blog and painting in general.  

These fearsome warriors have been sitting on the paint queue for some time; part of the problem was the trepidation as to colour palettes, fortunately help was at hand in the form of the Osprey's 'Queen Victoria's Enemies 4 (Asia, Australasia and the Americas' but more importantly the work of Roly at 'Dressing the Lines' and Giles at 'Tarleton's Quarter'.

Empress New Zealand Wars Maoris

I've long been a great devotee of Empress Miniatures and this range fits perfectly within the parameters of 28mm Victorian Warfare.  The sculpts, once again by the talented Paul Hicks, are simply sublime with wonderful attention to detail.  Three of these are wielding tewhatewha a wooden war club with a striking edge; the fluttering feather ornaments apparently there to distract the enemy.

When it came to the basing I knew I wanted to represent the iconic silver fern (or bracken as we like to call it here) so associated with New Zealand.  These ones can from 'Hasslefree Miniatures'  and are part of their etched brass range.  All things considered I'm pretty pleased with the results although there have been one or two liberties taken with colours, particularly with the kiwi feather shawl.  Just now need to crack on with the others.

Female Warrior

New Tenants

While still enjoying the holiday minibreak we took the opportunity to visit an old favourite, Borth Animalarium.  A slightly strange and run down looking animal sanctuary for unwanted pets.  Just couldn't resist posting these given my recent terrain building project.

Wish you were here!

Enjoying a lovely minibreak with the good lady wife visiting my parents, hence the reason why there has been little or more correctly no 'blogging' updates.  That said I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms and have caught myself looking at things and saying, "Now I wonder what I could make with that?" or "Do you think there is a Regimental Museum around here?"

Fabulous scenery and spoilt rotten as usual; a wonderful break.

Aberdyfi

Devil's Bridge

With a bit of plasticard and some greenstuff I'm sure that ... "Yes Darling, just coming."

Llechwedd Slate Caverns

28mm Meerkat Manor - The Conclusion.

Part 2 - Paint & Detailing

By initially spraying the piece with black undercoat, paying particular attention to the little beasties themselves, I was able to more easily access all the deep nooks and crannies that a paintbrush find it a little harder to be get to.  The actual terrain, the rocks, tree trunks and sand, was then coated in a chocolate brown matt emulsion.  Once this had dried the subsequent colour stages were simply dry brushed.  Slowly this was added to the sand areas and pebbles starting with Vallejo 'Japanese Uniform WWII', Foundry 'Spearshaft', Foundry 'Ochre', Foundry 'Buff Leather - Light' and then finally Vallejo 'Silver Grey'. This might appear excessive but in truth not everywhere is covered, I was hoping to create areas of shadow and depth by just leaving the hard to get to areas black.  The tree trunks and roots were also dry brushed but not to the same extent; simply Games workshop 'Dark flesh' and then a little foundry 'Spearshaft'.

Final dry brushed layer applied.

When it came to the little fur balls themselves I was suddenly struck with a very clear understanding as to why it was that I don't collect and paint a smaller scale than 28mm!  How some of you manage to focus on such a small miniature is beyond me.  That said I was able to keep my hand steady enough to pick out their white tummies and characteristic black eyes.

The finishing touches were a few strategically placed tufts and a new feature, sisal string.  I first heard about this most fibrous of strings from a fellow 'Gentleman of the Parlour'.  The Pudding Wrestler's website, 'Terrain for Hippos' is definitely worth a look jammed packed as it is with all sorts of techniques and ideas.  

All in all a successful build and the meerkats have a place they can call home - "Simples!"

Completed terrain piece

Don't look now but ...

someone is watching you!

Now because you have all been very patient and indulged my predilection for pantomime, sit back and enjoy the sweeping epic that is 'The Battle of Nervousness' a wonderful Meerkat movie!

Meerkat Manor in 28mm - 'Simples!'

Part 1 - The Build

With miniatures at just over 6mm tall this project was already starting to cause concern; it's difficult to explain what  possessed me to purchase these tiny meerkats from Northstar Figures but there is no getting away from the fact that the Meerkat has stolen its way into the herat of the nation, not to mention that of the good Mrs. Awdry.  There really is  a  'Compare the Meerkat.com' website with hours of fun for those, who like me, have the attention span of a goldfish! 

The Battle of Fearlessness

Still I kept justifying the purchase by saying that they would be part of a terrain piece ultimately destined for an African board.   It was to be loosely based on Meerkat Manor affording low cover for skirmishing troops and after a few hours into the obligatory trawl around the infoweb looking at the habitat of the these furry celebrities I had Initial sketches already in hand.  It was at this point that I came across a website for Snapdragon Studios, who sadly seem to no longer be trading but who had produced some amazing pieces of terrain and accessories for the wargamer.  One in particular, the 'Rocky Mound' was exactly what I was looking to achieve and consequently became the inspiration for my own build.

How small? - 'Simples' indeed! 

The build itself started life with a small off cut of plasticard (never throw anything away!) and a rough outline.  The edges were bevelled with the trusty 'Dremel' and small but useful sized piece of foamboard stuck on.  Having survived a recent route march, with the Lady Wife, along the 'Sunshine Coast' I already had the required stones and pebbles so just needed to cut them into the foam and hold in place with a dab of glue from a gluegun.  The pebbles were arranged to allow a platform for the lookout and as many liittle caves as possible to give the imprssion of an active burrow.

An inspired find turned out to be the remains of last year's Christmas tree that was still languishing in the garden but whose branches were wonderfully textured and perfect for the project.  With the addition of trees came the need for roots, so a little Green Stuff was added to fulfil the need and while I was at it a little more was used as another tunnel entrance.

As my little meerkats came on a small moulded base I decided to have them attached to the build and paint them in situ at the next stage; a little household filler was enough to cover the cracks and their bases. All that remained was a P.V.A. and sand mix with a few addional small stones and the build was complete.

Base coat applied.

Is there anybody out there?

Have you checked the date of the post that led you here?  Yes it was the 1st of April - sorry!

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Once again it appears that 'Blogger' is destined to drive me to distraction!!!  I have noticed that when I make a new post that it doesn't register on the dashboard or blog roll of the good people who take the time to follow.  I can only apologise to you and beg your indulgence a little longer.  

Has anyone fallen foul of this before?  Has it come about due to something horrendous that I have done?  Either way until it is resolved I'm afraid that there is no way that I can notify you of new post! Ahhhhhh!

Skin Deep - Empress Maoris

I’ve been desperate to start the new Empress, Maori range for some time having picked up a couple of sets of the mighty warriors themselves at ‘Salute 2011’ earlier this year.  A combination of my inability to remain on one task and the shear terror at trying to achieve a facial tattoo on a 28mm miniature has seen them slip further down the paint queue.  “Enough is enough!” I have now declared and it’s time to give them a go and instantly I am struck with difficult decisions! The most pressing is a workable palette for the skin tone, which at the moment is veering towards a Native American Indian.

On the ready line!

First attempt.

These first three were all based Vallejo 'Red Leather', which seemed to be an encouraging base but I then added Foundry 'Oriental Flesh', highlighted with Vallejo 'Rose Brown'.  This gave a somewhat jaundiced appearance and need to be saved with a sepia wash before I was happy.  Plan 'B' saw the original base but this time a Foundry 'Flesh Shade' was added before a final highlight with Vallejo 'Brown Rose'.  In the end this is palette I'll think I'm going with just need a little tinkering with the highlight mix.

Plan 'B'

Final mix.

The tattoos themselves or Ta Moko, to give the process its traditional name, are absolutely fascinating.  Unlike a modern tattoo, the traditional Maori permanent marking of the body and face is different in that the skin is actually carved by uhi (chisels) instead of being punctured with needles. This apparently leaves the skin with textured grooves, rather than the smooth surface of a normal tattoo.

Traditional Uhi

The process, Ta Moko is a fundamental element of the Maori culture representing commitment and respect; the practice itself is considered a tapu or sacred ritual. It is customary for men to wear Moko on their faces, buttocks, thighs and arms, whereas women usually wear a Moko on the chin and lips only.

The design of each Moko is unique to the wearer and conveys information as to their genealogy, tribal affiliations, status, and achievements.  Now clearly I’m not about to try to replicate this at such a small scale but do feel that it is important to acknowledge them in some way.

Two of the gentlemen's whose blogs I follow were a wonderful starting point and I must extend my thanks to both Arteis over at 'Dressing the Lines'  and Giles at 'Tarleton's Quarter'. Their examples have been very inspirational as too has been the wonderful online  'Tattoo Museum', definitely worth a look.  In the end I identified various repeating examples of geometric patterns and simplified them to one or two marks using blue ink as this seemed to be closest to the colours portrayed in contemporary paintings.

The results to date:

I think I've got to the stage where I feel confident enough to go on a finish the small unit that I have prepared.


Moko - is generally divided into eight sections:


Ngakaipikirau (rank). The centre forehead area
Ngunga (position). Around the brows
Uirere (hapu rank). The eyes and nose area
Uma (first or second marriage). The temples
Raurau (signature). The area under the nose
Taiohou (work). The cheek area
Wairua (mana). The chin
Taitoto (birth status). The jaw