28mm 1860s Maori Wars figures - now proposed!!

[Happy Wanderer]

OK gents,

Listen up!  



We now have a legitimate opportunity. Eureka Miniatures has put forth a proposal for the figures that have been discussed in the previous LAF thread.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=91092.0


These figures will include the Forest Rangers, with a Von Tempsky character figure and up to 12 King Movement Pakeha and Kupapa Maori. Also include will be up to 20 head variants which will enable conversions for any figures that are suitable for this period, or any mid Victorian (Crimean/Indian Mutiny) period outside of the proposed range, the Perry 1860 British Intervention Force range fork example. You could even use these head swaps for the ACW no problem.

When combined with the Eureka Miniatures range there really is the potential for a full spread of high-quality sculpts for the 1860s 2nd and 3rd Maori wars.

This is great news. However it now requires your action to make it a reality.

All the people that have put up their hand for figures in the previous thread) now need to make actual contact with Eureka Miniatures so that they can get the prospective orders on the books and the sculpting of these figures can commence.

Importantly, the sculpting for these figures will commence in as little as 4 weeks so these figures could well be  hitting the store in as little as two months or so. This is great news as we won't have to wait for any lead time on specific figure ranges that may or may not occur…you part pay for your figures and in a few months you'll have opened up the entire 1860s Wars in New Zealand ready to go…a most decidedly underdone period when it comes to colonial gaming.

The proposed figure range is as follows;


100MAU100    Forest Rangers Skirmishing with Terry carbines –  (4 variants)  

100MAU101       Forest Rangers in kilt with Terry carbines – (4 variants)                                  

100MAU102       Forest Ranger Officer (1)                                                                                    

100MAU103       "Von Tempsky" personality (1)                                                                                          


100MAU104       Kupapa Maori skirmishing with firearms – (4 variants)              

100MAU105       Pakeha Maori skirmishing with traditional weapons – (4 variants)

100MAU106       Pakeha Maori skirmishing with firearms – (4 variants)                  

100MAU107       Victorian bearded heads wearing flat cap with peak (5 variants)            

100MAU108       Victorian bearded heads wearing flat cap with no peak (5 variants)

100MAU109       Victorian bearded heads wearing floppy hats (5 variants)          

100MAU110       Maori heads    (5 variants)


They would be sculpted again by Alan Marsh with references provided by Happy Wanderer (in consultation with period ‘experts’).


Please let me know how many of each code number you would be interested in purchasing.

This project is open until 31st July.


Eureka will keep a tally of all the responses and if the numbers offered will pay for the sculpting, the project will commence 1st August 2016. Delivery should take place in September 2016. All pre-orders of more than AUD$100.00 will be despatched post free (AUD$110.00 for Australian Residents).

We will ask for half your commitment money to be paid up-front, with the balance due when your order is ready for despatch. Thank you for your interest, please feel free to tell as many people as you can as this will increase the chances of the figures being manufactured.






For those of you that may not have considered the New Zealand Wars as a possible theatre for colonial gaming the following links will prove useful in having a bit of a look around and seeing what the period has to offer. The period really is full of all sorts of different aspects that make it quite unique. The 2nd and 3rd Maori War in the 1860s is really where much of the main action took place…quite different from the relatively limited 1st Maori War. Very much a blend of the French and Indian War and American Plains Indian Wars all combined in one including raids, ambushes, convoys, Pa assaults, naval landing (both Maori and Pakeha), religious fanatics, and many other guerrilla war type scenarios along with set piece attacks and all that they entail.

The NUMBER ONE stop for all things NZ Wars is here - our own Arteis and his superb blog
https://arteis.wordpress.com/category/periods/colonial-new-zealand-wars/page/2/


Steven’s Balagan is always useful as he breaks down various aspects of the period.
http://balagan.info/new-zealand-wars

A nice read from Wargames Illustrated - this covers the 1st Maori War and early stages the 2nd Maori War.
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/WargamesIllustrated/ArticlePics/WI313/archive%20articles/New%20Zealand%20Maori%20Wars.pdf

A bit of an historical overview starting at 1860…
http://newzealandwars.co.nz/land-wars-timeline/north-taranaki-1860/

A nice quick discussion on Von Tempsky and the Rangers (the subject of these sculpts)



….and if you really have time, Professor Belich’s somewhat controversial, but still highly watchable, series on the NZ Wars.






I would encourage anyone who has any inkling to do dip into this period to seriously consider supporting this grassroots effort. These proposed figures are being largely  driven but prospective buyer demand and principally by enthusiasts who simply want to see the figures get sculpted. There is no 'commissioned range'..it’s simply a fact that if we get enough orders then 'we the people' can make it happen.

When one considers the utility of the Perry BIF range (particularly with Eureka heads swaps) along with their ever-growing Cape Wars range, the current First Maori War Empress range and the recently released pre-contact Maori Eureka range, the only missing component is the 1860s 2nd and 3rd Maori Wars figure range.

These figures will largely fill that void unlocking the full potential of this fascinating period with a full selection of high-quality castings.

So let's make this happen guys, if we get as much interest now and strike while the iron is hot then there will be many new figures providing excellent gaming opportunities.

I fear this opportunity will not happen again.  So even if you're only interested in 20 or 30 figures or even less then every single order accounts.

The good thing with this period is that you really don't need lots of figures to get into it. You can have a game with 20 figures or 200 the choice is yours.

Please contact Eureka Miniatures and have your say and get onboard…

For those on the other LAF thread that said they'd be up for 'x' numbers of figures , could you please register your specific 'order' with Eureka...thanks.

Kind regards

Happy Wanderer


Eureka Miniatures - email Nic.
nicr@eurekamin.com.au

Here are snaps showing Eureka Miniatures pre contact Maoris (the proposed sculptor for these figures), Empress Miniatures and some Perry Figures...they all blend rather well and are mixable.

[Lowtardog]

On way to work but will do this tonite😂 fantastic minis and terrain

[Lowtardog]

[Goliad]

Great work. I'll certainly be placing an order and hoping it helps get this over the line!

[sjwalker51]

OK, I've ordered - better start reading (thanks for those links) and thinking about Sharp Practice adaptations.

[fastolfrus]

Wonder how many accidental shootings you get jumping about with a double-barrelled shotgun like that?

[Lowtardog]

Wish list in, think comes to 123 miniatures plus some heads😂

[Lowtardog]

25% of the way already! I have pimpex on some facebook groups to spread the word too

[Happy Wanderer]

Well done that man!

I spoke to Eureka Miniatures today and can confirm that we are indeed at 25-30% of the way there. The main point is this. This will not get over the line with a only a handful of orders and quite small ones at that.

For most games of this period a typical force really could be made of 40-50 figures of each type..I suspect that is a probably a minimum to give a good spread of the possible forces that these figures can make. For larger action then you can easily double this number. Add some more for conversions and mixable forces.

There are a number of people on the other LAF post that have yet to place their orders so more is to come from those that have ‘committed' but I think this will take an INTERNATIONAL COALITION EFFORT.

So if you are interested then talk to your club mates, think on perhaps a new club project, mention it in other egroups you frequent, maybe plan to use these figure types of rather periods or projects, and so on…spread the word as much as you can because it’ll take as much reach as possible to get the required figure total to pay for the production costs.

As Lowtardog says, were are 25-30% of the way there but I suspect we’ll need to be in the 80+% to get it over the line. Eureka may take the view that that will be close enough to justify the sculpts and them once they are released and seen more interest will follow.

So please gents, if you you want some, perhaps get a few more rather than a few less…20 figures is great but we need at least 30+ people at 20-30 miniatures as orders…top-notch sculpting don’t come cheap!! The good news is however that you will get the figures you want for the total you pay for( a perfectly sensible and appropriate way to get the figure sculpted) AND Eureka have committed to pushing these up to the top of their production schedule to get them done immediately! If we get a four or more ‘big’ order in the order of 120+ figures then they have a very good chance of getting done...

The opportunity to fill the NZ Wars 1860s gap is there but it will require all and sundry to seize the day to make it happen..relying on the ‘other guy’ will not get it done…

Happy W
 

[Lowtardog]

Tried to copy and share to maori wars yahoo group but wont paste from my tablet😕

Could anyone on that group paste this into the group please😂

I have posted to a few face book groups too

Cheers

Karl

[Arteis]

I've posted the original message on the Maori Wars YahooGroup.

I've also emailed Nic with my 'pre-order'.

 

[Lowtardog]

Well done Roly, good chap😂

[Poiter50]

I just committed to 22 figures. Just one of each for me.

[Happy Wanderer]

Gents,

There are only a couple of weeks left in this ‘campaign’ to get these figures sculpted. These will be a great addition to the Maori Wars gamers as well as being usable in other settings. The Rangers will be useful for all sort of mid 19th century types...probably at a pinch for the Maximilian Wars or even the American Civil War. The ‘westernised’ Maori fit into Africa for all manner of forces.

We’re not there yet.

As a primer, I’ve started a few of the Perry 1860s Brits I have which the proposed sculpts are meant to supplement. They are very well sculpted (as you would expect) and have a nice ‘bulk’ and clean casting…some of the better Perry’s I’ve bought. These figures combined with Alan Marsh's sculpts would be a great mix.

As part of the proposed figures is a character figure of the charismatic Gustavus Von Tempsky. Here is a nice article on this interesting figure followed by an excellent documentary.

..this post is aimed at 'stirring the pot'…please ask around or consider a new ‘small project era’ to get this over the line. There are plenty of possible actions for 60-100 figures or so for rules like Sharp Practice or Muskets & Tomahawks. Even this modest force will do for many, many actions of this period.

You can watch the TV1 documentary Von Tempsky's Ghost here...excellent viewing! Grab a cuppa and enjoy!  
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/von-tempskys-ghost-2002