Got my Maori figures from Old Glory yesterday, and they are very nice. Three packs, Maoris with hand weapons, with shotguns, and with muskets. Sculpting is one of the better Old Glory efforts. Zero short arms, only a few 'thighs the size of torsos', good, emotive faces, interesting hair styles. Some of the heads show the 'Maori-warrior-intimidation face' with tongues sticking out. Muscles and clothing are nicely detailed. Very few of the figures' heads look as though they are attached a few scale inches off from spine centerline. A bag of 30 figures for $27 is great value. And Old Glory have continued the gratifying policy of giving me 31 (or 32) figures in each pack in actuality. Each pack has ten different poses, with multiple head variations. In these packs, however, I did get some exact duplicates which were not spare' figures, which was not true when I ordered Moros or Chinese from Old Glory in the past. Not a problem, just an observation. It does make me wonder if there are pose/head variations I haven't seen. One pose in particular I really like. This warrior has his double-barreled shotgun broken open with a fresh cartridge between his fingers, but is still making insulting faces at the enemy! He must be a very late-date Maori to have a breechloading weapon. Good, bendable metal, very little flash, and workmanlike weapons round out the package. There are photos of the first pack, at least, on the old Glory website, so check them out'. oldgloryminiatures.com I am looking forward to seeing photos of figures of their British opponents, but wasn't willing to buy those sight-unseen as well. There's an interesting pack called 'CMW-06 Naval Landing Party with rockets' which I might be compelled to work into my 'Rajah Brooke' forces. What DON'T I like about 'em? There are a few inexpertly positioned heads, and there are no figures armed with the 'mere' or other short clubs. This may, however, be historical, as the hatchets and longer clubs cast onto the figures would seem to be more deadly, and it is entirely possible that the shorter stone and bone traditional clubs were more emblems of authority than weapons of war. I've stood in a few Maori fortifications (Pa's) years ago, but I have no real specialized knowledge. I'll bet others on the newsgroup know about the Maori more. Overall I am very satisfied with the figures, and recommend them, Chick says - 'Feathered capes, body tattoos, and double barreled guns! What's not to like!" "Men choose as their prophets those who tell them that their hopes are true." Back to Dispatch September 2001 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com