Can you haka it: Painting a Maori tribesman

[@JJ-xp6mr]

Very nice work, well done. The tattoo on the upper shoulder is more of a modern trend however. Traditionally, most tattooing was done on the face, thighs and buttocks and occasionally on the ridge of both shoulders and down the back. But it's still very nice work regardless

[@JJ-xp6mr]

Oh also, just for a bit of further reference, the skirt he's wearing is called a piupiu which were usually made out of a species of flax and treated in such a way as to obtain the different colours and patterns

[@ThreeFootGood]

I've been hunting the internet for a Maori model to fit a D&D character I want to create, based on HAKA and Maori. You've just popped into my feed tonight, and first, your paint job is amazing, but now I have to go find where to buy this mini myself. Thank you!!!

[@AndrewMcColl]

Thanks for including the skin steps in this video. I'm painting some Maori Battalion infantry for Bolt Action soon and had been looking for a guide on which colours to use.

[@tamsinp7711]

Lovely work as always, on an interesting model.

[@leonn54]

very nice indeed!

[@frankymontens]

that came out very nice, i agree with the realistic look, that is also my manor of painting. Sometimes you see amazingly painted miniatures in a war scene, but they look to clean you know, weathering on clothes, weapons etc, you can do so much more if you strive to realism, and now you have the internet to help you out with tons of documentation. Believe me the endresult will be spot on. Like green on the knee sections of pants (due to friction with grass), pale flesh due to exhaustion or shock, weathering on battle dresses, it is so important and makes a big difference on the endresult of your miniature or diorama.

[@wssmagazine]

I like weathering, but I find you have to REALLY watch it at smaller scales. It's extremely easy to overdo so you get a muddy looking mess. I tend to favour a cleaner look for my figures for this reason. But, if done well it does look great.

[@wonderboy2402]

Wow, this is precisely the instructions I was seeking on skin tone and tattoos. I have some Conan miniatures that are cavemen / tribal types and your method is the one I will try. You should consider one on doing War body and face paint for minis!

[@squizzy6143]

amazing work

[@PilgrimofMatter]

Great video! :) I keep hearing 'Iraqi Sand' when she says 'rocky sand.'

[@redgreen09]

well mwe the erika minis like get are the amazons but haven got em one day me think might have more tats thats just me will see more ;;;]]]]

[@manapress6181]

Fantastic job - well done! Nic at Eureka passed the link/vid on to me, and I'm well impressed with the job you did. The figure is actually Maui - the legendary figure in maori mythology. Nic wanted something from the maori mythos in his range, so I suggested Maui. He's carrying a net because he used a flax net to capture the sun to slow it down and stop it from passing overhead so quickly. Maui also caught the south island of NZ on his fishing line and drew it up from the sea. You'll probably be seeing a very different version of Maui in the movie Moana, as it encompasses the general polynesian myth surrounding him, but he appears to be carrying the same fishing hook in the movie... images.hellogiggles.com/uploads/2016/07/01043713/moana-maui-2.jpg Cheers!

[@wssmagazine]

Awesome! Thanks for explaining that! I didn't realize at first that it was a specific individual until I checked Nick's site, but I still didn't know who it was (afraid I haven't gotten around to even seeing Moana yet!). Wish I'd been able to say something about that when I made the video, but I'm glad you clarified it here for everyone. Thanks!

[@wssmagazine]

By the way, have you considered sending a copy of your new ruleset to Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy for review? I know Guy is always looking for new and different stuff to talk about in the magazine.

[@manapress6181]

No probs. Just realised I came over all 'mansplaining' in my previous post - apologies for that, hard to contain my enthusiasm when sharing stuff about my heritage. ;) Again, great job on the moko - I'm gonna have another crack at painting some on my warriors. Funny you mention Guy, just got an email from WSS, advertising subscriptions. I'll contact him and see if he's interested in a copy/review.

[@wssmagazine]

yup. Just send stuff to: editor***@***wwsmagazine.com (obviously remove the stars, that's for spam control. ;-)

[@mikehoran2602]

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere... are you undercoating everything in black now? I've noticed it even on predominantly light colored models. Why the change?

[@wssmagazine]

Yup. I like the effect it gives on the finished models. It's true that applying light colours over top takes more time, but I really like the deep, rich, extra-contrast look that black lends when used as a base.

[@Clonetrooper8983]

Was the basecoat on the skin saddle brown followed by a layer of brown sand or was it a 50/50 mix or something?

[@KTIIbot]

May i ask you what Brand of brushes do you use ? Also very nice video well done!!

[@wssmagazine]

Winsor Newton Series 7.

[@mosatar]

Do you have any advice on trying to replicate the same skin tone you've used but on a smaller scale miniature? i'm painting some 15mm scale models and finding it very hard to to get a result i'm happy with.

[@roberts.lamborn7461]

Its there a written list of the paint you used? Please.

[@bcurrans]

I just want to say that I noticed that chumpstain Duncan Rhodes over on the Warhammer TV channel has even started using the tear-away paper pallets you use instead of the plastic Citadel Paints pallet his own company manufactures. You rock! An innovator!

[@wssmagazine]

Haha. If only I could take credit for tear-away palettes. Or if I'd invented them. I'd be rich!

[@DerekKinsman]

bcurrans Citadel hasn't made the plastic pallet for a few years. They switched to the paper pallet a long time ago.

[@bcurrans]

He's still a chumpstain.

[@RobertSingers]

It's a nice job but you have an inaccuracy that's a bit jarring when you're used to the subject. The taiaha isn't a spear. It's a bladed club made from endemic hardwoods, and should all be a dark tea colour with possibly a reddish tinge. The head (upoko) and tongue (arero) aren't made from another material they're carved out of the same piece of wood as the body (tinana). I haven't seen that particular miniature but the collar of the taiaha is probably hair from the Polynesian dog. The head normally has eyes with paua (abalone) insets. There's quite a bit of inaccurate material on the Internet so I recommend starting with The Encyclopedia of NZ www.teara.govt.nz/en . It has some good reference photos and links to other material.

[@wssmagazine]

Good information thanks! It is difficult to find Maori weapons online, if you don't know what you're really looking for. I see what you mean about the head being wood, which I didn't pick up on, because it was such a dark tropical hardwood. I don't really think painting the decorations as feathers is problematic; I see various examples where feathers are used, and at that scale, you can't tell from the sculpting. But maybe this will be helpful to other looking to paint Maori.

[@seorwulf1049]

Fantastic brushwork you are skilled. However your research is very flawed, it would seem you have looked at modern Maori art rather than that from the time period your figure is from. The facial tattoos told a story of their ancestry/history or other notable events such as travel, strength etc. They were usually a mid to dark green colour due to the materials used to "ink" them. Your skin tone also (whilst excellent in technique etc) is way off traditional Maori were a lot darker in skin tone. The arm tattoo is also way off and perhaps more suited to a modern Maori. As mentioned elsewhere the "spear" was actually a club made from AkeAke wood a very hard wood, it was one piece and usually fairly intricately carved, if the Iwi (tribe) lived near the cost it would be decorated with Paua (a decorative rainbow coloured shell) used for eyes etc. This is not a criticism of your work but rather correcting your research.