Hi to you all

As we have seen with all of Altores Studio's releases they like to give the modeller something different and that's the case with the subject or should I say subjects of this review



So what have we ..well its a maasai individual /grappling withbeing attacked by a lion ......

The Maasai are a very colourful and proud people both in culture and dress with amazing history and artwork including shield designs

a incredible animal..... The King of the Jungle

Why do the Maasai warriors hunt lions?

The Maasai tribe sees lion hunting experience as a sign of bravery and personal achievement. In the past, when the lion population was high, the community encouraged solo lion hunting. However, over the last ten years, due to the decline of the lion population, mainly because of rabies and canine distemper virus, the community has adapted a new rule that encourages warriors to hunt in groups instead of solo lion hunt. Group hunting, known in Maasai as olamayio, gives the lion population a chance to grow.

According to Maasai customary laws, the warriors are not allowed to hunt a lion, suffering from drought, snared or poison.

The Maasai believe that females are the bearers of life in every species. As a such, it is prohibited to hunt a female lion-- unless the lioness has posed threat to human or livestock.

The Maasai depend strictly on livestock (cow, sheep and goat) and do not eat game meat. Three products are used from the lion: the mane, tail and claws. The mane is beautifully beaded by women of the community, and given back to the hunter. The mane is won over the head, only during special occasions. The mane helps warrior from far communities to identify the toughest warrior.

After the meet ceremony, when a warrior becomes a junior elder, he must throw the lion mane away. The warrior must make a sacrificial event for the mane prior to throwing it. At this time, the warrior must slaughter a sheep and grease the mane with a mixture of sheep oil and ochre. This sacrificial event is done to avoid bad spirits. The mane has special spiritual attachment to the warrior. It is a must for a warrior to honor the mane.

The lion tail is stretched and soften by the warriors, then hand it over to women of the community for beading. The warriors will receive the tail back when the beading service is complete. The warriors will keep and guide the lion's tail in their manyatta (warriors camp), until the end of warrior hood.

The lion tail is the most valuable product in the practice of lion hunting. After graduation, a group of warriors must gather to pay their last special respect to the tail. The tail is thrown away after the eunoto ceremony.

It is important to note that:

The Maasai understands that lions are important to the savanna's ecology and culture. For that reason, the Maasai takes extra caution when it comes to lion hunt. The Maasai warriors do not just go out and hunt lions because they can. The rules are there and are followed by every warrior

An excellent website http://www.maasai-association.org/ceremonies.html

and of course The Born Free Foundation http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

Continued in next post

Nap

Books are available both historical and novels and the Maasai story



Lets have the details of the release

Title: The Scramble

Reference; F-54-034

Scale: 54mm or 1/32nd

Material: Gray Resin

No of pieces: 7

Sculptor: Stepan Nikolaev

Box Art: Ilya Fedorov


The release was announced here on PF and in social media

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/altores-studio.82764/

Parts were held as with all of the releases in a white box with a picture on the top , in this case of the actual box art

The resin being in bags these parts are the head and left shoulder , the remaining torso complete , a shield , spear , 2 halves of a lion and a base

One thing to say is that the spear is very delicate indeed so be careful taking it out the bag , perhaps it might have been better on a carD backing.

I would suggest that you dryfit the body parts with the lion in order to appreciate how well this is engineered and also to aid your painting and build plan .

Prep

Main Torso ..Remove small excess casting plugs from under feet ( there are 2 locating pieces as well ) , and cut away former from elbow to right thigh , sand casting line on right calf outside and one on the left calf inside.

Head..Remove casting run from under body angle

Lion...Remove casting run/plug from leg/tail

Base...Remove casting remnant from underside

General Comments

The lion has a plug that is designed to fit to the hole in the warriors side

A tiny amount of filler is needed where parts are put together ( mane , upper torso )

Fit the spear and the shield last !!!

Main Torso

This consists of the legs and the upper body less the left shoulder , the first thing to say is that this is a very in scale sculpt , small in statute , very finely worked , the limbs are thin but muscular as seen in the pictures of these warrior race

Starting at the feet really nice work on these , barefooted with great definition between the toes , the left is fully on the ground , the right slightly raised up exposing the heel.

Ankles well shaped as are the calves and thighs , on the right leg just below the knee there is a leg band , above this we see a nicely done kneecap

The clothing is worn around the waist and toga like he has it over his shoulder , folds are very well done , hanging down nicely and showing the correct i relation to the leg position , pulling slightly at the front and at the back we have the shape of his glutus maximus ..or his bottom!!!! .

Around the waist there is a decorated belt , beaded and nicely defined , tucked into this there is a sword showing a good shaping on the scabbard.

The right arm is in proportion to the scale , nicely muscled with the hand being in a position of holding the spear , fingers show good definition .

There are beaded bracelets at his wrists and long beaded necklaces hanging around his body , front and back, all beads are well shown in size and hang naturally.

Head/Shoulder

Aagain a in scale piece of work , the resin is angled across the body and fits well to the opposite of the main tors , there is a slight underlap which sits well into the body under the cast on beads , Again we see the folds on the cloth , with the left arm raised to fend off the lion attack , , nice upper muscle definition .

The neck area has more beads around it , as seen in pictures with the facial features very nicely done , mouth slightly open , good features with a lovely bit of sculpting on the hair style itself , good textures , pulled together at the sides , front and the back , with elongated earlobes and large earrings being worn ...small details but all adding to the image.

Shield/Spear

The shield is elongated over in shape ,very slightly textured on the front surface , the edging again showing good sculpting , up the centre we have 2 rows of stitching , moveing to the rear a good central section with a handle and cords , this all is avery good representation of the shields with plenty of opportunity to do many patterns.



The spear can be seen in the parts picture and is very delicate , I would suggest that you make another one with wire etc , here are some pictures of the spears used by the maasai.

Continued in next post

Nap

Now to the other pieces in the box..

The Lion

Consisting of 2 parts which fit well together with a tiny swipe of filler needed , the first thing to note is that there is a locating post on the left paw which fits well to the hole in the figures side , together with a post under each rea paws again for really good and accurate fitment into the base.

The details of the actual lion are very good , both muscular and the work on the mane itself , this particularly has a lot of flowing movement , the claws are out on all paws and even in this scale look sharp .

Skin texture is good and YES this is certainly a male lion not only due to the fabulous mane he wears but also to put it rather delicately his " meat and 2 veg" as we say in UK , yes his "vitals" are all there in full glory !!!

The pose is one of a very annoyed lion leaping up about to take a bite at the warrior , mouth is wide open , teeth gleaming and pointed , in full view with the tongue sitting on the lower pallet , the facial features are excellent and very full of action





Base

A good base is provided well textured on the surfaces and an interesting shape as well , more than enough for the resin pieces to fit to . This is made easier and accurate by the paw prints and indentations of the feet being there ..nice touch and it lets the models sit well .



Final thoughts

Yet again Altores Studio have given us something very different , well sculpted , and in scale , small in size though but it certainly has a lot of action and charm , as its a small piece be careful with the resin particularly the spear .

Another good addition to the performance of Altores Studio and certainly something to talk about in the display cabinet.

STOP PRESS : I see we have 2 more figures (and a carcess ) on the way that interact with this pairing

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/initiation-maasai-54-мм.85935/


For now lets have some more of the box art ...ENJOY




For details on this and more from them :

E-mail: altoress@mail.ru

Website: www.altores.com

They are also a member of FaceBook and the forum here on PF

Thanks to for the review piece

And to you all for looking in

Happy Modelling

Nap

Hi Keith

Thank you for your post appreciate you looking in ...Altores seem to offer an increasing range that constantly surprises us all


Hapoy days

Nap

Hi there RantaN

Thanks for posting always welcome

Like the video always good to see things like this

Happy sculpting

Nap

Hi Guys

Here is the link to Part 2 of The Scramble

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/the-scramble-part-2-from-altores-studio.110964/

Nap