Hi to one and all ,

The American Indian is a nation one of many races , proud and very much aware of their individual differences , they were often subjected to much in the name of the US Government helping them .

One of the most well known group is the Sioux so lets have a bit of background on these :

The Sioux Indians actually came to North America from the continent of Asia about 30,000 years ago. The name Sioux actually means “little snake”, which was given to the tribe by the Chippewa Indians. The features of Sioux Indians that particularly stand out is their long, straight jet-black hair, representative of people descending from Asia.

Generally, the Sioux Indians were nomadic, meaning that they never really stayed in one place for a very long amount of time. Typically they followed the pattern of the buffalo, assuring them that there would be food and clothing wherever they traveled. The Spanish introduced horses to the Sioux in the 1500’s. Once they began to use horses as a means of carrying articles and transportation, life became much easier, particularly since they were living a nomadic lifestyle.

The tribe had chiefs designated for various aspects of life, including war, civil rules, and of course, medicine men. The men of the tribe could become chiefs eventually if they demonstrated strong warrior skills.

Once the 1860’s came around, the fight over land got quite intense. The Sioux Indians battled the white man in order to keep their land. Eventually, the US Government signed a treaty allowing them to keep a portion of the land, otherwise known as a reservation. Once the gold rush took place, rumors abounded that there was gold located on Sioux land. Again, a battle ensued and the Sioux joined up with the Cheyenne tribe.

The battle was led by the legendary Sitting Bull..... Sitting Bull was a famous Sioux Indian chief. He was the Indian chief that battled General George Custer and the United States 7th Calvary at the Battle of Little Bighorn ending up killing all of the soldiers that attempted to attack them. In 1891 the Battle of Wounded Knee happened, the Sioux also lost the battle. . The mixture of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians annulated the Army and was perhaps the most famous of all Indian battles. Like Geronimo, Sitting Bull enjoyed the limelight later in life. He toured with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. It is said that he cursed the audiences in his own language, much to their amusement.Over the next couple of decades.



Today, there are about 30,000 Sioux Indians living in South Dakota, and still other in Nebraska, Montana, and Canada.

What are we going to share , following on from Christos's initial post (http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/historia-miniatures-new-release.56794/watch-confirm) it is of course the Sioux Chief from Historia Miniatures :

References aound but a good start is the book in the Osprey range (MAA 344) which gives avery nice and easyb to read history and with the usual colour plates .

Continued in next post:

Nap

Hi Guys ,

Before I do the review it does in my opinion go without saying that if you buy any Historia release you expect quality in all areas ....certainly in the previous releases that happened ...and I am delighted to say the same occurs with this Sioux .

We all know Christos to be a very talented modeller, sculpting being one of his many talents , choosing to only work with top casters as well ...in this case YS Castings (Yiannis) based in Athens

Lets have a look at the sculpt itself then the 1st cast in Resin(more later)

As you can see right from the start you can see the care and skill in the sculpting transferring to the casting.

Details of the release is as follows:

Title: Sioux Chief

Scale: 1/12th

No of Parts: 5

Material: Gray Resin

Casting: YS Castings

Sculptor: Christos Panagiotopoulos

Box Art: Christos Panagiotopoulos

Christos has chosen to depict a proud chief not in full bonnet but a simple feather ...an elder of the tribe , respected and reverred by all within.

The model was received as usual quickly and as expecetd with no damage whatsoever , as with the 2 previous releases it is in the very strong black cardboard box , all pieces were in a sealable plastic bag surrounded by additional recycled paper shreds as well as a well reproduced colour picture the top of the boxtop ...what is of note is not only the painting but the colour reproduction , I also like the fact that in the background are blanket designs .

For more information on this get yourself the following book: The Language of the Robe by Charles Kapoun

....... for further reading can I suggest the book by Eva Wison as well called Indian Blanket Design

Both are excellent additions to the library for those with any interst in the Indian Nation

Moving on now to the pieces themselves , there are 5 as I said these being the torso , the head , the feather and the hair piece it fits into , in addition to this a small pedastal base is included.

Lets begin with the largets of the pieces the torso , this is depicted wearing a shirt (probably traded) and a blanket wrapped round his right shoulder and under his left armpit , the blanket has some really nice texture on it as well ..possible drybrusing if you choose , the pigtails are also cast onto the shoulders.

Looking at all the pieces prep consised of only needing to remove small casting remnants from the underside of the torso and a little bit of excess resin from the top if the head (see picture) finally a slight clean up around the pedastal base ....dead easy .

The sculpting on the torso is first class mirrorred by the casting , all folds are natural and the clothing looks like it is being worn , the undercuts on the shirt collar are finely done with the hair which has great texture is sitting correctly on the shoulders ready to marry up when the head is fitted.

Moving on now to the what makes this piece IMO the head , this is a wonderful piece so reminiscent of the pictures you see , the features are spot on , the high cheekbones , the distinctive nose and profile, all are there to enjoy , the eyes (with fine details ...making painting so much easier) are staring straight ahead ...perhaps at a camera held by Matthew Brady ?



Hair is again well detailed , set in the Indian style , when fitting to the torso , I suggets a dry fit initially to make sure you are in line with the pigtails ...no filler was needed when I fitted mine.

Now to his crowning glory the feather , as you would expect ..well sculpted , fine details everywhere , the hairpiece it fits into will need securing lining up using the predrilled hole in the back of the hair thoughtfully provided by Christos .

Finally the base ...a simple piece of resin pedastal style , if you choose to use it a bit of cleaning is needed , pin it for that extra security ...me I will be using my normal brass rod but the option is there for you to choose .

My Final thoughts ...a lovely model , well sculpted and well cast ..a great combination , the box art is tops , making a great reference . You have the option to do whatever you choose with the blanket some designs are palin some are more patterned (picture shows Osage Sioux)

It is a model that will provide many an hour of enjoyment , quality abounds ...what will you have at the end ..a great display model

For more information and to direct order go to Christos's blog
http://minibigart.blogspot.gr/

you can also pm him(username Christojager) here at PlanetFigure.

Thanks for looking in

Nap