Hi guys ,
Not so much an open box more a open book !!!!!
As we know we are lucky to have some very talented modellers from both New Zealand and Australia so I thought .............
Why not share my thoughts on this , one of the latest from Osprey in the Men At Arms series .
These wars were as I have said horrific and I found the reading of this very interesting and has lead me to doing further research for my reference library .
Author: Ian Knight
Colour Plates: Raffaele Ruggeri
Published by: Osprey Publishing (Men At Arms Series)
Website:www.ospreypublishing.com
ISBN: 978 - 1 -78096 - 277 - 1
Cost: £9.99 (UK), $17.95 (USA), $18.95 (CANADA)
The Colonial Wars are a subject hardly covered especially those that happened in New Zealand between settlers and the Maori people; this book gives a good introduction and helps to address the availability of information.
The book , number 487 in the Men at Arms series from Osprey is written by none other than Ian Knight , an International expert on the Colonial Wars so who better could we ask for .
These wars were different in that the Maori had obtained firearms using them effectively alongside the traditional weapons of their culture; they were not the “savages” initially thought but skilled bush fighters and able to build strong defensive forts.
The book is in the usual tried and tested Osprey format, comprising of a total of 48 pages, with the laminated card covers we all know.
Inside we have a full history of the conflicts in the period starting off with information on the Maori society ,looking then at the “Musket Wars” of 1820-43 moving onto the “ Flagstaff Wars” of 1843-47 , finally looking at the “Wars for Land 1850-70’s .
We next have a look at the Maori Warrior and also both the British Troops as well as the New Zealand troops …all packed full of information including details on the various groups of warriors, the uniforms worn, how they were adapted for the style of fighting and what I found so interesting was the Volunteers raised to fight including Armed Constabulary and Militia.
During my research I found that the so called "Civilised" people took pride in collecting shruken heads and relics (weapons etc) often posing with them ...amazing stuff and an aweful thing to do against a proud people..
The colour plates are well done as expected and these are what makes the series so good, colour representation is very good and well printed, in amongst the 8 pages we have wonderful pictures of Maori and the Constabulary in their favoured “shawl” dress
The book has many rare photographs of Maori 
as well as contemporary pictures of them and of the of the actions in and around the fortified Pa’s (these were death traps to any attacking troops (Osprey do a book in the Fortress range on these – reference FOR 081)
This is a really good addition to my library and I recommend it to all, it also make a very good companion to the series of 4 on Queen Victoria’s Wars especially MAA 224 (No 4) – covering Asia, Australasia and the America’s .
I have all the Osprey both MAA and Elite and use them regularly to research , the colour plates are invaluable and these books provide a great starting point for anyone interested in History .
Nap
Not so much an open box more a open book !!!!!
As we know we are lucky to have some very talented modellers from both New Zealand and Australia so I thought .............
Why not share my thoughts on this , one of the latest from Osprey in the Men At Arms series .
These wars were as I have said horrific and I found the reading of this very interesting and has lead me to doing further research for my reference library .
Title: The New Zealand Wars 1820-72 – MAA 487Author: Ian Knight
Colour Plates: Raffaele Ruggeri
Published by: Osprey Publishing (Men At Arms Series)
Website:www.ospreypublishing.com
ISBN: 978 - 1 -78096 - 277 - 1
Cost: £9.99 (UK), $17.95 (USA), $18.95 (CANADA)
The Colonial Wars are a subject hardly covered especially those that happened in New Zealand between settlers and the Maori people; this book gives a good introduction and helps to address the availability of information.
The book , number 487 in the Men at Arms series from Osprey is written by none other than Ian Knight , an International expert on the Colonial Wars so who better could we ask for .
These wars were different in that the Maori had obtained firearms using them effectively alongside the traditional weapons of their culture; they were not the “savages” initially thought but skilled bush fighters and able to build strong defensive forts.
The book is in the usual tried and tested Osprey format, comprising of a total of 48 pages, with the laminated card covers we all know.
Inside we have a full history of the conflicts in the period starting off with information on the Maori society ,looking then at the “Musket Wars” of 1820-43 moving onto the “ Flagstaff Wars” of 1843-47 , finally looking at the “Wars for Land 1850-70’s .
We next have a look at the Maori Warrior and also both the British Troops as well as the New Zealand troops …all packed full of information including details on the various groups of warriors, the uniforms worn, how they were adapted for the style of fighting and what I found so interesting was the Volunteers raised to fight including Armed Constabulary and Militia.
During my research I found that the so called "Civilised" people took pride in collecting shruken heads and relics (weapons etc) often posing with them ...amazing stuff and an aweful thing to do against a proud people..
The colour plates are well done as expected and these are what makes the series so good, colour representation is very good and well printed, in amongst the 8 pages we have wonderful pictures of Maori and the Constabulary in their favoured “shawl” dress
as well as contemporary pictures of them and of the of the actions in and around the fortified Pa’s (these were death traps to any attacking troops (Osprey do a book in the Fortress range on these – reference FOR 081)
I have all the Osprey both MAA and Elite and use them regularly to research , the colour plates are invaluable and these books provide a great starting point for anyone interested in History .
Nap
