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I'm definitely not a native American but I leave near a forest and there's a certain group of people who live nearby that are... well I don't call it primitve but their way of life is very hunter-gatherer and rural, although they do have access to some modern food and technology. But most of their houses don't have electricity and most of the paths they travel is not accessible by any vehicle (and those that are are not acessible to public transportation, so you have to have your own ride, and it is not within their means for most of them).

From what I observe their life consists a lot of walking, chopping and gathering fallen wood (for firewood so that they have something to cook with/light at night), and carrying said firewood for long distances. Their diet, while they do have acess to modern processed food, is still mostly home-cooked food from local produce (lots of rice, vegetables they grow on their own, plus the occasional meat from their chicken or what they buy at the market).

And most of their men are RIPPED. I mean I don't look bad myself because I do workout and box regularly, but these guys make me feel insecure. They're not bodybuilder-shaped, more like athletic lean muscles, kinda like those miniatures. I guess doing what they do everyday burns a lot of calories (thus making their muscles look more defined by keeping a low body fat percentage), plus if you're carrying and chopping firewood daily you're bound to develop muscles.

I would imagine Native Americans would have a similar lifestyle, with the addition of warfare. So I wouldn't really be surprised if at the time they look exactly like that. But again, I'm not a Native American and I don't know if the tropical climate plays a role to body shapes and stuff.

The only reason I am hesitating on purchasing those woodland Indians is the thickness of the weapons makes them seem very very likely to break. There is a reason that plastics from more established producers come with thicker weapons. I have a bunch of the older WGF stuff, and the weapons are constantly breaking when they are actually used, to the point that I don't really bother painting or using them anymore. Similarly, the Indians wrists look dangerously thin.

Regarding their physiques, they don't look at all like bodybuilders. They look lean, but they are not bulky or heavily muscled at all. I think that lean would be the most common body type, maybe with distended stomachs from starvation or diet during the winter.

I'm sure you could play down the abs with the paint scheme, and with mixing in some bits from other kits.

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
I wonder with green-stuffing i could make them look like the classic space marine scouts

Very nice idea! Probably a set of shoulder pads and a bolt pistol and you would be done! Or I suppose you could just use the heads on other marines.

WGF are really nailing these latest sets. The militia were great and these look just as god.

Yeah it's definitely loads better than their early offerings. I still wouldn't touch their Vikings but these... these are amazing.

Well, they're not the worst abs I've seen recently.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
I mean I play GW games who am I to talk about realism

Yeah, but Warhammer 40K doesn't purport to represent an actual conflict in history acted out by real people. I'll defer to Heartserenade's experience, and the folks who actually knew about european shirts and the like, but in general I think it's fine to hold historical minis to a slightly more rigorous standard. (Only slightly, though. Just let me distance myself from button-counters and lacing inspectors)

Hot damn! Getting some of these!

I may have to get a box for my Cosplay Survivor Force.

I think the sculpts are fantastic. I may pick up a set of these guys for giggles. As for historical accuracy these models only represent a tiny portion of the First Nation people who fought in the wars that shaped the north american continent. These models look like the Six Nations people who were one small facet of the conflicts. As a Native American I would like to see more First Nations represented in miniature form. I'm Ojibway (americans know us as Chippewa) and our battle dress was very different from the look of these models. I think having more sculpts of First Nations would be awesome as there were many conflicts between Native Americans that would make for great game settings and such... But only if people care about historical accuracy.

As for the abs; yeah we had them.

These models also would look awesome holding las guns and riding tanks!... just a thought.

This is going on my shopping list, perfect for Necromunda ratskins!

 KBelleau wrote:
I think the sculpts are fantastic. I may pick up a set of these guys for giggles. As for historical accuracy these models only represent a tiny portion of the First Nation people who fought in the wars that shaped the north american continent. These models look like the Six Nations people who were one small facet of the conflicts. As a Native American I would like to see more First Nations represented in miniature form. I'm Ojibway (americans know us as Chippewa) and our battle dress was very different from the look of these models. I think having more sculpts of First Nations would be awesome as there were many conflicts between Native Americans that would make for great game settings and such... But only if people care about historical accuracy.

As for the abs; yeah we had them.

These models also would look awesome holding las guns and riding tanks!... just a thought.

Cool, thanks for the insight! Are there any online resources you know of that show the battle dress of other First Nation people? I'd like to learn more.

 heartserenade wrote:
And most of their men are RIPPED. I mean I don't look bad myself because I do workout and box regularly, but these guys make me feel insecure. They're not bodybuilder-shaped, more like athletic lean muscles, kinda like those miniatures. I guess doing what they do everyday burns a lot of calories (thus making their muscles look more defined by keeping a low body fat percentage), plus if you're carrying and chopping firewood daily you're bound to develop muscles.

I would imagine Native Americans would have a similar lifestyle, with the addition of warfare. So I wouldn't really be surprised if at the time they look exactly like that. But again, I'm not a Native American and I don't know if the tropical climate plays a role to body shapes and stuff.

The chronicles of the first european explorers and colonists who had contact with native americans in what today is the US east coast all mention very fit people, on average taller, more muscular and more beautiful than europeans at the time.

In fact, the native americans were absolutely amused when spotting individuals like real life John Smith, who iirc was pretty short and sported some impressive long red hair & beard.

Although the abs do indeed look a bit over-the-top, those minis certainly look quality. Looks like a fine deal, even if I'm not particularly interested in them.

They look good - if I wanted to build a Ratskin gang, I'd certainly pick up a box. The kneeling one loading the gun looks like a good basis for a conversion holding a two-handed weapon, too.