This article does not concern one of my armies but retraces the history of Hawaii. Why? Simply because I am looking at the constitution of this army at medium-term. His exoticism and the beauty of the costume combine with his type of troops which gives him a style of play different from the armies I already own.
The article also contains information on the treatment of this army by the DBA rules and the manufacturers of figurines.
The outfits are very colorful (capes feathers predominantly red and yellow)
This should give a spectacular rendering on a history game table.
Eureka miniatures:
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King Kamehameha, by Eureka miniatures
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| The statue of Kamehameha having served as a model for the sculptor |
Some fighters wear helmets rather funny resembling calabashes
The banners (which make it easier to distinguish the pads of command are similar to big pins), again the rendering must be nice, most are black, but a lot of bicolour (black, white, red, yellow)
DBA rules allow you to align a fairly interesting army.
Entirely on foot, as it should be. In Big Battle version, this gives the composition below:
- 3 generals 4Pk
- 1 Alapa 4Pk
- 2 Pii-pii 4Pk
- 6 Papa-kaua 4Pk
- 15 Warriors 3Bd
- 6 Huna-lewa Ps
- 3 Maka'ainana 7Hd
Coastal terrain (normal for an archipelago) and aggressiveness 1. This is perfect because it allows a magnificent war fleet to be aligned in order to decorate the table (or to accompany a possible disembarkation of troops on the flank of the enemy army)
In 28mm, the Australian firm Eureka miniatures offers two versions of Hawaiian canoes. The smaller one seems more suited to DBA.
The Hawaiian luggage themselves can be pleasantly typed.
I think that the use of statues-totems would bring an undeniable chrome to this Polynesian army.
They are readily available on the internet. Such as the ones below on ebay:
Another possibility, more staggered, would be to create a settlement combining barbecue-party, surfboards and beach volleyball. Less historic but so "marked hawaii".
Apparently in the aquarium shops there are Hawaiian sceneries that would go very well as a camp for this army but I have not seen them in real life. And I do not know their dimensions.
There are DBA versions in 15mm on the canvas.
Paul Hannah's army.
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| Les 15mm de Paul Hannah |
Greg Kelleher's army
Hawaian history
Early periods
During the 13th and 14th centuries, waves of immigrants from Tahiti landed and absorbed the indigenous people of Hawaii. The first known settlers of the Hawaiian archipelago are Polynesian travelers. The islands were visited by Europeans in 1778 by the English explorer Captain James Cook, who named the Sandwich Islands in honor of the English Earl of Sandwich.
In those days, the islands were ruled by kings at war with one another. Cook was received by the natives with astonishment and mistrust. He was finally killed when he dismounted at Kealakekua Bay. It seems that at the time of Cook's visit, the archipelago was divided into 3 kingdoms: Hawaii, Oahu and Maui, and Lanai and Molokai.
The unification of the islands
When Kamehameha (1736-1819) became leader of Hawaii, he became king. Ten or twelve years later he had twenty ships, which he had bought in the islands. He bought some more from foreigners.
Having fostered a warrior spirit and introduced firearms, Kamehameha attacked the leaders of other kingdoms until he took power from all of these kingdoms in 1795. Inhabitants of many parts of Hawaii never recognized sovereignty Of the kingdom of Hawaii established by Kamehameha.
These people were simply conquered. As the international community recognized the ownership of the Kingdom of Hawaii throughout the archipelago, these rebellious political entities disappeared.
(Source -except pictures- : tohawaii.com)
As for the Hawaiian cities (I like to equip my armies with specific decorations), they seem interesting and easy to realize:
