Viking Hirdmen

I have been hosting a friend from New Zealand for the past week, and as a result haven't got much painting done. However, I did manage to finish these brave Norse Hirdmen to rally around their Jarl's banner. Again, these are Foundry figures, so quite "heroic" and on the large side. These fellows are individually based and will be used for both Saga and unit based games.

Apologies for the grotty looking movement tray, it has taken a battering over the years. I am hoping to finish my first battalion of Old Guard Grenadiers this weekend, and some more Vikings. However, if the weather is fine I might actually go outside instead...

Some pictures: Vikings and Grenadiers

I managed to finish basing five more vikings of the rather heroic persuasion, as well as my first complete base of French Old Guard Grenadiers. Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, I am trying to arrange for a better quality lamp for lighting since the changeable weather makes photography outside impossible sometimes. Initially I had tried to save time on the French by simply gluing sand to the base and washing it with brown ink to bind it and shade it, but there was a distinct lack of definition and it looked lame. Instead I opted for my standard basing method using cheap acrylic paint I buy in 250ml pots. First dark brown, then a drybrushing of yellowish brown and finally a drybrush highlight of bone. This is followed by some static grass to finish it off.

I am rather chuffed with the way that these grenadiers turned out, they look rough and ready and overall look rather worn. I have the weekend off, so I am going to try and get a unit of Dwarf Miners done, in addition to finishing off two more companies of grenadiers.

Pictures: Dark Age Village Folk

I finally found an opportunity to post a few pictures of my Dark Age village folk. These are Foundry figures from their Viking range, and by the style I would guess Copplestone sculpts. They are an absolute pleasure to paint and make a nice change from the usual armed bods. Enjoy...

Some rascally kids.

I really enjoyed painting the two women in this picture.

The middle figure is Brunnhild Ravenhair, the chieftain's daughter. She will make a good target for a woman snatching scenario. The rightmost is a hedgewitch character, who could be given some "magic" powers for a scenario to make things interesting.

 The really good thing about most of these figures is their wide range of usability. Although they are "Viking" folk they could easily stand in for most Dark Age or early Medieval civilians. I am a big fan of versatile miniatures that are at home in many different armies, places, or periods. I find that the Dark Age period is particularly good for reusability as Northern Europeans seem pretty generic in dress. Anyway, that is all for now. Hopefully I will get a chance to upload some pictures of my Romans in more detail.

June Review: Early Imperial Roman Refurb and Viking Civilians

June has been largely dedicated to painting bits and pieces, given that I was busy with work, the army and life in general. The good news is that my Roman army for Vespasian in the East is now fixed. The shields have been reattached, and the chipped painted reapplied. Here is a picture of the Roman host:

The Roman host without their general Vespasian, the Eagle and their two scorpios.

The Muleteer at the head of his army.

I used this army at the BHGS Challenge WAB competition in 2006 where I finished dead last. The army also included some Commagene horse archer allies, Nabatean archers, and slingers from Chalcis which are not pictured here, as these were dragooned from my Seleucid army. I always enjoy fielding an army from a specific theatre or campaign, even at a tournament. I realise that I could simply field an army of drilled legionaries, but I prefer something with a narrative. I am currently gathering the lead for a Western Empire project, a force to fight Caractacus or the Germans, and of course, play the other sides in the year of the four emperors. I am thinking of painting that army in a far less uniform manner, ie. less red!

Having fixed up the Romans, I have started getting my Norwegian Viking army back into one piece. The years have been unkind to them and they are quite battered, most shields need reaffixing and a lot of chipping needs painting, but actually it has been a good opportunity to add a highlight here and there as I get through them. I also managed to knock out a few Viking age village folk and a cottage for scenarios. I recently received my Saga rulebook, so skirmish level gaming is a go and civilian figures and village buildings are great for that sort scenario based gaming. I have another Gripping Beast cottage to paint up, which I will try and get done soon to go with this one. Looking forward to the month of July, I am going to push on with a 28mm Napoleonic project which I have been thinking about for some time. I will document the planning and practice of it on this blog as it happens. The vikings and dwarfs will share the table with some Victrix Old Guard Grenadiers which I got for my birthday in June.