A few random vikings

 I was ratching* about in my boxes the other day, when I came across this set of vikings, which were mostly painted but had never been finished. Always happy to get a result with little effort, I applied the last few touches and the shield transfers, adding another half dozen vikings to my collection. I have recently thinned my collection, offloading quite a few old painted figures to eBay, so I am happy to say that I now have got back to six points of painted figures for Saga.

The two central figures are by V&V miniatures, still my favourite manufacturer by a long chalk. The others are by Victrix Miniatures, which offer a decent, more affordable alternative. The shield transfers are by Little Big Men.

Here’s the single point of hearthguard, with the temporary leader (Thor is a busy guy and he can’t play this role forever). At some point he will be replaced by a suitable, more historical figure. I chose to restrict the shields to red, black and white to tie the unit together a little. I have another unit of hearthguard with great weapons that are not yet painted. 

*ratch is a Cumbrian/Scottish/northern dialect word, meaning search or looking for. I was hoping it was Norse in origin, but it seems to be medieval of unknown origin.

Berserkers

These viking berserkers are happy to be out and about, enjoying a bit of fresh air and socialising with the locals. Hopefully things won't get too out of hand. And I am happy to have finally painted something, it's been a struggle recently. I might even get to game with them at some point, that would be a real treat.

These are mostly victrix miniatures, though the extra furry guy on the left is V&V miniatures. They scale together well. They are all based on two pence coins.

They paint up nicely, I used my usual method of thin coats and glazes and it worked just fine. In fact, I have a couple of videos in preparation to show how paint chain armour and how to make and paint realistic bases. More on those soon.

Nord's Painting Shop on Etsy

***Drumroll*** I am pleased to announce, in my most impressive announcer type voice, that I now have a shop on Etsy. Stock is a little sparse at the moment. And by sparse, I mean there's just one figure. But, like the plants erupting all around in the lovely spring weather, it will grow.

This is an Irish warlord by Footsore Miniatures. It came with a Saga book that I had ordered a few months back and it's a really nice figure, though not one I can readily use in my armies. It could easily be used in a Scots or Norse army I would have thought, maybe even a viking force. More pictures on the shop page - yes, pathetic isn't it, that's my cunning plan to get visits to the shop :).

And while I am in marketing mode, here's a link to my facebook page, where I post a fair few WIP shots and step by step diagrams, so worth a visit if you have not already.

And one last plug, I also have an instagram account. Yep, I am fully embracing all the social media sites. #nordspaintingsaga should get you there. Or use this link.

Viking Warband

Just about squeezed this in before month end - the last of the viking bondi. Another interesting sculpt, it's not very often we see a miniature wielding his spear two handed, though I have seen many a re-enactor fight in this fashion. I would think that wielding a spear one handed while holding a shield would be reserved for shield wall duty. In the photo below, with his bondi comrades, he thrusts from behind the shield wall.

So that's one Saga unit of eight bondi and one unit of four berserkers painted up for my new viking warband. They are all by V&V Miniatures, lovely sculpts and well cast in resin. These are, for my money, the best figures on the market at the moment. I have some more lined up to add to this little band, armoured warriors and a couple of characters. More on that in the future, though I am switching to some fantasy projects for the next couple of months.

Dwarf Warriors

These are the first of the January tidying up projects, things started last year which I want to complete before moving on to pastures new. In fact, some of these dwarf warriors were actually built back in 2016, all the more reason to finish them rather than put them aside. Six dwarfs, intended to be the standard warriors of Oakenheim. Some are old metals, some are characters, some are built from plastic bits.

The standard bearer was originally sold as a runesmith, but I added a plastic bit to the top of the staff to make it more banner like. The drummer was the musician of the original metal longbeard unit. The feathers in his helmet are meant to be black, though they have turned out grey, as black feathers from ravens are very common in the dwarf mountainous realms.

Two standard warriors, originally sold by Marauder Miniatures, back in the early 1990's. The helmet of the left one was slightly adjusted, I removed a ruff of feathers. The shield is a plastic one from the current ironbreakers set. I painted their beards grey as they are old models, but that might have been a mistake as they look very bland. I might have to give them a dose of Grecian2000 next time I paint dwarfs.

Another old metal figure here on the right, he was originally the anvil guard from the Anvil of Doom set from 1992(ish). The figure on the left is built from plastic bits - miners and longbeards mostly.

I had intended to get together a unit of twelve warriors, in two halves, with one eye on Dragon Rampant. However, I have now decided to develop this army more as a Saga project, so units of eight are called for. Two more doughty warriors required, not sure when I will get those completed.

Dark Ages village growing

More progress on the viking longhouse - I have replaced the mdf roof supports with twigs from the garden. These were leftover from a prune of my birch trees. The twigs were dried in the microwave, then roughly cut to size. I trimmed off the bark as I figured it would just drop off anyway over time. I chose a random size and positioning along the sides of the building, but the front has slightly straighter and thicker "tree trunks" to make it an imposing entrance for visitors. I might add some decoration on these entrance pillars. The work on this building is now almost complete, just the roof tiling and ground texture to add.

Two plastic buildings are also ready for priming. The lake town house I modified slightly by covering the leaded windows with wooden shutters made from coffee stirrers. There are still a few bits left over from the house boxset, which I will be using as walkways through the muddy ground. The other building is a Renedra ramshackle barn, which I built straight from the box with no modifications. There's also a cart, this was another Sarissa kit which I modified a little with balsa wheels and harness.

That's three quite imposing buildings to start my viking settlement, I think I need some more basic dwellings next, which I hope to scratch build. I also want to add more extras to really bring it all to life - fishing nets, benches, cooking utensils, and such like. And fencing, lots of fencing.

Viking Longhouse

I had quite a few viking gifts for Yuletide, one of which was the Sarissa Precision longhouse. It's a really characterful building, though as with all mdf kits can look a bit flat, something I wanted to attempt to remedy. So I decided to add some texture to the building walls, in the shape of wooden coffee stirrers. These are easy to cut, trim and glue, it just takes a little extra time to add some basic beams to make the building more lifelike, less flat pack.

If this had been a standard building, this could have been the end point, nice and simple to do. However, this is a longhouse, the residence of the jarl and it has a very fancy roof, which complicated matters a little.

The new beams made fitting the side roofing a little more challenging. The usual precision fit was affected by the addition of the coffee stirrers, resulting in some gaps where pieces would normally have butted together. I also had to trim some of the roof supports because the coffee stirrer beams had covered some of the holes where they were inserted - I had mistakenly taken these to be window slots. Not a catastrophe by any means, just a little extra work to get it all together. The roof gaps I filled with wooden poles from an incense jar. My vikings don't like the smell of manure, they prefer the sweet smell of lavender and pine.

With the roof poles added the build is nearly complete. The roof tiles will have to wait, I will probably buy some from warbases. When these go on I will make sure they fit right up to the walls, so all current gaps will disappear.

I am really happy with the end product. The little modifications have taken me some time, but I think it's well worth the effort. As I said, without the complication of the side roof it would have been really easy to do.

I think more modifications are needed, as the roof corners each need a pole to support it. And I am toying with the idea of replacing the rather uniform struts with something a bit more rustic, it shouldn't be too hard to do. Something to make it look more like the Trelleborg viking longhouse.

Lake Town Fun

As you can probably see from this photo, one of my gifts this year was a Lake Town House from the Lord of the Rings range. I had thought it had good potential, as the architecture style was generic enough to be used as a Rohan, Viking, Victorian era or general fantasy building. The walkways could be used as in the box, as a harbour side, or in a muddy village setting as pathways (I got this idea in a recreated Danelaw village in Yorkshire). The boat would have lots of uses and there are quite a few little extras like baskets, barrels and such like. Here you can see the house built, with the square wooden platform intended as the house base, instead used as a dock/jetty.

As I was building the couple of barrels I remembered I had a set of Renedra barrels squirreled away and cracked them open too. My dock area quickly filled up and I was just about to throw away the used sprue, when it occurred to me that it could be a useful frame. A little bit of work cutting and glueing coffee stirrers to the used sprue and I had a second dock area. They could also be used to make elementary shapes, to make planked buildings like small sheds or animal shelters. Fun times.

The Last Vikings

As it's the last Thursday (Thor's Day) before the xmas festivities take a hold, I have to concede defeat on completing the whole bondi unit. There's just one left to finish, oh so close. I would not usually spend so much time on "grunts", but these models are so well sculpted and have such lovely details that it seems a crime to rush through them. So here we are, one (not two) more spear armed bondi added to the mix. He's second from the right, wearing his winter mittens!

I also photographed some previously finished axemen in a group together. These are grizzled veterans, they have seen many a winter and perhaps look a bit out of shape, but you can be sure their experience on the battlefields of the past will see them through.

These groups are actually two of the sets sold by V&V Miniatures. I have said it before and will say it again - they are superb figures and if you are in the market for top quality sculpts and casts, they are your number one option.

So that's a wrap on the vikings for this year. I will get the lone bondi finished for sure and I do also have a special guest character I want to paint before year's end. I also have lots more viking goodies on the way, part of a special yule delivery - I made a list of the things I would like and sent them out to family, not sure which I will get as yet. And I have some plans to make some terrain, develop some background, a little art perhaps.......all for next year of course.

More bondi

You might be thinking that there is a Gaelic vibe to these figures, with the darker hair colours and the plaid of the cloak. I suppose most people think of vikings as Scandinavian in origin. While it's true that they did originally set sail from northern Europe, many settled in lands they had raided. In England, a large contingent settled in the east and north of the country, forming what would later become known as the Danelaw. There were also sizeable colonies in the Scottish islands, the Isle of Man (off the west coast of northern England), and famously it was viking settlers who founded the Irish city of Dublin. It was these I had in mind when painting these figures. Once settled, it's likely that the vikings would have adapted to their new culture, in order to be accepted by the locals, and one way to fit in is by wearing their clothing. In addition, there could easily have been recruitment of local Irish/Gaelic stock into the ranks too - voluntarily or otherwise. So it's perfectly feasible (in my mind) to have viking troops not exactly fitting the usual blonde Norse stereotypes.

Of course, we have no idea what they looked like anyway, most of our pre-conceived ideas come from later medieval artwork and Victorian romanticism, but that's another post for another day.

With these two figures added, the unit now totals four bondi - half a point in Saga terms. I was hoping to have the whole unit done by the end of the month, and I am still just about on target. I am quite busy at the moment and with the festive season approaching I suspect hobby time will diminish, but I will keep plodding on, "little and often gets it done" is my mantra. If I don't manage to hit the deadline, it's not a big issue. After all, Rome (or even Dublin) was not built in a day.

A Visit to Valhalla!

I have been to Valhalla! It was not full of viking warriors drinking ale, fighting and carousing, but a few tourists drinking beer and chatting. Maybe I got the wrong one - this pub in York is the one I visited. Wooden benches, fur blankets, flickering (medieval) lamps, runes carved into timbers, there was even mead served in horns. It was definitely characterful bordering on cheesey/comical, but it served nice beer and there were plenty of beards to check out.

It did inspire me to dig out some of my vikings that I had started to paint back in the spring. Just a pair of them to finish off a small unit of bereserkers. These are V&V miniatures, which I have said before are probably the finest sculpts available to budding jarls, as long as you don't mind working with resin and paying a little extra than usual. 

One of the two figures does look a little too old to be a berserker. I did reinforce the age vibe with his silvery beard and tattered clothing. With that bandage round his head he has the appearance of a walking wounded, so there's a good chance he will be demoted to a bondi at some stage in the future, though the blood spatters on his axe and shield suggest he should not be underestimated.

And here's the unit of four berserkers ready to wreak havoc on their weakling opponents. More vikings to come in the next few months I think. There's the long-awaited (by me at least) Saga battle book just been announced, so I am keen to get some more of the Northmen painted and ready for action. For the glory of Odin!

Viking Bondi WIP

Over the weekend I built some more of the wonderful V&V miniatures. For me, these are the absolute best historical miniatures available on the market. They are so well proportioned with really fine details, top notch sculpting and casting, really easy to clean up. Assembly is generally straight forward, with lugs and sockets on all the joins making it idiot proof. I did have some difficulties with the spears and replaced a couple with metal rods. I also swapped out the supplied resin bases for my usual two pence coins - they add a little heft and stability to the model, and are magnetic. I cannot wait to get them painted, they are just so nice!

Berserker Brace

What could be more scary than a viking berserker rushing headlong toward you with a huge axe? Two of them, of course.

These are V&V figures. I have previously reviewed them on my blog, but it's worth repeating that they are rather splendid. If you like your soldiers to be realistically proportioned and finely detailed, then check out the V&V website.

I wanted a nice little project to tinker with over the Easter weekend and turned to four bereskers I had already assembled. I concentrated my efforts on these two - the other two have shields and I have not yet worked out what to do with those.

The topless warrior wielding two axes is particularly imposing and I added some simple tattoo effects on his skin. They are not designs as such, just random squiggles to suggest intricate inking. He also has a Thor's hammer necklace which I though was a nice touch. The skin is very pale and the bases are sparse and cold looking, to reflect their northern European roots.

With a little luck I will soon get the other two berserkers painted, then there will be four ready to charge into action in Saga games. I have never used them before, it will be interesting to see if I can keep them alive long enough to smash them into the enemy. No doubt the opposition will be very keen to loose their bolts and arrows at the idiot who came to battle with no shirt on.

Saga 2 First Game

It's time to try out the new version of Saga, with my Vikings taking on Matt's Anglo-Saxons. These are two of the simplest factions to use, perfect for a first game with a new ruleset. We skipped terrain setup and just launched straight in, not being particularly competitive types.

The game looks and feels and plays very like the previous version. Changes have been made to streamline gameplay, there's less fiddly measurement involved and far more action. I would describe the changes made as subtle, none game changing on their own, but they all add up to a slightly different game.

The first change of note is generating Saga dice. All units now generate one Saga dice, though warriors and levy cease to do so once they fall below a certain size. No more single warriors hiding in woods generating dice! You can also leave Saga dice on your battle board and not affect the number of dice thrown, useful for building up a cunning plan.

Movement has been tidied up, again not in a major way for casual players. Units can activate for free if they are more than L from enemy units, which allows stranded units to get back into the thick of the action without spending Saga dice. There's greater explanation on how to charge units.

Melee has been tweaked a little, again not by much. There is a clear step by step guide on how to execute combat, generating combat dice, using abilities and fatigue, withdrawals and such like. Defenders get the chance to close ranks, losing half their attack dice to benefit from a better chance to cancel hits. Again, it's not a major change and you will find melee tends to play out as before. This lone viking would have struggled in the previous version as he did in the new game!

Probably the most significant change is the way Warlords operate. They still gain a free activation, and can gift a nearby unit with one. They now generate eight dice in combat, but must fight alone, there's no more With Me rule. When he takes wounds he can spend fatigue to ignore it, or pass it on to nearby hearthguard. If you keep your Warlord and his bodyguard close by you will not notice a huge difference to how it pans out.

The fatigue system has probably changed the most. All units now take three fatigue before they are exhausted. You can spend enemy fatigue in the same way as the previous version, but there's also the opportunity to spend two fatigue to cancel an activation.

I think that's the bulk of the most noticeable rule changes. We got along fine given our previous experience. The game was more action packed as it's easier to keep units in the thick of things. I found it a little smoother, no more fiddling with VS measurements in combat which was always a bit laborious. It's too soon to say how the factions have fared after just one game, but those Anglo Saxons sure seem to have picked up a few melee moves, my vikings were slaughtered. They are keen to exact revenge, maybe for the next game I will switch things around a little, teach those Saxon dogs a lesson!

Saga Age of Vikings First Impressions

As it's Thorsday, it's a good day to have a first look at the new Saga source book, Age of Vikings. As with the new rulebook, I picked this up over the weekend at the Vapnartak wargames show in York. I have had a brief flick through, looking particularly at my own two factions, the Danes and Vikings. These are just my first impressions, an overview of what you get for your hard-earned danegeld.

The book is hardcover, A4 size, 72 full colour pages. In addition you get twelve faction battle boards, printed on stock card, which is possibly a little thinner than the original dark ages boards. These follow the standard design of basic activations along the top, with more advanced activations below. They are clear and easy to read.

After an introduction, each faction gets four or so pages of commentary. This is usually one full page colour photo of some minis, then factions rules and force selection, followed by a question and answer page on the abilities. Coverage of the twelve factions takes up the bulk of the contents.

There is then a section on Friends and Enemies, in which more obscure factions are highlighted and how they should be used - for example, Germanic peoples can be included by using the Aetius and Arthur Saxons battle board. A one page explanation of War Banners follows in the section on New Equipment.

Swords for Hire is, as you might expect, a section detailing the mercenaries available to each faction. Here you will find units such as shieldmaidens, Breton cavalry and Flemish mercenaries. There is also a list of various personalities and  troops you might hire - scouts, a priest or a personal champion perhaps.

Finally, there is an optional section on relics and artefacts, detailing items such as the sacred banner, the ancestral sword or the famous steed.

At first glance, the battle boards have not changed drastically. I have mainly looked at the two boards I am familiar with, Danes and Vikings. On the whole, the abilities are named as in the previous version of Saga and work in the same or a similar way. It will take a few games with the new rules to see just how much (or little) this aspect of the game has changed in conjunction with the updated rules. I have a game coming up over the weekend so will be able to make a better appraisal then. In the meantime, here's how a typical faction is covered in the book.

Saga 2 First Impressions

I managed to get my hands on an early release copy of the new Saga rulebook at the Vapnartak show in York at the weekend. I am a huge fanboy when it comes to Saga. It's the best skirmish game I have played - the rules are easy to pick up, but there are levels of complexity in how it can be played. If I could only ever play one game, it would be this one. Here's my first impressions on this update to my favourite game.

The rulebook is softback, 50 page A4 size, with good quality full colour pages. They get a bonus internet point from me for featuring Yggdrasil on the cover. It's certainly improved in layout since the first version. Everything is well laid out in a logical sequence. The contents progress from what you need to play, to the basic rules on orders and activations, more on activations, special rules and terrain rules, a scenario, a glossary and a reference section.

Each section is well explained, it's mostly very precise and unambiguous, with little waffle or history or fluff interrupting the explanation of the rules. If you have played before you will breeze through this book, purely looking for changes from the previous version. If you are new to the game I suspect you may well have appreciated more examples of gameplay. Like I said at the start, Saga is an easy game to learn, but explanations and walkthroughs for beginners are never a bad thing. Perhaps these will appear online at some stage.

Veterans will still have to read the book completely, there are plenty of small but significant changes from the original version. There is no summary of these revisions, maybe this will be released online at some stage? Reading through the lovely book is certainly a pleasant way to spend an evening or two, but if you want to dive straight in with just a cursory glance you may come unstuck.

There is one scenario to try out your newfound knowledge of the rules. It's a basic clash of arms - line up your troops, swing your axes and kill as many of the enemy as you can. I would have liked to have seen a little more than this. Three scenarios would have been nice, especially for completely new players. There is a Book of Battles mentioned, which will include more scenarios, so I understand the desire to hold back on this content. It keeps the rulebook clean and concise, but nevertheless one scenario seems a bit sparse.

That minor quibble aside, I am really impressed  by the new version of Saga. It's a nice looking book with great production values. From what I can gather on a first read through, the revisions make sense and will streamline an already good set of rules. An extra four pages containing two more scenarios would have made it an even better product, especially for newcomers.

I am really looking forward to trying out the new rules. I did also pick up the new Viking Age book in Yorvik (sorry, in York) - my Danes and Vikings are eager to test out their new battle skills. More to come on the new Saga, when dice have been rolled in anger.

Eomer and Rohirrim

Spurred on by my recent quick paint job on the Mordor snaga, I had a look through the part-painted projects, hoping to find something that would be easy to complete. You probably know how this goes - you start a project, get a few models/units painted with great enthusiasm, then it tails off and you start something else. Then something else again, and again, until you have several projects in various stages of (non) completion. Eventually, there comes a time to return to that almost finished job. Today it was time for Eomer to finally ride forth!

There were three models to complete here and they were about 90% done. I just had to finish a few details, mostly Eomer's red leather armour, and then tackle the dreaded banner. Having forced myself to practise on freehand recently, the design came quite easily, though matching it on each side of the flag was a challenge. I think it turned out okay in the end. Not bad for an hour's work on a dreary Sunday afternoon.

The Rohan force now contains two units of six knights, ideal for Dragon Rampant. In Saga games they would probably be used as elite units, so three units of four. Along with two/three units of infantry, there's just about enough for gaming with these figures now. Every time I paint some of my Lord of the Rings collection I like them more and more.

Mordor Snaga

Snaga is a term used by orcs for lesser of their own kind, or slaves. They are usually smaller, less able to wield a weapon in combat and often equipped with bows. I wanted some in my Mordor force, but not the standard bow armed orc models. There's not much chance of me getting the old metal models, so I went with some Moria goblins. In Tolkien's world, orcs and goblins are all the same species, there's no real distinction, not even a size thing. So while they are officially goblins, they pass as orc snaga in my eyes.

There's twelve in the unit, so they can be used in both Dragon Rampant and Saga games. Unfortunately there's not much variety in the poses - though arguably all bowmen look the same when loosing their arrows. I didn't want to spend much time on them - I picked up these on ebay already painted and just painted over them. It's cheating I know, but they were very cheap and it saved me some time. More reinforcements for my Mordor force on the way.

Barrow Guardians WIP

A little progress on the Undead force. These are the Barrow Guardians of StoneGrave Moor. They are the elite troops, the one unit that might actually cause some damage on the battlefield. Originally I had intended just eight models for two Saga points, but decided that three points gave me more options and makes sense from a Dragon Rampant viewpoint - units of elites are six strong in that system.

They are built from plastic Army of the Dead figures from the Lord of the Rings range. A few have weapons from the plastic GW skeletons, plastic shields from Gripping Beast Saxons, plus a few other bits here and there. Nothing amazing or ground-breaking, but they do fit the bill nicely.

Zombies

Two dozen zombies speed painted. These are predominantly plastic figures, mostly mantic with some GW bits. There's also some Wargames Factory historical bits from their Saxon range. The two main characters in the centre of the front row are metal figures from the now defunct Rackham Confrontation series. It's tempting to spend a little more time on these two "leaders" but I am trying to whizz through these figures so will call them done for now.

My aim is to use these figures in several systems. In Fantastic Saga they are Undead levy troops, so two units of twelve - theoretically they could be split into smaller units but I would probably field them big as they are very poor and need the numbers. They would also be similarly used in Dragon Rampant. They could also be ranked up on magnetic movement trays to play mass battle games.

After just over a month I am pretty pleased to have painted up four points of my Undead Saga force - these two points of levy and the previously painted butcher and ghouls. I am continuing with the fleshy elements - some fliers and a necromancer are in my sights. Then I will move on to the bony bits - I have already started the rather tedious task of building a legion of skeletons. Onwards we shuffle!