Now for something comepletly diffrent part (who knows)

Unit is done, a formation of Vikings, mailed upfront unarmoured in the back. Victrix miniatures with LBS transfers.

The second unit in the back is made of footsore metal.

 

VIKINGS!

I finished a unit of Vikings, the figures are footsore, and the flag and shield decals are LBMS.

Good figures, but not the style I do my best work. Lots of flat surfaces, very little for me to shade/highlight. Not a critique of the figures, it's just different styles.  

 I put the 5 fighters in gambesons up front as the better equipped would take place in the front.

I'm guessing, in reality, every single Viking going into a fight would have a gambeson. 

But I'm guessing it would remove the Viking feel and they'd just look like all other medieval spear infantry only with round shields. 

 I have a second unit to paint, that unit will be a mix of unarmored and mail.

The Vikings Part Deux!

 So did another two bases, and it's starting to look like an unit, but still two more bases to be done.
I did one of the 3rd and 4th rank bases, made to be on the flank, so gave it a few archers. Also did the center command base. With a big chief in red beard and hair, he looks important because, he got both mail, and lamellar armor, and he got purple tunic(purple is "big boss collor" for all my viking in any scale. Next to him is his son, another bad as motherfucker, with a splinterd shield.  It's still too narrow for a shield wall, looks more like a shield block. So two more bases.

Also I forgot to mention last post, that they are not in a real shield wall, they are not close enough, I did this for two reasons. 1 I had theise bases, and didn't want to by others. and it lets you see more of the figures, not just spear points and shields.

 This picture is cropped as some very rude sweeds tried to photo bomb it.

 All hail, the Chief or Jarl or what ever he is, I guess gingers were not as prosecuted back then.

 Here you can see the archers on the back row.

Going Viking

 Tiny Vikings, well not super tiny, just tiny, 15mm peter pig vikings.

I want to do medievals, and this is as close I get, all other medievals are kinda not my thing.
Each base has 8 figures, each unit will be 6 bases, so 48 figures in four ranks. I've decided to follow the standard "style" less armord in the two last ranks, more armord in the first. So the back rank will be mostly axemen, and spearmen, with a few archers sprinkeld in on the flanks, while the front, will be armord dane axes, swords and spears. I decided to do theise simpler, for sevral reasons, while the unarmord do have lots of clothing to shade and highlight, the ones in armor don't so instead of 3-4 layers(like my marines got) they have a simple two layer style. I think it work with these type of figures. the mail is dry brushed on. Also instead of 3-4 colors of skin, they only get 1, and thats because the faces are coverd with helmets and beards, so not much skin to work with at all. the leather shoes and bindings do get two shades, like leather scabard ect.

I like the look, I would not do it on bigger figers, or other style figures, my marines will still get their 3-4 layers. but for theise, were the shild take up lots of room ect. I think it works. I did the metal in a single color, also to keep with the style of simplisity. I did them colorfull, lots of bright blue, red and green, some natural wool, and the shields, got greens, blacks, yellows, reds and blues. Beards and hair are blond, brown or red(ginger)

 I also got my girlfriend to "fix" my camera, higher aperture so less out of focus vikings and figures

 This is who they shold look, the ligher armourd figures behind, heavies forward. I got enough figures for 3 more units, after this one is done.

Big Vikings

 So I orderd the SAGA rules, and as they are skirmish rules I have to do them in the true skrimish scale, 40mm.
So these are 40mm Sash and Saber vikings. I also got some archers command and some Saxons.
 The vikings all got spears, or swords with either padded jacket or mail.¨
There seem to be 5 poses in the package, and those are the ones shown here, but the shields, heads and weapons are loose, so you can make many uniqe figures, and ofcourse you can change the paint job.

The Mail is chain mail with ink wash armor, and ink wash brown. The other steel is gun metal with chian mail highlights.  The leasther is barbarian leather with light leather highlights. They look good, but was kinda disapointed at how they looked on the pictures, I also saw I for got to paint some metal buckles on one of those leather straps, which is just me beeing disracted. so have to do some tuchups when they are glued to their bases.

The figures are great, you do get more correct proprtions with 40mm, they do look more life like and real, but the cost, is hard to get around.

Generic ACW rebs, and a list

So the unit is done a small 18 figure unit.

I actualy think this unit looks better then my last russians, the russians ofcourse are much more complicated to paint, they simply have more stuff to paint, and you got the facings, pom poms, more straps ect. I probebly spent twice as long on 8 russians as I did on 9 rebs, the rebs are really quite easy when you got the right colors, 80% of the time, goes to the uniform, as both trousers and jacket needs 3 layers and you kinda have to concentrate when you do that. The rest is sevral smaller jobs that are kinda boring to do.

I based then single line for Fire and fury.

So over to the list, or lists.

The following list is my projects, First list is major projects, second is secondary projects and the third list is possible projects. Now this is just active projects, not any of the 200 dead or hibernating projects.

Major Projects.

1. 28mm Napoleonics This is basicly any thing after 1812, so russians, prussians, french, and british.

2. 10mm ACW, this is a rather new project, but is now one of my main ones, problebly going take up much of my time.

3. 28mm Ancients, this is Republican romans, Carthageinaisn and succesor greeks. got a little bored with them, but I hope to get back soon, I still got quite few to do.

4

Secondary projects.

1. 28mm ACW, again new project, started becasue I had a box of perry plastic infantry, I've allready stop my self from spending money on this project twice, but I need to save up for the 10mm ACW project

2. 15mm Napoleonics, this was my major project for a long time, but has fallen out of favour for a long time now.

3. 28mm AWI again a long term project. just kinda started up again.

4. 28mm WSS, again a project I want to do, but kinda got bored.

5. 6mm Grand Amree

6. 28mm Vikings

And finnaly projects I want to do, but for time and money I don't know when and if I can do them.

1. 28mm Early napoleonics, French in Bicorne, with early russians, and hopefully early prussians if they ever get any of them in 28mm.

This would be a major project in cost and time, I would use Victrix metal russians. And probebly brigade games french, I would love to do this project. But neither Brigade games or victrix are cheap figures, both are about £1.1+ pr. figure if you buy them in bulk. The victrix are expenvice has hell unless you buy full battalions or even brigades. Same with brigade games. on the upside, both victrix and brigadegames use the same sculpter.

2. 15mm ACW those bluemoon look great, but this would be a total over the top luxury project, as I do the period in 10 and 28mm.

A bit of this, a bit of that,

So this one has lots of pictures, it covers about 1200 years.


We start with the recent past only going back some 1000+ years, My first vikings are done, 39 breave vikings, 39 becasue one of my vikings jumped ship and has gone AWOL.


I got very board with these, and bearly got done with the last 10(well 9) figures, I still got enough figures for two more units, but not sure when I'll get around to it.

We then go another 1200 years back in time, and I finished my second and so far last Hastati unit,

I'm not really happy with this light blue armor, just dosn't look right.


My hastati line, 40 figures representing 1200 hastati.

My romans so far, I'm now only one principes unit away from a complete legion.

I also finished another phalangite unit,

I really like this unit, the red and white is really cool.

40 phalangite from two diffrent units

I've decided that all my phlangite units should be uniqe in one way or another, the problem will be to find a cool yet not totaly unhistoric mix of colors for each unit, also so far all my phalangites have been in linothorax, I'm still devided if I want ALL my pikes with that armor or if I should mix it up, I like the linothorax becasue you can paint it in many colors, other armors are not that free when it comes to how to paint them. Also I have deiced that the next unit will have standard bronze colored helmet, just so it won't be to much of a good thing.

Even more Vikings

Man it takes a long time to do 40 vikings, almost there now, 30 are done, so started on the second base, I also did my first ever conversion, the conversion is to say the least, simple!! basicly cut of a sword hand, glue on a axe hand, takes abouot 20 seconds to do, I really liked my viking commander, I did him with duel weapons, a sword in one hand and axe in the other, ofcourse as I took the pics I realised the damn shield of the guy next to him covers his axe hand, and it's not longer obvouis that he has two weapons.

I did the commander as a grisled old chieften, I think he turned out great.

I also really like the resualt of the metal, it's extemely simple, just paint the metal in chainmail, dunk it with "ink wash armor" then a highlight on parts of the helments and metal on the swords.

I must say the faces on these are great, granted most of the faces are coverd by helment and or beard, but even the commander with out the helment has a great face, that is easy to paint get to look good.


I'm still not sure if my viking battle should be vikings vs vikings, or vikings vs what ever.

I did have an idea about vikings and anglo-saxons teaming up in the totaly unhistoric battle against the normans. but we will see, I'm also toying with the idea of making "imagi nation" type stuff, were you have diffrent cultures. but we will see.