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That is a fantastic horse and rider. Just superb!

Which of those vikings are Foundry models? I have never seen a Foundry model that was painted and looked good... I never would have guessed they were of quality.

@GiraffeX: Thanks! Interesting to see the horse going over so well, but I won't complain.

@Gitsplitta: I gotta say that Vikings are kinda fun.

@Wehrkind: Cheers, mucho obligado. Most of them are Foundry minis really. As far as I can tell of this batch I'm currently doing all but the ones by Saxon Miniatures. I have yet to see any bad Foundry minis. I did some Fantasy ones, a bunch of their ACW and AWI minis, and now these vikings here and they all are superb models. The paintjobs on the website are pretty good (lots of freehanded knotwork and such on the vikings on the foundry website). Bless Foundry for still being around and keeping those sculpts in rotation. And indeed for hosing all the Oldhammer events and all of that.

Huh, maybe it is just the presentation on their site that does it for me. I was always tempted to buy a few packs from the Warstore back in my mad acquisition days, but the "studio" jobs always put me off, like they were 90's era minis with paint to match. I might have to give them another look.

Well, for the most overwhelming part they ARE from the 90s. Excellent sculpts.

Thanks for the comments, guys.


Update on the Saxon Miniatures Viking warriors (just to keep stuff confusing):



They're pretty much done now, only lacking basing and shields on some of them. Those I'll add lateron when the whole army is done to this point. Hope you like them so far.

This past weekend we played some "Vikings raid village and Anglo-Saxon defenders have to shoo them away before they take too much stuff and people away with them":










I plan to write up a proper game report too soon (as soon as time allows), so just a few impressions for now.

I love the opera singer leading the vikings.

There's nothing about that gaming table/figures that I don't like.

That is a pretty amazing looking set up Sigur! I am super jealous!

Can't wait for the full report!

Everything about that board and those miniatures is full of win! Recommended listening: Amon Amarth (for the full Viking experience).

Wow that battle looks really amazing, cant wait for the batrep.

@Gitsplitta: Yeah, Brunhilda. She's the Viking Lord's mother in law and was a major annoyance, fending off one of our hearthguards and warrior units while hurling rocks and insults at them. (played the Strong Arm card twice!)

@Wehrkind: Cheers. I'll pass the praises on.

@Cosmic: ^^ Actually, the best live gig of a band I'd ever been to was an Amon Amarth concert. And I'm not even a fan of them or much of a metal guy these days. But it was just glorious.

@GiraffeX: Thanks, I hope to be able to write up something any time soon!


Update on the second group of Viking Warriors (all Foundry minis):

Haha, no way! I'd love to see them in concert one day. Awesome

They're lookin' good!

Those lads look great! Foundry should be sending you advertising dollars.
I do wonder if they won't look a little dark on the board, but I am sure that day is coming soon!

And that man on the far left... did he kill a musk ox and is now wearing it as a hat?

@Cosmic: They really are good. Maybe I was just in a good mood that night. A friend (big metalhead) dragged me along, and it proved to be a lot of fun. I think the dude who wrote the book Lords of Chaos about heavy metal in general wrote that there is nothing more magical than a metal concert and maybe he was right.

@Wehrkind: I fully agree. But seriously - they sell good stuff.The minis should look bright enough I think, maybe the weird background just makes them appear darker than they actually are. That guy in the left is a particular favourite of mine.


Alrighty, today another 28mm WW2 vehicle review of mine went online. This time I took a good and hard look at Die Waffenkammer's T-34/76 (with that fancy press-sheet turret. Just read the history behind how that came to pass in the review. It's mind-boggling. )



http://www.battlebrushstudios.com/2015/08/review-die-waffenkammer-28mm-t-3476.html

I hope that you find the article interesting! Stay tuned for more Soviet vehicle reviews!




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Well, it looks like I finished that Merowingian Franks warband!


Warlord:












Saxon Mercenaries:









Two units of horse-mounted Hearthguard:














Frankish Warriors:









Hope you like them.

Radical, love the variety of shield designs.

I'm totally with you on that one, Siggy.

By God, those guys are INCREDIBLE! Are the shield designs completely freehand, or decals? Regardless, it's super impressive work.

Love the T-34/76 review, it seems like a fantastic kit. The tank's history is very interesting too, it always impresses me how the Russians managed to turn things around (indeed, with a little help from the Russian Winter).

@Shanks: Cheers. The funny thing about Dark Age dudes is that pretty much everything you see on the table (given the guys are facing your way of course) is shields and helmets. If those look alright the minis look alright. Almost makes me question why I put so much effort in making the rest of the minis look nice too. Just kidding. But the shields and helmets are important focal points.

@Cosmic: Thanks muchly, Sir. The shield designs are decals. I'd have to charge quite a bit more for doing that kind of stuff as freehands. (but of course it would look more 'rounded', more coherent). Still, doing those bloody shields took me all day yesterday. It's not just the painting of the shields, fitting them, converting arms for the knights, having to cut out the decals very exactly and so on (see below). Cheers for the comment on the review. What left the biggest impression on me out of that whole history is the thought of a 10,000 ton metal sheet press machine shaping 6cm thick sheets of hardened steel. I have no background in engineering what so ever and I have the suspicion that it's not as much as a deal as I imagine, but it's just an amazing mental image I think.


I noticed a big problem with Little Big Men Studio's transfers - you can't keep them stored for long. A friend of mine ran into the very same problem recently too. After just two years of storage or so the clear plastic foil on the sticky side of the LBM transfers won't go off. Imagine that, just two years! Earlier this year I built and painted a model tank from 1974 - those waterslide transfers were still good. Now I'm fearing for all those Persian shield transfers I bought off LBM just a few months ago.

The other day my SMOG 1888 stuff arrived. They threw in a few additional scenic bits too which is cool. I have no idea what I'll do with the minis. Hope I get to do at least some of them before I wither and crumple into dust. The thing is that I'm completely booked out until the end of September at the very least, so I can't quite allow myself to do any painting for myself or much else at all! Well, maybe it's not that bad. But there is just so bloody much to do. Yesterday I actually installed a browser add-on which bars me from accessing Facebook between 9am and 6pm so I keep focussed. So yeah, I guess I'll get back to painting Vikings now. Thanks for the comments guys, always appreciated!

Love the review. That is a neat story, and wow, remarkably few parts on that tank! I am impressed they cast the tanks on the hull and a few of the other details in one piece.

Oh yes, indeed. And it saves SO much time on cleaning and assembly and all of that. This is why I got a bit suspicious of late when people say that plastic kits inherently are superior. Another cute thing is that they package the model in a way so that it's pretty much all assembled in the box (or at least looks like it). Chassis sitting on the tracks, turret on top. I was really surprised when I opened the box.

If you're impressed with what they can cast in one piece on that T-34, have a look at this SdKfz251:



The bloody chassis is a single part cast. I have NO idea how they do it. (tracks, wheels and possibly gun shield are separate parts I assume).


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Okay, back to metal and vikings. Here's an update on the rest of the regular warriors:



These are at the same level as the guys above now (very much above, before the franks of course ), only lacking basing and shields. The next unit (veterans with great axes) are on the table already. Tomorrow there probably won't be an update as i'll be out for most of the day. In the evening I'll have another game of Dux Britanniarum, so at least there's that connection to this thread.

Thanks for looking, looking forward to any and all comments!

Well, okay, ONE update for you today. 8 Elites with greataxes:



Next: Errr...phew...Berserkers I guess. Not too many either. After that I'll try to get the archers done. Hope you like the elites so far!

Those vikings look really great! I rather like Hodor there in the bottom photo

@Wehrkind: Well, one of them was bound to look like Hodor (whom I had to look up. I don't watch GoT).

Berserkers WIP:


Archers are cleaned and glued to bases, now I gotta run deliver the Franks.

Oh, here's a picture of last night's game by the way:


I'll see that I get a battle report done asap! Good, proper game.

What's everybody up to this weekend? It's horribly hot here, so I guess I'll hide in a dark corner and not move an inch. :p

Berserkers look great. I am loving the dude with the invisible ax! The girl in the white bear hood looks really nice too; that's a nice subtle model.

And wow, those lads look great on the table! Not too dark at all, and in fact have a nice hefty look to them. Very solid looking.

Thanks, Wehrkind! The guy with the invisible axe is meant to hold a banner which I'll add later. Hence the empty-handedness at this point.

Those guys on the table better look hefty and supercool, they're mine after all! (game didn't go too bad either. At first it looked very good, but then these bloody peasants showed up and smashed into my warriors' flanks TWICE. :/ It ended up being a slight victory for me (always hard to say. I managed to get two piles of loot off the table, killed quite alot of enemy forces, including a noble and wounding their lord, but my guys suffered quite annoying losses as well). Good game, the new guy seems to like it alot. But then he's a Lardies rules fan to begin with.

Archers WIP:



Getting slower. That heat's starting to get annoying.

Superb nonetheless! I love the subtle variations of colour that you create on each model.

Spring and Autumn FTW! Summer can be too hot, and Winter can be too cold. However, if there's one thing about the UK, it is that it's usually never too extreme - Summers have their cool spells, and Winters tend to be mild. People over here may complain, but they don't realise just how lucky they are!

They are looking great Sigur, I love their shiney helmets. I find I don't paint so well when it gets hot, paint was trying to dry on my brush today while painting

@Cosmic You forgot about the rain!!!

@Cosmic: Thanks muchly, Sir. I'm okay with summer, but it's just stupid hot this year without much rain at all in between periods of heat. Weather in the UK struck me as pretty mild too (I stayed in London, so it was extra mild there in the south i suppose). I did however notice a weird resistance of people against cold. At the first glimpse of sun everybody rips off their sleeves and trousers and run around in miniskirts and t-shirts, despite the cold.

@GiraffeX: That thing exactly happened to me today too. It's just plain annoying.

Had to pause painting and instead built two carts full of lootables and some peasants to drive them around.


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Damn me, these dudes took long to do.



Hope you like them so far. These are technically Levy or armed peasants, so I chose more sombre colours and less pattern work on the clothes than on the warriors.

This is not all that was done since the last update, but these are the only things halfway presentable at this point:





There's more peasant stuff coming up now (as I try to hunt down a 60mm GW-style tall round base for the warlord).

Treasure man needs some nipples on those big ol' moobs of his!

Those archers look really nice. Great variation despite the low number of sculpts.

Thanks. Funny thing is that it's still more varied than if this was a boxed set of plastics.