Miscellaneous Miniatures

Looking for minis for my WFRP Norsca campaing, I've recently found some interesting ones from Artisan Guild (Northmen Huskarls, 3D printed). Three of these will be the crew for a 3D printed mammoth from Epic Miniatures (Ice Age Madness range) that will join my norse army for WFB. The Mammoth is big, but not enough in my opinion. I should have asked for a higher scale, but it will be OK on the tabletop.

Then, we have four Wraiths, also by Artisan Guild, that will be facing the PCs along with their master (a Lich I have painted last month) at the end of the next scenario.

Finally, we have a Valkyrie from Clay Cyanide Miniatures, also 3D printed, that might come to the PCs help, sent by the norse god of the dead, Helenir, should they need it when fighting the many undead they will encounter in this scenario.

Norse Fighters

Norse Characters and Civilians

After completing the units for my Norse army, I still had some Norse minis to paint, mainly characters and civilians, and some sort of fighters/barbarians that I was at first planning to include in my Norse army, but then changed my mind.

These miniatures are from Red Box Games, Reaper Miniatures and Hasslefree Miniatures. 

Red Box Games

Bondis (perfect for my Norse baggage train).

Svetlana, Frost Giant Princess

I enjoyed painting this wonderful miniature (from Reaper Miniatures). This Frost Giant Princess will be a nice addition to my Norse army. Additionally, she's of the same size as the two other Giants (or Jotuns) I have painted some time ago (here and here, both from the Blood Rage boardgame).

Of Wolf and Man (2)

This is the last unit of my Norse army, now all are painted. These guys (the Ulfwerenars) can be devastating provided that 1) they reach the enemy lines safely, 2) they change form when expected...

Next post will be about Norse characters, civilians and other surprises.

Group Shots

Let's go Berserk !

A new bunch of tattooed, frenzied and foaming Berserkers for my Norse army (now 40 are done). As usual with my Norses, they are from different periods and manufacturers (old Citadel, Red Box, V&V Miniatures, Bronze Age Miniatures & Foundry).

Group Shots

Thralls

"Thralls are the slave classof the Norse. They are recruited into armed bands in times of trouble. Such times are common and the Thralls are often armed to fight off neighbouring Norse kingdoms or rampaging Goblins. Despite their lowly status, Thralls are really as bloodthirsty as the rest of the Norse society, and thoroughly enjoy the chance to suspend the monotony of drudgery for the excitement of battle."

Here are 40 Thralls added to my growing Norse army. In the Norse society, Thralls' clothing was made of woolen and undyed knee-lenght tunic, that's the reason why I have avoided to paint their clothing with vivid colours. They all bear shields with the Jarl's colours.

Group Shots

Norse Dwarfs

Although they live in their own citadels (like Kraka Drak or Kraka Ornsmotek) within the mountains of Norsca, the Norse Dwarfs are incorporated in the Norse army along their human allies.

Here are twelve tattooed old school miniatures that could be aligned as Norse Dwarf Berserkers or Norse Dwarf Troll Slayers.

Plus five plastic Norse Dwarf Warriors to complete an existing unit (now 40 warriors with this addition).

Berserkers/Troll Slayers

Bondsmen Archers and Seers

Back to the Norse army with these 15 old-school Bondsmen Archers (now 40 painted in total). The two guys that are taller than the old Citadel minis are from V&V Miniatures.

Group Shots

Viking Special Forces

A new batch of special forces (i.e. Berskerkers and Ulfwerenar) for my Norse army. And Happy New Year to those who visit this blog! 😁 May the best of 2021 be the worst of 2022.

 Berserkers

 

 

 

Of Wolf and Man

Ulfwerenar means 'wolf-warriors' and is the word used by the Norse to describe those able to transform their shape into a grotesque half-man half-wolf. Such individuals are quite common in the north, where whole families of these Weres live in forest settlements.

And here they are. Half of the unit in man form and half in were form. They will alternate in the first rank of the unit: when they transform I'll put the Weres in the first rank, otherwise the men will be in. As mentionedd in the Norse Army supplement published in White Dwarf by Nigel Stillman and Rick Pristley, it is not necessary to have duplicate models for all minis in the unit: 

'Note that in practice it is enough to tell the opposing player a unit is composed of Ulfwerenar - it is not strictly necessary to have duplicate models.'

Other minis painted at the same time are five warriors that will complete existing units.

Group Shots

Marathon Painting

59 Vikings and Archers painted in one month... 😥 This is such a nightmare. But I had no choice: in a few days, I will master a game of WFRP in which there will be a battle between my players (and their loyalist warriors) and rebels from their clan. And I wanted all minis used for this battle to be painted. There will be approximatively 130 or 140 miniatures on the battlefield.

This is a home-made campaign for WFRP 1st edition. The players come from a small village of Norsca. They have grown together and were forced to leave the village at some point (in fact, they were banned). Then, after several adventures, they saved the life of one of the High King (of Norsca) relatives and entered in the service of the monarch. After several successful missions across Norsca, in Albion and in Kislev, they were authorized to travel to Middenheim for winter (one of the players' mother and sister live in that city).

Now they are called back in Norsca by their High King who wants them to take control of their former clan. The Jarl of this clan has died without leaving heirs and the High King fears that the deceased Jarl's right-arm, the chief of the hirdmen, a vile and cruel man, will take the lead of the clan. 

One of the players is supposed to defy the bad guy and to become Jarl after defeating him in a fight to death. But even though the player will be victorious, some of the hirdmen will not swear allegiance to him and will leave the town to hire warriors in order to fight the new Jarl and the loyalists.

I will certainly write a battle report of this battle between the rebels and the loyalists. But now, let's have a look at those 59 warriors painted in one month.

Warrior Bondsmen with Spears

More Warrior Bondsmen

I've painted a second batch of Warrior Bondsmen. As usual in my Norse army, the minis come from several manufacturers. This time, I've added four minis from V&V Miniatures. They are a bit taller than the others and very realistic, you'll recognize them easily among the others. About these minis: if you plan to buy some, be aware that you'll need to be patient (I received mine two or three months after ordering them). Also, they are cast in resin and are multi-(very small)parts (a real pain in the a... to assemble them).

Group Shots

Bondsmen Archers... and a Volva

The next unit painted for my Norse army is Bondsmen Archers. When Vikings were setting sail for expeditions, they usually had one bow per oarsmen' row.

As usual, these minis come from different manufacturers: old Citadel models, Bronze Age Miniatures, Red Box Games and Foundry.

Group-Shots

Elite of the Warhird

Among the Norse warriors, the strongest and bravest are chosen by the Jarl or the King to be his men of confidence and bodyguards. They are professional warriors, paid and fed by their lord. At war, they either form a single unit of elite troops or they join units of non-professional warriors to lead and galvanize them.

These men are the Huscarls (+4 Shock Elite, in WFB 3rd Edition).

This unit is made of minis coming from a lot of different manufacturers. Essentially Bronze Age Miniatures and Red Box Games, but also Citadel, Hasslefree, Gripping Beast and Warlord Games. I may change the components of this unit in the future as I'm waiting for new minis from V&V Miniatures (but it takes ages to come) and some of them might be more suitable as Huscarls than some of the ones I've just painted. I will need to take difficult decisions as the Huscarls are limited to 20 in 3rd edition. 

The banner (which will be my army standard) comes from Little Big Men Studios and is tagged as a Dwarf banner. But it looks Norse too, and my Dwarf army already has an army standard. As the Huscarls are professionals, they usually wear the (shield) colors of their lord. So, I've given them all the same shield repeating the colours of the banner.

Groups Shots

Fury of the North!... and a Jotun

Howling, foaming with rage, shield-biting badasses of the Norse ost: the Berserkers!

These guys come from various manufacturers: Citadel, Foundry, Hasslefree, Bronze Age Miniatures and Red Box Games. The boss is huge, but Norse could be very tall. Let's say is above 2 m. 😁

Group Shots

Vikings!

Sailing from the frozen shores of Norsca, the Vikings raid the coasts of the Old World and Albion, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

This is a new army I'm starting to paint now: the Norse. Actually I had painted some minis for this army years ago (some of the first minis I have painted when I was young): Norse Dwarfs (35 are painted). But the paintjob was so basic and ugly that I might repaint them. We'll see.

The army will be based on the rules for 3rd edition written by Rick Priestley and Nigel Stillman and published in White Dwarf (see below).