Viking Warlord Egil Skallagrimsson

By any measure, Egil Skallagrimsson was a badass.  Really, I hear you ask, how bad was he?  According to Egil's Saga, Egil was playing with a some of other kids when an older boy threw him to the ground. The  kids laughed and Egil got pissed.  He went home, grabbed an ax and used it to split the boy's skull to the teeth.  The two households came to blows and seven men were killed. Egil's father was unhappy but his mother thought he had the makings of a real Viking. He was 7 at the time! Egil was a boy you did NOT invite over for birthday parties, playdates or sleepovers.    

The detailing on this Gripping Beast figure was superb.  At times, I was guessing at what I was painting. Hopefully, it's not obvious!

Once again, bark found its way into another project!  I'm very pleased with how my warlord turned out.

The positive painting mojo carried over from the workbench to the gaming table in my first game of Saga.  We played A Feast for Crows with a Viking -Viking - Anglo-Danish mashup.  I had Egil up front because I didn't know better and half way through, my warlord went in side by side with my berserkers.  They cut the opposing Viking warlord to pieces.  Late in the game, the Anglo-Danish set on Egil with 6 Hearthguard armed with the deadly Dane axe.  To demonstrate the long odds against me, our host dropped 2 headstones on the tabletop before I threw my dice.  One for Egil and one for his last Hird. Egil smote 4 of the Danes and the survivors fell back in fear.  

My Viking opponent sent his last warriors at Egil.  Insults were thrown. parentage was questioned and finally, dice were thrown.  When it was over, every Viking warrior was dead, as was my warlord.  With his dying breath, Egil was heard to whisper, "We won on on points!" Epic and hilarious!  The Saga fire is lit and now onto my Norman warband.  

Gravestones at the ready.  

Looks like you'll be needing two more headstones, fellas!

A dip with Viking archers

There's some debate among Saga players on whether levy archers are a wise choice for the Viking warband.    I figure they can screen my lads as they madly rush crossbow, javelin or archer-armed foe. Even if I don't use levy archers regularly with this warband, just having them painted up gives me the chance to mix things up a bit.

My go-to method in 15mm is to block paint, wash with Devlon Mud and highlight to finish.  Sadly, I've used up all my Mud.  Agrax Earthshade is supposed to be the new Devlan Mud but it isn't.  I recently tried mixing up my own washes but I can't quite match the color/shading of Devlon Mud. I've seen the great work many of you do with Army Painter Strong Tone dip so I figured I'd give it a go.

Boring!  

$29 for a tin-is there a genie or leprechaun at the bottom?  

Having done this all of one time, I've declared myself something of an expert on the subject.  Here are my thoughts.

What works? Great coverage, good shading, very good consistency in that it sticks to the figure well without all running down to the base like my Future mixes do.  AP puts a protective coat over your painting, which is especially handy with skirmish figures.  The shading is quite nice once it cures.  

What doesn't?  Good lord it stinks!  I can't dip with an open window because its winter.  This is a challenge for anyone who lives as far north of the equator as the Vikings once did.  When I dip, I have to do it quickly and then shut the door to my painting room.   Also, I have to keep mineral spirits on my painting table to clean my dipping brush and to be honest, I'd much rather work with water-based products for the easy clean up and no smell.  

Gripping Beast figs dipped and highlighted.  Once again, I kept a limited Dark Age palette.  I'm pleased with the results but I'll go a bit lighter on some of my base colors the next time.

Up next  is my Viking warlord  pictured in his Saga below.  If you can name the man in the floppy black hat, I'll spot you +20 Viking history points.  Well, anyone other than Michael of the excellent Dalauppror blog as he'll know this on sight.  Sorry, Michael!

Viking poet, warrior, farmer...and stone cold killer.

16 Viking Hirdmen came knocking on my door

In Saga, the Hirdmen are your best troop.  They're expensive but tough as nails and able to deliver a knockout blow.  I  assembled these with sword & axes to differentiate them from my spear armed Bondi warriors.

These were primed black, drybrushed chainmail, block painted, washed and highlighted.  Skin was done with the excellent Foundry triad for skin tones-Flesh shade 5A, Flesh 5B and Flesh Light 5C.  This is going to be my go-to combo in 28mm. I can see why the Foundry triads are so popular.  They take the guesswork out of jumps between the base color and the first and second highlight.  If I were to add more Foundry paints to my paint bench, I'd have to swap them out of the paint pots and into droppers.  The amount of work that would take puts me off the idea for now!

The LBMS shield transfers look brilliant as usual.  Here's a final shot of them massed up.  Knock, knock, Vikings calling!

I think Saga is going to get heavy rotation on the tabletop this year.  When I was shopping at The Source Comics and Games, the clerk asked me what I was working on.  I told him I was finishing a Viking warband for Saga and he replied that I was the 3rd person he'd spoken to who was working on Saga. 

Next week, for the first time ever, I'll take a Dip with 12 Gripping Beast Viking archers. I was hoping for the Swedish Bikini Team but you have to go with what you've got!