Farewell Ye Olde Vikings!

Hi everyone,

As I have written in the sidebar, I have sold off a large army of these old vikings from Citadel Miniatures which I bought in the late eighties.  This was one of my very first armies which I still had.

Unfortunately, they are now rather on the smaller side being true 25mm miniatures, but I wanted to keep a handful to paint up as a homage to these little wonders and to a better, happier time in my life that is as good as gone.

Since I am also getting the new Bickley Vikings, and knowing I will never use these older minis for any army project – I knew it was time to part with them

Looking through my pile of shame (that I pretend is potential), I also found a Viking ship from Revel. I remembered a piece of art from Angus McBride of a Viking last stand on a long ship – yes the one in the project picture. That is when the idea struck me, and I decided I would do something in a similar vein.

So, I went about building the long ship first.  The fit was very good and easy to build.  When it was dried well, I took out my fine saw and cut the ship in half and test-set my miniatures.

After deciding how the miniatures would sit, I primed the long boat and it is now ready for painting, but that will be for the next post.

Until then stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

I started this project with the base, so I decided to continue with it.  The next step was to build an under-structure for it that fit the ship.  Then I filled the base with air-drying clay and let it dry properly.

When all the cracks came out, I filled them with milliput, and added more miliput to build up some waves and once again let the whole thing dry.

After drying, I took some rolled-out-cotton roll that is used for plaster casting.  I took a piece and pulled it opened.  This is very cheap and can be found in most pharmacies.

N.B. I did paint the ship before setting it in place, but I forgot to take pictures – my bad!

Slowly, with the liberal application of PVA glue, I placed the cotton sheet onto the clay-sea surface to create micro-ripples on the surface.

When the glue dried, I added several applications of matte gel medium  to create even more texture.

When the gel has dried, it is ready for painting, so I gave it a light grey primer.

In the next post, I will start painting the whole thing and add extra water detail.

Until then, stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

The base is finally done.  I painted the sea in oils.  This gives me ample time to blend and get it as good as I can.  I always use opaque colours when blending because it is easier.

To add sheen to the ocean, I gave it several coats of Mod Podge with a brush.

I also added a backdrop.  This is sort of my signature, so I went ahead and did it. After I painted the surrounding in black.

When everything had dried, I added some white-water effects by mixing artificial snow with gel medium. Then I placed the mixture on the top of the wave crests and under the ship.

Next up will be the protagonists of the show – the Vikings themselves.  I will start painting up the first five, because they need no converting or modifying.  The following five need minor adjustments.  SO I will leave them for after.

That is all for now. Until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

Another short post this week.  Lately, I have been very busy at work and I have had no time to hobby – Yes I am miserably unhappy!  Hopefully, things should calm down in November onward.

In the meantime, I have started to paint up the first five miniatures for this ‘homage’.  The first five figures do not need any modifications, so I painted them up first.

The next five do need small conversions, mostly with the shield,, so I will paint them in the second stage of painting.

The shields belong to the ship.  I decided to keep them all the same – hence the shield choice.

Next will be the other two miniatures in the first quintet; an archer and berserker.  Until then stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

I have finally managed to find the time to finish two more Vikings.  Now,  I have painted up 5 of 10 models and have started some work on the next five.

The next five need some putty work, and one (the Norman) needs a bit of a facial overhaul.

That is all for now.  I will continue working on the Vikings, and if I can I will do some work on my Ogrions and Normalites army.

Until next time, stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

I took a day of leave from work last Thursday, and I spent it all day hobbying.  Amongst the things I managed to do, is two more Vikings for this little porject.  Now I only have three to go!

A quick and short post as intended.  Hopefully, I will finish another tomorrow.  So most probably I will post again on Sunday or Monday.

Until then, stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

Another few days, another model painted up!  This time it is the other berserker.  Since the model is up front, I took some extra time with the shield, other than that it is a basic paint job, but good enough for what this is.

You can tell that sculpting as come a long way since the early 80s.  I swear this guy has muscles that are not found on the human body!

Just two left now.  One just needs paint, the other – a Norman model – needs some conversion work (so it might take a bit longer).  Hopefully this will be finished soon, and I can move on to something else.

Until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

Just finished another miniature in this project.  Now I just have one left.  The last miniature, needs some conversion work, because it is a Norman. Therefore I need to vikingify it a bit.

Hopefully, I will finish this project by the end of the week – maybe.  Work is killing me and draining all my time, so things are moving frustratingly slowly.  Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it for now.

So until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

I did some work on the last miniature. I had to modify it to make it look like a Viking.  I use mostly MagicSculp and Milliput.  I do use Duro (Greenstuff) when I model parts that can be snapped easily when handled, like horns, flying hair etc.

Next post the project will be done.  Hopefully, I will get some time off in order to work on it.

Until next time, stay safe and have fun.

NR.

Hi everyone,

I finished this project this morning, just before going to work. Individually, they are not much, but together they look good.  This range never had many figures, so back in the day, I did a lot of conversions to try and vary as many as possible.  Most of the conversions came from the Norman range that Citadel had at the time. That is why I wanted at least one converted miniature in this piece – just to add to the nostalgia.

Overall I am please with this.

Farewell ye Olde Vikings, farewell! My heart breaks (after 2 seconds). Now where are my new Mat Bickley Vikings!

Until next time, stay safe and have fun.

NR