WiP - Ulred the Ordinary

[Cubster]

Okay, got my Gripping Beast Vikings ready for some attention, but before I leap in with gay abandon I'd like to familiarise myself with the models and the subject matter first.

I've done one Viking before (the Clash of Empires guy, Bjorn Cubsson) but that was a posh version for close-up photography, not a gaming piece. Can I train myself to a good 'table' standard without spending days blending the iris colours or hand-painting an eye-watering pattern on the tunic?

I have deliberately avoided the old trap of picking the poshest miniature to paint first, and have plumped for an every-day Joe instead, or to put it more precisely, an every-day 'Ulred the Ordinary'. His journey starts here. It will end ... some time in the future.

[grant]

The metallics look terrific; the skin looks a bit tinny.

Foiled again?

[Cubster]

[Stuart]

Cubster, if you're inlvolved there'll be nothing "ordinary" about him! Just chuck the base colours on and leave him in a tin of AP dip for a day or two

[carvel2]

Great start and interesting concept. Will you be able to resist the detail you are capable of?

[Centurion Dan]

He's a Terminator-Viking sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor!

I bet he's still going to be plenty colourful and detailed - try and resist the temptation!

[Parus Ater]

He's a Terminator-Viking sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor!

I bet he's still going to be plenty colourful and detailed - try and resist the temptation!

That'll be what the raids on Eire were about, then.

[Biggus Dickus]

Yeah.....you'll need the dip Cubster .....the other thing you'll also need a bar of galaxy chocolate for basing

[Parus Ater]

Dip heretics!

It's Army Painter Strong Tone ink he wants. Dip? Pfft!

[Cubster]

So, I couldn't just leave the shield hovering in front of the arm with no form of handle on show, but at the same time I couldn't justify my normal process of sculpting an accurate, detailed malarkey on, if only for the sake of my time and sanity.

I have compromised by cutting a couple of strips from rolled greenstuff* and sticking them in place. I also had to pull the shield off and re-stick it because I wanted the strips to go crosswise on the wooden planks of the shield. A good lesson to learn early, that one, and a perfect example of why I like a dry run on a single model these days before I launch straight into a range. It's quick and easy enough to recreate on a few dozen shields no problem, and gives a good approximation of the effect I was after.

The base has had some nice aesthetically pleasing, but not overly taxing, bits of slate and sand stuck on. The idea for my SAGA force is a bunch of 'Northmen' from the Isle of Man raiding the Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English coasts (not to mention some of the Western Isles) so coastal-looking terrain is what I have in mind. Instead of building up the sides of the base with putty to hide the 'lip', it's done with a preliminary layer of sand around the sides before the outer layer went on.

*This rolled greenstuff I can't recommend highly enough, it has been extremely useful in any number of small projects over the years. If I mix up too much greenstuff, what I do is either make up sandbags with the excess (always useful) or I roll it out (with a pencil) flat on a lightly powdered (talc) smooth surface. When it's completely set, what you have is a flexible material like soft plasticard that you can easily cut and shape to fit your requirements. I always have a few 'puddles' of the stuff lying in my 'miscellaneous' tub with all the pins, cocktail sticks, random bits of wire etc..