Zzap Gun

I've been having a lot of success blowing stuff up with Mek Guns in my Ork army for 40k. I don't use the models put out by GW, though; they are just waaay too expensive. I bought some cheaper figures put out by Kromlech a few months back that I use as Kannons and Lobbas. Apparently, I also bought this figure (put out by Mantic Games. I think it's called a Hailstorm cannon - or something like that) along with those models but completely forgot about it until I found it a few days ago hanging out it in my bits box. I had some free time yesterday, so I decided to spend my lazy Sunday working on this model. It was a relaxing afternoon goofing around with highlights, paint chippings, and some kind of laser thing-a-ma-bob glow along the barrels.

SAGA Viking Warriors

I love history. Ancient, the Middle Ages, the Machine Age, the Post-war era, you name it and I'll find something about it that draws me in. But I am in no way, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert. I think this fascination with the past came from my dad. Growing up, our house was filled with history books ranging from ancient Mesopotamia to the War of the Roses to the Vietnam War. Looking at all those maps, photos, and drawings of battles, weapons, and uniforms filled my head with unpronounceable names of long-forgotten places, mighty commanders, and strange instruments of death. Painting historical miniatures reacquaints me with those days spent in the living room browsing the pages of those massive tomes.

I very recently got into SAGA, a historical game set during the Viking Age, beginning in 793 when Vikings raided the monastery on Lindisfarne, a small island off the northeastern coast of England, and ending during the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated King Harald of Norway at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

I decided to build a Viking army (other SAGA factions are Anglo-Danish, Welsh, Normans, as well as others from subsequent supplements), and this is my first unit of Warriors, essentially the Viking militia and men-at-arms. My complete army will have another unit of Warriors, one unit of Berserkers, one unit of Hearthguards (the Warlord's personal retinue), and, of course, a Warlord.

A friend of mine described these figures as "cute." I think their pudgy hands and exaggerated qualities lend them well to a high-contrast painting style. For these Warriors, I stuck to earth tones for their clothing: deep green, grey, dark blue, sand, and reddish brown. For highlights, all I did was add some bone color to the base color. I added more bone color to each successive highlight--I think there were about 2-3 highlights on average for each color. I used the shields as an opportunity to individualize the figures a bit and add more color. The shield damage was done by painting a quick line of bone color in a random direction, and then painting dark brown next to it. I then dipped a bit of sponge in dark brown paint, wiped most of the paint off, and dabbed the shield with the sponge. Finally, I did the same sponge technique with Citadel's Blood for the Blood God, trying my best not to go overboard.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the final result, and I'm looking forward to painting up the rest of the army. The goal is to have the entire army ready (and another blog post) by New Year's Eve. Wish me luck!