A few select Vikings - Dung Heap tutorial pg. 4

[Elk101]

Great painting and some nice terrain pieces there. I particularly like the dung heaps.

[Captain Blood]

I think those are the best dungheaps I've ever seen.

I hope you will do a dungheap 'how to'.

(no, really, I'm deadly serious)

[Atheling]

I think those are the best dungheaps I've ever seen.

I hope you will do a dungheap 'how to'.

(no, really, I'm deadly serious)

Really nice painting and I second Richard on a dungheap 'how to'!!

 

Darrell.

[Mason]

Great stuff, CV!
Those dung heaps are seriously good and that old worn out doormat is how it should be done.
Nice matching bases too.
 

[Dr. The Viking]

Thank you good people!

Reading your comments this morning has already made my day! 

I'm surprised at the general lack of dung in most medieval games considering the impact dung heaps have had on our knowledge of those days.

I will attempt to reconstruct the process. It was rather improvised and not well thought through, I warn you though.

I believe vallejo brown violet and green brown are quintessential to the painting process.

[Dr DeAth]

Jolly nice

[Argonor]

Looking forward to a pile of shite, then   

I have added the GB civilians and animals to my list of eligible minis for my fantasy vikings rpg project. The settlement to be shall need thralls and livestock. 

One question:
Are there any sources as to how tall grain straws/stems/stalks (whatever) were in the dark ages? I know that 150 years ago, before modern agricultural methods (straw shortener, etc.), grain fields would stand as tall as - or taller than - a grown man, but I haven't been able to find any references telling about the height of the crops in earlier times.

Not to nit-pick, the field looks ace as is, I'm just genuinely interested in the matter.  It makes a huge difference if you can hide a warrior from sight in an un-harvested field, or not.

[Dr. The Viking]

One question:
Are there any sources as to how tall grain straws/stems/stalks (whatever) were in the dark ages? I know that 150 years ago, before modern agricultural methods (straw shortener, etc.), grain fields would stand as tall as - or taller than - a grown man, but I haven't been able to find any references telling about the height of the crops in earlier times.

Four feet. That's the mean wheat growth length when not disturbed by humans.

[NurgleHH]

I tried to snap some better shots of the trælle with my old camera:

The pictures are good, nice scene. Did you get some hints from Karsten?

[Elk101]

I'd also be interested in a dung heap tutorial, I think they look great.

[Dr. The Viking]

The pictures are good, nice scene. Did you get some hints from Karsten?

Nah, he does not like medieval stuff much I think. We did discuss a get together soon though. But I will probably paint Moon Nazi's with him.

I'd also be interested in a dung heap tutorial, I think they look great.

Ah yes! I will get around to it. I can give the basics in texxt and add pphotos later I suppose:


You basically need only 5 things to build a proper pile of dung:

1) Toilet paper
2) PVA glue
3) Water
4) Sand/gravel
5) Sisal rope or similar



1) First I cut some plausible lengths of sisal rope and unwound the threads. This is supposed to look like hay or whatever in your heap. In medieval households this would be pretty omnipresent.

2) Next I diluted a large blob of PVA glue (it doesn't need to be PVA, other polymers can work fine, as long as they're water miscible) with water. When a viscosity not much different from water was reached I stopped adding water.

3) I soaked sheets of toilet paper in the mixture. I then picked up the paper and squeezed it so it wasn't drenched. I arranged the paper on the bases and that way started bulking out the heap. I added small piles of sisal in between layers of paper to give the impression that hay was sticking out from beneath other dirt.

4) When the heap had a satisfying height and look I sprinkled it vaguely with sand to get more texture.

I then left the newly formed heaps of dung on the radiator for 24 hours (or less) until a crisp finish was achieved.

Any warping can be subdued by adding weights to the corners of the bases for the entire duration of drying.

[Mason]

Thanks, CV.
That is a brilliant tutorial on 'How to Make Shi....'

Simple and with a wonderful end result.
Nice one!
 

[Silent Invader]

A most useful tute - thank you. Hadn't occurred to me that it might mostly be toilet paper!