Koyote's SAGA Pagan Rus

[Koyote]

I don't much like the look of the two models I assembled with fur trimmed, dome shaped caps. They remind me of Pachycephalosaurus.



To de-dino the models I sculpted a floppy top to each hat (see below).  Much-mo better.

My Slavic Levy can’t go into battle without a melee weapon. The problem is, it's hard to find much information on the weapons of Dark Age Slavs prior to coming of their integration with the Swedes/Rus.  What I found describes Slavic tribes preferring guerrilla style tactics and a preference for short spears, bows, and axes.  Since axes are inexpensive to produce and my Swedes are going to hand out swordsman to mere Levy, I reasoned that my Levy should be armed with small axes.



I sourced the axes from some old (circa 2011) Wargames Factory Persian sprues that I bought on sale many-many-moons ago.  I shortened the shaft a bit and removed the butt spike.  Then I glued them in place and sculpted simple axe handle holders.




You may have noticed that many of my Levy and Warrior models have quite a bit of greenstuff on their shoulders and upper arms.  This isn't me going onboard on gap filling.  The greenstuff is being used to cover up the wedges (of greenstuff) that I use to reposition the models' arms.

Victrix and other manufactures don't always do a great job of positioning arms.  When this happens, or if I simply decide that I want a particular poses, I will use a little wedge of cured greenstuff dowels to reposition the arm (see below).  I make the dowels in various diameters from greenstuff leftover from each sculpting project.  The wedges are easier to use than wire (pinning) and result in a durable bond between he body and repositioned arm.

[Ogrob]

Nice view of the method you use. I just got the dark age archer sprues, let me know if you want pics of the heads on there. I think some repeats and some new.

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

Great stuff mate. Replying to your comment on my Rus thread here as it seems more useful to you:

Looking good!

Where did you source these shields?

Nice work on your display board.  If you plan to travel via plane with that board, I recommend that you not permanently attach the trees to the display.  Instead, you should magnetize or temporarily pin them in place. That way you can bubble wrap a relatively flat board and pack it into your checked luggage, cushioned on a sides by clothing. Then bubble wrap each tree separately and put them in a separate hard case or box, which you can also pack into your checked luggage.  This is how I bring my display boards to Adepticon.

Of course, you NEVER want to check your minis.  Those, you carry on and guard with your life.

The shields are from the Stronghold Terrain Crusader Hearthguard - as seen here: https://footsoreminiatures.co.uk/collections/stronghold-terrain/products/crusader-hearthguard-with-great-weapons-4

Latest additions are looking really good, very keen to see where you go next.

[Atheling]

Great to see you confidence with the putty and conversion work grow with every post- and not just on this thread

[Koyote]

Why use free and abundant rock fragments when you can sculpt your own?



PETR Disclaimer: No rocks were harmed in the making of this Pagan Rus warband.

[Ogrob]

Makes total sense to me

[folnjir]

Why use free and abundant rock fragments when you can sculpt your own?

I like to make mine out of sprue offcuts.

[Koyote]

I haven't spent much time on the hobby during the last week, but I have started adding not-rocks and other bits to bases. 

The resin branches/bushes are from a company called Epic Basing (www.epicbasing.com).  Even though the branches are made of resin and quite thin, they are remarkably resilient to breaking.

[Koyote]

I've added not-rocks and bones to the warband's bases. 

Last Friday my Gripping Beast rectangular Rus Shields arrived, so I sorted out who will have what shield.

The round resin shields are sold by Brother Vinni in packs.




Now it's time to texture the bases and get to painting.

[TheABG]

Where is the banner in the top left of the photo from? I thought it was V and V but can't see it on their site.

[Koyote]

Where is the banner in the top left of the photo from? I thought it was V and V but can't see it on their site.

This one?

[TheABG]

This one

[Koyote]

The Brother Vinni Viking minis are more like 32mm scale than 28mm historical scale, that latter of which tends to be on the small side for 28mm minis.  Brother Vinni's female Viking minis are a bit shorter than their male counterparts so they better match Victrix Vikings.

Compared to the Victrix Vikings, my Brother Vinni warlord is huge, but I'm okay with that, because, well, he's my warlord.  Compared to the Victrix model the male Viking standard bearer is also quite large, so to "cut him down to size," I cut his legs off just beneath his gambeson, removed a couple of millimeters of thigh, and reattached the legs with pins and glue.

[Koyote]

Looky, objective markers.

[Ogrob]

Very nice. Always enjoy seeing your creativity in various markers and objectives.