I am resurrecting this thread again...
I need a new
Age of Vikings warband for Adepticon 2026, plus a nearby gaming club is hosting an AoV + AoI tournament in September, so it is my hope that unlike my two previous attempts to paint this warband, the upcoming events will motivate me to finally put paint on these bearded boat bandits.
My warband's current model composition isn't dramatically different from Rus 2.0, but I've sprinkled throughout the warband a handful of new models and some bits from Victrix's new(ish) Rus kit.
I’ve also settled on a new theme, at least for my Pagan Rus version of this warband, centered around Oleg the Wise, a semi-legendary Varangian prince who is credited with capturing Kyiv in the 9th late century, "uniting" (subduing) the Slavic and Finnish tribes, and playing a significant role in founding the Kievan Rus state.
While researching how to depict Oleg on the tabletop, I came across an interesting story about his death. According to legend, pagan priests prophesied: “Prince! You will die of your beloved horse whom you ride.” To defy the prophecy, Oleg sent the horse away. Years later, curious about his old companion, he asked about the horse and learned it had died. He visited the spot where the remains lay, and when he touched the horse’s skull with his boot, a snake slithered out and bit him, killing Oleg, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Though this story is likely more legend than fact, it certainly adds a dramatic flair to his character and is easy to depict on Oleg's base.
Below is Oleg and his Hearthguard.
In keeping with semi legendary theme, below is a unit of shield maidens, that will be used to represent a unit of Warriors. While there is increasingly more evidence of women warriors among some of the Scandinavian people we refer to as "vikings", we don't yet have evidence of widespread, large-scale female warrior roles. Nevertheless, the Brother Vinni models are just too good to pass on.
Below are 2 more units of Warriors. To easily distinguish them, one holds aloft swords and the other axes. These units have been augmented with models and bits (mostly heads) from the Victrix Rus kit.
Here are my Slav levy. I still haven't made up my mind on what shields to give them, so they were photographed sans shields. Many have been upgraded with heads from the Victrix Rus kit.
And here they are all together, bases textured and HG primered and ready for paint.
15 September 2015, 11:49:16 AM
