Viking Archers by the Dozen!

 A dozen 28mm Gripping Beast Viking archers - my first batch of painted figures in 2021!

My first batch of painted miniatures for 2021 was a group of 12 Viking archers. I picked them up last year at one of our Saga game days at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, OH. Not only did I want to support the store by making a purchase, I realized I needed more Dark Age archers. My Viking, Saxon, Pict and Welsh Saga armies were all sharing archers from the same pool of figures. This would go a long way towards making sure I could field these armies without swapping figures back and forth between boxes.

 I used faded colors for my palette, but with a little bit of decoration that the Vikings were know for

I have since tossed the packaging that these figures came in, but I am pretty sure that these are 28mm Gripping Beast miniatures. The bows needed to be epoxied into the archers' hands, but otherwise no assembly was required. That's one of several reasons why I prefer metal miniatures over the new wave of plastic which require the gluing together of arms, torsos, heads, and so on. I've said it before (and close examination bears this out), I am not that good at supergluing or epoxying things together. So, less of that I have to do the better!

 The pose variety of headgear was great - archers in helmets, knitted or fur caps or bareheaded

The variety in the package was marvelous! A little less than half the figures had metal helmets, others were bareheaded or had fur or knitted woolen caps. There was also some variety in the posing, with archers leaning back, forward, kneeling and even running. I highly recommend theses figures. There was very little flash, they are clean and easy to paint without too much equipment festooned over them. 

 Many of the tunics were painted with fancy borders even if the material itself was a faded color

I mixed in faded colors -- gray greens and blues, dun yellows -- along with a few brighter reds or blues. In Saga, the Viking archers are typically considered Levy troops (which would be the poorest members of society). However, I think that is an oversimplification because archery was a valued skill in Viking training for war. So, I made sure my Viking archers had a splattering of fancy borders on their tunics. They were a colorful group of people known for their love of fine clothing, good grooming, and wearing their wealth. So, I even decorated some of the quivers with stripes, swirls, and runes.

 I think the detail on the borders and quivers balances with the solid color tunics, shirts, and pants

Although I am posting all 12 archers at the same time, I divided them into two batches of six when painting them. I usually divide my painting into batches of six to eight figures. That way, I don't get bored painting huge numbers at the same time and feel like I am making progress as I finish them more quickly. I also base, flock, and seal the figures as I finish them. There's something satisfying about incrementally watching your army of usable figures grow that keeps me inspired...usually!

 The home page for Saga Ohio on Spotify, one of a number of platforms you can listen to it on

What else have I accomplished in 2021? Well, my Saga Ohio podcast just published episode 4, yesterday. The podcast is available (free, of course) on various platforms, including Spotify, Anchor, Apple Podcasts, and more. In my latest episode, my guest was Jim Randall - a local Saga gamer and big fan of the Byzantine Empire. I like the format, talking to my guest and getting them to explain to listeners how they field their army, what tactics they use, and how they best take advantage of the army's special abilities. I find listening to a podcast (or something similar) is a great thing to do while painting miniatures. I eagerly look forward to the newest episodes from my favorites -- Northern Tempest Saga Podcast and Saga Thorsday. If you haven't done it before, cue up one of these (or if I may be so bold, Saga Ohio!), next painting session and give it a try!