Viking Rune Stones

    Floki (from the Vikings series) stands in front of two of the rune stones that I painted up

I always try to buy things from the dealers who come to our HMGS chapter's flagship convention, which is Advance the Colors. It is held every October in Springfield, OH, by HMGS Great Lakes' more than 200 members. I've been the vendor coordinator for it for a number of years, so I have developed a (hopefully good) relationship with the dealers. I want each of them to be successful and have a good show. I try to help that with my own purchases, making a goal to buy at least something from each of them. I bought two bags of these rune stones a couple years back from my friend Scott at Sword and Scabbard Games.

    Here are half of the 14 rune stones that I painted up in various shades of gray, from light to dark

The result of that is a closet full of unpainted terrain and scatter -- all of which I swear that I will get to eventually! This is why I began tracking Acquired vs. Painted for both Terrain and Scatter this year, in addition to Miniatures. Although I am doing much better in those two categories (see the chart on the bottom) than I am on Miniatures, so far, I still have a LOT of in that closet. Two items in that collection were bags of 3-D printed Viking rune stones. The week before heading to Drums at the Rapids, I decided to grab those bags and prep up the rune stones for painting.

    Here are the ones in various brown hues -- my favorite is the pink granite one next to Lagertha

There are five different shapes and sizes of rune stones in each bag of seven or eight pieces. I did Google Image searches on existing rune stones, finding that they were in a variety of colors. Not all are stone "gray" or "tan." So, I picked out a variety of grays, tans, and browns to do them in (after I primed them with White Liquitex Gesso). I decided that the runes carved into the surface would be darker than the surface face, which would be made lighter by dry brushing. I also did a black or brown wash over the stones, doing my best to have the color sink into the tiny crevices of the carved runes. I thought this process worked out really well, with the darker base coat also being the rune color. The runes are incised deep enough a flat dry brush misses them and gets only the stone surface, as intended.

    Shield maiden Lagertha (Ragnar's wife) contemplates the Norns of Fate in front of three rune stones

Once each stone was done, thought, I thought they looked a little bare on their bases. I decided to add other medium and smaller stones grouped around or slightly apart from the rune stone. After gluing the stones in place, I painted them roughly the same base coat color as the stone. Once they'd dried, I highlighted them like the rune stone. I also did the same wash as on the stone proper. Next up, I did my normal flocking method on the stones' bases. First, I painted them with a mix of white glue and earth brown craft paint and sprinkled on fine brown ballast while wet. After it dried, I dabbed on a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water. I sprinkled that with Woodland Scenics Turf, and finally applied patches of Blended Green with full strength white glue. I added a couple of grass or flower tufts, and they were done! 

    Three of the rune stones had a very cool Viking longship inscribed on them with a sun stone's rays??

I think my favorite one in the bunch was an experiment to replicate pink granite. I painted it in a salmon color and dry brushed it khaki. The brown wash really made the runes stand out, as well as gave the stone a natural look. I like how all of them look, actually. Probably my least favorite are the darkest gray ones. I think the runes don't show up as well and they look just like jagged stones. The ones I painted in the lighter colors look them best, in my opinion. Of course, since I painted up both bags at the same time, it is kind of academic information. Unless, of course, someone reading this blog entry and is looking for inspiration to paint their own rune stones!

    Ragnar's brother Rollo in front of the three largest of the rune stones - I like their rounded shape!

So, what else is on my painting desk? The five monster miniatures for Devilry foot are coming along very nicely. I have spray primed one of the smaller medieval houses I picked up at Drums at the Rapids last weekend. So, progress has picked back up after a slow period in April. Look for more entries on here soon, and thanks for reading my blog! 

    Ragnar & pooch with 3 jagged, triangular stones -- Ragnar and family figs are from Brigade Games

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 105

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59