Real Vikings use shampoo.

 I got my second unit of Northmen painted today, these are the first unit done with added green stuff hair.

I think the hair makes them look a bit wilder than the first unit built "out of the box".

I got carried away with some of them. 

Here is Egil on the left, he uses Tresemme shampoo which gives him extra volume.

And here is Njal the banner bearer, he uses Sunsilk shampoo to keep his waves looking light and bouncy.

The next batch will be undercoated tonight, I think I'll give one of them a blue rinse hairdo when I paint them!.

"Fantasy Warriors" new additions.

 I managed to get a shrink wrapped copy of the Fantasy Warriors Companion for just £8 delivered. Although I have a scan of the book downloaded I much prefer a hard copy.

The book adds a lot to the game and has updated army lists.

One of the new spells in the supplement allows a wizard to summon a Fiend...

Work continues on my Norsemen, while I like the Gripping Beast figures they don't have very long hair.

So I added some green stuff to the next batch.

I have never had much success with green stuff but I'm pleased with these.

In an attempt to give the Norsemen more of a fantasy feel I made a wizard/shaman type from a Warlord Games Gaul with a GW head and some Gripping Beast bits.

The rest of the sprue will allow me to kitbash some Berserkers.

I also found a Reaper miniatures figure in the cupboard who will make a good Warchief for the army.

I'll have to get stuck in and get them painted.

New recruits for "Fantasy Warriors".

 A few weeks back I was lucky enough to find a box of Gripping Beast plastic Vikings at a keen price. I intended to use them with "Ravenfeast" the free rule set available here , however I thought they would do for "Fantasy Warriors" too. I will use them as "Barbarians" with medium armour and as I don't bother with points values they will fit in fine.

The box has 44 little men so with the addition of a few characters and berserkers and the like will make a usable wee army in their own right. I'll assemble and paint one unit at a time and they are eligible to fight alongside both my Orcs and my Dwarves.

Here is my first unit, I gave them all red and black shields, I can mix the various unit colours for historical games.

Here they are with a Barbarian Battleleader with Attack orders (red shield).

In another constructive week I also made my shield "Order" markers and fixed my little paper print off markers to some mounting board to give them some heft and durability.

Markers in action, the Northmen are threatening a Shaken and Disorganised unit of Orc archers.

I had a cracking battle the other night in which the Dwarves were outscouted and very little went right for them. A heavy defeat ensued.

Here is a photo at the climax of the battle. Bad day for the Dwarves.

The next game will feature the new Northmen fighting alongside the Orcs in place of the rather unpredictable Trolls.

 I can't wait!.

"Fantasy Warriors", bits and bobs.

 My head is still full of "Fantasy Warriors" after some very enjoyable games. Since my little armies are done I thought I would attempt to make the set up look a bit better.

I was not very enamoured with my printed black and white Dwarf banners so I though I would give them a touch of colour.

Here is one looking like a bit of printed paper.

And now looking like a bit of printed paper with a drop of paint on!.

I think they do look better though and I'm happy with them.

I thought I would replace my scrappy little Day/Night marker with a painted version on a cork board.

I am definitely no artist but I think it is an improvement, I even put dawn and dusk in on the Daylight side.

I can use the board to hold my scrappy little paper markers.

Next thing I aim to do is replace the Order markers with some coloured model shields. I had better get on!.

Still enjoying "Fantasy Warriors".

I've had myself some very enjoyable games of Nick Lund's "Fantasy Warriors" and now I'm discovering some of the nuances and depth of the game.

I painted up a new Barbarian Battle Leader to lead the Trolls and made up some stats for his hounds.

Playing the game taught me the wisdom of having some Talisman models to fortify morale.

So I made a pair of Army Banners from some internet images, once again the computer messed up the colours so I had to paint over them a bit.

I had a very entertaining battle today using my new bits, here are a few photos. 

The end of the battle sees the Orcs routing from the field, the Dwarves have held off the assault.

Great fun.