Introducing the Norse Tribes

As we announced in our latest roadmap, we are embarked in a new visual and artistic journey in Patreon where we are developing new fantasy races and miniatures to grant you a deeper knowledge of the art and style behind the future fantasy races that will come to Highlands Miniatures.

Today we would like to introduce the Norse Tribes, a brutal race of warriors bred for conquest, coming next month to Highlands Miniatures.

For the upcoming August 2026 set of miniatures, we will see:

• 12x Norse Raiders with hand weapons and shields

• 3x Norse Raiders Command Group: captain, musician and bannerman

• 7x Norse Raiders with two handed weapons

• 3x Norse Raiders Command Group: captain, musician and bannerman

• 5x Norse Bowmen

We are currently working on a set of Mounted Norse Raiders that we hope to unveil before the end of the month.

Stay tuned!

A Norse Saga

Where the maps of the human kingdoms end, the Norse Tribes begin. They inhabit the harsh, rough borders of the world -a country of black water, long winters and poor soil that gives back nothing to those who work it. So they stopped working it. They live instead from pillage and raid, falling on the unprotected coasts and river valleys of the south when the ice breaks, and returning home before the first snow with everything they can carry.

The Norse Tribes gather inspiration from the Viking Age raiders of Scandinavia, the Norse sagas, and the pulp barbarian tradition of fantasy illustration. We wanted these miniatures to sit exactly on the line between the historical and the mythic.

Here you can see some of the references used to design this fantasy race:

Before diving into the individual unit types, let's take a look at the core armour design that defines the range. We use these pieces as a design template across the whole army, so the aesthetic stays consistent from the rawest raider to the most decorated jarl.

The signature element is the heavy fur mantle -a great shaggy collar of pelt worn over one or both shoulders, strapped down across the chest with a broad buckled belt. This is armour made from what the land gives you: bear, wolf, and whatever else the winter yields.

Norse Tribes Weaponry

A sample selection of the weapons and shields available across the range.

You may notice something absent: there are almost no swords. This was intentional. In the Norse world a sword is an aristocrat's weapon, named, inherited and rare. The raiding tribes fight with what they already own -the wood-axe, the hammer, the hunting bow- and with the crude iron they can beat into something worse. The arsenal is therefore built around single-handed axes with heavy bearded heads, spiked maces, war hammers and picks, and long self bows.

Every body across all three units is sculpted with open wrist sockets, and every weapon is supplied with its hand already attached, including the shields. This is the same modular system we have refined across our recent ranges, and it means you can arm any body with any weapon in the arsenal.

The two-handed selection pushes further into the mythic. Great bearded axes on long hafts, and then the chained weapons -spiked heads, flails, and lengths of chain lashed to bound wooden grips.

The same modular philosphy applies to the two handed weapons. We have spent a noticeable amount of time to ensure that all two handed weapons are interchangeable, so you can use any of these weapons in any of the Norse Raider with two handed weapons bodies (7).

You can also see a Norse Tribes standard: a set of bull horns lashed to a pole, a torn hide banner, and two skulls swinging from cords. No heraldry, no runes, no craftsmanship.

Here you can see the Norse warrior next to a standard human figure for comparison. The extra height and mass gives them real presence on the tabletop, and it means a Norse warband looks dangerous even before the dice come out.

The single most important design decision we made was size. The Norse are bigger and stronger than average humans, and the miniatures had to show it. These are not slighter men in furs -they are broad, heavy-boned, thick through the shoulder and neck.

The Norse Raiders are designed over a 30x30mm square base.

Norse Raiders

The backbone of the army. These are the men and women who pull the oars, run the ship up the shingle, and come over the shield wall first.

We deliberately built variety into the unit's social range rather than just its poses. There are veterans in full mail and heavy cloaks and there are younger raiders in little more than a wrapped tunic and a fur.

Norse Raiders with two hand weapons

The second raider unit is built around the great axe and the chained weapon -warriors who have thrown away the shield entirely and committed to the swing.

The poses here are wider, lower and more rotational than the standard raiders. Every body is caught mid-torque, weight already transferring, because a two-handed weapon only makes sense as a body movement rather than an arm movement.

Norse Bowmen

Five bodies caught at full draw. The Norse did not fight with massed archery in the way the southern kingdoms do -their bowmen are hunters, ship-scouts and skirmishers who shoot to open a fight rather than to decide it.

Every figure carries its arrows loose in the belt or fist rather than in a formal quiver.

What's Next?

We'll continue working on these miniatures and developing the Norse Tribes range of miniatures as we unveiled in our latest Roadmap.

Join us in our Discord server and have a chat with Highlands Miniatures!