DECEMBER WIP! THE VARANGIAN GUARD
Look at what’s cooking in the digital oven! Next month we are bringing you the Varangian Guard.
For those who don't know them, they were the elite of the elite: Northmen hired by the Byzantine Empire to serve as the Emperor's personal guard. A brutal mix of Viking fury and Imperial discipline.
In these previews, you can see their main features:
Heavy Armor: Chainmail sculpted link by link.
Danish Axes: The terror of their enemies, capable of cleaving a man (and his horse) in half.
Stay tuned because December is coming in strong!
¡Mirad lo que se está cocinando en el horno digital! Para el mes que viene traemos a la Guardia Varega.
Para los que no los conozcáis, eran la élite de la élite: norteños contratados por el Imperio Bizantino para ser la guardia personal del Emperador. Una mezcla brutal de furia vikinga y disciplina imperial.
En estos avances podéis ver sus características principales:
Armadura pesada: Cota de malla esculpida eslabón a eslabón.
Hachas Danesas: El terror de sus enemigos, capaces de partir a un hombre (y a su caballo) por la mitad.
¡Estad atentos porque diciembre viene fuerte!
Comments (9)
Brutales
Would it be possible to include (fingers crossed)the most famous captain of the Guard, the legendary Harald Hardrada, as the character/captain/hero of December?
Great suggestion! We are actually featuring Bolli Bollasson. However, we’re also including a generic Captain of the Guard (Akolouthos). Since Hardrada held this exact rank, this model would be the perfect choice to represent the legendary Harald on your tabletop!
Any chance for some Lamellar/Laminar variant armored guard? As you can see from my thumbnail pic. I might have a vested interest.
We will also have another group with lamellar armor this month.
"Halfdan was here"
I do think the chain mail looks very out of scale on these sculpts, those links look about the size of an ear each.
Hi Reid! Thanks for your feedback. Actually, sculpting the chainmail true to scale would be much easier for us, as smaller links fold and drape naturally on the model. Force-scaling them to be larger is actually quite a challenge during the sculpting process! However, this is a deliberate design choice. We are fully aware that it can look a bit exaggerated in the close-up digital renders, but on a 32mm physical miniature, "true scale" mail often just looks like flat noise or texture. We keep the links distinct so the model is enjoyable to paint—you will definitely appreciate the larger links when it comes time to apply a wash or dry brush to the printed figure!
The sun rose over the wasteland, as far as the eye can see The sands of the vast plains of Serkland, its vultures jeering at me But they can circle until they’ve dropped dead, I’ve not come this far To end, but to pursue my own thread, to join the Varangian Guard!