Frostgrave Pics and More

This week's painting work was mostly Frostgrave, but a slight conversion bears its posting here. First, two more sprues of Frostgrave plastics painted. These are some really nice plastics, great for hirelings in your RPG game or as "rabble" in your late twelfth/thirteenth century wargame. Of course, some weapons will need to be toned down a bit - that two handed sword is a little over the top.

The Frostgrave soldier's come with loads of extra bits. Work well with Gripping Beast's plastics, especially these Arab figures. If you need an eastern themed Frostgrave army, or just want to spruce up your moors with axes and crossbows, the Frostgrave kit is not a bad place to pull from.

Dark Ages Media Recommendations 

Toil and Trouble 

I am always on the lookout for historical/historical fantasy comics set in the Viking Age, and this is an excellent find. Toil and Trouble retells the MacBeth story with a greater focus on the witches, specifically one of the three here named Smertae. The writer, Mairgrhead Scott, tells a familiar story with some key differences between this and other versions. Instead of observers of fate, the witches are active shepherds of fate, choosing who lives and dies by their power. Book one ends where Shakespeare begins, with the battle against the Viking invaders. The real joy is this book is the art. Kelly and Nichole Matthews handle both expressive faces and epic landscapes with equal skill. Their style is built on clean lines and bright colors, and contains influences of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Three issues are already out, buy them or wait for the collection.

The Last Kingdom 

After the first two episodes, my tv viewing time became very limited, and this show dropped off my agenda. Thankfully, I was able to binge watch more of the episodes through my cable provider on-demand service. Though I am two shows away from the end,  I am quite impressed. While I still think the producers should have given us an entire episode with Uhtred as a boy before advancing to his early manhood, the rest of the series is very well done, much better than History's The Vikings, which it begs comparison to. 

The Last Kingdom and Sagas of the Northmen

THE LAST KINGDOM

Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series features a Saxon born, Viking raised hero named Uhtred at the time of King Alfred. It has been a great series to read, and one that probably inspired me to collect Viking and Saxon miniatures.

Here's a link: The Last Kingdom

 The first two episodes do have a lot to recommend, primarily the acting. Matthew MacFayden as the main character's father is spot on with the book, as is Ian Hart as Beocca, the kindly priest. The actor playing Uhtred, Alexander Draymon,  is fine for the young version of the character. If he can mature into the steely and brutal character from the novels remains to be seen. And any scene with Rutger Hauer is eminently watchable.



My main critique with the first episode is with some of the pacing and story direction. If this is the first episode of an eight part miniseries, and this miniseries intends to only adapt the first book, The Last Kingdom, then this first episode has churned through quite a bit of the book. The heart of Uhtred's story is his internal conflict between his Saxon heritage and his assimilated Viking identity. A great deal of character development is lost when we advance so quicly from Uhtred's childhood abduction by Ragnar into his late teens. One key childhood event that sets up later conflict is shown, but very little of his embrace of the pagan religion. I understand that devoting two episodes out eight to a child may alienate action-seeking viewers, but I think it is essential for understanding Uhtred's torn loyalties between Saxon and Viking.

On a more positive note, the battle at the end of the first episode showed shieldwall combat as two forces pushing and jabbing at each other. Whereas the History Channel's Vikings, a good show with great characters, shows shieldwall combat as two armies forming into walls, and then running like crazy at each other.

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Here are some remaining Gripping Beast plastic Saxons I painted this week with the Last Kingdom as inspiration. My color choices are a bit brighter than the series - thank you Peter Jackson for turning all medieval themed costuming into blacks, browns and greys.

These are one of the oldest plastic Dark Ages sets available, and I think it shows. While better than the Wargames Factory line, the posing and options are limited, and the definition on the chain mail is muddy, especially on the sides.

Nonetheless, they are great for building up an army in a Hail Caesar type game, but for your elite troops in a skirmish game, one might want something with a little more distinctiveness.

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SAGAS OF THE NORTHMEN 

If you are looking for some more Viking themed media, I highly reccomend a new graphic novel I received recently through a Kickstarter I backed.

Sagas of the Northmen is a 64 pages black and white graphic novel. An anthology format, it contains a number of seperate, unconnected stories by multiple artists and writers. Anthology can be hit mess The writing is consistently good and most of the art is excellent - with a few exceptions,

It is a $6.99 digital download currently, with a print edition promised later.

Sagas of the Northmen at Drive Thru Comics