The Beast's Norse team WIP, Update 24/10/2013

[el Superbeasto]

So… Here we go again. Another project I'll probably never finish. However(!), this time so as to try and keep my focus, I'll post my progress (and/or poor excuses for lack of same) in this thread. My goal is to have a weekly post (Thursday or Friday). If I come up with lame excuses for not having done any work; please give me a hard time!

So what's on the menu? Well, as the title says; Norse is.
I've always loved the Norse team. Never played them much, but I've always loved the idea of a bunch of low armoured lunatics trying to play a bashing game. Block, Frenzy; off you go, boys! That's all you'll ever need!

So why not play them much, if they're so much fun? Frankly, I've always hated the available minis. I generally hate Gary Morley's BB range. They all look the same to me. And what's up with the hand in the air?? There's always a hand in the air! Either waving or shaking a fist. Come on, Gary! I bet you're a really nice bloke, and the quality of your sculpts is absolutely fine - even good. When it comes to creating interesting poses, however, you absolutely suck! (Sorry, Gary, if you're reading this.)

Ok, enough angry rambling. On to solutions. What did I do? Go with the Gaspez Uomini del Nord team? Or the new excellent Greebo Snø team? What? What!?? Oh no, dear reader, I went back to Granny's tits and sucked long and hard on their Morley made norse team…
Why, you say? Good question! Hoped you'd ask. Because of Mikkel Nyboe. I hate this guy, as I absolutely love everything he paints! He may not be the most skillful of all the excellent painters out there, but he just has his own unique (and absolutely wonderful) style. And – he recently started up a norse project on his blog, and when I saw his idea, I just had to steal it. Every single grain of inspiration; I'll steal it right off and use all of his ideas! (Maybe even claim them as my own, if I ever finish the team...)

So to be fair, here's a link to the picture that inspired me: [CENSORED]. Enjoy it while you can and copy the link if you want to follow his blog (it's well worth it!), 'cause I'll remove it again as soon as I start posting my own progress. Why? Because I don't want my own mediocre work being compared with his all the time.
EDIT: Yes, I've removed the link! (-But I left his name in the text, so you can go Google it yourself, if you're interested.)

Thanks for reading so far. Back to sniffing glue and prepping minis. See you next week!

[Norse]

lovely brush work, the gritty skin tones are nice, and the bases are great too.. I always knew you were a collector/trader, but never knew you could handle a brush so well!

BTW, if you're going to put Norse on the menu, you might want to warn people I'm a little chewy and gamey...

[el Superbeasto]

lovely brush work, the gritty skin tones are nice, and the bases are great too.. I always knew you were a collector/trader, but never knew you could handle a brush so well!

Oh no!... The picture is my inspiration from Mikkel Nyboe's blog. It is (unfortunately!) his WIP - not mine. I'm still just prepping my team.

BTW, if you're going to put Norse on the menu, you might want to warn people I'm a little chewy and gamey...

[Spiky]

The striping is nice - if I was going to paint that team again, I'd have done stripes too.

Looking forward to seeing your take on them!

[Norse]

I should have read your post more carefully.

but then positing other people's paintjobs in your thread is rather misleading I think..

[el Superbeasto]

I should have read your post more carefully.

but then positing other people's paintjobs in your thread is rather misleading I think..

Yes you should(!), and yes, it probably is. I've removed the picture but kept the link - for now.

Instead, here's a picture of the prepped team:

[velvet mark]

Great opening statement Mr Beast I’ve always quite liked the Morley norse (but never owned). I read in a White Dwarf he sculpted them for himself as a human team privately then GW deemed fit to release them.
The norse in the link are very Obelisk the Gaul-ish - great stuff.

I love your paint station by the way, like an amphitheatre to the creative arts Ill be watching with interest!

[el Superbeasto]

Looking forward to seeing your take on them!

Great opening statement Mr Beast I’ve always quite liked the Morley norse (but never owned). I read in a White Dwarf he sculpted them for himself as a human team privately then GW deemed fit to release them.
The norse in the link are very Obelisk the Gaul-ish - great stuff.

I love your paint station by the way, like an amphitheatre to the creative arts Ill be watching with interest!

Cheers! These are the type of kind words I hope will keep up my motivation.
Regarding the norse team, I agree it's one of his better. In general, his teams are ok when you look at them individually. My problem is that they all look way too similar in their poses. If he'd only been allowed to make one or two teams, all would have been well. Anyway, enough Morley dissing for one day.

The paint station is this one: http://www.hobbyzone.pl/en/tables-for-p ... iting.html
They make some great products and with a very reasonable pricing. I've ordered from them twice and they've been most helpful both times. They also produce dice towers: http://www.hobbyzone.pl/en/8-extras-for-games
At first, I thought they were stupid. Then, I thought they were funny. Now, I absolutely love them! I've got the Dice Tower Exclusive. The inside is covered in felt, so it doesn't make a lot of noise like most other models. It's nerdy and unnecessary, yes. That's partly why I like it so much.

[velvet mark]

Great site. Prices are very reasonable too. I got a surprise GW paint station as a christmas gift from my wife - I would not buy one for myself or recommend to others (£20+?) but it is better than painting on a shoe box lid and it was a thoughtful present, of which im very grateful

Never heard of a dice tower before but the castle model looks amazing and practical and I feel I need one in my life!

[Lychanthrope]

Take a look at Unique Dice Towers. www.uniquedicetowers.com Some of the best looking I've seen with good prices, and they are not big or bulky. They started out on Kickstarter. I wish I had found them before it closed, but I did not.

[el Superbeasto]

So, here's this week's update – even a few days ahead of schedule!

I've finished the test model. This one was meant to test out colours before I start the factory line. There have been a lot of bumps in the painting process. Some of it probably due to the fact, that I haven't held a brush in close to a year. (Golden Football, October 2012 - and I didn't even finish that model!) Lots and lots of trial error and changing colours. (Read: Lots of frustration.) Also, I had to realise that I didn't have the skills to just copy-past Mikkel's painting. (Don't know who I was trying to kid, in the first place...) So I ended up "doing it my way", which means stealing the colour scheme idea and making my best of it.

It's not perfect, I know, and lots of details could be corrected, if I took the time, but I can't be arsed. They are meant for the pitch - not a showcase. Here goes:

[Doowa]

Wonderful. Nice, clear team colors on the pants. Any chance there could be some team color on the shoulder pad? Some of the others will have helmets, of course, so it might be he doesn't need it in the 'big picture'.

[el Superbeasto]

Wonderful. Nice, clear team colors on the pants. Any chance there could be some team color on the shoulder pad? Some of the others will have helmets, of course, so it might be he doesn't need it in the 'big picture'.

Thanks a lot. Really happy to hear you like it!

Regarding team colours, as you say, some will have helmets and at least some of these will be made in the team colours. Also, as you can see here (but couldn't see on the last picture), he has a coloured hair band. Hopefully, this will help him "pop out" when viewed from above. If the final team seems to need more colouring, I may go back and redo some armour, but for now I'll leave it. I appreciate the advice/idea, though.

[Madsherman]

I have the same team prepped for paint.. except for the ulfs that are Willy miniatures ones. And the last paint job I gave them had really dulled them down to "regular wargaming minis" because of all of the metal colors. This time around I'll give 'em a three-color scheme on everything, even the chain mail to give them that more sports y look. Didn't mean to thread-jack, just something to keep an eye on Your paint job is awesome.. I always dread the eyes, and would almost rather not paint them in.

[ChenZhen]

Really like the bright color scheme. Excellent choice and well executed.