I've done these four fellows up to represent a small mercenary band of Jomsvikings for SAGA.
The Jomsvikings were legendary and infamous swords-for-hire who were active during the 10th and 11th centuries. They were reportedly very disciplined, staunchly pagan and would sell themselves to any who could afford their exorbitant fees. They also had a nasty propensity to change sides - even in the midst of battle.
These are 28mm Gripping Beast castings. I did some slight modifications in having one of the mercenaries being armed with two spears and I replaced the small axe on the leader with one that has a longer haft and a larger axehead.
I painted all four in a similar colour scheme and inked their shields to represent the Jomsvikings splashing them with animal blood to unsettle their opponents. The leader's shield design is by LBMS.
I like how the design of their clothes and shields are varied and somewhat exotic - giving the impression that some of them may have travelled quite extensively, perhaps to Russia, Italy, Constantinople or even the Levant.
In SAGA they have some very fun rules in which a player can purchase a Jomsviking warparty for use in your overall force. They are quite nasty in combat, but be warned, they do have a chance to betray their employer and change sides!
These four hard nuts will nudge me along for 20 points. Next up will be some Napoleonic unit markers...
