Need Something Huge Moved-Call Hyrrokkin

The Jotun Giantess Hyrrokkin ("Smoke from a Fire" or "Fire -Smoked") was one of the strongest and greatest of her clan. Her renowned strength was famous even among the gods of Asgard.

The gods of Asgard called upon Hyrrokkin to assist them in a god's ritual funeral that could not proceed without the giantess' assistance. 

The funeral was for the most beloved of the gods, Baldr, and his wife. The funeral required that the bodies be born upon Bald's massive boat Hringhorni.

                                                 

But none of the gods were able to move the huge vessel, so they called upon Hyrrokkin to use her massive strength to move this heaviest and largest of all boats. 

Hyrrokkin arrived riding her massive wolf using huge venomous serpents as her reins.

She effortlessly moved the vessel and uprooted a huge oak tree for use in the funeral pyre. She then partook of the mourning and other funeral preparations to honor the fallen gods.

 The pulling of the oak tree into Asgard, and the massive furrows it created, was seen as a connection between the realm of the Jotun and the gods. Hyrrokkin's actions were further interpreted as a symbolic connection between the realms of life and death followed by the purification of fire and the hope of an afterlife.

Hyrrokkin is a plastic piece I painted in January.

All Know Loki!

Loki, the Trickster God/Giant of Norse fame. He was "Blood Brother" to Woden (not his son). He was actually the son of the Jotunn Farbauti and the Goddess Laufey.

A devious creature of divided loyalties, Loki could with one hand present the gods of Aesir with fantastic gifts such as Woden's steed Sleipnir. While using the other hand to stab a god in the back. Such as his involvement in the death of the most popular Aesir god-Baldr.

Loki was also a shapeshifter and was forever getting in either others or himself into serious difficulties. The strangest was possibly when he changed himself into an alluring mare to lure away the stallion Svadifari from his giant master. Their union resulted in Loki giving birth to the eight legged and magical Sleipnir who became Woden's steed.   

Though his "marriage" (he had at least three wives) to the Jotunn Angrboda, he fathered three of the deadliest and most horrific monsters in the Norse World. These were the World Serpent Jormungard, who grew so large that his body encircled the World. Fenrir, the terrible Wolf willing to swallow the World during Ragnarok. And Hel, a woman with one side of her body stunningly beautiful while the other side was decayed rotting flesh. It surprised no one that Hel became the ruler of Helheim-the land of the dead.

Small by Jotunn standards, Loki often seemed to overcompensate for this by being at the center of many of the most outlandish adventures/actions in the Nine realms. Some with Thor as a companion, such as when he gave Thor the mighty hammer Mjolnir. But most of his actions vexed the Aesir, such as when he kidnapped the Goddess Idunn. One never truly knew what Loki really had in mind or what side he was on, except his own.

Loki is a plastic piece I finished this weekend.

Next Project "Twilight Before Ragnarok" WIP Part I

Making a diorama using some of the Norse gods, giants and monsters that I have painted. First up, the five-tiered mountain design with most of the locations for the pieces marked.

A couple of pieces and place holder sized cardboard.

Most of the pieces in their assigned locations.

The large spot on the top tier is for Woden. All the pieces are plastic from Mystic Battles.

Next up is the tedious glueing on the sand basing cover to the hillsides and tops.

Woden's Guardians

                                            The Wolves of Woden, Geri & Freki

Geri and Freki (the Greedy One and Ravenous) are Woden's loyal companions.

Always near him on his travels, the twin wolves are ever watchful for their lord's safety.

Their courage, loyalty, watchfulness and fierce demeanor make them excellent companions for the "All Seeing Father."

Those who anger them face a terrible death.

Such as our poor, cursed hoplite, Hiktos Nuluk, who is about to find out just how fierce Geri and Freki can be.

For the story of the cursed hoplite see here:

World Historyprof: Brave Hiktos Nuluk Curse

Geri & Freki are plastic pieces I painted this month.

Don't Mess with these Boars

Beware the charging Jofurr's (Boar-men), that fear nothing on the battlefield except that their enemies will run in panic before the Jofurr's can taste their victim's blood!

While not as famous as their Berserker and Ulfhednar brothers, the Jofurr are every bit as fearless and full of battle lust.

While in battle lust and consumed by "Odins Fury," Jofurr are able to ignore wounds that would incapacitate or even kill normal warriors as they rundown and slaughter their foes.

Those that eventually succumb to their wounds are assured a spot at the warriors table in Valhalla. While those that survive gain worldly honor and riches.

These are plastic pieces I painted in July.

My, My What a Big Sword-umm Ears You Have

Theseus feels something strange is going on, like where is 1st Mate Ios? All the while the Sorceress Ciere is checking out her latest meal on four feet; men can be such pigs. Dinner just rebalances the many wrongs men have done to women is Ciere's feeling.

Ciere wonders what size of a pig the warrior with the big sword will turn into-and how juicy!

Both are plastic pieces that I painted in 2018.

First Tray of Ragnarök Completed

The tray on the left is 100% painted now:

From top to bottom, left to right-

4 Ulfhednar

Skuld & Three Berserkers

Revenge Lagertha, Shieldmaiden Lagertha & 4 Shieldmaidens

Sigurd, Sigmund & 4 Light Elves 

Beowulf, Sleeping Bjarki & 3 Dwarves

All are plastic pieces I have painted this year.

We Ulfhednar give Berserkers a Run for Their Gold

Beware the Ulfhednar on the hunt...

for their goal is to out berserk the Berserker's in blood and terror.

Fearless, immune to all but the most fatal of injuries, Ulfhednar in the heat of "Bloodlust" are near unstoppable.

Being less famous than the bearlike Berserkers only fuels the Wolf-Brothers lust for more glory through ever more daring/crazy exploits.

So, when you see a group of crazed Ulfhednar warriors run!

For if you wait 'till they close it is way too late...

These Ulfhednar are plastic pieces that I painted earlier this month.

Never Abuse a Shieldmaiden

Shieldmaidens are known for their bravery and ruthlessness in battle and Lagertha is no exception.

When her home in Norway was overrun by the forces of King Froh of Sweden, she and the other female members of her household were taken captive. Forced into service in a brothel was too much and Lagertha led a bloody revolt with the help of the hero Ragnar.

In battle, she relished close combat, the bloodier the better.  She even took great pleasure in collecting certain body parts she would cut off the bodies of the men who wronged her after she killed them. Bloody revenge is sooo sweet.

This is the first of two plastic Lagertha pieces from Ragnarök that I have painted this month.

Love So Close Yet So Far

Opposites attract, but can such attraction conquer the love of one's home? Such was the challenge faced by two powerful Nordic gods, Njord and Skadi.

To keep their wedded bliss the Vanir, Njord, God of the Seas and the Jotunn Goddess Skadi, of the Winter Hunt, attempted to live in Skadi's precious mountains.

Then they tried to live on the coast of Njord's treasured seas.  But to no avail, as both found the sounds, creatures and smells of their partners cherished homes so disgusting they could not spend even another day in those lands. So, it came to be that Skadi and Njord left each to return to their own homes, never to be together again.

Both are plastic that I painted earlier this month. For more on their stories check out these links:

I Rule the Seas

I am Njord, God of the Seas, Fishing, Wind and Wealth-Bestowed (Prosperity). While I am a Vanir, I live in Asgard among the Aesir.

Before I lived in Asgard, I was married to my sister, and we had two children Freyr and Freyja. As the Aesir frown upon sibling marriages, my sister and I separated.

This is how I became one of the gods available for Skadi to choose as a mate as compensation for her father's death at the hands of the Asgardians.

As Skadi was forced to choose her husband sight unseen, except by the look of the feet of the god candidates. And she chose me, one of the oldest of the gods.

It would have been a happy marriage except for the fact that I love the Sea and she loves her father's home in the mountains, Prymheir.

To please each of us, we agreed to live for nine months in the mountains and then nine months at the sea.

But happiness between us was not to be, for the longing for our respective homes was too strong. We separated; Skadi returned to her beloved mountains and I to the seas. Well, Skadi was beautiful, but my love, my life is the sea...

Njord is a plastic piece I painted this week.